Why are drum modules so bad?

[doggyd69b]

I think it was made to serve the less experienced person who just wants good sounding drums out of the box. It is both easier to use and cheaper to buy than Superior. I have both, but most of the time reach for EZdrummer because it sounds good to me, uses fewer computer resources and has hundreds of sounds to choose from (if you have a few expansions).
If you are playing at home using v-drums to trigger a VST, I don't really see the point in a fully editable product like Superior. Superior is more for people recording, who need to find that perfect sound for their project.

In this time and age even an amateur bedroom producer will have a computer capable of running multiple tracks with multiple effects enabled no problem, my laptop is capable of that. Also most people know that you don't keep all tracks and effects enabled all the time when you are editing. I'm also guessing that most amateur producers don't record full orchestral ensembles, and those who do (the professionals) have the budget to get a powerful machine capable of doing that no problem.

 

[Philaiy9]

It's exactly like the difference between a keyboard module with piano sounds and a sampler (like an Akai) with piano samples.
I believe that Roland believe loading actual samples into memory is less stable and reliable than having a module with the sounds built in.

I'm also a little confused. Isn't the root of the Roland module still a recording of an actual drum being played, akin to a sample?

 

[Chris Whitten]

In this time and age even an amateur bedroom producer will have a computer capable of running multiple tracks with multiple effects enabled no problem, my laptop is capable of that. Also most people know that you don't keep all tracks and effects enabled all the time when you are editing.

I was specifically talking about e-drummers. I did say you don't really need all the features of Superior unless you are recording. If you read something like V Drum Forum, many people struggle with the technology, so something that is easy to use and sounds good out of the box, like EZdrummer, is attractive to many.

 

[Chris Whitten]

I'm also a little confused. Isn't the root of the Roland module still a recording of an actual drum being played, akin to a sample?

I believe so. I think they don't believe in selling drum modules with wav samples in memory, they prefer them to be reformatted and locked in memory.

 

[doggyd69b]

I was specifically talking about e-drummers. I did say you don't really need all the features of Superior unless you are recording. If you read something like V Drum Forum, many people struggle with the technology, so something that is easy to use and sounds good out of the box, like EZdrummer, is attractive to many.

None of the available software is that difficult to comprehend and operate properly, most of the difficulty comes from mapping the pads to the right sounds, and EZ Drummer has many built in maps specially for Roland. Also EZ can be used stand alone which eliminates the need for a daw. I don't think Superior can be used without a DAW but I don't know for sure since I don't own it. In that regard EZ lives up to its name. But a good number of edrummers do record their performances so...I guess those struggling will have to learn...

 

[Chris Whitten]

Yes, they can both operate stand alone.
Many people just aren't skilled as audio engineers, knowing how to balance all the mic channels, or process them. Maybe you haven't read the Toontrack or V Drum forums?
Anyway, we agree, EZdrummer was created to offer people good sounding drums without any tweaks, and also a cheaper product to get into.

 

[Rockdrill]

I've been gigging a dtx6 for the last year with a covers and a blues band. Overall it's been a great success. The main advantage to me, apart from having a volume control (I'm thinking cymbals here) is that I can tailor the sound to the room / pa. It's taken a little while to get fluent with it but the Ekit that gets sent to a massive pa with big bins at a festival is different to the one I'll use for a small system in a club.... and it's easy to achieve.
The kit samples on the dtx are, on the whole, great... I particularly like the absolute maple. And sample layering is a boon. When it comes to plugging into a pa, compared to a mic'ed up kit I'm finding it preferable.