Jeremy BallI bought a Roland TD-20 kit back in 2007. It was a big investment. I started using it with the onboard sounds and thought they were decent. However, coming from playing acoustics for so long, it was not an easy adjustment. Especially the hi-hats, the VH-12 felt clunky to me. Over the years I adapted and I’ve been playing live shows with an electronic kit ever since.
When I started using SD2.0 in 2009, it took my Rolands to another level for me. It made me feel like the nuances and real sounds I missed from my acoustic drums were back. This past year I upgraded to SD3.0 and love the new version. I’ve now been questioning if there are any advantages to upgrading my Roland module? I question if all the new features being offered in the newer modules is more for people who use the Roland sounds. Also, I realize the newer modules may offer digital snare and ride but without upgrading the actual hardware, I wouldn’t get those advantages. Just curious if any drummers see advantages to SD3.0 with newer Roland modules?
Mark KingIf there is a difference it’s tiny. I have a td20 and a td30. My son uses the td20 with SD3 and I use my td30 and vh12 hats. I never notice a real difference in triggering between them. As long as it’s working then I see no reason to change unless you want to spend a fortune and get a td50 with digital pack. The td27 doesn’t have as many trigger inputs as the td20 but the td50 does. I personally don’t think it’s worth it just for triggering.
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
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Thanked by: Jeremy BallJeremy BallThat was my gut feeling. I just thought I’d look for some validation so I don’t get involved with a newer module for no reason. Thanks Mark!
Mark KingNo problem. I guess we will all get a new module at some point but there has to be a good reason. My sons td20 output is broken but the midi and screen still works so even that isn’t getting replaced until it totally dies. Then I think I will replace with an edrumin 10 which has no internal sounds but is highly regarded on the vdrum forum.
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
MintberryCrunchThe TD-50 has great hotspot improvements (compared with a TD-30) so definitely a benefit using mid trigger pads.
Also, you can have the Roland Digital Ride soft choking features (placing your hand on the sensor vs. grabbing the edge) translated to SD3: LINK 🙂
Mark KingBut is it really worth the amount it would cost to get when a td20 works more than adequately. As I said there are advantages but none worth a few grand over what he already has
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
MintberryCrunchBut is it really worth the amount it would cost to get when a td20 works more than adequately. As I said there are advantages but none worth a few grand over what he already has
Depends on your demands. A guy like Ribot (from V-Drums forum) would say absolutely! And I would say the 18 inch ride definitely is nice (the size and the big bell make a big difference). The hotspotting behavior at that latency is state of the art, so if you’ve got mid triggers I would say yes. (The eDRUMin won’t come close regarding hotspot suppress at really low latency).
Mark KingI use a td30 with a diamond 13 inch snare with no hotspot problems and take it very seriously doing lots of drum collaborations using SD3 . The td30 15inch ride works great as well. My argument is the amount of cash you would need to spend to get a relatively small increase in performance. Maybe if he has a huge amount of spare cash then ok but I could not in all conscience make it sound essential. I’ve seen the discussions on the vdrum forum as I am a member there too. Not everyone can get the best of everything. I could afford a td50 but really don’t think it justifies it over the td30 since I would not be using the sounds.
The answer is not always to tell someone to buy the best. You should know promoting get good drums which in my opinion are poor.
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
MintberryCrunchto get a relatively small increase in performance
You see there it is: “relatively small”. Could also be “relatively big”. Again: check your demands and what you want to achieve. I’m not always on flagship e-drum hardware myself. I just use it purposefully.
The answer is not always to tell someone to buy the best. You should know promoting get good drums which in my opinion are poor.
I think it’s quite simple: just buy the best if you want the best. If you are super happy with your equipment or mediocre stuff I wouldn’t advise you to try to get better equipment. And opinions differ 😉
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