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So I just found out that I'm getting a nice profit sharing bonus at work and after I put aside money for home improvements this spring (new driveway and walkway), I should have about 4k to play with. At the moment, I'm heavily considering making the investment to get the Roland TD30K vdrums. This is not the KV, which is like $7500 and in my opinion, overkill for what I need. The reason I'm considering the vdrums in the first place are these:

I'm a drummer primarily (been playing for 20 years) and already have a great DW acoustic set, which I'm keeping for studio work
I have 2 young kids (1 newborn) and only have time to work on music or practice drums is when they're in bed during weeknights, and during the day on weekends. Therefore, playing drums at night is a must if I want to be productive with songwriting and get more content out there.
I have multiple drum sampling plugins (SSD4, Superior Drummer, BFD), so I'm not really concerned about the vdrum samples not being convincing enough
I can perform drums tracks I hear in my head way faster than programming them, which means I can be more productive

Here's the question....it's a big investment, but one that has more to do with making music. What is the downside? Is there a reason I shouldn't go this route?
Thanks!

Jay

Other than the large investment they are great set of drums. If you don't want to spend that kind of money you can convert any acoustic kit to an electric with mesh heads and ddrum drum triggers. I did that and use the alesis trigger I/O with it. The alesis doesn't have any built in sounds, but I use Superior Drummer just like you mentioned. Adding a few electronic cymbal trigger pads onto that setup and you be up and running for under $1000. Technically just buying the Roland drumset will probably be superior, but if you don't want to spend 4K this is another option.

Only downside if you're a drummer is the feel. It's not like playing a real kit by far, but if you can get used to it, it's endlessly flexible, and a nobrainer for studio work. I'm a guitar player, and even I have one Get a real nice chair and get rockin!

Btw vdrums is great for kids. It's the first thing my 8yo daughter wants to do in my home studio.

Don't they still make a lot of noise by hitting them? Ear plugs for the children when they sleep could be an alternate solution.

Len911 wrote:Don't they still make a lot of noise by hitting them? Ear plugs for the children when they sleep could be an alternate solution.

Not really. Especially not compared to an acoustic drum kit. It's a little bit like playing an electric guitar not plugged in. But once you hook it up to your daw and load up a Project SAM kit.. BOOOOOOOOOM!

That was the only possible downside I could think of.

Yeah, it's an adjustment, moving from an acoustic kit to electric. (I didn't realize how much, 'til I tried going the other direction) Part of the problem is the MIDI spec; practically speaking, there are way more than 127 velocity levels in a real set of drums/cymbals and continuous control of a sampled open-to-closed hihat is kinda crude, compared to the real deal. On the other hand, the number of mics/preamps/cables/compressors required to optimally represent an acoustic kit in a great room can be prohibitive, even if you already own the great room. One tip I can offer is that you can use all of the range of your pads and the MIDI spec to represent only part of the sampled range of your virtual drums/cymbals. It's very easy to do in Addictive Drums and vastly improves your control over realtime timbre and volume.

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2014/01/ ... -see-this/

If you're just looking for MIDI drums, these look like a MUCH cheaper option!

markjsmith wrote:http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2014/01/ ... -see-this/

If you're just looking for MIDI drums, these look like a MUCH cheaper option!

I WANT!

Edit: aerodrums website says they are "working on MIDI" interface.... guess it's not ready for DAW yet.

I just saw your question (I know it has been a couple of months since you posted it).

I am a drummer too. A few months ago I bought the Roland TD-30K set.

I totally love it. My only regret is not getting it sooner.

The internal sounds are great. The feel is excellent and recording is a breeze.

Did you get yours?

Michael McGraw