I own a Yamaha DTX 400 series and I use it with Addictive Drums so that it sounds "OK". However, I tried this kit the other day and I've been in love with it ever since. For the price, I couldn't ask for more and it sounds 100 times better than its Yamaha counterparts (DTX 500 series). I should sell my current kit and get this one. So good! Thanks for the review!
Vicuecate, I can't reply directly to your comment, so hopefully you see this... Yep, you can program any part to play any sound, so you can have the hi hat pedal play the kick sound, or the kick pad is big enough to fit a double-kick pedal.
Thank you for making this review. You did it really well; i enjoyed the collection of sound samples you played for us later in the review and also how you showed us how the cymbals reacted to different kinds of hits. I'm a drummer wannabe and i want to start practicing the fundamentals. I've played the first all my life n i feel i got this. Looking for a kit exactly like this one. Thanks for your suggestions and review all together.
Great review, answered all my questions/curiosities about the kit. Thank you for sharing this, and keep playing, you're an incredibly talented drummer!
Great video. Very informative! So many videos spend three quarters of the video explaining what comes with the kit and that it comes with 3 rubber pads and one mesh. I can see all that that. This is the video to come to if you want to know what the kit can DO and what it sounds like which is what everybody wants! Again great job. And great chops by the way!
Legit video man thanks. I'm a guitar player that's looking to start playing drums and I don't like buying cheap so I basically want a Roland. This is my highest price point I can do. I've played the TD25k at guitar center years and years ago and loved the mesh heads...but this seems like it would be a good fit. I think there's also some pre-made kits you can buy online to make this module sound better. After this many years how is the kit holding up?
awesome review. This will probably be my first set of electronic drums. I have used older versions of Roland's v-drums, but It seems that this would be the best all considered. Thanks for the review.
Awesome review man, I'm gonna buy this kit this week. If i could make a request it would be if you could do a tutorial on how to use midi and create custom drum kits on the module from different drummer software on a pc. Thanks.
Tim Kelly Glad it helped! I can do one on midi in a couple of weeks. Changing the kit is explained pretty clearly in the manual, then the rest of it is just down to messing around a lot until you stumble onto sounds you like.
I have watched so many of these videos and I just want to say to you sir. THANK YOU for playing in time. So many of these drummers play out of time that is ridiculous. Keeping time is what playing the drums is all about. Those other guys need to take a lesson from you man. I am more a an acoustic set player myself. Maybe not all of them are the same but the last electric set I played on the stick really hurt my hands from the vibrations. My hands were so sore the next day. Without the feel in my hands I am done. I bounce my sticks in my hands very losely. I have always played like that. But I play by feeling. Do the gloves help?
Matthew Jones Thanks! If the kit was cheaper and the kick and snare were all rubber, that might have contributed to that. If not, an e-kit might just not be your thing. The gloves are to prevent blisters and cracking (my hands get kinda dry sometimes) as the sticks rub against my hands .
Great demo, I like these drum kit, I'm planning on getting one, been reviewing bunch of kit.. question, can you program to double bass on this kit, appreciate the info..
Very good review and hey that's some drumming skill! Just a question, would you recommend this to a beginner? I heard that e-kits in general would make you hard to learn "stick control" and "dynamics" (not really sure what it means but I take it's about feels/rebound and sensitivity/response), but I also heard that Roland manages these. Do you think I can learn that nice hitting you do (esp. on snare and hi hat) just by this kit? Also, I heard the hi hat isn't that good? Right now I'm deciding between this and the new entry level TD1. I'm inclined to think even the TD1 is considerably cheaper, it might have some better/improved stuff since it's also considerably newer, and since I'm still unsure whether drumming is for me, the investment cost is also to be considered (though I think I can also sell this quick if ever). What do you recommend master (hehe)? Thanks!
+Humprey Fetalvero Thanks! I would learn on a real kit. Ekits are great, but yeah, there are important skills that you can only pick up on a real kit. Roland imitates it pretty well, but it's best to learn on a real kit then translate that learning to an ekit. However, if you just want to get your feet wet, and start learning to play drums in time, the TD1 would probably be a good choice. Just be aware that it won't feel like a real kit, and that you'll have to upgrade later down the road when you want to learn the dynamics side of drumming.
I see. Is TD11 really much better than TD1? I heard the mesh snare is really superior to the rubber in terms of both rebound and dynamics, is there really that big difference. Can you particularly enumerate those skills that might be very hard, if not downright impossible, to learn for even TD11 e-kit? Also what could I not do to TD1 that would be possible for TD11? Thanks!
+Humprey Fetalvero Or in other words, do you think you can drum as good as you now if you had only learn on that TD11 e-kit? If not, what would be those skills/techniques you wouldn't have now?
I wouldn't be nearly as good... I'd be able to hit stuff in time, but I'd have no feel for dynamics. How hard or how soft you hit the drums often has a huge impact on the sound of the drums, and the ups and downs of the song.
I see. But I'm hearing some good (esp.snare) rolling (dynamics?)? Are you saying you learn that on acoustic and just apply it on the e-kit and you wouldn't learn that on the e-kit alone? How about the mesh vs rubber snare? Would it have much difference for a beginner? And what other things do you think would benefit beginner on getting TD11 than TD1 (cymbals?)? Sorry for stubborn noob questions. Thanks much!
I couldn't rlly hear what you said about something of Stephens? Btw that was one of the best reviews I've seen so far because I needed some reviews where they talk about the bad things which you had mentioned. And also is there more than one functions on the snare like there is on the symbols?
Hey man! Great review. I'm overseas right now but I'm definitely looking to buy this kit. Can you tell me how well the snare responds to rim shots and if the cymbals respond pretty well when you choke them? One of my biggest frustrations with my old electronic drum kit is that it's not very sturdy. When I hit the bass or snare even moderately hard, it vibrates my set and my crash cymbal emits a sound as a result. Can't wait to pop in a store and check it out. Thanks, Young
this is so miles above the alesis dm8 pro kit i had,i converted it to mesh heads and it worked great but i never was happy with the sounds of most of the toms,and the rides sensitivity was hard to get a good setting because of rack vibration...thanks for a great review and sampling the sounds,some good chops :)
great review. some solid stick work really showcases the feel of this kit. question; i have this kit and found some of the snares just sound a little weak. the kit used in the first groove you played sounds like the Studio setting but you obviously made some tweaks to make it sound much better than default. what changes did you make to the snare on that one?
Thanks! It's been quite a while since I made this video, but if I recall correctly, I basically just used one or two snares in most of the kits. Pitching them down a bit can help. But tbh if I were seriously recording with this, I'd use it to trigger Superior Drummer or something like that.
Hi Gabe, Nice review, very informative. I might get this set or maybe even the TD-11 KV. Been looking around for a while for a good electronic set for my apartment. Is it possible to listen to music to play along to while drumming. I mean in the same headphones, so I get both the song and the drums. If so, how do I import the songs to the drumkit? Is it through a simple USB-drive or anything else more complex? Thanks for a great video, hope you can answer my questions :)
Nice review, dude! I was on the fence between this and the Alesis DM-10, given that the DM-10 seems easier and cheaper to mod to all-mesh. However, I've heard enough comments about Alesis quality vs Roland that I'm going with this kit instead. Plus the TD-11K seems to have mesh where it counts(snare) and then a softer material for the kick module. What kind of kick pedal do you use?
It's by Pearl... I got it used, so if Pearl makes multiple kick petals, I don't know which one it is. It's pretty old, but works okay. If you call the people from Sweetwater.com, they can help you find a good one.
padraic1983 i have second thought since its old version but from what you said its like I wanna buy it. So 900 still not bad for the price even tho its old?
Man you're really goood!!!!! My little brother who's two heard this and dropped what he was doing and siad "I wanna see the boy play the drums" Not long afterwards, he got his drumset out. XD
My favorite part of my old drum set was pissing off the neighbors lol, I know my drumming bothered them. Just decided to get this because my old kit was worn down, I don't regret my decision.
I realize this is a 4 year old Comment I’m replying too but I’ve gotta say it. Your favorite part of your old drum set was pissing off the neighbors? You are what’s called an “Inconsiderate Childish Douche Bag” that has absolutely no common courtesy for others. Ever heard of the saying “Don’t do on to others than you don’t wont done to you.” ?? Try to put yourself in other people shoes. Imagine you work 3rd Shift and Sleep during the day and some asshole neighbor decides to start playing acoustic drums that are so loud that even wearing ear plugs doesn’t drown the noise out. You can’t sleep which then impacts your job performance and more importantly your health all because some jackass has no common courtesy when knowing damn good and well if that jackass drummer were in your position they would be upset as well. It’s people like you that make this world a 💩 place. It’s been 4 years since you left that comment hopefully you’ve matured. If not, grow up. I’m a drummer too and I’m forced now to have to buy an electronic drum set because I now live in a neighborhood. It sucks not being able to play my acoustic set but I’m not going to be “That Guy” who disturbs everyone else around me due my selfishness. That scenario I just wrote about regarding working 3rd shift, the neighbor doesn’t have to be sleeping while your playing for it to disturb them. They could be just chilling in the living room watching TV, Reading a book, etc, you know, doing things that aren’t bothering you in your home. Maybe they have kids who are trying to sleep. Theirs no excuse or justification for having an outlook like yours. It just means your a douchebag. Stop 🛑 being a douchebag and do the world a favor.
Hi Gabe, very good demo ¡¡. I have the same drum kit (td11k) but I don't have the same sounds of toms in the built-in sounds. I can hear better sounds of toms on your demo. How you got those sounds? (I love those sounds). Waiting for your reply. Regards.
juancafalcon For some of the kits I pitched all of the toms down a bit... That might be the difference. I'd spend some time playing around with all of the parameters you can tweak (pitch, reverb, EQ, panning, etc), and you'll get significantly better sounds than what's built-in.
Hi! Nice video. Very legit! Ha ha! Seriously, though, I have a question that I asked another guy who has the same kit. Are you able to adjust the sensitivity of the hi-hat pad? I ask because I've tried playing this kit twice at Guitar Center and I was seriously annoyed with the hi-hat pad. It doesn't help that no one at G.C. apparently knows how to use the TD11K module at all! I just found that I had to really slam the hi-hat pad to get even a halfway decent sound to register. Please tell me there's a workaround for this as I'm leaning more towards this e-kit than a similarly priced Yamaha kit. You must be able to tweak it because I'm getting to the middle part of your video and can clearly hear the hi-hat pad! I know the module has a main volume knob and am hoping there's volume adjustments for all the pads.
So, did i get this right?: With the midi out i could basically plug this drum kit into a computer and use it to trigger all kinds of sounds? Could i also use it as input for a sampler or synthesizer or something? Yours is the first review i saw concerning this matter. This would just make it also an awesome alternative instrument, besides being a pretty neat e-drum kit, wich it obviously is. However, thanks for the good review!!
Yep! I use it a lot on Logic's drum kit designer, for instance. I'm pretty sure you could use it on a sampler or synth, although you'd have to make sure you have a midi cable (usb probably wouldn't work, but the drum module has a midi out as well), and make sure you map out the pads to different keys (the manual has stuff on that.) Thanks for watching!
Hey man nice video ! By the way, how do you record the drum sound at this video? Is there any features that make you able to record it or do you use other software to record the drum sound? Thanks
Because I saw you were using something on your computer... Just wonder whether we can record the drum sound or we have to use other software to record it.
I haven't tried adding more pads, but you can check the details of the module to see how many slots it has. I don't have the kit anymore, so I don't remember. However all of the drum software that you mentioned is perfectly set up to be controlled by electronic drums. I've tried it with my current kit, and it works great.
I sold it a while back to buy other music gear. I recently got a new, cheaper electronic kit though, because I wanted to get back into drums. A review of it is one of the newest videos on my channel.
Hello, just wanna ask, when you are using the module's sound, what's your setting on ride cymbal? I found that the default sound isn't really great (it even doesn't even sound like a ride at all to me!). Thanks again!
Great video! I know this is a couple years later but I was wondering if you ever used the drum set with earphones. I live in an apartment so I cannot use an amp. Just wondering if you had any advice which earphones were good if you ever used any. And if you play that good at your age, I can only imagine how you going to rock later on as you get older.
Gabe Miller Music Gabe thank you so much for getting back to me that quick. I'm on a budget and the guy at the Guitar Center said the M20 were just as good. Hum. I don't know about that. I also saw you wearing gloves. I have a habit of hitting very hard and end up with blisters LOL. I was thinking that's why you were wearing gloves not sure. Thanks again for the reply.
Ron Baker You can't load sounds directly into the module. You connect the kit to a computer via USB to use it as a midi controller. Glad you're digging the kit!
Thanks for the review. I have a question about the what i assume is a insulation material behind the kit. Do you use it for insulation, what materia is it and is it effective?
+ManInJar1 I've recorded a few vocalists and guitarists, the foam is there to stop crappy-sounding echoes. For recording, you want the room to sound as dead (no echoes) as possible. I just had it behind my kit because I had nowhere else to put it, for recording I'd pull it out and put it around the performer or mic.
yes ik im very late to comment XD A Couple years... XD first time watching this video im wondering whats that thing on your hands that u use when u play the drums it looks intresting
I've not used it, but looks pretty good for learning. Although, if you can swing it, I would recommend going for something a little more like a real kit, like TD-11k.
Martin Lentini The hi hat pedal feels pretty good. As long as you don't need the openness of your hi hat to change by tiny increments, you should be fine.
Hey Gabe what's happened with your drumming? As I can see here you are very good drummer. Did you played in a band somewhere? Anyway.. Thanks to You I entered in grovvebox world starting form circuit then 101 then now verselab... I can see ee that mpc one is your loved one at the moment. In my case due to lack of build in sounds on mpc and my porta le needs I will stay with Roland. Your story is quite interesting jumping back into this movies... Take care and keep rocking all the best in 2022.! 😁(sound like comment from the future)
I appreciate it! I haven't been in a band in a long time, so I've not had much of a reason to practice drums for the past few years, especially as I've focused more on production. I still play from time to time though, I've got a video coming in a few weeks where I play drums on a song for the first time in a while.
Great vid. Many Thanks. I've been using a yamaha DTX450k for a couple of years now (all rubber pads). I'm missing two things - Mesh-head snare and chokable cymbals. Does your kit have chokable cymbals ? Do you reckon it would be worth me upgrading ? ( not sure if you've ever played a DTX )
It's such a shame I can't just upgrade the snare. A mesh head isn't compatible with the current brain. Thanks for the advice. I'll squeeze another year or two out of my yamaha and then upgrade. Apart from the rubber pad thing I do love my yamahas though. It's just when I play in the studio on an acoustic kit I feel the difference on the snare.
There is something like XP80, three zone snare from yamaha that is compatible with dtx400 series. It should be very similar to roland mesh heads Check out: usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/drums/el-drums/snare-pads/xp80/?mode=model
Hi Gabe really cool review, I'd like to ask you a question. I just got a TD-11 and would like to use it as a controller to record midi in to garageband but for some reason I can't get my Imac to read the TD-11, I have downloaded the driver from rolands webpage and till can't get it to work! any suggestions? Thank you!
I'm not sure. Try messing with the Garageband midi in settings, or the Mac's midi settings (there should be a program for that). If that doesn't work, I'd contact tech support.
Hi! First of all, thanks for the review, and secund ..i need your advice. I want to buy my first, and probably the last electronic drum set, but i am noob. I do not know to play it, I'm buying it because I want to learn to play, and I was almost sure to buy TD4KP, but after few reviews of TD11K i asked myself a question is it maybe better to give little more money and buy TD11k (it's not that huge difference in price, how it seems that is maybe td11k better) ...what is your opinion and suggestion ? THNX
i forget to say that i tried to play few times on acoustic drum sets ....and the love has been born and that is the idea of buying it :D .....buying acoustic set is not an option because of neighbours, family and ...you know ..you said it! :D
ivanjukicvk I'd spring for the Td-11k if I were you... You'll probably end up wanting to upgrade from the TD4KP within a year or so, so you'll save money in the long run by going with the Td-11k. One thing I'd recommend for you learning to drum is take at least a couple of lessons, to learn the basics of drum technique and rhythm, and whatnot.
+Gabe Miller Music I'm sure there are also some drum lessons available free online but of course they wouldn't be that comprehensive. Maybe what's more important on taking live lessons is that it would be done on a real acoustic kit? Do you think basics and techniques can also be learned just by this e-kit? Thanks!
hi mate, how are you? nice video I have a question is this drum-kit reccomendable for HIP HOP and jazz playin? It's TOO expensive in my country althouh is one of the most affordables (much fuckin more than thousand dollars) so I'm lookin forward to buy it but I don't wanna waste my money. sorry for the englsh, I'm from argentina. Thanks for not tryin to sell it :)
+Manuel Barbani Thanks for watching! I wouldn't recommend it for jazz. The kit is pretty expressive and has a decent feel, but I don't think it's enough for jazz. I'd just kit a real kit if I were you.
I notice in the background it looks like you are using Garageband? If so how do you have that hooked up? Are you using a some sort of amp and lastly can you import sounds into the drum module?
+Chuck Purnell It's Studio One, but hooking the module up to record would work the same in any software. I did a video on all that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c-2v9uqxAao.html And no, you can't import sounds into the module, sadly.
