Need help deciding on a kit.

[Jonas E]

Hi. I'm new to the forum and figured i would ask here to get advice on my "big" leap into electronic drums.

some background first. i have playd drums for 15-20 years, but mostly snare in a marching band and some kit playing but not enouh and i wanna qhange that now:P

After trying many different kits i have decided to go for a roland, here in norway the td-4 the td-6v are about the same used, the differens id the td-6 are often twice as old. and a td-9 or 11 is about 50% more.

so what i want help with is choosing between the td-4 and 6 or maby even keep saving for the 9 or 11, but i dont know if i need a 9/11 maby i should go for it right away so i dont need and upgrade so soon?

my budget right now is limitet to the price of the 4 and 6 but if i come out of this tread with the impression that it would be better to save some more i may do that, but i would love to know if the 4 or the 6 is the best.

Thanks in advance.

Kind regards

Jonas Engesvik

[dazjam]

Everything is subjective so best to try out each if possible. The td-4k (full size older kit not the td-4kp) is a nice beginner kit and for me, the samples are way better than a td-6v module. That said, of your 4 mentioned kits I'd choose the td-9 as it's breadth of kits and features is good value next to the td-11 IMO. Or, hold on and get a used td-12 or 20! I'm unsure how Norway compares on prices but it may be worth looking to import and get a higher level kit. The cheaper basic stuff is fine but upgrades pretty inevitable. Good luck!

[Jonas E]

Everything is subjective so best to try out each if possible. The td-4k (full size older kit not the td-4kp) is a nice beginner kit and for me, the samples are way better than a td-6v module. That said, of your 4 mentioned kits I'd choose the td-9 as it's breadth of kits and features is good value next to the td-11 IMO. Or, hold on and get a used td-12 or 20! I'm unsure how Norway compares on prices but it may be worth looking to import and get a higher level kit. The cheaper basic stuff is fine but upgrades pretty inevitable. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip a 4 or 6 used is about 4k Norwegian kroners and a 9 or 11 is about 8-10 but the 20's and above is like from 15-30k norwegian

[MS-SPO]

Hi Jonas,

welcome and a few thoughts about your questions, which relate to spendings one way or the other.


(1) Checking by Google images all td-11, -9, 4 and -6 seem to be quite comparable in pads (I'd favor the mesh heads). Personally I'd prefer racks with a double bar in the middle. So the main difference will probably be in the Sound Module. I suggest to google for "owners manual td-11 filetypedf" (omitting the quotes ; -) and similar, and to have a look at what they provide.

Also try youtube for various sound demos of these sound modules. Will they please your audio-needs for long?

Try developing your needs w.r.t. the electronic capabilities of the Sound Modules, e.g. do you need (now or later) analog outputs, USB-Audio, MIDI etc.? Which of these let you manipulate sounds of the drum kit, to what extent, and what did people already experience when they try to use it with more exciting samples (via a computer)? How good does it work on these models?

(Just to mention it: you do have a headphone or amplifier available or budgeted?)


(2) As a seasoned acoustic drummer I'm sure you came across the noise issue. I had to learn it myself: e-drums are not silent, by no means. Depending on where you live this may be or may not be an issue.

For e-drums the biggest noise source, with all amplifiers turned off, is impact noise, arising from the foot machines / foot pedals. My first Yamaha DTX 430 was loud enough, my TD-30 isn't less noisy. In the room below my drum kit I recently measured about 83 dB SPL, c-weighted, peak. Getting rid of it is no easy task (and yes, many of the solutions provided won't be able to provide the 30 dB reduction or more below 100 Hz I'm after (though I may have found an effective way to do it)).

From some research people almost always report impact (foot machines/pedals) related noise in vertical directions (people living above or below, even across levels), hardly ever on the horizontal level.


Airborn noise from hitting the cymbals, pads etc. is less of a problem: at my place it's roughly 80 dB, which is nothing compared to an acoustik kit with at least 105 dB airborn noise ; -) Walls, doors, interior and distance can reduce this noise by about 20 - 30 dB, which may be enough for others to live with.

Yes, and forget about Rolands noise eaters. At the critical frequency range below 100 Hz they are almost absent, i.e. reduce noise by just a few dB, no more. When you have a room below the kits future place, the critical frequency comes from the floors impact response (just stomp on your floor and measure or estimate its frequency).


Wishing you succes,
Michael

[MS-SPO]

ignore the smily above: it's
f i l e t y pe : p d f

[Jonas E]

Hi Jonas,

welcome and a few thoughts about your questions, which relate to spendings one way or the other.


(1) Checking by Google images all td-11, -9, 4 and -6 seem to be quite comparable in pads (I'd favor the mesh heads). Personally I'd prefer racks with a double bar in the middle. So the main difference will probably be in the Sound Module. I suggest to google for "owners manual td-11 filetypedf" (omitting the quotes ; -) and similar, and to have a look at what they provide.

Also try youtube for various sound demos of these sound modules. Will they please your audio-needs for long?

Try developing your needs w.r.t. the electronic capabilities of the Sound Modules, e.g. do you need (now or later) analog outputs, USB-Audio, MIDI etc.? Which of these let you manipulate sounds of the drum kit, to what extent, and what did people already experience when they try to use it with more exciting samples (via a computer)? How good does it work on these models?

(Just to mention it: you do have a headphone or amplifier available or budgeted?)


(2) As a seasoned acoustic drummer I'm sure you came across the noise issue. I had to learn it myself: e-drums are not silent, by no means. Depending on where you live this may be or may not be an issue.

For e-drums the biggest noise source, with all amplifiers turned off, is impact noise, arising from the foot machines / foot pedals. My first Yamaha DTX 430 was loud enough, my TD-30 isn't less noisy. In the room below my drum kit I recently measured about 83 dB SPL, c-weighted, peak. Getting rid of it is no easy task (and yes, many of the solutions provided won't be able to provide the 30 dB reduction or more below 100 Hz I'm after (though I may have found an effective way to do it)).

From some research people almost always report impact (foot machines/pedals) related noise in vertical directions (people living above or below, even across levels), hardly ever on the horizontal level.


Airborn noise from hitting the cymbals, pads etc. is less of a problem: at my place it's roughly 80 dB, which is nothing compared to an acoustik kit with at least 105 dB airborn noise ; -) Walls, doors, interior and distance can reduce this noise by about 20 - 30 dB, which may be enough for others to live with.

Yes, and forget about Rolands noise eaters. At the critical frequency range below 100 Hz they are almost absent, i.e. reduce noise by just a few dB, no more. When you have a room below the kits future place, the critical frequency comes from the floors impact response (just stomp on your floor and measure or estimate its frequency).


Wishing you succes,
Michael

Thanks for a great and filling answer now for a mother question :P an alisis dm10 kit brand new is about the same as a td 9/11 is used here in Norway, I have tried one, i really liked the sounds. the feel was a bit different of the original heads but as I understand the heads have been upgraded in the new kits they sell now (the kit i tried was an older dm10). Are these kits Anny good? Or are they like,comparing a Ferrari and a lada? :P

Also sorry for the bad english:P I speak it better than I write :P

Kind regards Jonas

[Intruder]

Thanks for a great and filling answer now for a mother question :P an alisis dm10 kit brand new is about the same as a td 9/11 is used here in Norway, I have tried one, i really liked the sounds. the feel was a bit different of the original heads but as I understand the heads have been upgraded in the new kits they sell now (the kit i tried was an older dm10). Are these kits Anny good? Or are they like,comparing a Ferrari and a lads? :P

Also sorry for the bad english:P I speak it better than I write :P

Kind regards Jonas

My opinion, The TD-9 walks all over anything you have mentioned this far.
Yes, the dm10 would be a lads? (if the lads is a toy)!
Good luck in your search.

[Jonas E]

My opinion, The TD-9 walks all over anything you have mentioned this far.
Yes, the dm10 would be a lads? (if the lads is a toy)!
Good luck in your search.

So the dm 10 compares to a toy? Is that what you mean? Cause I love the module. The sounds and the user interface I think was good. But if the rest of the kit compares to a toy, quality and durability wise I don't think that's the choice for me.

[Intruder]

Well, The DM10 is their top of the line kit. The toy is the DM 6 / 7.

I have never been impressed with their quality of workmanship or sound.
It's a entry level kit in my opinion and not up to the standards of a Roland TD9 or Yamaha DTX502 modules.
I have not seen their new mesh heads but the real heads get pretty beat up quickly.

Try and get some real play time on the various brands at a store to hear and feel the differences. Then you might understand why buying your 2nd kit the first time is a saying around here that makes sense in more than one way.

The best of luck to you and above all have fun!

[MS-SPO]

Hi Jonas,

(thank you ; -)

The DM-discussion reminds me of a problem I had with the Yamaha DTX 430 (entry level), which was one reason to change it after less than a year: when I hit the kick and one other pad (snare?), the controller gave only one sound, not both. So I had to retard the hits slightly against each other, which is a bad palying habbit.

This may depend on the individual model, only. Others reported similar effects form other kits, too. It may be a rare effect, and is certainly something to try before you buy ; -)

Best, Michael

[Jonas E]

i have heard about the problem. but only on low budget kits. and also parts for the dm-10 are available localy and for a nice price :P

[dazjam]

Hey Jonas, your comparison to ferrari and lada is good! Roland build quality is far superior to the Alesis. To my knowledge (and to my eyes) the Alesis stuff is rebranded chinese gear - aka Medeli, session pro, WHD etc. Maybe not so extreme in comparison to ferrari/lada but definitely not the same quality.
Personally I found the DM10 module to sound very fake but I didn't have it for long so maybe it can be tweaked to be better, it has its fans. I've tried a lot if different kits and modules and would choose roland over any of the others.
When it comes down to it, you get what you pay for and there's a reason that some things are cheaper than others

[Jonas E]

Hey Jonas, your comparison to ferrari and lada is good! Roland build quality is far superior to the Alesis. To my knowledge (and to my eyes) the Alesis stuff is rebranded chinese gear - aka Medeli, session pro, WHD etc. Maybe not so extreme in comparison to ferrari/lada but definitely not the same quality.
Personally I found the DM10 module to sound very fake but I didn't have it for long so maybe it can be tweaked to be better, it has its fans. I've tried a lot if different kits and modules and would choose roland over any of the others.
When it comes down to it, you get what you pay for and there's a reason that some things are cheaper than others

Thanks for a Great answer i have not tried any newer Roland kits :/ but ill have to just save mony and Buy a td-11 or a td-9 :P