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EDIT: I'm placing these links to Roland product pages for when videos become available. If they are post at a different link, I will change it and/or delete the extras. - Alan
TDW-20 Product Page: http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...72&ParentId=72
TD-20 Kit Page: http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...99&ParentId=60
V-Drums.com Page: http://www.roland.com/V-Drums/
Roland Product Database: http://www.roland.com/products/en/TDW-20/index.html (see demo area)
Although many of the features of the TDW-20 have been published for over a week, here is an overview of some features with additional details, and my own first hand impressions. Before posting this, I was playing a TD-20 kit with (the latest version) of the TDW-20 installed..the same version that will be shown at NAMM. I will post additional information when possible, and clarifications when necessary. My posts are likely going to be less frequent, so hopefully this additional information will be helpful and informative.
Note: At the Roland booth at Summer NAMM, the TDW-20 will be demonstrated by Johnny Rabb as well as David Garza. Videos will be shot during the show by the Roland crew and will be posted on RolandUS.com ASAP.
Sounds:
"There are many new sounds in the TDW-20 including brand new acoustic drums, stacked cymbals, be-bop drum sounds, vintage drums, processed drums, and many more."
In a word... incredible. It's difficult to comment on every sound, and to truly appreciate the quality you have to hear, (and of course play the kit). Here are some of my own impressions. **The hi-hat response is greatly improved as well, especially when you open the hats. You're gonna love it!**
Kicks: Punchy, full-bodied kicks, many with lots of depth and resonance as well as terrific dynamic range. Several vintage kicks including great be-bop, big band and jazz combo kicks, and some new maple, birch, and other standouts like 22" NCMaple, 22" RokVntage, 22" SonVntage, 24" Vista to name a few. Also included are several unique processed and vintage electronic kicks including 808, 909 and and more.
Snares: Wow. An assortment of brass, bronze, maple, and other snares that resonate, ring, cut, and are a joy to play. Vintage snares that are fat, wet, and thick. Can you say "50s King" and "Phonic"? These two alone had me grinning ear to ear. Piccolos, 10" and 12" snares. Also a strong assortment of processed snares that are punchy and extremely useful and a selection of new cross stick sounds derived from wood, steel, brass and other snare shells are included.
Toms:
Another big Wow! The toms sound great. Like all the sounds, they really must be played to be appreciated. Great attack, tone and resonance throughout. Terrific dynamic range. Some of the lower pitched toms are truly impressive, you can almost "feel" the bottom head resonating from underneath the pad. A selection of 8" tom sounds are included as well.
Cymbals: Arguably, one of the highlights of the TDW-20. There are crashes and rides (including vintage) that almost made me weep. Dark, Jazz, and pop crashes that are full with great attack and sustain. The rides are equally impressive. Sorry to gush, but a couple remind me so much of the acoustic version (HvyDkRd, KSpec, and VinZ to name but three) that I couldn't stop playing them. The new stacked cymbals are terrific, with much attention to detail where you can clearly hear overtones from the smaller upper cymbal as it "contacts" the cymbal it is "sitting" on. Very cool. New hi-hats such as 13" KZ Comb and 14" CustDk are a couple of standouts.
Percussion: I will post more on sounds when possible, but there are some new percussion sounds worth mentioning including some excellent timbales, timpani, cajon, darbuka, an unbelievable concert bass drum, and an very impressive set of Taiko drums (especially the lower pitched Nagado drum).
NEW Footswitch /Aux Functions:
Assign external footswitches and/or Aux (3 & 4) pads (head and Rim) to Strainer (Snares on/off), fixed Hat (Drop clutch), Ambience (on/off) or MFX (on/off).
New COSM parameters:
Kick:
• Kit Resonance
You gotta hear this. A dramatic parameter that truly effects the depth and "dimension" of the entire drum kit! The snare buzz has also been improved and it does truly sound more natural.
• Mic size (standard or large).
• Mic positions increased: Outside 1-4, Standard, Inside 1-4
Snare:
• Add Rim Sound-Choice of Tambourine, 909 Clap, or Gated Hit can be added to the RIM of the snare with separate level amount (-3/+3) for added sound.
• Mic positions increased. Outside 1-4, Standard, Inside 1-4
Toms:
• Mic positions increased. Outside 1-4, Standard, Inside 1-4
Hi-Hat:
• Add Sound - In addition to Tambourine, new choices include Cabasa and Cowbell with separate level amount for added sound. great for LF clave patterns. Did I mention how great the response of the hi-hat is?
Cymbals:
• Sizzle - "Beads" added to Rivet and Chain with separate amount or number of rivets, beads, etc for all 3 sizzle types.
Ambience:
• 15 new ambience types for a total of 25!
Booth A, Booth B, Studio A, Studio B, Basement, Jazz Club, Rock Club, Ballroom, Gate, Concert Hall, Sports Arena, Expo Hall, Bottle FX, City FX and Spiral FX
• Additional ambient wall material choices
Curtain, Cloth, Concrete
• Additional ambient mic positions:
Mid Low, Mid, Mid High, High Flat A, High Flat B, and Next Door...Next Door is like listening to the drums through a wall!
• Ambience monitor switch
New Instrument Copy Functions:
• Choice of Kit, Instrument or Instrument Set
Instrument Set: Choose from Kick/Snare, Toms 1-4, Cym Set, Aux 1-4
Copy an instrument or instrument set with Pad Comp /EQ only or Instrument V-edit only from one kit to another. As previously posted, you can even copy MFX and Ambience settings from one kit to a different kit.
Mix in parameters:
A signal connected the MIX In jack can be set to L + R, L only, or R only - in Stereo or Mono, with a separate gain control setting.
U.S. MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price): $599.00 (USD)
U.S. MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) $495.00 (USD)
Approximate U.S. initial shipment: September, 2008
I will post more later today.....
Gotta go!
TDW-20 Product Page: http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...72&ParentId=72
TD-20 Kit Page: http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...99&ParentId=60
V-Drums.com Page: http://www.roland.com/V-Drums/
Roland Product Database: http://www.roland.com/products/en/TDW-20/index.html (see demo area)
Although many of the features of the TDW-20 have been published for over a week, here is an overview of some features with additional details, and my own first hand impressions. Before posting this, I was playing a TD-20 kit with (the latest version) of the TDW-20 installed..the same version that will be shown at NAMM. I will post additional information when possible, and clarifications when necessary. My posts are likely going to be less frequent, so hopefully this additional information will be helpful and informative.
Note: At the Roland booth at Summer NAMM, the TDW-20 will be demonstrated by Johnny Rabb as well as David Garza. Videos will be shot during the show by the Roland crew and will be posted on RolandUS.com ASAP.
Sounds:
"There are many new sounds in the TDW-20 including brand new acoustic drums, stacked cymbals, be-bop drum sounds, vintage drums, processed drums, and many more."
In a word... incredible. It's difficult to comment on every sound, and to truly appreciate the quality you have to hear, (and of course play the kit). Here are some of my own impressions. **The hi-hat response is greatly improved as well, especially when you open the hats. You're gonna love it!**
Kicks: Punchy, full-bodied kicks, many with lots of depth and resonance as well as terrific dynamic range. Several vintage kicks including great be-bop, big band and jazz combo kicks, and some new maple, birch, and other standouts like 22" NCMaple, 22" RokVntage, 22" SonVntage, 24" Vista to name a few. Also included are several unique processed and vintage electronic kicks including 808, 909 and and more.
Snares: Wow. An assortment of brass, bronze, maple, and other snares that resonate, ring, cut, and are a joy to play. Vintage snares that are fat, wet, and thick. Can you say "50s King" and "Phonic"? These two alone had me grinning ear to ear. Piccolos, 10" and 12" snares. Also a strong assortment of processed snares that are punchy and extremely useful and a selection of new cross stick sounds derived from wood, steel, brass and other snare shells are included.
Toms:
Another big Wow! The toms sound great. Like all the sounds, they really must be played to be appreciated. Great attack, tone and resonance throughout. Terrific dynamic range. Some of the lower pitched toms are truly impressive, you can almost "feel" the bottom head resonating from underneath the pad. A selection of 8" tom sounds are included as well.
Cymbals: Arguably, one of the highlights of the TDW-20. There are crashes and rides (including vintage) that almost made me weep. Dark, Jazz, and pop crashes that are full with great attack and sustain. The rides are equally impressive. Sorry to gush, but a couple remind me so much of the acoustic version (HvyDkRd, KSpec, and VinZ to name but three) that I couldn't stop playing them. The new stacked cymbals are terrific, with much attention to detail where you can clearly hear overtones from the smaller upper cymbal as it "contacts" the cymbal it is "sitting" on. Very cool. New hi-hats such as 13" KZ Comb and 14" CustDk are a couple of standouts.
Percussion: I will post more on sounds when possible, but there are some new percussion sounds worth mentioning including some excellent timbales, timpani, cajon, darbuka, an unbelievable concert bass drum, and an very impressive set of Taiko drums (especially the lower pitched Nagado drum).
NEW Footswitch /Aux Functions:
Assign external footswitches and/or Aux (3 & 4) pads (head and Rim) to Strainer (Snares on/off), fixed Hat (Drop clutch), Ambience (on/off) or MFX (on/off).
New COSM parameters:
Kick:
• Kit Resonance
You gotta hear this. A dramatic parameter that truly effects the depth and "dimension" of the entire drum kit! The snare buzz has also been improved and it does truly sound more natural.
• Mic size (standard or large).
• Mic positions increased: Outside 1-4, Standard, Inside 1-4
Snare:
• Add Rim Sound-Choice of Tambourine, 909 Clap, or Gated Hit can be added to the RIM of the snare with separate level amount (-3/+3) for added sound.
• Mic positions increased. Outside 1-4, Standard, Inside 1-4
Toms:
• Mic positions increased. Outside 1-4, Standard, Inside 1-4
Hi-Hat:
• Add Sound - In addition to Tambourine, new choices include Cabasa and Cowbell with separate level amount for added sound. great for LF clave patterns. Did I mention how great the response of the hi-hat is?
Cymbals:
• Sizzle - "Beads" added to Rivet and Chain with separate amount or number of rivets, beads, etc for all 3 sizzle types.
Ambience:
• 15 new ambience types for a total of 25!
Booth A, Booth B, Studio A, Studio B, Basement, Jazz Club, Rock Club, Ballroom, Gate, Concert Hall, Sports Arena, Expo Hall, Bottle FX, City FX and Spiral FX
• Additional ambient wall material choices
Curtain, Cloth, Concrete
• Additional ambient mic positions:
Mid Low, Mid, Mid High, High Flat A, High Flat B, and Next Door...Next Door is like listening to the drums through a wall!
• Ambience monitor switch
New Instrument Copy Functions:
• Choice of Kit, Instrument or Instrument Set
Instrument Set: Choose from Kick/Snare, Toms 1-4, Cym Set, Aux 1-4
Copy an instrument or instrument set with Pad Comp /EQ only or Instrument V-edit only from one kit to another. As previously posted, you can even copy MFX and Ambience settings from one kit to a different kit.
Mix in parameters:
A signal connected the MIX In jack can be set to L + R, L only, or R only - in Stereo or Mono, with a separate gain control setting.
U.S. MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price): $599.00 (USD)
U.S. MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) $495.00 (USD)
Approximate U.S. initial shipment: September, 2008
I will post more later today.....
Gotta go!
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