MIDI Interface? Roland HD3+Addictive Drums

[Jizolo]

Hallo dear avid drummers,

I am really new to this forum and this is my first post. Sorry if I am posting this under the wrong category.
I learned drumming for two years and then had to Stop it due to work and lack of time. Sold my acoustic kit(was a really sad moment for me).
But after a long time I asked my self what I would really love to do again with some spare time and Birthday coming around the corner, my answer was to get a Drum set and start learning again. I badly want to get back on the throne. Meanwhile I have tried to do Jam session when ever I got an opportunity and people always told I had potential but when it came to complex dynamic playing I was really far from even good.


Now Although living in a rented apartment, I have decided to get myself an E-drum. Lack of space and don't want the police knocking at my door due to loud noise. Since I am not living on the ground floor, I still fear the noise from the kick pedal, which is kinda inevitable.So for the beginning I have decided not to invest too much on a kit and find a quieter one. After visiting a musikstore nearby and checking a few E-drum kits from ALESIS(More quantity but not so good quality,even the DM10X samples sounded crap), Yamaha(Good build and sample quality), Roland(I liked them the best, but damn expensive).Anyways I have decided to get myself the Roland HD3 Edrum kit(It looks like a kids kit,but I guess it has some really good potential).I found them very quite so going for it(ofcourse the kick pedal on them wont feel real, but thats the price i have to pay to keep away the neighbours and still enjoy some drumming).

I will stop boring you with my story and get to the gist of this post. Although I like the built in sample kits in the Roland HD3 drum brain, I would still like to buy Addictive Drums(AD) and use it for practicing. Those VST kits sound awesome. Only issue here is, the HD3 has only a MIDI OUT port and no USB. I have a core i7 laptop with 4GB RAM running WIN 7 SP1. I am not sure how I can interface the HD3 with Addictive Drums(either Standalone or as VST in Reaper/Cubase). The software part, I hope can be taken care but its the hardware i am wondering.

1) Will just a usual MIDI to USB (eg. Roland UM one MKII or Maudio USB Uno) do the trick without perceivable latency?Unfortunately in this case I guess I have to listen to the triggered AD samples through my Laptop headphone Jack as there is no extra sound card.

2) Or do you guys think an external sound card like TASCAM US-122 MKII or Focusrite saffire/scarlett would be much better in latency?

I really dont want to buy some really expensive interface as I only have a MIDI option on my HD3. Does any of you have experience with the HD3 kit or triggering the AD over some MIDI interface or suggest what would be the best way to approach this situation. I would be really glad to hear any suggestion regarding this issue or even the way I have posted this from all of you. This whole setup would be probably my Birthday gift if these small problems get cleared .

Thanks for taking your precious time for my post

[hairmetal-81]

Welcome to the forum, Jizolo!

Both the Roland UM One and the M-Audio USB Uno MIDI to USB cables will work just fine. Lots of people around here have experience with these!


Ultimately, an external (USB-) Audio Interface will be a good way to go. But before you rush out, save some cash and download the free 'asio4all' audio-driver. It may help you in getting your soundcard's latency down to an acceptable level!

http://www.asio4all.com/

Happy Drumming!

[airflamesred]

Keep us posted with the asio4all. Just looking at solutions to this myself. I like the focusrite scarlett but half unit annoys me. I'm gonna try a pci and see how it goes.

[Cheddies]

i have used asio4all running through ableton live to Addictive drums on my core i5 laptop using a cheap-o midi->usb interface i got off ebay. Acceptably low latency for me - worked really really well after bit of tweaking.

[Jizolo]

Guys, thanks a lot for all your valuable inputs. I have finally ordered my HD3(got caught up again between TD4KP and HD3 due its Kickpedal&better TD4 Brain(but too noisy+need to flush more money for the mesh snare and clamps)) with Rolands Um One MKII MIDI-USB and Addictive Drums. Now Just waiting and clicking refresh on my Parcel tracking website :P. But will take a week or two to set things up(abit busy at wrk before Xmas). However, a bit worried about how much the Kickpedals on the HD3 is going to transmit the THUMP to my neighbour below. The usual noise from the pads and cymbals inside the room wont be much of a problem I guess, as I do blast my sweet Wharfedale Diamonds and no one has yet complained . Shall post pics as soon as things are set up. But dont stop puring in your suggestions

[hairmetal-81]

The thump of the pedals (known as 'impact noise') won't be remedied with a thick carpet - go all the way and build a 'Tennis-ball Riser' platform. Roland even sells their smaller version of it, now!

May I ask what both the TD4KP and your new HD3 went for, price-wise?

[Jizolo]

[hairmetal-81]

Hi hairmetal, what do you mean by "Roland even sells their smaller version of it, now!". Do they provide the Tennis-ball type Podest or did u mean the Vdrums Mat TDM-3?

I was referring to their new Tennis-ball type podest, the 'NE-10 Noise Eater platform. Take a look at these two threads:

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forum/ge...10-noise-eater

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forum/ge...airs-neighbors



Thanks! ...was curious to see whether prices on my end of the world would reflect this!

[allanjohn]

Just one additional consideration when choosing a MIDI interface. If you're planning to output your audio, you're best off avoiding the cable-style interfaces and go for something with decent Audio out capability - like the Presonus AudioBox USB. These units also allow you to mix in other instruments or vocals - great for practising with drum-free tracks etc.
Bottom line: If you need audio out, the headphone socket of your computer won't hack it.

[hairmetal-81]

Good point that Allan mentioned, but you might want to consider the Audiobox USB *very* carefully. There has been some member-feedback that the Presonus interfaces have rather 'unfortunate' drivers. I'd shy away from them.

In that price-bracket, better look at the Focusrite 'Scarlet' range. Another option higher up - always a favourite if you can spring it - would be a used RME audio-interface!


HTH

[allanjohn]

I've owned an Audiobox USB for some years and it has been flawless with a Windows machine using ASIO drivers and with a MacBook Pro, using the native Apple drivers. I know some forum members have had problems with other Presonus products, but this one has been faultless and was recommended to my by a VST guru.
This is my default test unit for digitalDrummer's VST reviews - expect where I have had to use a Firewire interface because both my USB ports are taken - for example, when I have to use a dreaded iLok.

[hairmetal-81]

Cheers Allan!
Amongst others, I know Perceval said this. If he was solely meaning Presonus' *Firewire* offerings though, I apologize wholeheartedly and cheerfully withdraw my statement!

[Fishnmusicn]

Good luck with that, I'm keeping a close watch on the ideas with the VSTs and laptop route, which will be my next step. Right now it's proving a little frustrating just loading the VEX's that I uploaded, just have to find the right USB stick. I can identify with getting into playing and then having to part with your gear. Happened to me about 3 years ago, working a crappy job just getting by and things had to go, it was a sad day when the drums went out the door. Lucked into a good job and a friend who plays phenomenal guitar asked me about playing with his little band, and it was an easy choice to buy the TD-11. Anyway, not to get you sidetracked - wish you luck and I will keep tuning in -
Fishnmusicn