Drum shoot out: BFD vs TD20 vs Ludwiq set

[FoxV]

http://www.sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=94#

[cold c]

Nice review, I don't think they mentioned that you could use the v-drums with the BFD sounds or even a MIDI keyboard with the TD-20 module etc, but this was probably obvious. Also, I don't think they mentioned the expansion packs for BFD.

Towards the end the reviewer mentioned something about the TD-20 software and sounds, but I'm not sure there was a real conclusion in relation to the quality and usability of the sounds from BFD and the TD-20. Should the viewer assume that he thought that BFD had better quality more-usable sounds?

[bassface]

That was awesome; thanks for the link.

I felt like the BFD came out sounding the least natural of the three. Made me less likely to buy it.

Still leaning towards drumcore.

[chico.co.uk]

Yeah, i really enjoyed that clip, although it kept glitching the stream, hanging every 45 seconds or so. Despite that i watched to the end. Thanks for posting it.

I got the feeling the session drummer guy was looking at BFD and just thinking "bollocks to that", but he seemed to like the v-drums. I liked the sound of his ludwig kit myself, although the v-drums with a bit of tweaking were ok too.

As an aside, does anyone know if £300 is a decent price for roland TD-9 drums? Saw some advertised locally, with an "upgraded snare". Can't find any specs on the td-9 range, so i don't know much about them ...

[FoxV]

I got the feeling the session drummer guy was looking at BFD and just thinking "bollocks to that", but he seemed to like the v-drums.

From a drummers perspective, I think the TD-20 is very tantalizing.

As an aside, does anyone know if £300 is a decent price for roland TD-9 drums? Saw some advertised locally, with an "upgraded snare". Can't find any specs on the td-9 range, so i don't know much about them ...

I don't know anything about the TD-9. I have a TD-6. The sounds are barely useable, IMHO, but it rocks for laying down midi!

My brother has the TD-8, and I think it sounds better than my TD-6 (though they're supposed to be the same sounds). I'm not sure where the TD-9 fits.

[Mikael Adle]

There is no TD-9 module. The more or less recent modules are... TD-3, TD-6, TD-6V, TD-8, TD-10, TD-10 with TDW-1, TD-12 and TD-20. The latest addition to the Roland range of modules is the TD-12. "The little brother of TD-20".

[chico.co.uk]

There is no TD-9 module. The more or less recent modules are... TD-3, TD-6, TD-6V, TD-8, TD-10, TD-10 with TDW-1, TD-12 and TD-20. The latest addition to the Roland range of modules is the TD-12. "The little brother of TD-20".

I must have misread the ad. It was a home made poster style thing in a record shop near where i live, with someone's mobile number as the contact. Maybe it said TD-6 ...

I'd be interested in a "laying down midi" kind of way, and also as something to practice learning drums on. I can kind of hold a beat, but even that's being generous to myself. I've always fancied learning to play drums a bit. Would a TD-6 be pretty much quiet in use? Or would i annoy the neighbours?

[Mikael Adle]

Would a TD-6 be pretty much quiet in use? Or would i annoy the neighbours?

Thats a question about what pads you use, and not what module.
Rubber pads have more accoustic noise than meshpads.
See... www.edrumming.com for anything and everything regarding electronic drums.
Also worth checkin is http://drumbalaya.com/?s=D
They have a chart with info about the different noise levels on different pads.

[chico.co.uk]

Hang on a minute, does that mean the TD-6 is just the sound module? Without the actual "drums" themselves? Why would that include an "upgraded snare" then?

I'm a bit clueless about all this, as you can probably tell. Thanks for the links

[FoxV]

Hang on a minute, does that mean the TD-6 is just the sound module? Without the actual "drums" themselves?

Right, the TD-6 is only the sound module (also called a "brain" because it does more than just store and play sounds). You also need to get some pads (also called triggers). You can get Roland Pads, Pintech Pads, and there may be other compatible pads too. Go to Drumbalaya.com and browse on their site. That's where I bought my TD-6 along with Pintech heads. Good people in my experience. They'll happily answer your email or phoned in questions.

Also, there is the old version of the TD-6 (blue in color) and a newer version with a few more features (black in color).

Why would that include an "upgraded snare" then?

Sometimes when people say they have a TD-6 (or TD-whatever), they are implying that they also have Roland (or other brands') pads. There are different (i.e., more fancy) snare pads especially, because it's handy to get a rim shoot sound too (and thus, some snare pads have dual triggers). For non-drummers, this is probably overkill. It depends, though, on the kind of drummer you aspire to be!

My brother bought a TD-8 and learned to play drums on them. It helped that I was around to teach him a few tricks (and to give him the confidence that he was dong it right). So, learning drums is very doable! And fun.

A cool feature of these e-kits is that you can hook them up to your favorite tunes and play along.

[Lawnmower Of The Damned]

I also got the impression that the drummer wasn't too impressed with BFD. It was a bit weird how they compared the real Ludwig kit against the TD-20 quite a few times, but kind of ignored BFD.

I played a TD-20 the other day. I only had a chance to flip through a few presets, but I wasn't in love with it by the time I was done.

Of course, the TD-20 is a very versatile instrument, and it isn't really fair to judge it by flipping through the presets. I suspect there's much more to it than I got to see. Perhaps I'll take another trip to the store and check it out again.

[ornitholestes]

You also need to get some pads (also called triggers). You can get Roland Pads, Pintech Pads, and there may be other compatible pads too.

If you're up for it you could build your own pads. They can range from the very basic to the very complicated. Check out the links:

http://www.pjrc.com/tech/midi-drums/drum-intro.html
http://members.cox.net/ampage/triggers.htmz

There are more pages out there if you do a search. I built a little set of three pads using some piezo elements, PVC pipe and mouse pads! The sensitivity is quite good (at least for a non-drummer like myself) but there's nothing like the rim shot feature in the TD-20. I've got it hooked up through my Alesis D4 so I can use it with the Alesis and record the midi.

Mike

[chico.co.uk]

Guys, thanks for all the info. I also found somebody selling a TD-6 with pads and a double bass pedal on ebay the other day, and it was going for about £500, so i'm guessing if the ad i saw was selling something similar for £300 then that's probably a good deal. And also that someone's probably bought it by now Especially as I didn't copy the mobile number down ...

Not to worry, something to think about, i might get myself something like this if I can find it cheap enough second hand, the idea definitely appeals. Wouldn't need to be anything too great, as I'd be shit to start off with