New Flagship Electronic Drum Kits from Roland

Roland have always been at the cutting edge of electronic drum design, creating kits that play great, have an authentic feel, are functional and sound amazing. They’ve just announced three new digital drum kits (all featuring a brand new sound module) that push this even further. The TD-50KV2, the TD-50K and the VAD706 are high-end, professional level electric drum kits that provide a huge array of incredibly realistic drum sounds, with a feel that is the closest to that of an acoustic kit we’ve seen. 

All three kits are centred around the new, state-of-the-art sound module - the Roland TD-50X, which acts as the brain of the kit. Loaded with more than 900 premium sounds, it’s got absolutely everything you could ever want in an electronic drum kit. Roland’s Prismatic Sound Modeling layers different drum samples, recording on world-class acoustic kits in some of the best studios from around the globe, so that when you strike the pads, you hear some of the best sounds possible. It also models the behaviour of an acoustic kit, so it sounds different depending on the person playing it, plus you hear all the overtones you’d get from hitting skins, shells and cymbals. You can also customise the sounds as you would an acoustic kit - tuning up various drums, swapping out shells and skins etc. When you’re happy with your kit, you’ve then got a studio’s worth of effects to really nail your tone.

With full sized drum and cymbal pads, players who are used to the feel of an acoustic kit will feel right at home with the TD-50KV2. The whole kit lets you play with expression, though particular attention has been paid to the core areas - that is, the snare, hi-hat and ride, giving you authentic acoustic nuance and detail. The TD-50KV2 is incredibly dynamic - it will pick up all your quiet ghost notes, and it will make sure that when you hit hard, you hear what you should. If you’re a drummer and you need a quiet home practice tool, but you don’t want to sacrifice any of the natural feel or expression of an acoustic kit, then this will deliver exactly what you need. With all of the sounds built in, it also makes a very powerful studio tool.

This is a very similar kit to the above, but it’s a little more compact, making it ideal for those with less room. It doesn’t have the same full size drums and cymbals as the TD-50KV2, but it does have the same 14” snare. All the pads are still incredibly authentic feeling, so when you’re playing, you get a very, very similar resistance and experience to that of an acoustic kit. 

Whilst the Roland VAD-706 might look like an acoustic drum kit, it’s fully digital. Not only is it the first electronic V-Drum kit to be housed in full-size wooden shells, it also utilises Roland’s newest and most advanced technology, in the form of the TD-50X module, and the groundbreaking digital snare, ride and hi-hat pads. It’s a full-size drum kit, so if you’re going between this and an acoustic kit, then there will be very little disparity between the two, if any at all. The wooden shells really do make it feel like you’re sat at an acoustic kit, and from an audience’s point of view, it looks like that too! The Roland VAD706 is available in four classic drum finishes - Gloss Ebony, Gloss Cherry, Gloss Natural and Pearl White.