Roland HD-1 V-Drums Lite Review Part 2 by the Live 2 Play Network

[FloydManFloyd]

ha! he looks a bit like a young bill bruford :) obviously means he's going to be a class drummer!

[cuvautoofficial]

Roy also seems to be a mediocre drummer at best...

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

@cuvautoofficial Well, that's not very nice. However, I will say this. He was 13 when we did this video. Now with 2 years of High School Marching Band and Jazz Band under his belt, he's a formidable player.

[Fenderlane]

I drum like phil Collens....I'm left handed... is this possible !? I mean, can you change the pedals . Hihat becomes bassdrum and bassdrum become Hihatt !?

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

@Fenderlane

yes, you can! the construction and function of the two pedals are identical. to make the kit a left handed kit will take a little time removing and re-attaching the some of the arms and pads. the cables will also need to be re-routed. the cables are assigned to each specific pad (bass, tom 1), so if you switched them for the pedals, the hi hit will become the bass drum...and vice versa.

[BAZ1791]

hi im currently looking at getting this kit with an amp that is purposfully built for it but i noticed that you have the kit plugged into an external amp, is the external amp a special electronic drum amp or is it a guitar amp? (im not so good with electronics so this is probably an abvious question to some people :P)

[Glokmahr]

Do you know if the cymbals are chokable?

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

@Glokmahr

sorry, no, not a feature on this kit.

[awwsandy]

Check out my video for a demo of all the sounds available on the roland hd-1 and if you like my playing let me know if you want me to do a cover :) im open to suggestions. let me know what you think guys :)

[tonyarrj]

Thanks for the review. I don´t like the multi instrument feature on one pad =(

The sound is great (it´s a Roland), but the lack of customization makes me go for another drum set. like Alesis DM7 or so.

thanks again, you save me one disappointment.

[WETHEBELIEVERS]

Can you change the pads and drum heads

[Mamabuchiyaya]

The drummer looks like Adam Sevani! :D

[evanthomasachen]

does anyone know if the pads are adjustable horizontally so you can space out the toms more? the pads seem like they're pretty cramped.

[thezilla31]

the kid looks reluctant

[Musictwins67]

Hey, how does it sound when using the headphones? also, can u play the ipod and play using the heaphones? Finally, if I connect it to a stereo, can i then connect it to another set of speakers or not (Do you need a set of cables or is it included) wow that was a lot of questions lol! I want to buy one and so I have some questions! Thanks for the review by the way!

[tasfa10]

hey how u doin? u may help me, here it goes: 1st: when you use the regular kick and the hi hat pedal as a double kick can u still have the closed hi hat sound? 2nd: can u use different sounds besides the default sounds? 3rd: cant u use sounds from different kits mixed or are you only able to use each kit as a whole? thank you.

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

@tasfa10

the presets are exactly that: presets, so on the unit itself there is no way to mix and match the sounds. so (short of some software someone out there created) the high hat when using the double kit patch is only going to be the open sound (and on this patch tom 2 is a cowbell). and you're unable to create kits from the different patch.

however, if using the midi out, you can trigger a drum machine or computer kit, so in that way you can trigger different patches. hope that helps.

[tasfa10]

@tacosandbeerandbeer ok, u were very helpful. thank you! (:

[swhardc]

hi jake just bought one for my grandson for christmas hope he,s as good as your son. love the kit

[TehHanzy]

Can you tell me how much space the drum kit takes?

[DanLetts97]

I'm just curious if I'd be able to put the high hat on the right... where the 2nd tom is.

[DzeboVolodija]

How much do these cost?

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

@DzeboVolodija

they list for $799 and are street priced for a couple hundred bucks less.

[EBOOKER100]

@tacosandbeerandbeer can you plug this into a laptop ?

[tacostequilabeer]

@EBOOKER100

yes, it does. and one of the things it has when plugged into a computer is a rock band type of game.

[andrewandaustin]

does this set have speakers

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

@andrewandaustin

this set does not have speakers. roland use to make the v-drum lite amplifier (with speaker) as an option, but i believe it has been discontinued. the demo roy and i did here was through a sony stereo with yamaha speakers. the audio was just the mic on the camcorder.

[360Freakoutkid]

I hope you dont mind me saying this but you just like Kevin Costner.

[skrie]

Thc you very much. I bought it yesterday... can't wait to pick it up in 2 days :D

[burubura]

where does the sound come from????does it need speakers or amplifiers??

[vincentcostales]

Hi nice review. Im planning to buy a drum kit. but may i know if the snare pad is capable of doing rim shot? i had a friend who have a yamaha drum kit but it's missing this capability. thanks

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

no, there's no trigger on the rim of the snare pad. that's a feature that roland saved for their more expensive kits. however, on the variation of kit one, the jazz kit, tom 2 triggers a sidestick sample. the same program changes the standard ride to a sizzle ride. remember these are all factory presets, there's no user programs available. have fun.

[flksgoloco4stevo]

hmmm drummer isnt horrible....good review...

[FJNricardo]

i own the hd-1, and the main reason i use the 2nd set is because the snare on the 1st one isn't as sensitive as i'd like. you mentioned it can be tweaked, how do i do that? tks in ahead

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

from the roland website:

How Do I Set Up the HD-1 for My Playing Style?

To optimize the HD-1 for the way you play, set the sensitivity of its pads as follows:

With the power on, press and hold the VARIATION button until it flashes. 1

While continuing to hold VARIATION, press one of the 1-5 buttons to select the corresponding sensitivity.

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

1—• Very strong playing is required to produce the maximum volume from the HD-1.

Setting 2—• Playing with a moderate amount of force produces the HD-1s loudest volume.

Setting 3—• This is the factory-default medium setting.

Setting 4—• The maximum volume is produced with light playing.

Setting 5—• The maximum volume is produced with very light playing.

When youre finished, release the VARIATION button. Your sensitivity setting is stored automatically in the 3 HD-1s memory.

[ihiwehiwana]

so what ya think, this is good to buy, they are $1600 here in new zealand, cheers

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

well, i don't like your exchange rate. but i assume that most drums kits share the same high price in the world that's under down under (or do y'all consider new zealand down under, too. i don't want to breach etiquette.)

that being said. if this is going to be your first and only drum set, consider whether you're always have a sound system where you're playing. without an amp or p.a. (perhaps maybe needing your own monitor mix) you're dead in the water. would an acoustic kit be better?

[cavapudding]

Why didnt you get a drummer, who can actually play something typical for the different sounds? He allways played the same, now i cant really get the right impression of the set.

Nevertheless, nice review. I like that you demonstrated the sensitive pads, this is the first video i saw that concentrated on that, altough it is very important for the feeling. Thanks!

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

that was my idea, playing the same pattern to a/b the different sounds in the same context. but your point is well taken: different patterns may exemplify the various sounds.

yes, the sensitive pads are great, and when you hit harder or softer (changing the sound, say from the rim to the bell of the ride cymbal) the hit before it continues to ring naturally. hip.

thanks to you!

[LinusSvahn]

@cavapudding Watch the HD -1 with Johnny Rabb. way better.

[toot1231]

I need this D:

[sammeprotagonist]

Really good review!

[TheDice2008]

This suppose to be a review. YOu gave us a tour instead.

[Harrysound]

seriously considering taking this up.

I'm a guitarist but I really need drums to get what i'm looking for in my own music....also could be alot fo fun right.

Just a damn shame the price has gone up £100 in the last 1-2 years.

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

It's a shame that you don't delve deeper into the MIDI functionality; I would likely use this to trigger a good drum sample engine, like BFD.

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

to be honest, i don't use midi very often and then it's usually to synch drum machines with recorders and such.

that being said...since this unit only has a midi out, the functionality of the midi has more to do with what it is plugged into than the hd-1 drums themselves...so i'd look into reviews of those products.

but, you are right, there's a whole other world out there when you use the midi feature.

all the best.

[musicmaniac1965]

that's not tacosandbeerandbeer's fault, as the HD-1 has only a midi out socket. i use it for two things, first to hook it up to a game drumkit from guitar hero world tour, so i can play the drums in that game on my own drumkit. the second thing is i hook it up to my keyboard, and then trigger some drumkits that are in my keyboard.

the hd-1 does not let you adjust the sound channels, so if the hi tom and low tom sounds are swapped with each other, you would have to swap the 2 cables.

[SkaterToby13]

how do u plug it into guitar hero then

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

i have heard it can be done with guitar hero, but not rock band, but i don't know how it's done.

anybody want to field this question?

[musicmaniac1965]

if you got the full kit (guitar hero world tour), then just connect a midi cable from midi out on the hd-1 into the midi in on the game drumkit. then turn on both drumkits and the console, and you can operate the menu with the game kit, and drum on the hd-1. the 3rd tom isn't used, also the ride cymbal isn't used. in free play mode, you can see what collour is what pad.

[coldgin226]

Very nice demo, are you running straight into the amp on the floor? with an adaptor would you able to run 1/4 into a PA?

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

hey...

actually, it's running through a sony stereo receiver and a pair of yamaha home stereo speakers. i used a 1/8th stereo to two phono cable. i should note that the audio is from the camera without processing, etc.

the twin reverb just happened to be there, it wasn't used in these videos.

thanks!

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

sorry...there's more.

since the output is stereo, i would buy a stereo 1/8" to 1/4" jack adaptor and a high quality 1/4" stereo to two 1/4" mono cable to run to the p.a. (or to dual d.i.'s to convert the signal to a low-impedance xlr on more professional pa's.

this mini 1/8" jack is perhaps my biggest issue with the kit. but as we just talked about, there's ways around it.

thanks again.

[musicmaniac1965]

like i said at part one of the review, thanks for posing. it's to late for me, as i got one allready, but its cool to see. only, when someone does a review for a product, should there not be a conclusion ? like how's the quallity of the standerd (does it moves a lot when you hit the drums), how quiet are the pads compared to more expensive electronic kits, and so on :-) still, thanks for taking the trouble posting this !

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

first, congratulations on your purchase, there was nothing with these drums that left me wanting.

second, this was my first video review, usually i write reiviews for L2P network, so this was a first, and i was sure to miss something.

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

the standard (non-mesh) pads do make a sound when you hit them and the drums are not on or you're using headphones, about the same volume of hitting a vinyl covered chair, but slightly "sharper". the mesh pads was almost silent. more expense kits have all mesh pads for the drums, but still have the harder surfaces for the cymbals to maintain a realistic feel.

[tacosandbeerandbeer]

the kit does "walk" when on a hard surface like a hard wood floor, not too much, but a drummer's rug (of which roland also makes) would be recommended for performances.

a rug made for bathroom floors, that have non-skid backing is a good alternative. acoustic drummer use these with gaff tape marking where each stand goes, but of course, with the hd-1 you would not need this.

thanks for your help with the review...sorry about the omissions! jake

[musicmaniac1965]

no need for apologize :-) you made me doing my own mini review for the hd-1 :-D i loved watching it, and (i gues he's your son) the drummer leaving your hands free for taking the clip and talk is exelent, and it shows in how well you tell it. it's not boring, so that's a big plus ! thanks for adding the information by text, and i hope you will do more music instruments reviews :-D