Roland HD-1 HD1 Review & Tutorial: How to modify and stiffen pedals

[tigerdmitry86]

Ok, i made this upgrade, cut 8 coils. It become more stiffer, but not so good that i wanted)

[mxbmx930]

@tigerdmitry86 If it's too stiff grab your spring and stretch it out a little before re-installing or play a lot and it will eventually break in and get looser. If it's still too soft you can cut more coils off. But at this point only do a couple at a time.

[TheGeeza6]

Thanks dude, I'm undecided between the HD-1 and the Yamaha DTX500K at the moment.

[mxbmx930]

@TheGeeza6 Thats tough. I will say the snare on the Roland is better than regular pads in my opinion. The biggest thing is size/portability versus more sounds/kits and the use of real pedals. If you are more about the size/portability and not having to carry multiple parts(drum set,pedals,kick trigger) to your car then get the Roland, if you are more interested in sounds/kits and the ability to use real pedals and less interested in portability, I would say get the Yamaha.

[TheGeeza6]

@mxbmx930 Thanks for your reply dude, it helped :). i wont be moving the kit around so i think i will go for the Yamaha. Also i believe the Yamaha DTX500K is more upgradable right from the start, also i can add an extra crash or whatever with no probs.

[TheGeeza6]

@mxbmx930 I finally went with the Roland TD-4K2 and i'm loving it :D

[MetroUnderground1]

I have the same kit as this guy i got it for christmas because i wanted drums...but the guy at the store told me when i went to get another crash he said id need a new mudule! so i looked it up and found that i also needed a plug for everything else since its one plug! so u'd need a mudule that has a plug like the roland one and extra outlits for the other accesories you want. i hope that made since and helped too.

[Shooooooooooooooooop]

if you have a different drum brain/module can you use that for this to get more sounds or add more cymbals/pads?

[mxbmx930]

@Shooooooooooooooooop

It's possible but the way it's design there isn't a lot of room for a brain to mount, the original is super small and mounted in a specific spot made for its size. You would also need all new cables cause they all go into one plug that hooks to the brain. It would be a headache and a lot of work. If you want those options just go to the next set up.

[Saam41]

is it possible to add a second crash cymbal?

[mxbmx930]

@Saam41 not really. First issue would be finding a way to mount it, it would take a lot of work, and second, the brain that assigns the sounds doesn't have the ability for another crash. You could splice the wire to the one crash, and split it into 2, but then you would have 2 crashes with the identical sound. Really isn't worth the work, if you want to add extra crashes and toms and stuff, you need to upgrade to the higher end bigger models, they can handle it.

[Saam41]

@mxbmx930 Ok thnx :)

[subulion]

Good review mate incidentally how do u find the built in kick and hi hat pedals would they be ok for say a five year old

[mxbmx930]

@subulion The built in stuff is alright, little soft for an adult but might actually be perfect for a small kid. The sizing of the set is adjustable and should be able to lower the toms and cymbals enough for them to reach.

[baldeagle9052]

Constructive criticism on your video, it was interesting but sounded like you were talking off the top of your mind. Write out a script of what you want to say then make the video sound more professional. Also you spent the first 10 minutes just talking and very little time demostrating the different kits that come with the set. Loved the tutoral about the spring situation with the pedals.

[mxbmx930]

@baldeagle9052 It was off the top of my head, I was living in an RV at the time in another state. I just tried to think about a few question I had that no one could answer. I didn't demonstrate the kit sounds because there was already a video from roland that was very accurate on youtube. thanks though for your comment.

[RealBetaB]

@RealBetaB And my second question is about the PM-01: How does this thing sound? Is it enough to play in a room, which is bigger than the dimension of your van? How's the sound of the kick-drum which comes out of the monitor?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Greetings

PS: Sorry for my english, i'm not a native speaker ^^

[mxbmx930]

@RealBetaB The Pm-01 sounds pretty good but is not very loud. It's fine for playing alone or with music through the the drumset, but if you want to play with people or really rock out, you need a better speaker set up. I play with a friend sometimes and just hook it into his stereo system and it sounds great.

[RealBetaB]

Hey! First i want to thank you for your nice video. It's one of the few on YT, which can really help you to decide for one Kit.

But i've got a question: A friend of mine said to me, that the headphones-out is VERY silent so you have to put a amplifier between the drums and the headphones? Because when you don't do it, you'll hear every single stroke from the pads, especially from the hi-hat... Is that true?

[zombiewalksp]

Thank you very much for the kick tutorial.

[mxbmx930]

@theblindasshole1 I got a killer deal on craigslist. It was $450 for the thing basically brand new. The guy bought them to learn and his job never allowed him any time. Craigslist you should be able to find them from $350 to $500 fairly new or used. New from an online store maybe $600.

[wesec33]

Would a different kick trigger work for the roland hd1? The guy at guitar center said no it wouldnt

[ronnysoeberg]

If you're concerned about the spring getting all messed up over time, you can get a replacement easily at any hobby store that sells RC cars and replacement parts. The suspension springs on most monster trucks come in different stiffness and whatnot, and some of the larger trucks have springs that are easily as long as the ones in the HD-1. Radio shack or whatever usually carry sets of springs as well, so if it should snap, a replacement doesn't necessarily need to cost more than a couple of $

[nisornt]

Dude, this is like the only tutorial on Youtube regarding the pedal issue. I checked this out at the store. Roland has really nice sound given if you have a proper speakers/amp/headphones. Nice tutorial !

[mxbmx930]

@nisornt

Thanks. It was really the reason I made the video cause I had the same problem, no help online. I wanted to do something about the pedals and couldn't find any info, so I just went in there and figured it out myself. For having only 10 sounds, the HD-1 has some great ones.

[drechterovich]

Thanks dude :)

[mxbmx930]

@pspisbeast

You could detach the pedals but you have to leave most intact or at least the base for balance. Then replace them with the kick drum triggers of a higher roland set and use a real pedal but it might not be worth it and a little awkward. If that were the case I would just spend the extra money to upgrade to a td-3 or td-4 if you want real pedals. But like i said this kit is made to be super portable and take up little to no space.

[pspisbeast9]

do u think it would be fine to adjust from these crap pedals to real pedals?? PLZ REPLY!!!

[mxbmx930]

@pspisbeast9 @wesec33 maybe, I have never tried and can't say for sure. unlike some(dtxpress 3, etc), they don't plug individually into the back of the brain. All the wires come together into this one large plug that plugs into the brain. But it does plug down by the pedal with what looks like a standard 1/4 cable. since it is sized perfect length for that you may need to buy a extender to make the 1/4 longer. but it seems like it can be done and would work, cause if it triggers it triggers.

[Zapp90]

Great review. And the tutorial was very well done too. I might try that out if I buy this kit and feel that the pedals aren't stiff enough for my taste.

[ragingscythe]

the spring mod is a pretty nifty idea! my only concern would be if cutting down the spring creates some risk for long-term damage since it's now pulling harder and stretched out more, do you think that's possible?

[mxbmx930]

@ragingscythe

I thought about that and it looks pretty stable in there, it may wear slightly quicker but I don't think there will be a problem unless you go crazy stiff on the pedal, thats why I recommended not doing more the 10 coils first time, I cut 7 coils, but might go up to 9 here in a little. I definitely would not go up to 15 or more coils, cause when you press the pedal down it will probably put a lot of tension on the mounts and guides in there and then you will have an issue. thanks