Roland TD4S V-Compact Electronic Drum Set

The TD4S may be one of the most affordable kits in the V series, but they're still V-Drums, and that means they sound and play more like real drums. The fact that they say "Roland" on them means they're are built to last a lifetime. With rugged hardware, a clean look, and the amazing sounds of the new and improved TD4 Drum Module, you might even be inspired to bring your new V-Compact kit on the road!

Mesh With The Best
The breakthrough that made Roland's V-Drums the most respected name in the game is their mesh V-Pad trigger. The first electronic kits had rubberized triggers that were little more than wired practice pads, making playing on one feel more like drumming on a table top than an instrument. Enter the revolutionary V-Pad with its tension-tunable mesh composite head for an impact response and dynamic sensitivity nearly indistinguishable from a real snare drum. Suddenly, V-Drums were an acceptable, even superior alternative to acoustic kits for professional stage and studio work. The compact, five-piece TD4S kit is built around a mesh V-Pad in the snare position, where nuanced technique and organic feel are the most important. The PXD-8 is a two-zone snare trigger with a 10" diameter and separate head and rim trigger zones. The dual zones for center snare and rim sounds make for more realistic playing, and the generous head diameter make it easier to avoid accidental rim shots (save those for the punch-line, kid). Not only does the mesh snare trigger feel as expressive as a real snare, but it eliminates the fatigue caused by vibration-inducing rubber snare triggers. Practice all night without waking the neighbors or cramping up!

Swingin' Cymbal Triggers
After the snare, the feel of a set's cymbals are of utmost importance, so Roland outfitted the TD4S kit with their fully round, free-swinging CY-8 cymbal triggers. Like the mesh snare pad, the CY-8s feel and react more like the real thing for expressive performance and reliable action. These cymbal triggers are 12" in diameter and swing like real cymbals because they mount like real cymbals. Thrash away at them and you get the satisfaction of a moving instrument that reacts naturally to your playing. The dual-zone design allows for separate top and edge sounds, so all your dynamic accent work is transmitted to the V-Compact's central brain, and then out to your headphones. There's even a smaller CY-5 in the hi-hat position, so all your tasty, Stewart Copeland-inspired hat rolls and dynamics get tracked accurately and expressively.

Don't Be Married To One Drum Sound; Play The Field
The most impressive aspect of the V-Compact Kit just might be the new Roland TD4 Percussion Sound Module. You may love the sound of your acoustic kit, but the TD4 provides 25 distinct kits assembled from 125 high definition sounds for you to experiment with, all in the comfort of your own home. Curious about the difference in tone between birch and maple shells? The amazing samples in the TD4's sound bank accurately recreate those nuanced tonal flavors. Do you dream of playing in an electro-synth band? We won't tell anyone, but we will tell you about the radical synth-pop, hip-hop and dance kits the TD4 contains as well. Beyond its variety of drum kits, the Roland TD4 module lets you add reverb, EQ and compression to fine tune your sound and make it feel like you're playing in a huge concert hall or a state-of-the art studio. The new, streamlined TD4 interface makes building your own custom kits even easier, with pitch and muffling adjustments as easy as a single twist of a knob. It'll make practice interesting, sure, but it's also like having an warehouse full of kits and an infinite variety of tuned drum isolation rooms for recording. You even get MIDI outs for connecting the set to your DAW and tracking more realistic sounding drum parts than you could ever program.

When you are using your V-Drums for pure rehearsal, be sure to check out the onboard training features, which provide exercises and performance feedback that'll help fine tune your playing in a way that unguided practice can't. Play along in Coach Mode, and the TD4 will tell you whether you're pushing the tempo or falling behind, and at what percentage you're off the beat. Sure, the truth can hurt, but no pain no gain, right? If you just want to hear what the sick new fill or pattern you've come up with sounds like, the Quick Record setting lets you capture the part with one button press, and play it back instantly. The new, central placement of the TD4 module makes accessing its wealth of features on the fly easy without breaking stride.

Set Up And Breakdown Rapidissimo
With the wealth of user-friendly features and great feel, the hardest part about owning a V-Drum set used to be setting them up. Not anymore. The new TD4S features a clever DB-25 connector and cable harness that basically acts as a trigger-wire snake, completely doing away with tangled-cord clutter. Never again have your V-Drum kit compared to a weaver's loom or game of cat's cradle! While more self-contained than ever before, the TD4S still allows for easy expansion. An extra trigger input allows for the addition of a CY-12 ride cymbal trigger, and the CY-5 hi-hat trigger can be swapped out for Roland's top-notch VH-11 V-Hi-Hat triggers, which mount to a real hi-hat stand for performance that's virtually indistinguishable from acoustic hats. The upgraded drum mounting frame is also Roland's most stable for a V-Compact kit yet. Now is when you say "thank you, Roland."