Page 2: Roland VAD506

New Kid On The Block

The TD‑27 brain module is a new design and is included with the VAD506, VAD503 and TD‑27 kits. It has a sleek, modern and compact design, with far fewer knobs, buttons and sliders than the top‑of‑the‑range TD50 and TD30 modules — but this doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot going on under the hood.

The TD‑27 sound module.

Across the top of the module are dedicated knobs for Backing, Phones and Master volume. The LCD display is large and bright, with six softkeys, located below, giving access to further functions, depending on what the display is doing. To the right are four illuminated knobs (whose colours can be changed) for adjusting Instrument Selection, Level, Tuning and Muffling, so instant access to those most used functions is possible ‘on the fly’. The lower third of the module comprises a large data wheel surrounded by four buttons to directly select Song mode, Click, Coach and Drum Kit functions. To the right are the navigation buttons, along with Kit Edit, User Sample and System buttons. I particularly like the inclusion of the Enter and Exit buttons, which make editing and navigation much simpler. Finally, on the left of the unit, there are Play/Stop and Record buttons for the backing track playback function.

The majority of the drums and cymbals connect to the module via a loom and dedicated D‑Sub connection on the base of the unit, which means that the rear panel has relatively few sockets. There are four additional trigger inputs (one specifically for Crash 2) that allow for the expansion of the kit with additional pads, along with a footswitch input for controlling various parameters. Three USB connections are provided: one for the digital snare, one for the digital ride and a third that suggests there are potentially other digital products in the pipeline. A digital hi‑hat, perhaps?

The Main outputs and Headphone socket are augmented by a second pair of Direct Outs, giving the option of splitting the drums between four discrete outputs in addition to the headphone feed. The ability to give an FOengineer dedicated kick, snare and ‘top kit’ channels is a definite bonus for live use.

Not all mid‑level control modules include a MIDI In socket, but the TD‑27 features both MIDI In and MIDI Out, along with a Mix In Socket for playing along with songs from an external source. Both audio and MIDI are catered for with the inclusion of Bluetooth connectivity in the TD‑27 ‑ but more of that later.

Finally, tucked in neatly on the side of the module are the USB socket for connection to a computer and an SD card slot for backup and sample import.

At the back of the TD‑27 we find both MIDI In and Out ports and USB ports for the digital triggers. The majority of analogue triggers connect via a D‑Sub port on the base of the unit.

Using Your Brain

According to the specs, the TD‑27 ships with 100 kits, including 55 presets (all which can be overwritten), but I was pleasantly surprised to be presented with 65 preset kits. What immediately struck me about these kits is that they are all usable. There are no bizarre combinations of bass guitar sounds and ethnic percussion or voice samples, of the kind that so often occupy the higher reaches of preset territory. As you’d expect from Roland, the kits sound exceptional, from tight funk and ‘produced’ studio kits to ambient John Bonham‑style offerings. There is a fair smattering of electronic and ‘dance’ kits along with the acoustic staples, but they all are eminently practical. The triggering is faultless straight out of the box and this, in combination with its ‘real kit’ appearance and outstanding presets, makes playing the VAD506 an absolute pleasure.

The Instrument, Level, Tuning and Muffling knobs make tweaking a preset on the fly very quick and easy, but creating your own user kit from the 700‑plus drum and percussion sounds offered by the TD‑27 couldn’t be easier. Drums are sorted into their usual ‘food groups’ of Kick, Snare, Toms, Cymbals and Percussion, plus ‘Elements’, a category that includes ‘bits’ of sounds such as white noise, attack sounds, snare buzzes and so on. Press the Kit Edit button and you are presented with an easy‑to‑follow flowchart detailing a host of editable parameters, some affecting just the current instrument and some applicable to the kit as a whole.

Things can get pretty in‑depth when you begin editing an instrument. Tweakability ranges from changing shell depth (between one inch and 30 inches) and head type (clear, coated or pinstripe) to adding overtones and adjusting the Snare Strainer. With cymbals and percussion offering similar levels of editing flexibility, you have an almost infinite palette of sounds.

Remaining in Kit Edit mode, the signal path follows a direct route through a fully parametric three‑band EQ and Compressor (including attack, release and soft/hard‑knee options), before reaching a master Compressor and EQ. Overhead, Room and MFX (multi‑effects) parameters are applied to the overall kit by way of individual sends per drum, enabling you to place your drums in a panoply of virtual spaces, from a studio to a live stage, complete with various overhead mic configurations. The options available are, again, very extensive, and you can achieve stunning‑sounding results that would give some of the dedicated VST instruments a run for their money.

The TD‑27’s Kit Edit page gives you a clear view of editable parameters.

Sample This

Alongside the included instruments, the TD‑27 lets you import your own samples. There are 500 user locations capable of storing up to 24 minutes of mono (or 12 minutes of stereo) 44.1kHz, 16‑ or 24‑bit files, with a maximum length of 180 seconds per sample.

These days, USB stick drives are the modern equivalent of the giveaway promotional ballpoint pen. You find them in drawers or down the back of the sofa, emblazoned with some company logo or other. SD cards, not so much, so why Roland chose this as the method of sample import and data backup over the ubiquitous USB thumb drive seems somewhat unfathomable, especially as other modules in their range use USB. Format aside, sample import is a very easy process, instigated by a dedicated User Sample button. The Import option lets you scroll through and preview files on your SD card before importing them. Once a file is saved internally, you can assign a playback type (Loop/One‑shot), change the gain and even trim the sample via a fairly rudimentary waveform editor. The sample can then be assigned to the head or rim triggers of the drums or cymbals, just as you would the internal sounds. The TD‑27 has the ability to layer two sounds together, so you can potentially add your own samples to augment existing internal drum sounds or vice versa.

Peak Practice

The TD‑27 control module boasts some great play‑along and practice features which, although not something I’d necessarily use personally, are a nice addition. The Coach mode, accessed directly from the buttons surrounding the data wheel, provides three options: Time Check, Quiet Count and Warm Ups. Each offers a different method of assessing and grading your playing over a series of exercises ranging from easy to difficult.

The TD‑27 also allows you to play along with backing tracks via a number of different sources: plugging directly into the Mix In jack on the rear of the module; via Bluetooth; or from the SD card, using Song Mode. In the case of the first two options, the incoming audio is constantly ‘live’ in that (other than Bluetooth Pairing) no setting‑up is required. Once you hit play on your source device, the track plays back directly to the headphones or main outputs, with level controlled via the Backing volume control. Using the SD card as your source gives you a few more options, but you will need to copy any songs you want to use to the card as WAV or MP3 files (44.1kHz, 16‑ or 24‑bit). You can select any of the files via the dedicated Song button and use the large Play button to start and stop. In Song mode you can speed up and slow down playback (while maintaining pitch) as well as looping sections of the song, to assist in practicing particular parts. You can also record your performance (with or without backing track) to the SD card.

The song playback feature offers a neat trick that can be used to good effect in live performance when playing along to backing tracks. Adding a second WAV file containing only a click with a ‘_click’ suffix causes both the song file and its associated click track to play simultaneously, providing you with a discrete click track, in perfect sync with your song, that can have its own level and routing options.

In addition to audio, the TD‑27 also supports MIDI via Bluetooth. For playing live, I use the SetListMaker app on my iPad, with which I send program changes to my MIDI equipment when I select a song. Once set up, this worked perfectly, with the TD‑27 changing patches just as you would expect. MIDI via Bluetooth means that cabling between my iPad and the TD‑27 is redundant, which is something I’d definitely find beneficial. The TD‑27 also communicated happily via Bluetooth with my MacBook, recording and playing back MIDI just as with a physical connection. I didn’t put the system under a great deal of strain, but I didn’t notice, nor would I expect, any timing or communication issues.

Hit Or Miss?

It makes a pleasant change for me to be able to comment as positively on how an electronic kit looks as on how it sounds and plays. The VAD506 scores very high on both counts — it’s a fantastic‑looking kit and the new TD‑27 module is extremely powerful. Having no rack system makes the kit a breeze to set up and it all feels very ‘normal’ for an acoustic drummer.

In a studio environment it would certainly be a very effective tool in enticing acoustic players to ‘go electric’, whether you chose to use the internal sounds of the TD‑27 or to trigger something like Superior Drummer.

At just over £4000under $5000 it’s not cheap but it undercuts the top‑of‑the‑range TD50KV by some margin and certainly looks like a high‑end piece of kit. Though the TD‑27 module isn’t as fully featured as the TD50, the internal sounds and functionality are most definitely comparable. From a kit that is perhaps geared towards live performance I would, however, have liked more individual output options.

As they’re a company synonymous with electronic percussion, it’s perhaps surprising that Roland are fairly late to the party with this type of kit. There are several full‑size electronic kits from manufacturers such as ATV, Jobekey and Drum‑tec that have been around for a while, but as far as I’m aware only ATV actually produce their own control module. More often than not, these kits are spec’ed with a Roland module, so perhaps Roland have so far been happy to focus on products like the TD1 and TD4. With the VAD506 you’re getting the full package, based on years of R&D, and featuring unique, cutting‑edge technology. The PD140 snare and CY18 ride add a level of realism never before available in an electronic drum kit. Ease of use is also a big selling point for the TD‑27 — I only referred to the manual once or twice during my whole time with the kit and was able to adjust things on the fly very easily.

I really enjoyed playing (and looking at!) the VAD506. The full‑size drums certainly set this kit apart and allow it to fit into almost any situation where you might use an acoustic kit. Of course, with any electronic drum kit you are at the mercy of a good PA system and monitoring but, if you are in the market for a high‑end electronic kit, the VAD506 puts forward a very compelling argument.