Roland has released a new flagship module and new top-of-the-range kits to accompany it.
The Japanese e-drum pioneer is deviating from its past module line with a new name, new functionality and new sound architecture.
At the heart of the new line is the V71 module which features brand new samples recorded from scratch.
The module boasts 200 drum kits, “more than 1,000” instruments and supports up to 500 .wav samples totalling 24 minutes in mono or 12 minutes in stereo.
Based on the experience of its DWe stablemate, Roland now adds Instrument Expansions – packages containing multiple drum kits with real samples from the DW Soundworks library along with sounds from previous V-Drums flagship modules.
Users will also have to learn a new concept, “racks”, which are storage areas in which up to 100 Instrument Expansions can be loaded.
Another new concept is ‘memories’ – a kind of super preset snapshot that includes drum kits, set lists and trigger settings along with any user samples which have been added.
Like the now-discontinued TD-50 module, the V71 supports 14 ¼” TRS inputs, three of which become redundant when you use the three digital triggers.
Those expecting a full digital trigger set-up for the new module may be disappointed that the toms, kick and crash cymbals are still analogue, but there’s a new digital snare, that incorporates a virtual snare strainer developed from the DWe version.
The Roland strainer not only engages snare on/off sounds, it is also assignable, allowing you to virtually tighten or loosen the virtual snare wires, or start or stop songs.
The digital snare also sees the introduction of a more sophisticated form of positional sensing, with the trigger detecting not just distance from the rim and centre, but also horizontal and vertical position of the strike inside eight quadrants, changing the sound accordingly.
That positional sensing is also deployed for the digital ride and hi-hat. Although the cymbals are physically unchanged from the current versions, their enhanced capability is unleashed by a firmware update from the module.
There are three new kits paired with the flagship module: the acoustic shell-style VAD716 and the rack-mounted, pad-style TD716 and TD713.
All three share the module, PD14DSX 14” digital snare, VH14D 14” digital hi-hat and CY-18DR 18” digital ride.
The VAD version has 10”, 12” and two 14” toms along with a 22” kick and two CY-16-RT thin crashes.
The TD716 has a KD-18 18” kick, two 10” and two 12” toms, and two CY-16-RT crashes.
The TD713 has a smaller kick (KD-12), four PDX-100 10” toms and a 14” crash plus a 16” crash.
The Roland V-Drums 7 Series will be available in the US starting in October, with pricing as follows: $2,599.99 for the V71, $6,333.99 for the TD713, $7,999.99 for the TD716, and $8,999.99 for the VAD716.
More details will be shared in the November digitalDrummer.