Rubber meets wireless: Roland’s DrumLink System expands DWe potential

Allan Leibowitz tests Roland’s new wireless cymbal pack. ROLAND CONTINUES TO reap the benefits of its DW acquisition, bringing more DWe innovations into its mainstream line-up. The latest evolution is the DrumLink wireless system, which incorporates DW’s wireless triggering technology into Roland’s broader e-drum ecosystem. We first saw DWe tech in action with Roland’s latest digital snare drums, introducing a virtual throw-off for the first time. Now, that same wireless tech is front and centre in Roland’s new WT-10 Wireless Trigger Adapter and DH-10 DrumLink Hub — the latter being a rebadged version of the DWe hub, used to receive signals from wireless drums and cymbals. Wireless expansion begins Roland’s first official foray into wireless expansion comes in the form […]

DWe offered with V-Cymbals

If there’s been one criticism of DWe Drums, it’s been the acoustic noise of the metal cymbals. Now, DW is addressing this by offering the kits paired with Roland’s V-Cymbal pads. At the heart of the new offering is Roland’s DrumLink system which brings wireless trigger support to Roland analogue cymbals, drum pads and triggers. When paired with the DWe DrumLink Wireless Hub, the WT-10 Wireless Trigger Adapter converts a wired pad to wireless, streamlining connectivity for DWe kit owners to integrate Roland pads within their kit. The trigger adapters accept two trigger inputs, allowing users to connect either a dual-zone cymbal or pad or two different single-zone pads. The new cymbal packs feature three- or four-piece options with CY-16R-T […]

Soundworks library expands

The expansions just keep coming for the DW Soundworks drum library, with the company just adding the DW Collector’s Pure Cherry expansion pack. This latest addition features sounds from Collector’s Series Cherry drums, known for their bright attack, musical tone with rich midrange and balanced sustain. According to DW, “this brighter alternative to Maple is suited for up-tempo and dynamic styles like fusion, funk, gospel and pop – or just a great way to find a new sound”. The Cherry pack comes hot on the heels of the recent release of the Design Series Acrylic expansion pack. The producers classify the pack as representing “all the bright, clean attack, focused tone, controlled sustain and oversized live sound acrylic drums are […]

DWe goes Metal

DW has added the Metal Legacy Expansion Pack to its Soundworks software for the DWe kit. The new collection features drum sounds crafted for heavier styles like metal, rock and punk. The samples are derived from Perfect Drums 2, which DW acquired and developed into the sound ecosystem for DWe. At the time of the acquisition, Perfect Drums said “all the original PD library and content (would) be available in Soundworks”. The new expansion pack, which is available as a free 9 GB download for existing Soundworks owners, adds 24 new presets, along with 130-plus instruments from Pearl, Tama, Sonor, SJC and Ludwig to augment the DW, Gretsch and Slingerland samples in Soundworks.

DWe debuts Down Under

American drum maker DW, now a division of Roland, has released its wireless convertible DWe line in Australia – the first market outside North America and Japan to get the product which began shipping in January. Launch events included two shows at Drumtek in Melbourne and Billy Hyde Music in Nunawading, and a demonstration by session drummer Gerry Pantazis at Just Percussion in Brisbane. All variants of the DWe kit are available in Australia – four- and five-piece kits in three finishes: Exotic (Candy Black Burst over Curly Maple), Lacquer (Black Cherry Metallic or Midnight Blue Metallic), and two different wraps – Black Galaxy and White Marine Pearl. They come as shell packs; shell packs with cymbals; and shell pack/cymbals/hardware […]

DW Soundworks launched

Drum Workshop (DW) has launched the DW Soundworks VST and sample library powering its new DWE kit as a separate product. Soundworks is a comprehensive collection of drum sounds which cater to a wide array of musical styles and genres, initially using drums from DW, Gretsch and Slingerland. The core library features drum kit samples from the DW Collector’s Series line including DW Pure Maple, DW Maple Mahogany and limited-edition kits no longer in production including the DW 50th Anniversary and DW Pure Almond kits. Additionally, DW Soundworks includes a Gretsch USA Custom kit, and the personal 1958 Slingerland kit of DW founder Don Lombardi. The drums were sampled with 18 dynamic layers per sample and recorded at the DW […]

The facts behind DWe

Ever since Drum Workshop’s unveiling of its wireless acoustic/electronic convertible drum set, there has been lots of speculation and discussion. The initial press release and the public unveiling were quite thin on details, so here are the facts around the project, drawn from information shared at the official release, public record documents and digitalDrummer’s archives. DWe is not a product of DW’s purchase by Roland Work on DWe began long before Roland’s acquisition of DW in September. DWe was originally flagged at Musikmesse in 2018 as a collaboration between DW and GEWA. At the time, DW was planning to provide trigger shells, hardware and rack systems to combine with GEWA’s G9 Drum Workstation, electronic pads and cymbals. DWe wireless technology […]