Bongos

Out of the technology reviews I've got queued up, the Roland V-Drums series has forced itself to the top of the list. The TD4 comes with four mesh-head pads, two cymbal triggers a nice Kick drum and highhat with pedal.

Trying to avoid the Acoustic-vs-Electronic debate, like with any instrument feel is very important. A further factor of electronic kits is that feel is divorced from sound so you become able to change one without changing the other. On that note the modular triggers use 1/4 inch jacks to connect to the 'brain' of the beast, which could be replaced and does have a midi out making the sounds it provides less important that the feel of the triggers.

The mesh pads, so specifically the snare, are the strength of the kit. The supplied TD4 allows you to adjust material, tuning and muffling on a variety of snare instruments and the pad contains separate skin and rim sensors to provide a bit more versatility.

But the snare is absolutely key to the sound of a kit and the small pad size is a little annoying so I can see the snare being an early upgrade for the serious musician.

The HiHat assembly consisting of cymbal-style trigger and pedal deserves a good mention here too. Initial impressions of it are great although it loses its appeal quite quickly as its falls short of an acoustic Hi Hat for responsiveness. The pedal takes account of open, closed and half positions as well as opening/closing and stamping however this all amounts to the minimum you need from a kit in order to play and the rubber coated trigger provides a fraction of restitution you want - but again that's a comparison to an acoustic kit which I'm trying to avoid.

Lastly - for a reason - come the cymbal triggers. While my minimum spec included "dual-trigger and choke" for both cymbals, it still isn't enough and it doesn't take long to want bell/bow/edge and a number of other missing features. Like the HiHat, lack of restitution caused by the rubber coating make the ride cymbal awkward and its an obvious candidate for just taking off and replacing with the real McCoy. The swinging motion of the triggers really helps with the feel, but you are never going to get enthusiastic about them.

The TD4 'brain' itself allows for tuning, muffling and for setting up 25 named kit configurations which gives you plenty of room to experiment, and to quickly and easily switch to a different sound between songs. The Midi-out is a must-have for the more serious player, and for recording and composing. In fact, just having a pair of quarter-inch jack outputs is great for recording compared to attempting to mic and balance.

The metronome and tutor facility show this kit up for exactly what it is - Its a Christmas present kit - everything isn't quite good enough but if you weren't a seasoned player you wouldn't notice. The small triggers and easy wingnuts make the kit very easy to adjust for comfortable play, and the compact frame is easy to move about and will take a number of upgrades, replacements and acoustic additions without problems.

Despite all its flaws, Roland have done an excellent job of making an affordable electronic kit that is fun to play. Nothing feels cheap, its sturdy and feels like it can take a beating. Its lightweight, easy to store and robust and the whole is defiantly greater than the sum of its parts. I'm looking forward to jamming and gigging with it.