We get it. Drummer’s love to expand and customize their drums.
Luckily, with V-Drums, building the kit of your dreams is as easy as 1, 2, 3
AND HAVE FUN
EASY AS
1, 2, 3
1. Choose Your Trigger Type
2. Connect To Your Module
3. Pick Your Sound
WHY NOT?
ADD MORE CYMBALS
As you’ll discover, Roland V-Drums cymbals come in all shapes and sizes.
Ranging in physical size from 8″ to 18 inches, adding a cymbal pad is simple and unlike acoustic cymbals, you can assign any sound you like and tune them up or down. From a tiny crotale to a massive gong and you can stack sounds too. These are not one trick ponies!
EASILY!
ADD MORE TOMS
V-Drums trigger pads go from a super slim 8” to a full-sized 14” Maple wood floor tom.
With head and rim triggering, you can assign two separate sound sounds of completely different types. For example, assign a octaban tom to the rim and a maple tom to the head or a floor tom sound to the head and a sub drop sound to the rim. Each of these trigger ‘zones’ can have its own pitch/tuning, muffling and any other effects depending on the module its attached to.
NO LIMITS!
HI-HAT ANYWHERE
It might surprise you to know, you don’t actually need another physical hi-hat to add a hi-hat to a kit.
With modules from the TD-17 up, simply assign any trigger zone as a hi-hat sound in the module and you’ll get an instantly playable hi-hat anywhere on the kit such as the rim of tom2. Your existing hi-hat control pedal is all you need to control its opening and closing too.
If you are upgrading a kit with a CY-5 rack mounted hi-hat, why not move that to another position of the kit to act as a second hi-hat? You can use a VH-10 as your new hi-hat for example and mount that on its own stand for a more conventional drum kit look and feel. See the hi-hat possibilities here
Some Wild Ideas
Since our earliest edition, we have been profiling readers’ Monster Kits ranging from combinations of stock kits to custom DIY creations. All of them have shown creativity and flair, reflecting the unique characters of their owners.
Our kits have come from every part of the globe – from amateur drummers, touring pros and every type of musician in between.
And even today, with the easy availability of full-size shell packs and off-the-shelf acoustic-style e-kits, there are still those who prefer to do it themselves.
The one common thread through all the kits featured in this compilation is the belief that “the more the merrier”, and nearly all our contributors have maxed out their drum modules – some featuring more than one per kit.
In the early days, we used to warn readers that digitalDrummer takes no responsibility for any feelings of inadequacy triggered by our Monster Kit coverage – and we also noted that continued exposure to these kits could cause – or heighten – GAS (gear acquisition syndrome).
We hope you enjoy the kits in the following pages and if you are the owner of a drum set which could rival these, please do share it with us.Allan Leibowitz
You Know You Want To!
ADD MORE SNARES
While any trigger surface can trigger any sound, a dedicated snare pad is the way to go for one of the most played parts of the drum kit. Roland V-Drums snares range from slim 8″ pads to the 14″ deep rim PD-14DSX with digital sensing, snare throw-off and 3-play head for the ultimate snare function, style and feel.
Fancy a brass piccolo or deep DW Truecast snare next to your hi-hat? No problem!
CHALLENGE YOURSELF!
ADD More Kicks
Some of the first drummers to use two kick drums included Louie Bellson, Billy Cobham, Keith Moon, and Ginger Baker.
Compared to a double kick pedal where each pedal is triggering the same sound, with two or more kick drums, you can assign each one its own sound and pitch to really change the voicing of the pattern.
EXPAND!
More Modules=More Choices
Adding another module is the quickest way to add more triggers to your kit.
Want to recreate Terry Bozzio’s crazy DW kit? No problem! Simply connect as many modules as you need and create the monster kit of your dreams!
Click HERE to learn how!
Meet
"Frankenstein"
"It is alive!"
Affectionately named “Frankenstein”, this monster kit built from off the shelf V-Drums components, is designed to inspire and encourage you to dream big and create your ultimate kit!
See the build breakdown here
- 2x TD-50X Modules connected together for twice as many triggers and audio outs (NEW V71 MODULE!)
- 1x CY-18-DR Ride connected as a big crash
- 2x PM-100 Amplifiers connected in Stereo
- KT-10 for additional kick sounds
- 20″ and 22″ Kick drums
- BT-1 Bar Triggers save space
- Second PD-140-DS digital snare for piccolo or contrasting snare sounds (NEW PD14-DSX SNARE!)
- DW Hardware
INSPIRATIONAL
ARTIST SETUPS
As a modern musician, continually experimenting, adapting and forging an identity for yourself is the name of the game!
- VAD-706 Gloss Natural
- 2x PDA120-GN 12″ Tom
- 2x PDA140F-GN 14″ Floor Tom
- CY-16R-T
- 2x CY-12C-T
- RC-505MK2 Looper
- DJ-707M
- SPD-SXPro
- PD-8
- BT-1
Not too much Bing, Bong!
- TD-50KV2
- KT-10 Kick Pedal
- 3x CY Cymbals
- SPD-SXPro
- PDS-20 Stand
- DW SounDWorks
