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Roland HD1 Electronic Drum Kit
Our Price: £489.00 (subject to change)
- Easy set-up and operation
- Compact and stylish design
- Great sounds with a variety of kits
Great for starting outReview date: 2010-04-12 Rating: 10 out of 10Having played drums briefly in my teens but parted with my kit many years ago due to various life choices, my love of drumming was recently re-awoken by games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Despite loving playing along to these titles on my "deluxe" Ion kit for XBox, I felt the need to take my drumming away from the console to focus on it with more dedication. Not wanting to spend too much money initially, I opted for the HD-1, since Roland's V drums are, simply, the best electronic option out there. Despite this being very much a beginner's kit, it's nevertheless sturdily built and loads of fun to play on. The drum brain on this is relatively simple and after a few months now I am starting to feel a tiny bit limited by the samples on it but that's not really hindering my enjoyment of playing or my ability to play - it just means that sooner or later I'll upgrade to one of the more expensive options. The HD-1 is also relatively compact, making is suitable for those of us with limited space. I'd highly recommend this kit to anyone who wants to get their feet wet in drumming without making a huge financial commitment.
Reviewsget your kit onReview date: 2009-09-30 Rating: 10 out of 10Being a novice that's had the odd bash on real kits, this drum set hits all the right spots.
It's incredibly well made for starters and looks like a real pro piece of hardware. Yes there are cheaper kits out there and that £500 is still going to be quite an investment in a new hobby but if you're serious about wanting to learn, have an eager sibling ready to start, or have a real drum kit somewhere else and you want to keep quiet at home, you really should look no further than this entry level Roland. It's really refreshing to see and hear an entry level kit that smacks of quality, will live past the basic stages of learning and not fall apart after six months.
I suppose it says something that this is marketed at us beginners and more experienced players. On the latter I wouldn't dare to comment how it stacks up but it's easy to imagine that it's still a decent kit for casual home use. Check out the online demo videos to see how the pros play it and you'll see why.
You're paying for Roland quality, a very good mesh snare drum and a realistic acoustic kit sound. As the bass drum peddle doesn't activate an actual pad it'll keep the noise down still further although it is said you'll lose a little of the feel of a bass peddle. But at least it'll teach your right foot what to do. Cheaper starter kits have this as do premium electro kits but it doesn't seem a great loss when the HD1 design aids its compactness, tiny footprint and feel. There are only a couple of minor niggles that might frustrate ultimate progress are the lack of a choke on the cymbals - you will still instinctively grasp the ringing cymbal if you've played before - and no rim shot. Plus it seems there are no upgrade options but hey let's not forget this is really a starter / practice kit and a year or two down the line, best bet is you'll be adding an acoustic kit anyway.
Roland have a bespoke monitor speaker add on for use without headphones but if you have a low watt practice amp or a stereo or PC speakers they'll do just as well with the right connectors. It's unlikely to match the best way to play which is through headphones where your sound comes alive and doesn't disturb the neighbours. The attached sound module has plenty of normal and funky kit sounds and a metronome. Don't get misled by other kits that have much more; who needs 20 zillion sound samples when you're learning anyway? The Roland's 10 kits will suit you just fine. Don't forget you'll need sticks and a stool which will add another £50 and there are free good tutorials on the web, with no download. This reviewer invested in Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials DVD, Tommy Igoe - Groove Essentials [2004] [DVD] which for beginners and improving players is judged well to keep you practising basics and then more advanced beats.
So if you're thinking about it, do not hesitate. There's even a set up and mini tutorial DVD which rounds off what is simply a superb starter drum kit.
Now for lots of counting to four and making the hands and feet behave. Go drum.
Roland HD1 Electronic Drum Kit RocksReview date: 2009-04-09 Rating: 10 out of 10Bought the Roland HD1 Electronic Drum Kit and have been playing it now for the past four weeks and it's excellent. The tom/snare response is excellent and the drum sample presets are more than enough for either a beginner, someone returning to drumming or as a practice kit. It's really neat, fits into the corner without taking up much room and folds up for easy transport. The input connection allows you to listen to music of choice while also playing along which is a unique experience for acoustic drummers as no need to raising the volume to ear bleeding levels. I can highly recommend this kit for beginners and/or those without much room and close proximity to neighbours and/or need a practice kit.Great starting kitReview date: 2009-01-02 Rating: 8 out of 10The Roland HD-1 is a brilliant starter/beginners kit. It combines a simple layout and sound module, with good sounds and the ability to easily fit it in the boot of a car.
The snare, and the three CY-5 cymbals all have two different (main) sounds depending on whether you hit it soft or v.hard (sensitivity can be altered) and it also changes the volume of each hit depending on the velocity of your stick hitting the pad. This makes it have good, believable sounds with variety.
As my starter kit, it has served me well - but after about 6 months of practising I am moving on to a better kit. This is where it loses the 5th star. We decided to upgrade the kit by buying the better TD-3 sound module, and a few PD-8 pads. We were going to simply connect all the pads and cymbals up to the new brain, and replace, with new brackets, the three toms with the better PD-8 pads.
The Kick drum pedal doesn't comply with the TD-3 brain. This was a blow to us because that meant that we might have to alter the stand and get the KD-8 bass drum, or daisy chain the old HD-1 module to the TD-3 via midi cables so that the bass drum works or buy a new stand and mount everything on there or someother wacky way.
So in summary, the HD-1 is brilliant for you wannabe drummers - it is a good starting, baseline kit which sounds quite good live. It is easy to transport and has a good variety of sounds in each kit. But if you want to have this kit and buy upgrades later - it is easier to either buy the next kit up (TD-3kw) to begin with, or sell this one after some time of use and buy a whole new better kit, for it is much cheaper that way (the packs like the TD-3kw are much cheaper than buying the parts).
Enjoy drumming,
MB
Product Details/SpecificationsRecording label: ROLAND Manufacturer: ROLANDEAN: 4957054402334Binding: ElectronicsBrand: Roland
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