e-drums powerhouse Roland has revealed major additions to its highly regarded range of electronic drum kits, unveiling the all-new V-Drums 3 and 5 Series, which join the firm's flagship 7 Series V-drums, launched last last year.
The 3 and 5 series ranges are powered by all-new modules, the V31 and V51 respectively. These are essentially scaled-down versions of the top-of-the-range V71 brain, sharing the flagship's internal engine, and offering identical sounds and expansion path options.
Key here are multi-layer sample playback and, crucially, 'round-robin randomisation' to avoid the dreaded machine gun e-kit effect. Roland say a final layer of behavioural modelling can produce over 16,000 dynamically responsive variations.
All three platforms give you the run of an expandable on-module sound library, plus the option to leverage DW Soundworks software for computer-powered drumming. Six months of Roland Cloud Ultimate membership rounds out the offering, meaning 'untethered' access to DW Soundworks and related content, V-Drums Instrument Expansions, newly developed V-Drums Kit Packs, and more. Once your trial ends you can either subscribe or purchase your favourite selections with Lifetime Keys.
Also joining the ecosystem, Roland's new V-Drums Play app for iOS and Android will let you tweak settings on the fly from your phone, when it becomes available later this year.
Let's take a closer look at the kit options themselves...
V-Drums 5 Series details
The 5 series comes in 3 flavours, with the top-end being the 5-piece VAD516 V-Drums Acoustic Design kit (below), which voguishly mimics the look of an acoustic kit and features Roland’s 'groundbreaking' digital snare (PD-14DSX), ride (CY-18DR), and hi-hat (VH-14D) pads housed in Midnight Sparkle wraps, two rack toms (PDA100-MS and PDA120-MS), a floor tom (PDA140F-MS), and the newly-developed KD-20-MS, a full-size 20-inch kick.
One down, in the mid-level we find the TD516, comprising digital snare (PD-140DS), ride (CY-18DR), and hi-hat (VH-14D) pads and a large kick pad (KD-12).
Finally, at the entry-level (of the 5 series), the TD513 features redesigned tom pads (two PD-8H and one PD-10H), a slightly smaller 12-inch snare pad (PD-12P), and the new MDS-Standard 3 stand.
V-Drums 3 Series details
Rounding out the range at the entry-level, the V-Drums 3 series again lands as a trio.
Most accessible, and smallest of all is the TD313 (below), featuring a 12-inch snare pad (PDX-12), upgraded tom pads (two PD-8H and one PD-10H), and a rock-solid kick pad (KD-10). It's a perfect place to start, or a great option as a compact home practice kit.
One up from the 313, the TD316 upgrades each component and offers a stand-mounted hi-hat controller for a more familiar, intuitive3 feel. That full kit list, then: 12-inch snare pad (PD-12P), upgraded tom pads (two PD-8H and one PD-10H), three cymbal pads (two CY-12C-T crash and one CY-14R-T ride), and stand-mounted VH-10 hi-hats.
At the pinnacle of the 3 Series range, the VAD316, like the 516 above, brings that V-Drums Acoustic Design acoustic look, comprising a 12-inch snare (PDA-120LS), shallow-depth wood tom shells (two PDA100L-BK and one PDA120L-BK), and a full-size kick drum (KD-18-BK).
Stay tuned for full MusicRadar reviews and demos very soon...
Availability & Pricing
To learn more about the V-Drums 3, 5, and 7 Series, visit Roland.com.
The Roland V-Drums 3 and 5 Series are available now as follows in *USD: VAD516 $5,799.99; TD516 $3,699.99; TD513 $2,699.99; V51 $1,899.99; VAD316 $3,399.99; TD316 $1,999.99; TD313 $1,699.99; V31 $999.99.
