Roland VAD706, VAD506, VAD503, and VAD306 – V-Drums Acoustic Design
If you’re looking for a modern electronic drum set that both looks and sounds great, then it’s definitely worth checking out Roland’s V-Drums Acoustic Design range.
They have the presence of acoustic drums, while offering the range and flexibility of sounds that an electronic drum set offers.
We explain the features of this new range, and compare the different models available.
Contents
Comparison Between Roland VAD706, VAD506, VAD503, and VAD306
Why Did Roland Release V-Drums Acoustic Design?
Electronic drums often suffer from one simple flaw – they are not as pretty as the acoustic drums when setting up on stage.
When you see a drummer surrounded by a massive acoustic set that shines and sparkles with shiny brass cymbals shaking and flying, it paints a completely different picture as to when you see a guy hitting some slim gray pads.
Because of the industry development in recent years, electronic drums came a long way from being a novelty item used to experiment with sound to becoming a full-bodied instrument that can compete with the acoustic drums in almost every way.
So, since more and more drummers are getting used to using electronic drums and their versatility, Roland thought about it and made a high-end electronic drum kit that has a completely acoustic design. They both look and sound beautiful!
Kit Configuration
There are four kits available for Roland V-Drums Acoustic Design. These kits are vad 706, vad 506, VAD 503 and vad 306.
The VAD-706 uses the latest and much better TD-50X drum module that works well with the precision multi-sensors of its digital snare, ride, and hi-hat.
In the VAD-506 and VAD-503 are very similar, they both use the same great drum module and they have full-size wooden shells. The main differences it the number of pieces (the VAD-506 has an extra tom (PDA120-MS) that clamps to a cymbal stand and a 16″ crash cymbal pad).
In the VAD-503 uses more compact shells will still maintaining a large kit configuration (3 toms, 1 electronic snare drum, 1 kick, 2 crashes, 1 ride, 1 hi-hat, and all the necessary drum hardware).
All of the drums look beautiful and are made out of quality wood, with interchangeable pads on the top, mimicking the acoustic drum sets to the maximum.
The whole kit is covered with Midnight Sparkle, a beautiful black sparkly finish, that together with the chromed stands really makes this drum kit an eye candy.
Sounds and Features
Coming on to the main thing for an electronic drum kit – the drum module. The 706 model comes with the Roland TD-50X module, the latest and very impressive powerhouse module.
The 506 and 503 models both come with the Roland TD-27 module. It’s based off the flagship TD-50 module, though not quite as feature-rich, it still packs quite a punch.
TD-27 gives you a great ability to tweak your sound to the extreme. The module uses a combination of drum recordings from studios along with Roland’s own drum modeling engine.
Therefore, you certainly get a lot more than the ‘on/off’ type standard sounds that you can get from low-end modules.
The 306 module comes with the slightly lower-end TD-17 module, but it is still a very good module in its own right.
Each of these drum modules contains drum practice features to help you improve your drumming. You can hook in electronic drum headphones or a drum amplifier to each of them.
You can also stream music through Bluetooth, which will allow you to jam along with it as you wish. You can also record your drumming using these modules.
So there is enough to keep you going and keep things interested as you are practicing. Of course, there are also a lot of different sounds in each of the modules. So you can really get quite a great variety to suit different genres as you are playing.
Adjustability
Standard drum racks can often be quite compact and restrictive for movements. This can be particularly problematic for taller drummers and those that want a particularly customised setup.
The hardware on the Roland v drums acoustic design it’s set up very much like an acoustic drum set. This allows you to get exactly the right amount of adjustability that you want.
The Tom’s are all mounted to the cymbal stands with a very good amount of height and rotational adjustment allowed. The Hi-hat uses its own standard hi-hat pedal to mimic the acoustic feel, and you can also move the bass drum around as you wish. The same applies to the cymbals.
Therefore, if you have enough space in your practice area, you can really spread out the pieces quite well here to make it really feel that you’re playing behind acoustic drum set.
1. Roland VAD706 E-Drum Set
2. Roland VAD506 E-Drum Set
3. Roland VAD503 E-Drum Set
4. Roland VAD306 E-Drum Set
Conclusion
Drummers have often been quite apprehensive about bringing electronic drum sets touring with them, due to their lack of presence on stage. The V-drums Acoustic Design, is a major step forward for bridging the gap and making this a much more attractive option for the gigging drummer.
