Roland TD-1DMK Review:
What To Expect from This Kit
Quality
When it comes to electronic drums, Roland kits always tend to come out on top in terms of quality. They last the longest, have the highest resale values, and they often feel the best to play.
We’re happy to say that it’s no different with this TD-1DMK drum kit. While it lacks many features that experienced drummers may want, it nails the basics, and that’s sometimes all that you need.
The drum module only has 15 stock drum kit sounds:
Standard
Rock
Funk
Jazz
House
Fiber
Light
Coated
Heavy
Acoustic
Drum ’n’ Bass
TR-808
Electro
Reggae
Percussion
While that’s a relatively small number of kit options compared to many competitor electronic drum kits in the same segment, all of those stock kits sound brilliant.
The downside of this module is that you can’t edit the sounds like you can on higher-spec Roland modules. If you’re a beginner drummer, that won’t bother you at all. Some experienced drummers may find themselves wanting as much customization as they can get, and the limitations of the TD-1 module will be frustrating.
Construction
The construction quality of the Roland TD-1DMK is immaculate. This kit is built to last, making it an excellent first drum kit to get. You’ll be able to play it for years without anything going wrong.
The kit is very small, but it feels solid to play on, thanks to the sturdy rack and durable pads.
The drum pads are highly adjustable, allowing you to feel as comfortable as possible with your setup. They’re also tunable, meaning you can change the tightness of the mesh head to feel as tight or loose as you want it to.
This is the biggest strength of Roland’s mesh pads, as you can dial in the ideal settings to get the most responsiveness out of them.
The one downside when it comes to construction is the kick drum pad. It mounts onto one of the rack’s legs, making it fairly difficult to position as comfortably as all the other pads.
Since the legs of the rack can’t be moved, you have to structure your TD-1DMK setup around the bass drum pedal. It can feel a bit uncomfortable at first if you’re not used to having a bass drum pedal in this position.
It also feels very hard when you hit it with a bass drum pedal. It’s a noticeable difference compared to Roland’s mesh head kick towers from their higher-end kits. For beginners, this won’t be a problem. Experienced drummers may find it to feel quite stiff.
The bass drum pad is our biggest concern, but it’s not one that new drummers will need to worry about. If you’re an experienced drummer and it becomes an issue, you can always upgrade it to a higher-quality kick drum tower at a later stage.
Performance
It feels amazing to play the Roland TD-1DMK. The pads feel great, and the drums are very responsive to dynamics. Even though you don’t have many kit options, all the preset kits play quite musically.
Mesh heads have become a must-have when it comes to electronic drum kits these days, and the Roland mesh heads never disappoint.
When you hook this drum kit up to an amplifier, the drums will sound very large and present. They also sound incredible when played through headphones, so the performance factor is definitely there.
You can choke the cymbals, which is an excellent feature to have. Many entry-level electronic drum kits don’t allow you to do this.
There are a few things to note, though. Since this is an entry-level electronic drum kit, there are a few missing features.
Firstly, you can’t play cross-sticks. When you put your stick across the snare drum to play one, you won’t get the desired sound.
Secondly, you can’t play a ride bell sound with all the kits. You get it on a few of them, but the sound is triggered by playing the edge of the ride, which is a bit weird.
These issues can be solved if you upgrade the TD-1 module to something better from Roland. The pads will still work, and you’ll get better performance from the kit.
Price Value Ratio
The price of the TD-1DMK will be the biggest selling point for most potential buyers. You get the famous Roland quality in a kit that costs less than $1000. This makes it ideal for beginner drummers.
It also makes it a good kit choice for experienced drummers who need a reliable and affordable electronic drum kit.
However, there are a few other options on the market that are cheaper and offer more. The Alesis Nitro Mesh is the most popular beginner drum kit on the market, and it costs $200 less. It has a more extensive drum module, but the sound quality isn’t as good.
The Alesis Surge is another alternate option with larger pads and a more extensive drum module. It has a very similar price to the Roland TD-1DMK.
Compared to competitor kits, we’d say the price-to-value of the TD-1DMK is excellent. You’ll spend a bit more money on it than the other kits, but you’ll get superior sound quality and playability.
Also, you can always upgrade the module and pads at a later stage to boost the kit’s overall performance even further.