Roland TD-50X Series | Brand new flagship electronic drums for 2021

Roland has just announced their brand new flagship electronic drums. The Roland TD-50X Series. Roland hasn’t released a new flagship since the launch of the TD-50 back in 2016. 

Let’s see what is new and what has changed with the Roland TD-50X Series. 

New features on the Roland TD-50X Series

Roland V-Drums are consistently pushing the boundaries of what is possible with electronic drums. The triggering is sublime and then modules are packed full of features. 

Even though this is the case, Roland has once again outdone themselves with the TD-50X. 

The TD-50X features updates to the module, new sounds, a brand new set of digital hi-hats and thinner more realistic crash pads.

Looking for product highlights? Check out our web story for the Roland TD-50X.

TD-50X module updates

The new flagship module features Roland’s Prismatic Sound Modeling and PureAcoustic Ambience technologies as well as multiple options for getting your sound out of the module.

Prismatic Sounds Modeling

The Prismatic Sound Modeling is in short the way Roland is using multiple samples to create the sound you hear when you play. So when you hit a pad, based on your dynamics and location hit on the pad, the module is combining samples to give you the most accurate sound. 

This means that everything from ghost notes to loud and intense playing will have a distinct voice based on how you play.

The modelling also allows you to change the sound of the drum by changing the tuning and muffling. Or you can go a step further creating a kit from the ground up. Change the shell depth, heads, cymbal characteristics and much more.

PureAcoustic Ambience technology

Roland’s PureAcoustic Ambience technology allows you to take the sounds within the module and customise them to your taste. 

You can change the location of the mic in relationship to the drum, change the EQ, compression, reverb and other effects. 

This makes it possible for you to take the 900 onboard sounds and create almost unlimited combinations with these changes. 

Getting audio out of the module

If you are performing live there are 10 direct outputs from the module. The audio can be sent out with or without effects whilst being at a balanced volume. This means that you can control the faders for your mix without affecting your audio engineer.

If you are in a studio you can connect via USB and send up to 32 simultaneous channels of audio plus MIDI data. 

Add your sounds

If you want even more sounds on the module you can add your WAV samples via an SD Card on the side of the module.

Full specification

• Dimensions: 13 (W) x 10-1/16 (D) x 4-11/16 (H) inches
• Presets: 100
• Sounds: Over 900
• Number of User Samples: 500 Max
• Maximum Note Storage: 40,000 (approx)
• Recording Method: Realtime
• Display: LCD 256 x 80 dots
• Trigger Activity Indicator: LED
• Faders: 8
• External Memory: SD Card
• Trigger In: 1/4-inch TRS phone type
• Digital Trigger In: USB A Type
• Sampling Rate: 44.1kHz
• Record and Playback: 32 Channels
• Power Supply: AC 117 V, AC 220 V, AC 230 V, AC 240 V
• Power Consumption: 30 W
• Product Code: TD-50X

Brand new sounds

The Roland TD-50X module comes with 900 built-in sounds. This is 500 more than the previous TD-50 module. The TD-50X has space for 100 kits. The module comes with over 70 pre-configured kits from you. Each of which you can customise using all the modules features. The remaining slots are ready for you to build your own user kits up from the ground. 

These new sounds have been painstakingly recorded at world-class studios. These are the best sounding Roland V-Drums available.

Have a listen to the module sounds in this great demo by Roland.

VH-14D digital hi-hats

Roland has long been the leader when it has come to electronic hi-hats. With the VH-14D digital hi-hats, they have truly outdone themselves. These are the first digital hi-hats from Roland following the sucess of the PD-140DS digital snare and CY-18DR digital ride that come with the previous TD-50 kits. 

The VH-14D hi-hats feature some great new features previously not seen on Roland electronic hi-hats. These features are:

• Positional sensing – each part of the hi-hat pad will produce a different sound based on where it is hit.
• Touch cymbal muting – by placing your hand on the surface of the top pad you can mute the cymbals sound.
• Grab cymbal muting – by grabbing both the hats closed with your hands, the cymbals will mute.
• Enhanced foot dynamics – the sound on the cymbal is more reactive to the pressure you are applying to the hi-hat pedal. 

CY-16R-T crash cymbal pads

These new cymbal pads don’t feature the same extreme overhaul as the hi-hats but they have had some nice improvements. These pads feature multiple zones and grab muting like previous models but the main improvement is that these pads are 40% thinner giving them a more realistic playing feel.

The different Roland TD-50X Series V-Drum sets available

Roland has released a few new configurations of the TD-50X series kits so you can choose one that meets your tastes and budgets.

Roland TD-50KV2 V-Drums Electronic Drum Kit

This is the new flagship kit that features everything above plus four toms, a full-size bass drum, a digital snare and a digital ride. If you want the best electronic kit Roland has to offer, this is it.

Full configuration:

• Drum sound module: TD-50X x 1
• Snare: PD-140DS x 1
• Toms 1/2: PD-108-BC x 2
• Toms 3/4: PD-128-BC x 2
• Hi-hat: VH-14D x 1
• Crash 1/Crash 2: CY-16R-T x 2
• Ride: CY-18DR x 1
• Kick: KD-180 x 1
• Drum stand: MDS-STG2 x 1

Here is an in-depth look at the TD-50KV2 V-Drums from Roland.

Roland TD-50K2 V-Drums Electronic Drum Kit

This is essentially the budget version in the TD-50X series. You are still getting the TD-50X module, all the digital cymbals and one of the new crashes. To reduce the price you are getting just 3 toms, one 14″ crash pad, a smaller bass drum and a plastic rack. 

Since this kit still has the module and the digital pads it will still sound and play incredibly well.

Full configuration

• Drum sound module: TD-50X x 1
• Snare: PD-140DS x 1
• Toms 1/2/3: PDx-100 x 3
• Hi-hat: VH-14D x 1
• Crash 1: CY-14C-T x 1
• Crash 2: CY-16R-T x 1
• Ride: CY-18DR x 1
• Kick: KD-140 x 1
• Drum stand: MDS-GND2 x 1

Roland VAD-706 V-Drums Acoustic Design Drum Kit

Roland has also launched a new flagship acoustic look set featuring the TD-50X module. These kits feature all the digital pads, two of the new crash cymbals, 10″, 12″ and 14″ toms and a 22″ bass drum.

These kits are available in 4 stunning finishes:

• Pearl White
• Gloss Cherry
• Gloss Ebony
• Gloss Natural

It is great to see Roland taking the acoustic look electronic kit segment more seriously. Roland has been falling behind what some companies have been manufacturing but this truly puts them back on top.

Full configuration

• Drum sound module: TD-50X x 1
• Snare: PD-140DS x 1
• Tom 1: PDA100 x 1
• Tom 2: PDA120 x 1
• Tom 3: PDA140F x 1
• Hi-hat: VH-14D x 1
• Crash 1/Crash 2: CY-16R-T x 2
• Ride: CY-18DR x 1
• Kick: KD-222 x 1
• Drum stand: DTS-30S x 1

Can I upgrade my existing TD-50 module?

Yes, you can! The TD-50 already features a third digital pad input that can be used for the new digital hi-hats. The upgrade offered by Roland will update your module with the capacity to support the new digital hi-hat, all the new sounds and kits as well as the ability to pass 32 audio channels via USB. 

The cost to upgrade your existing TD-50 module to the TD-50X software is $199. To do this you will need to join the Roland Cloud. As a bonus, you will also receive a free year of Roland Cloud membership where you can access even more kits and samples.

Also, bear in mind you will have to purchase the new VH-14D hi-hats for the full benefits. 

Our thoughts on the Roland TD-50X Series

Roland has long produced the best electronic kits and they are showing no signs of slowing down. The accuracy and depth of triggering they have reached are astounding and incredibly impressive.

Many peoples gripes with Roland kits has been the quality of the audio samples on the module. With the TD-50X it does feel like there has been a big leap forward, not just in the quality but also with the range. 

There isn’t anything not to like with these kits except the price. Roland flagship products have always been expensive and these are no different. For most drummers, these kits will be out of their price range.  

What would we like to see next from Roland?

Roland and still leading the way with their trigger accuracy and pads. It would be great to see them continue the rollout of the digital pads across the rest of the drum kit. 

The next thing I would love to see from Roland is a touch screen module. The GEWA G9 Workstation (AKA module) is a fresh experience and I think a touchscreen for electric drum modules makes sense. It can be more intuitive for users and make more complex modifications simpler.

The final thing we would like to see is something else GEWA is leading the way on. Wifi connectivity built into th e module with an online resource for downloading extra samples. GEWA is doing a great job and this seems like a natural next step.

Roland is doing a fantastic job but it would be great to see a brand next module with some brand next features. As much as we love the TD-50X Series, it does feel like a half step rather than a brand new product.

We can’t wait to see what Roland release in the next few years.