Roland V-Drums World Championship 2

Roland’s annual V-Drums® World Championship contest gives drummers a premier opportunity to explore their musical passion. Nearly 5,000 participants competed during the preliminary rounds in 2012! Each year, thousands of performances around the world feature musicians using TD-30KV, TD-15KV and TD-11KV drum kits and the OCTAPAD SPD-30 digital percussion pad. This year’s grande finale event will be streaming live on the V-Drums contest website, Thursday, April 11, 2013, starting at 10:30 a.m. PDT. The live broadcast will feature 16 international V-Drums finalists, behind the scenes interviews, expert judges and a performance by The Intersphere.

Why go with electronic drums? Read the benefits here.

Former U.S. national semi-finalist Patrick Kennedy has been training extensively after earning his chance to compete in the finals. “It was an honor to participate in the V-Drums national competition,” Patrick said. “I had an amazing time getting to hang out and talk with Thomas Lang and Johnny Rabb, as well as all of the other contestants.” Kennedy won a TD-30KV V-Drums set and other prizes from REMO, DW, Vic Firth, and DRUM! magazine.

An elite roster of judges will crown the 2013 V-Drums king based on the following: playing technique, musicality, groove, creativity, entertainment value, playing tricks, and precision. All experts in the field of electronic percussion, this year’s judges panel includes Dirk Brand, Craig Blundell, Tommy Snyder, and Florian Alexandru-Zorn, Mark Van Schaik, Rich Chamberlain, and Axel Mikolajczak.

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“It has been amazing seeing so many talented drummers taking their talent to the next level with electronic percussion, ” said Roland Percussion Group Strategy Manager Drew Armentrout. “The way these drummers perform is truly inspiring, and I can’t wait to watch the finals.”

Visit the international V-Drums contest page for more details! Or, follow the Twitter conversation via #vdrumscontest.

Live Streaming: 
April 11, 2013 – 10:30 AM PDT

V-Drums World Championship 2012

Related links and articles:

• Pat Kennedy V-Drums Training Camp
• Brendan Buckley Judges V-Drums Semi Finals
• Meet the V-Drums U.S. Finalists
• The Benefits of Electronic Drums

The V-Drums Friend Jam Kids is a free software download for children to build drumming skills and compare their progress with other V-Drums users around the world. A special version of Roland’s acclaimed V-Drums Friend Jam software designed for young drummers, V-Drums Friend Jam Kids provides a fun way to practice and enjoy playing drums.

Available for both Windows and Mac OS X, V-Drums Friend Jam Kids helps young drummers improve their skills with enjoyable songs and fun practice evaluation features. It offers a friendly and inviting user interface, plus a continuously growing library of play-along songs that can be downloaded directly within the application from the web. Included are traditional children’s tunes like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” classic pieces such as “Air on the G String,” and a variety of musical grooves in popular styles, all specially arranged for playing along on the V-Drums. Users can also add MP3 files stored on their computer to jam with their favorite songs.

Since its release two years ago, V-Drums Friend Jam has become an extremely popular social networking tool for drummers, with over 30,000 users to date in 175 countries and regions worldwide. The software allows players to share scores and interact with each other via their Twitter accounts while practicing the drums.

V-Drums Friend Jam Kids is a completely self-contained application that does not require Twitter to share scores. Its practice features and functions are similar to V-Drums Friend Jam, but are tailored more to children who are just starting to learn the drums. The software supports 13 different languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Polish, Russian, Turkish, and more.

By connecting a computer to a V-Drums kit, such as the compact and kid-sized HD-3 or TD-4KP, players can capture and evaluate individual performance elements such as rhythm, technique, and variation, then see how their results compare with other V-Drums Friend Jam Kids users around the world via the Internet.

Related links and articles:

• V-Drums Friend Jam Kids
• Press Release: New Roland V-Drums Software Designed for Kids
• Choosing a Roland V-Drums Kit is Easier Than You Think!
• The Benefits of Electronic Drums

The new BT-1 Bar Trigger Pad makes it simple to add electronic triggering to any acoustic drum set or additional triggers to a V-Drums® set. With a compact, curved shape, it mounts quickly and easily to nearly any drum or V-Pad with the included hardware.

Plug the BT-1 into a trigger input on a Roland V-Drums module or SPD-series percussion pad and open up a world of new possibilities—play sounds, trigger custom samples, and control a variety of functions like start/stop of song playback, kit selection, and effects on/off, to name just a few.

Find out more at RolandConnect.com.

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As we head into this year’s V-Drums World Championship U.S. Finals it’s worth mentioning that every finalist has to incorporate the use of either an SPD-SX or an OCTAPAD® SPD-30 into their sets. Upon winning their semi-final competition, each contestant had a choice between these two units as their winning prize with the caveat of having to integrate it as part of their finals performance. Both units have tons of features that appeal to their legions of users.

Here are a few videos by Michael Schack demonstrating the SPD-SX and the SPD-30, Michael is Netsky’s touring drummer and also a Roland product specialist, demonstrator, and overall drum enthusiast.

SPD-SX: Michael Schack – “Do Me SPD-SX”

Whether you’re firing off one-shot samples, looped phrases, or complete audio playback tracks, the SPD-SX is loaded with the latest technology and tools to get the job done with speed, precision, and convenience. It is equipped with nine highly sensitive rubber pads with two independent real-time control knobs and four dedicated effect buttons. This is a sampling powerhouse with 2GB of internal memory that provides about 360 minutes of audio. If you still need more sounds, the built-in USB ports lets you directly import audio files from a thumb drive or from your computer. For a complete list of features visit the SPD-SX product page.

OCTAPAD SPD-30 – Michael Schack Performance Vol.1

The OCTAPAD combines cutting-edge drum and percussion sounds with the latest triggering and Phrase Loop function, it is a rugged instrument that’s versatile for any musical application. The on-board Phrase Loop function is a powerful creative tool that lets you quickly record your playing in real time. Each pad is a separate, isolated unit, providing the ultimate in sensitivity with complete crosstalk rejection. There are thirty types of internal multi-effects, plus EQ, limiter, and seven Ambience types. Most importantly, the Octapad has more than 600 drum and percussion sounds from around the world suited to cover any musical style. And, the Octapad just got an upgrade with the addition of the new Version 2.0 System Update which adds 99 new preset kits, new world percussion sounds, plus many more new enhancements. For a complete overview of the SPD-30 visit the SPD-30 product page.

SPD-SX with SPD-30 – Performed by Michael Schack

Conclusion:

So, what’s the difference between the SPD-SX and the SPD-30? The SPD-SX is a powerful sampler with sound import functionality. The SPD-30 is a percussion pad with on-board sounds and phrase loop technology (sounds cannot be imported for sampling like the SPD-SX.) Another difference is that you can trigger up to four external sound sources on the SPD-30, or trigger two external sources on the SPD-SX. (See Roland’s Acoustic Drum Triggers and the vast array of  drum pads and controller options.) In either case, adding an SPD-SX and SPD-30 to your existing drum rig will greatly expand your sound options and open up your playing to new possibilities.

Related links and articles:

• Michael Schack Looping On The SPD-30 Octapad
• Omar Tavarez (Pitbull): How I Use the SPD-SX
• Learn to Play Electronic Drums