multi v-drum modules, one setup

Question

What I would like to know is: would it be possible to run two separate drum set modules from the same trigger set? Meaning, say, if I had a TD 7 and a TD 11 module but only one drum set and say I set one module to trigger at 0 to 63 velocity and the other to trigger at 64 to 127 velocity, is this possible? How would I set it up? Would I need more equipment or software etc.? First and foremost would this even be implementable, or am I just overlooking some simple thing?

The background is: I own a TD 11 now and I previously owned a TD 7 and I'm quite disappointed in Roland; with the TD 11 I miss several of the features the TD 7 had like sample triggering dual zone pads etc. I'm sure the TD $2000.00+ models are feature rich but I just can't ever see myself ever being able to look at let alone purchase one. I have Ableton Live 9 and also Reaper for Daws if that helps any.

Answer 1

They use a 1/4" jack right? I don't see any reason why you can't use a Y cable out of each trigger pad into each brain

Answer 2

It can be done, but it may not work that way with these particular two modules.

If I were doing this (and if I understand your need correctly), I would normally use a MIDI filter to have each module only respond to MIDI events of a certain velocity range.

One issue, though, is that the TD11 does not have a MIDI input, only output. So you could send MIDI out from the TD11 to MIDI of the TD7 with a MIDI filter in between.

The problem is that the TD11, as far as I can tell, does not have any sort of internal MIDI filtering. That leaves you without any way to control whether the TD11 gets triggered by one velocity or another.

A method could be created with more devices, but it depends on the end result you want, and it might add a painful level of complexity that takes away from precious playing time.

If all you're trying to accomplish is to use sounds from both modules at once without them triggering together, a simpler solution could be to add some pads to your kit and route those only to the TD7, so you could just play the pads you want when you want them.

Answer 3

I've done something simlar with a TD-8 for the pad triggers, and a Boss (Roland) DR660 (ancient) drum machine.

I just ran a MIDI cable from the TD-8 to the DR660 and set the midi channels to be the same (15 I think - the default drum channel). A strike on a pad triggers them both at the same time. On the whole, the notes match up (eg a snare on one is a snare on the other) but of course you coudl program a drum kit on either to respond with whatever combination you like.

Regarding the velocity separation: The DR660 has a 'curve' setting so you can set a bank of sounds (a kit) to only respond to the lower half of the velocity range. However the TD-8 doesn't have that feature so far as I'm aware, so it plays all the volume range.

Actually I found the best sounding setup was to just have them both play at all the volume range, so they complement each other - especially the snare and the ride/crash cymbals.

If I wanted to achieve what you're describing, I'd set the DR660 to only respond to the lower half of the volume range and perhaps put an audio noise gate on the TD-8 to cut the lower half of the range out.

Alternatively, there may be MIDI devices which can split signals out by volume.