Hey gang!
Long-time lurker/first time poster here. So, it has been a while since I dug into triggering Superior Drummer with a traditional drum module and, well, now I’m needing to do it again for writing and recording our new album with my drummer. Having said that, below is the list of gear I have to work with MINUS the drum module(s) I’ve been looking at buying for this album/project.
What I have:
Hardware:
Pintech Road Pro kit (all dual zone mesh head pads (snare, 4 mounted toms, two kicks, 10″ size all way around).
Pintech PC Series Dual Zone cymbals all round (14″ size)
Current modules that I will be selling: 1 Ddrum 4 SE (works, but, needs a little TLC) and 1 Alesis Trigger iO (just hasn’t been all that great in general).
Computer: Mid-2015 MacBook Pro Retina w/16GB ram, 256GB SSD, and two external USB3 1TB HDD’s. I have my SD3 library located on one of the external drives (please advise if this is a no no for live triggering).
Audio Interface: Focusrite 18i20 USB3 audio interface.
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What I’m looking at, which may not make any sense so, if it doesn’t please tell me so I don’t waste very hard-earned money.
Thought about:
Used TD-20 (found a good deal one one, has a lot of inputs, midi, etc.
Used: TD-12 (would have to add another module in order to get the number of inputs I want for the kit, think big metal drumkit). Maybe a Roland TMC 6 instead of another module, actually.
Thought about, but irritates me:
Newer generation Roland modules that have the goofy mulit-connectors. The upside to these newer Roland modues is built-in USB connectivity but, seemingly at the expense of 1/4″ connectors and/or midi expandability.
Given that the music we play can often be of the way higher end of the tempo range, latency is a major concern so, my worrries lie in outright trigger speed. I’d love to be able to grab a trusty old TD-20, connect it via midi out to my Focusrite 18i20 and have everything work fine. However, I don’t want to do that if the new modules with USB are inherently quicker/lower latency for live triggering/writing/recording. I guess I just LOVE having all those inputs you get with a TD-20 but, I want to do what’s right for performance.
I humbly invite all who read this to please advise me as to which way to go. Especially those who have experience triggering SD2 (and now, in my case, SD3) with a TD-20/older generation Roland module.
Cash is a precious commodity in my world, and I have to get this right.
Thanks to you all in advance!
Ray Mitchell
