Roland TD-9KX2

Hi

This entry will revolve around my electronic drum kit, the Roland TD-9KX V-Drums. I have had the set for a couple of years and it's very fun to play on. There are many neat functions like the play-along function, where you can play along with many prerecorded songs, in which you can change the tempo. There is also a quick record/quick play practice function which comes in handy if you are a beginner or even a seasoned drummer.

When you buy the set you get a box with the following content:

• TD-9 percussion sound module 
• PD-105BK dual triggering snare drum
• 3 x PD-85K dual triggering toms
• CY-12R/C three-zone cymbal
• CY-8 dual-zone cymbal
• CY-5 single-zone hi-hat
• KD-8 Kick pad
• 1 x FD-8 hi-hat pedal
• The drum stand

In the picture to the right you can see my set. Keep in mind that I bought and extra CY-8 cymbal.


TD-9 sound module is packed with hundreds of sounds which you can mix and match into your own personal drum-set. There is 3-way triggering available. The module has two extra jack inputs which mean that you can connect two extra cymbals, two extra toms or one of each. It also has MIDI connectors, a mini jack input and a USB port. The USB port is there so you can backup your settings performances and to play back WAV files.

The cymbals have a nice sound to them and they have the ability to choke the sound via the edge trigger.

Out of the four drum pads included in the kit, there are one that stands out. That's the PD-105BK. It's the largest and the coolest of the pads. It has very accurate sensing in the rim and head meaning that you can do both rim shots and cross sticking with ease. All the pads are fitted with Remo-manufactured mesh heads and they have a nice shell finish.

The kit is easy to set up, even if you have never done it before. The kit has so many different sound you can put together into your own drum kit. The mesh head pads makes the drum kit easy and quiet to play on. I have played this at home at 3 am without anyone complaining.

The drum stand is solid and sturdy. The cymbal mounts are strong with adjustable ball clamps and tilt mechanisms. This way you can adjust the position of every cymbal (and toms) freely for the most ergonomic setup that fits you as a drummer.

Underneath you can hear me playing the drum kit from some of my youtube-videos. If you find my videos interesting, you can subscribe or check out the rest of the videos here.

Hope you enjoy!

-Kianul

Liquido - Narcotic

30 Seconds to Mars - From Yesterday

Bowling For Soup - 1985

Dream Theater - Overture 1928

Update

Hi people!

I have been very busy the last two days and haven't had the chance to write any. But not to worry. Tomorrow I will write a review of my favorite instrument! My Taylor GS Mini acoustic guitar!

Stay tuned and I will speak with you tomorrow!

-Kianul

Review Roland F-120 SBA

Hi.

I thought it was a good idea to review some of the gear I have. This for the purpose of letting others choose a suitable instrument/gear, but also so that you can get some insight in what type or gear I have and what I use it for.

I thought I would start with my newest instrument, the Roland F-120 SBA. Its a 88 key Ivory Feel-G keyboard. Ivory Feel-G with Progressive Hammer Action is a term that mean that the keyboard has the feel and touch of a true piano.

It has a space-saving cabinet. It is only 30 cm in depth, which makes it not so dominating in a smaller room, or in any room for that matter. In my opinion it is a really nice piece of furniture. It looks really good in your living room.
My cabinet is black (Satin Black to be exact), but it comes in white as well  It's lightweight (about 34 kg or 75 pounds), which makes it easy to move around. Specially if you mainly have it in your living room, but record with it in your studio in your basement or garage.

It has a folding lid that covers the entire keyboard and keeps the keys dust-free and clean. When the lid is raised, it acts as a sheet holder. Practical and clean design!

It has many features, for example the Twin-Piano-feature which splits the piano into two parts, both of them covering the same octaves. This is very ideal if you got a teacher or a friends to teach you how to play. You can then play side by side, and you can see and hear when you are practicing together. Neat!

The keyboard also features a metronome and a recorder. That way you can practice on keeping a perfect time and listen to your performance afterwards.

It has three pedals, just like a true piano, which dampen and sustains the notes (a Damper, soft and sostenuto). It has several connectors. It has an input jack which enables you to play along with other songs, or listen to a tutorial on youtube via a computer (mini jack). It also has Output jacks (L/Mono and R - 1/4 inch jack). If you don't want to disturb your family members, you can always use one of the two headphone jack (2 x 1/4 inch jack). The piano also has MIDI connectors, In and Out.

The thing I like the most about this keyboard is that it really feels like a piano. The hammer action is perfect, in my head, the design is outstanding and clever. It plays loud enough with its two 12 W speakers. It has 189 prerecorded songs, all of them classic songs - which I'm not going to go further into.

It has 4 piano sounds, 4 ensemble sounds, as well as 22 other sounds, covering strings, accordion, orchestra, organ and choir.

All in all, a great keyboard with many functions and sounds. Feels and sounds like a true piano. Fits piano-players in all ages and all skill levels. And at a low price! You should try it in your closest store!

-Kianul

My Recording Gear

Hello people!

I thought I might guide you through the gear that I'm currently using to record music and sound.

I use several guitars, both acoustic and electric. Two acoustic guitars (Woodrock and Taylor GS Mini)
and three electric guitars (Squier Stratocaster, Ibanez RG350EXZ and a Ibanez RG7321 7string). I also got a bassguitar (Cort), a keyboard (Yamaha YPG-235), an electric drumset (Roland TD KX2 V-drums) and an electric piano (Roland F-120 SBA).

I got and Marshall 1960A cabinet with a Randall RH50T Tube amplifier head and a Orange Crush 30W Bass amplifier. Usually only used when practicing.

I got a MXL 990 and a MXL 991 condenser microphones. To record vocals and acoustic guitars I used to connect the condenser-microphones to a mixer, which is the Behringer XENYX 1202FX, which was connected to the computer. But that was when I used Audacity as my DAW. The Behringer mixer has phantom power which is what you need if you're going to use a condenser microphone. The phantom power gives the microphone power. Without that it simply won't work.

After a while I bought an Mbox with ProTools 9, which is the DAW I currently use. The Mbox has two inputs for jacks and two mic/line inputs. The Mbox is only connected to the computer by a USB cable.

I also got a effect pedal that I connect to my Randall/Marshall stack. The pedal is a ZOOM G9.2tt. I usually don't use this when I record, but I use it when I'm practicing. This is because I don't mic up the amplifier when I record, I use direct input into the Mbox.

When I record in ProTools, I use a USB-keyboard called KeyRig 49 from M-Audio. It's a small bus powered 49-key MIDI keyboard that is easy to use. Bus powered meaning that it gets power from the USB-connection, just like a typing keyboard or a mouse on your computer. This keyboard is great to create music with virtual instruments. You can choose a variety of instruments in ProTools and use this keyboard to create the notes. If you're familiar with MIDI, you will know that a MIDI-keyboard doesn't create notes. It only tells the program what notes it should generate.

Under you can see a slideshow of some of the gear. If you have questions about the gear or how it's connected, comment in the comment section below.

If you want to see the rest of the gear, check out my videos on youtube here.

Enjoy!

-Kianul

                          

New blog - First video!

Hi!

This is a blog where I'm going to post my old and upcoming videos that I have on www.youtube.com.
Currently I have 11 videos on my channel. You can access them by pressing the link above. 

My videos mainly consists of coversongs played and edited by myself. But there are other videos aswell.

If you like my videos, subscribe and you will be updated if I upload a new video. You can also follow this blog or twitter.

Underneath you can view my first video I made and the first I put on youtube. It's a cover of "Narcotic" by Liquido.

I will post regularly the other videos once a week or often.

Talk to you later!

-Kianul