Roland V71 Electronic Drum Module

I upgraded my VAD504 kit from the TD27kv2 to the V71 and it honestly feels like I am playing a different kit. Pros and cons below:

Cons-
not really cons just nice to knows when you get this.

All the triggers are preset to the rack mounted pad setup so if you have VAD series drums, you have to adjust the trigger to those like KD-200, PDA100, etc...not a bad thing. Also you might have to adjust the sensitivity of the cymbals. Especially if you are using Lemons which do work with this kit. Unless you are using 5B or heavier sticks. 5A and below, on good 80% level strikes were registering at a velocity in the low 60s. I would tweak everything to get a consistent velocity of 80 on a good firm strike. Not the hardest strike. Just a firm one.

This isnt a con either but its mind blowing how much there is to this unit. You could spend all weekend going through all the features, settings, etc...and still not be done. There is just a LOT going on in this unit so download and read all the manuals!

Price...yeah its expensive...almost as much as the VAD504 kit by itself. But there is no other module better out there.

Pros-
CRAZY sounds. the ghost notes, the crack of the stick, the choking by grabbing any active zone of the cymbal, the wash of the cymbals, these are by far the best samples I have ever heard. You get to choose between actual sampled cymbals like HHX, Zildjian Ks, DW snare, Gretsch toms, etc...The data list is expansive.

I have the older model PDA digital snare, not the X version with the strainer lever but it still sounds like a completely different snare. When you are ghosting and snap your wrists, it really cracks now. Just like a nice tight pop would on an acoustic snare

The digital ride as well. The TD27 ride edge just didnt sound realistic at all. It sounds so much better and really blends in with the bow. Also, they do something now where there is no more shotgunning. A different sample is played depending on how thick the cymbal is, how hard you hit it, etc...Swells also sound great too. Much more realistic.

Faders- love the level faders. Easy to adjust if something is too light or heavy.

Stock Kits - They are pretty much right out of the box playable. I am an EQ and tuning geek though so I started rebuilding my own kit but yeah, you can use right out of the box and get amazing sounds.

EQ- Love the function of an added middle freq and low pass features on some pads to help with the sound.

Need to get a proper instrument stand but for now any little table or in my case, flowerpot stand will have to do.

i dont believe there is a better module. triggering is superb. i have a variety of triggers on my kit. roland and other brands. dialing them in was easy.
the stock kits are great right out the box. they sound real and i dont detect any machine gunning. the sounds are realistic as they are clearly expertly recorded real drums. I would have no reservations about recording with this module using the stock kits.
love the blue tooth capability and wireless connectivity.
roland knocked it out of the park here. Not sure how roland would top themselves on their next module.
my only complaint is there are only 6 slots for loading kits from roland cloud. i already have those slots maxxed out!

The V71 is very dynamic and responsive to my natural playing style. Some people complain about the “over processed Roland Sound” but to my ears I like how it feels better then a VST. In my opinion, this is due to Roland’s modeling approach filling in all the little gaps that would otherwise exist between round robin sample layers. I have noticed a tendency for machine gunning on the snare drum only, but I have also been able to dial out most (if not all of it) in the settings of which there are many. I also purchased Roland’s digital snare and that seems to have helped with the machine gunning of the snare as well. It could be in my head or it could be because how much more accurate and nuanced the triggering on the digital pad is…

I am new to Roland drum modules but from what I can tell many of the settings and workflows are the same or have built upon previous Roland modules rather than reinventing the wheel. I like this because already I have had questions that haven’t been specifically addressed by current V71 users but have been addressed by previous model users and so the answer is the same or at least a pretty good starting point. I converted my acoustic drum set to electronic using mesh heads and aftermarket triggers along with lemon cymbals and everything works way better than it did on my previous module, the Pearl Mimic Pro. The Mimic was a great module, but I feel the V71 is even better.

I’ve progressed from TD-17 to TD-27 to TD-50X and finally got the V71. It is a superb module and definitely the best Roland has brought out.
The user interface is less confusing, managing up to 3(!) layers of sounds is much more straightforward, and with Bluetooth back, there’s no need for an external mixer anymore. The stock sounds are better (and easier to manipulate) and there’s ample storage for kits and user samples.
The machine gunning has been reduced but there’s still a bit of it there.
So why only 4 stars? Because Roland keeps making these weird design choices that are annoying me.
1. It has a USB-C port supporting 32 channels of audio and MIDI. But the audio channels are not class compliant, requiring installation of Roland drivers. In 2025!?
2. While supporting the wireless DW drums, there are still only 3 USB instrument ports. Which are needed for the digital pads so there’s no way to add and power the wireless receiver. You have to go the MIDI route and provide external power.
3. The ability to download extensions from the Roland Cloud is nice. Using the Cloud connect app makes it really easy. There’s also a drum kit editor app that makes configuring kits easier than doing it at the module. But while the connect app works wireless, the configuration app needs a USB cable. And the configuration app doesn’t allow you to manage the extensions. (More on that next.) None of this feels thought through but more like an uncoordinated jumble of ideas.
4. There is a “rack” that allows you to store 100 instrument extensions. But those aren’t usable. To be able to use even just one instrument from an extension that you like, you have to load the whole extension into a “slot”. And there are only 6 of these slots. And the more slots you fill, the longer the module takes to start because all of these extensions are loaded at power up. If you pick a kit with an instrument that isn’t loaded, there will be a tiny blinking icon on the screen indicating that. And the V71 already comes with 3 extensions loaded that are needed for the stock kits…
5. I had one full system freeze so far. Not good. The only good thing is that I could keep playing, but none of the controls worked anymore. Not even the OFF switch! I had to pull the power cord to reboot. I hope this won’t happen again.

If you’ve made it here, you’ll now see that my complaints are about things that many people won’t care about. For those, this will be a 5* device. For me, they matter. 4 stars it is.

Have been using the Pearl Mimic Pro for years. Became frustrated by Pearl abandoning the Mimic and decided to give Roland a shot. Just starting to mess around with the V 71. First thoughts… I prefer the quality of the sound samples in the Mimic Pro, however am really enjoying the digital snare! It has a throw off and adjustable snare tension which helps to make it “feel” closer to an acoustic kit. So far it seems to be user friendly. Also has 8 direct outs which I use during live performance, same as Mimic Pro. So far happy to have made the switch and feel confident that by the time I get comfortable with the unit I will be completely satisfied! As far as purchasing from Edrumcenter?? Wouldn’t have purchased this from any one else! Great customer service, extremely quick ship and extremely competitively priced!