Using Roland TD-17 V-Drums with Toontrak Superior Drummer | World of Music

Want to use Superior Drummer with Roland V-Drums? Here is a step by step tutorial on how to trigger plug ins like Superior Drummer 3 using an electronic drum kit as a midi controller.
We used the Roland TD-17 and SD3 running in Logic Pro but you can also use this guide with other DAW’s like Pro Tools, Ableton, Cubase, Cakewalk Sonar or Reaper.
Check out the Roland TD-17 here:
www.worldofmus...
And Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 Software:
www.worldofmus...

[@P1nkman]

If you're getting a bad latency then you need to adjust the buffer size in TD17's ASIO settings. It's set quite high by default so it's laggy, for me setting it to 96 works great. It really depends on your PC (CPU) how low you can go with the buffer size without any distortions. So as long as your PC has a decent CPU then you won't need any external audio interface, TD17 is good on its own.

[@Mustis91]

Thanks! that was the information i was looking for!

[@SteeInex]

How do you listen to songs while playing?

[@droopydoc55]

You guys are life-savers! Why anyone would give this a thumbs-down is beyond me...

[@Macho_Man_Randy_Savage]

Dude, this is great! I spent hours trying to increase the volume of SD3/Roland module and no answers anywhere...till I found this. Now I can go deaf triggering SD3 VST's thru my Roland module!

[@camiloruiz9928]

Hi there! I am desperate trying to make SD3 functional with my Roland TD27 module. I have followed all the instructions on the video but still the output sound from SD3 is crazy low! I tried with and without using LogicPro. The plugin within LogicPro doesn’t show me the MIDI settings, however, using the SD3 directly or LogicPro, the outcome is the same. If i click in the drums on the screen, they sound loud and strong, but when I play, it is almost muted :( Did you do anything additional to get SD3 working in your setting? Any advice @worldofmusic? Thanks in advance for your time and help

[@Macho_Man_Randy_Savage]

@@camiloruiz9928 What really fixed it for me is following this video...obviously not quite working for you. I did mess around with a lot of things in my TD50/SD3 prior to finding this but I don't even know if that did much. I did have ASIO4ALL 2.14 installed but not sure if it did anything...I don't know if this is a TD27 issue as it's still new but I'd factory reset the module, follow this video closely and mess around with SD3/TD27 trigger settings using one pad to trouble shoot. Unfortunately this is trial and error especially if you're new to it. I spent hours on it, in a way it's easier to just use my Mimic Pro lol but of course I can't use that sweet Digital Ride/Snare but it's worth it once you do get it all setup...Good Luck.

[@camiloruiz9928]

Thanks man! I will spend more time playing around and see whether I can solve the issue.

[@legattostacatto4805]

Do you get any latency playing?

[@Macho_Man_Randy_Savage]

@@legattostacatto4805 You can do, depending on your settings and sample rate found in audio devices. Playing around with them should get you to single digits where the latency is pretty good.

[@mjm5081]

Thank you for sharing! That kit sounds great and nice playing!!!

[@TomSarracino]

Thank you 🙏 using Catalina OS and Superior drummer 3

[@rhythmantic]

Thanks so much for this thorough tutorial.

[@onomatopoeidia]

If you are using Windows 10, simply connect the kit, make sure you are connected to the internet and the driver will automatically be installed. Just make sure you have the USB driver mode of the module set to 'vendor' if you want Audio to stream to and from the module like an audio interface.

[@ademarmneto]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!

[@monomamori]

Oh Thank you... This video helped me a lot!

[@somestuffandwhatnot]

Looks so much easier than pro tools. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get all this working with pro tools 11, free version of slate drums, and my td17 and just cannot get it to work for the life of me

[@onomatopoeidia]

Same process. It’s just midi notes triggering the software. Connect the kit, choose driver mode, make a track, choose audio and midi inputs and arm record or turn input on in the DAW

[@tendingtropic7778]

thats impressive, only 1.5ms of latency, doesnt that buffer size create crackles?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Oscar Roberto Brouwer No and this is an old MacBook.

[@mikestein1024]

It’s actually more than that add 5ms to what that says

[@VanXHydrA]

Can you do this same basic process with the Roland TD-07 module to trigger internal software/Plugins on a DAW?

[@proodoodaboochoo]

Can you choke the crash cymbals using superior drummer?

[@pedemeyer]

There is no “ Audio/midi setup” set ud box in Settings when you use SP3 in Logic, only when used as stand alone..., Anyway there is still no midi input from TD17, when you follow this video. A big shame because it was a very promising video.., but still no cigar:(

[@onomatopoeidia]

I use it every day so not sure what’s going on with yours there? What do you mean? You need to choose TD17 in the audio/midi preferences of Logic and then the TD17 template in SD3.

[@karlaaltavoz]

same thing is happening to me 😔

[@austingrigry4232]

So I have a question - I’ve followed all the steps here in this video and everything is sounding and playing great, the only issue I’m having is with my ride cymbal not triggering properly while using SD3 or EZDrummer. It all triggers fine running through the Roland module itself. Is this a MIIDI Mapping issue maybe? Has anyone else had this problem? It only seems to be triggering the “bow”….

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

Did you ever find a solution?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Yes. See the midi note in the module for the bell. Make sure superior drummer has this same midi note assigned to the bell.

[@sagedrummer]

Can you route the audio out of superior drummer back into the Roland brain so you can utilize the bluetooth function to play along to other songs?

[@onomatopoeidia]

yep. Or you can simply load songs into the DAW and they will playback through the module and you can record drums along to them.

[@YigitAcik]

I do that with td27kv yet when i use bluetooth connection or module's native metronome with daw/vst sampling at the same time, it creates noise and vst sample sounds start lagging i think module is not powerful enough to handle both streams, disappointing on roland side.

[@AntonisAnastassiades]

I followed the steps, but i can only hear the drums when I tap them in Superior Drummer not when I actually play them...

[@bashantjared]

Did you end up figuring this out? I'm having the same issue and have spent days trying to figure it out :-(

[@onomatopoeidia]

Check you have midi coming into your daw. If you record you should get notes on the track. If not, you still haven’t configured the midi in properly. 1. Switch kit to ‘vendor’ and restart 2. Install drivers on computer 3. Choose td17 as in/out in daw audio AND midi port settings. 4. Make a software instrument track and load SD3 5. Arm record to hear SD3 in real-time 6. Record something

[@beermacht80]

What is the difference between the generic mode and the VENDOR? Thanks a lot!

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Hey Diego, The Generic mode is for midi and the Vendor mode is for audio transfer. Thanks - World of Music

[@jarcidiacono1]

@worldofmusic hey guys love your videos thanks. Can you help quick? I'm beating my had against the wall over here. Have a TD-17, have been using superior drummer 3 for a year and recording into Logic. all good. Randomly, my kit is no longer triggering in SD3. SD3 is registering the. TD17, and I can click the kit in SD3 with my mouse and hear the audio in my headphones from drum module but cannot trigger sounds in SD3 from the kit. It has to be a Roland module setting that maybe I fucked up? I have local control off, TD17 selected in SD3, all audio in/out's are correct. What the hell am I missing, is there another setting similar to "Local Control OFF" that I may have disengaged that's preventing me from triggering MIDI in SD3 from my TD-17? Losing my mind over here!!!!

[@jarcidiacono1]

Edit..maybe my USB cord bit the dust? But then why would SD3 still register the TD17 under the audio settings? Doesn't that rule out a cord issue?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Do a reset on the TD17 and turn off local control again. It could be the level is just too low coming into TD17 module. Boost it to max in both SD3 and USB audio in TD17.

[@KeithMarvK]

I'm having the same issue with my TD17 KVX. I have my settings exactly the way this video explains. Except I have input and output volumes maxed since I can barley hear SD3 in my DAW(those maxed out settings didn't help anyway).

[@AntonisAnastassiades]

Same issue. Did you get this resolved??

[@KeithMarvK]

I solved my issue. It was DAW related. It was a routing issue basically and it was as simple as selecting the midi track(source track) for SD3. What I do differently than this video is in SD3, I have my audio interface set as my audio device and not TD17, as I don't use SD3 stand alone. But I did do a hard reset on my kit when i was troubleshooting. Sometimes in the studio its the simplest things we overlook.

[@pikeysrock]

My Superior Drummer 3 doesn't have the audio option on the drop-down menu. Any help with this please 🙏

[@LaGGyXdm]

I failed to get EZ Drummer 2 to work with my brand new MacBook Pro tonight. I see some steps I missed though after watching this. I was getting super irritated d

[@giljosephuy3466]

Is this how you can multi track record on a td-17?

[@onomatopoeidia]

yes. Track by track MIDI and/or audio. See the article rolandcorp.com.au/blog/recording-v-drums-masterclass-td-17-and-td-25

[@seanbruce236]

Anyone know how to turn dynamics off on the bass drum it sounds like shit when trying to flood the drum with double strokes

[@onomatopoeidia]

Sean Bruce on the kit, set your kick trigger to LOG2 or loud for the kick trigger setting and raise the sensitivity to max. That will eliminate dynamics. In the DAW you can select any already recorded midi notes and raise their velocities to 127 which will also eliminate dynamics.

[@andreastru701]

I can make the same and with the Roland td 25 module? Thank you

[@onomatopoeidia]

yes.

[@spider-man4796]

I have quite a few issues mapping. Is that normal? Also my cymbal chokes won’t work?

[@onomatopoeidia]

No as long as you chose the right midi template in the plug-in. You can also change any of the mapping easily to match the module in the plug-in this includes turning on cymbal chokes in the plug-in. The midi mapping the kit is sending is in the module in the system midi page which shows every trigger and it’s midi note. Match the plug-in to that.

[@jonasweiss5817]

Latency won’t be avoided.

[@onomatopoeidia]

That’s the downside but you can always monitor using the sound module whilst tracking.

[@Mimic000]

Hi, can you save setting in superior drummer about moduel and instruments settings?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Yes. Save the project and also the module settings to SD card.

[@andreizhilkin2680]

Hello! Please help somebody!!! Recently bought a VAD306 and tried playing it with SD3 and I just can't get the HiHat to have transitions of any kind. It only registers notes of the closed hat and the open. Nothing in-between. Does anyone know how to solve this problem. I've search all over and no one seems to know.

[@fVNzO]

Check out the channel Mike Luke for how to configure the hi hat.

[@onomatopoeidia]

Make sure the hihat is first working with the TD-17 module properly on the kit before connecting the software. You MUST calibrate the VH-10 hihat in the module or it will never work properly. Once that’s working well, connect to the software, choose the TD17 kit template and try that.

[@dinismateus5811]

Thank you so much ! Can we download the kits to the module ?

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Hi, You can only trigger Superior Drummer. Thanks, WOM

[@kevinoflion]

So I have everything working...however...through the headphone jack on the TD-17 -- all I can hear is the TD kits...for example 01 Acoustic, etc... If I click the drums themselves in SD3 -- I can hear that they are being played through the TD17 module...and when I hit the pads...I can see in the interface that they are being triggered correctly...but in the headphones...I can't hear SD3 if I'm playing on the pads...only if I click in the interface without playing the pads. Am I missing something? Is there a way to not monitor with the default kits and only hear what is coming back through the module from SD3? I'm sure there's a setting I should be clicking in the module to turn that "off"...but I can't find it, haha.

[@kevinoflion]

You know what...it looks like for whatever reason "Local Control" reverted back to "On" -- I set it back to Off and all is well.... Cheers!

[@grxygxds]

Hey dude great video, what mac are you using year/spec wise? Thanks 😊 🙏

[@onomatopoeidia]

it's an old 2011 macbook pro

[@stuartjaymes1988]

Are you using this set up without any troublesome latency?

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Hi, this can depend on your audio interface and what buffer settings. There will always be some form of latency when dealing with midi but is mostly caused by the audio monitoring setup and related drivers. With a decent audio interface and lower buffer settings you should be able to get pretty reasonable results. Thanks WOM

[@stuartjaymes1930]

@@WorldOfMusicAustralia Understand. So with the footage we are seeing, is that what you are hearing or did you sync the audio/video later? I guess I'm just wondering if you play with a noticeable amount of latency and if so, does it bother you? I'm looking at going down this route :)

[@onomatopoeidia]

Stuart Jaymes real-time

[@mattlomasdrums558]

Hello. I picked up a Roland td27-KV and i'm going to pick up superior Drummer 3. I'm wondering if I need to pick up an interface or just use my Roland module as one. Please help. Thank you

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Hi, your TD-27 has a built in audio and midi interface capability. Thanks WOM

[@zacfarro8678]

make more video about TD17 please....i'm really interested buying TD17KL... hey, one question.... can i play along TD17KL with Superior Drummer sound directly to my earphone ? like a live sound just like with module ? thanks regards ps: sorry for my english

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Hi, assuming you are only wanting to hear the sounds from Superior Drummer then yes, you would simply monitor from the headphone output of the device that is running Superior Drummer. You could technically feed the Superior Drummer sounds back into the Aux input of the TD17 as well, but then you would be monitoring both sound engines together. Hope this helps. WOM

[@onomatopoeidia]

Yes. By setting the TD-17 to 'Local Off' the MIDI data from the TD-17 will trigger Superior Drummer instead of the TD-17 sounds and then the DAW/Superior drummer audio will stream directly through the TD-17 digitally and out to its headphones and master outs.

[@peeterzpee]

@@onomatopoeidia I'm working with EZ2 and TD-17. I Turn Local Midi OFf, have updated drivers set output device TD-17 but still I don't get EZ2 sound from the module. I have to choose the output device 'main build in' and connect my mac with the module via aux to get sound. Is that the only way to do it? I should get sounds from EZ2 through the module. At least with TD-30 and build in the external audio interface it's working that way. thank you

[@onomatopoeidia]

Peter Z you have to choose Vendor mode in TD17 and restart to use Audio/MIDI USB streaming. You then choose TD17 as your audio out in your DAW

[@peeterzpee]

@@onomatopoeidia I forgot to mention that i have also set my usb mode to vendor. Ez2 standalone gets all the signals from my TD-17. I set the TD-17 as output device but thats not working. Not even in Reaper.

[@ThaKid14]

audio/midi setting does not show when i am open in Ableton but it does show when i open in standalone and i just cant figure out why

[@onomatopoeidia]

Choose core audio as the sound driver in Ableton.

[@manegarm999]

why with my module don´t work as vendor? only with generic with 12ms of latency

[@tcellen2136]

make sure you have installed the correct driver then switch the module to Vendor and restart to install it.

[@angelromero9870]

Does this same method apply to a td27?

[@jamespaterson131]

This tutorial is incomplete, I followed all the steps, but the triggering velocity is extremely low, the kick drum doesn't even make a sound it's so low. You must have modified velocity parameters, that you have failed to explain in this video. Otherwise please explain how you got this to work properly.

[@onomatopoeidia]

See the video. Turn up SD to max, turn up USB audio input gain on the module.

[@jamespaterson131]

What do you mean by turn up the SD to max?

[@onomatopoeidia]

@@jamespaterson131 Superior drummer plug-in. Turn up its main output volume in the plug-in itself. You also have a USB audio input level adjustment in the Roland sound module. I usually boost mine 6-10dB from the factory settings. You also want to use low impedance headphones in the region of 37ohm as they are much louder because they have less resistance to current. The new Roland VMH-D1 are the perfect choice. Designed for drummers. Loud and lots of lows and highs.

[@toxicgardengnomes]

Hi , thru my midi module I’m getting a high latency setting (10.7 & 17 ) which I can’t adjust due to the Asio drivers being preset in the setup, I tried plugging the Td 50 x directly into laptop and low and behold I got incredibly low latency but popping etc . I read above about lowering the Asio settings in the Td 50 x but can’t find out where or how to do it . With AD 2 I was getting 1.5 ms latency so I’m at a loss . Any help would be greatly appreciated

[@onomatopoeidia]

Which midi module? Use the TD-50X for midi and audio connected direct via USB. Choose the vendor driver in the TD-50X so audio and midi stream via USB and install the driver on your computer. Choose the core audio system in the Daw and you will be able to adjust the buffer/latency.

[@timjoseph887]

what's the purpose of setting USB input gain to -6? I just set USB to vendor and I'm off and running...when setting the E Drum kit, there's no Roland TD17 kit even though that's what he's playing...lol

[@onomatopoeidia]

Tim Joseph you can adjust how much SD3 level you have coming into the the module. If you use low impedance headphones like he’s using the level can be too much so you can adjust it to balance it with the internal sounds if that’s what you are doing. That version of SD3 didn’t have the TD-17 yet as a preset as the kit was newer but the current version has the new kits.

[@LaGGyXdm]

I think this fixes the problem I just started having with a static/hissing type sound lingering during and a few seconds after play

[@coolboy4409]

Hi, I got a General Question as a beginner: is it Generally possible to get saved presets like for example from SD3 on the Module to Play stand Alone Not needing the connection to the pc? Greetings

[@FantaFuture92]

no.

[@onomatopoeidia]

yes you can. Simply take WAV recordings of a single hit of each sound and load them into the module. You can even sample them into the module in realtime by simply pressing record on the module. Once it's in the module, you can chop them up and assign them to pads for use without the computer.

[@coolboy4409]

@@onomatopoeidia Thank you. I appreciate your answer :-)

[@theloniuspunk383]

@@onomatopoeidia that doesn't preserve superior drummers' vast quantity of velocity sensitive hits unfortunately

[@onomatopoeidia]

@@theloniuspunk383 Doing this does at least allow you to play in near real time. The TD module is 2msec which is better than any software by a very long way. If you choose a factory sound and use it as the main instrument for the ghost notes and tune it to replicate the SD3 sound, you can simply use the SD sound on the SUB layer and use the crossfade/Fade2 control to adjust when and how it comes in. The Sound engine does all the multi-layer, positionally aware stuff and the SD covers the harder hits. Works well and responds instantly. You can even switch kits mid-performance with no loading time. Can't do that with any software.

[@JorgeParagliding]

Can you also use SD3 as a stand-alone without a DAW and follow this video to trigger? I don’t yet have a DAW as I am only looking to trigger the sounds of SD3 with my kit

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Yes. Just download Toontrack Solo and the library plays directly from that. Thanks WOM

[@allisvoid]

@@WorldOfMusicAustralia Hi and thanks for your video! It is amazing how little info there is on this unless I am just too newbie at this moment to know what to search for... anyway, my brand new TD-17KVX just shipped and I have purchased DFH long ago but cannot find it. I remember loving the sounds! Thinking of purchasing EZD2+DFH to trigger with my new TD-17KVX and I just want to be clear. Is all that I need the TD-17KVX, EZD2 software, and DFH EZD2 expansion to trigger DFH sounds into my headphones using the pads on my TD-17KVX? Is the routing TD-17KVX by USB to PC running EZD2 with DFH and midi map on EZD2 preset to TD-17? Will my headphones be connected to the TD-17KVX brain or the PC? Do I only need a DAW such as Cubase if I want to record myself playing the TD-17KVX? Thank you in advance for any reply!

[@onomatopoeidia]

@@allisvoid see the article on recording the TD17 rolandcorp.com.au/blog/recording-v-drums-masterclass-td-17-and-td-25

[@gabrielsacks5267]

Buying a pd100x pad or a better snare pad, can i get the positional sensing with the td17 module? Im about to buy a td17kv to use it with Superior Drummer 3 and this its a very important topic to me. Doing this upgrade, will the module and the software recognize it?

[@mikestein1024]

Look at the edrumin you can with that and it’s pretty un expensive

[@onomatopoeidia]

no. TD-27 would be the minimum to get positional awareness on the snare. On the TD-50 the toms also have positional awareness when using centre trigger pads like the PDX-100

[@egemenata67]

for me there's a lot of latency :(((( what can i do?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Choose core audio as the audio system in the daw and lower the audio buffer size. You’ll never get the same performance as the sound module as only the module will give you proper real-time low latency.

[@vazer71]

hi how ca you have that low latency? i have a td-30 with a macbook pro an i have 2.7 ms latency, maybe the newer modules hve a better interface and faster

[@Lemon_Drums_USA]

Which chip in the macbook?

[@onomatopoeidia]

2.7 is very low latency anyway. An acoustic drum has a latency of 2msec so not far off.

[@tannerstatham5545]

Is there a huge difference between using the midi port on the drum brain and the USB port? Because the drums are still going to come through as midi anyways right?

[@spider-man4796]

Yes they will come through either way

[@onomatopoeidia]

USB port is faster because you’re not having to use yet another device to convert Midi to USB

[@antoniodimarzo7708]

Can i do with roland td11kv? What is the procedure that I have to follow? I also have a mac with a big sur system

[@onomatopoeidia]

yep. Just get the correct driver. www.roland.com/au/support/by_product/td-11/updates_drivers/

[@TheDrumhead54]

Can you midi into the TD17 using an external MIDI controller?

[@482jpsquared]

No. TD-17 does not have a MIDI In port.

[@TheDrumhead54]

John Pelletier - thanks!

[@onomatopoeidia]

Via USB from software yes. You would simply create a TD17 midi track and arm record. Any incoming midi notes will be sent to the TD17 and trigger it’s sounds.

[@redeyedbuggers]

Is it possible to do this with an iPad Pro?

[@manualmartin1311]

Ya thing so irig or maybe convert can help you to achieve that

[@onomatopoeidia]

Yes. Get a iPad to usb adaptor chose generic mode in the module and connect it.

[@joebinns]

can i do this with slate SSD 5? Same way?

[@WorldOfMusicAustralia]

Yes, you can trigger SSD using your Roland kit. Thanks WOM

[@legattostacatto4805]

I get a lot of latency. Anyone can help me with that?

[@onomatopoeidia]

legatto stacatto faster computer and/or lower memory buffer value of 128K in the DAW software can help.

[@laurensklep8089]

I'm using a Mac, but the site says there is no support for Mac, if I try to download a driver...

[@onomatopoeidia]

Laurens Klep TD-17 works with all current OSX. Just see the drivers tab again?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Laurens Klep TD-17 works with all current OSX as of 2020. Just see the drivers tab again?

[@laurensklep8089]

@@onomatopoeidia I had to go to the .com website from Roland to download the good driver. I don't know why, but is worked.

[@rhythmcaster2018]

Hi. Do you experience latency while playing live with VST. I'm use SSD5 (free) on Reaper while using ASIO directly out from my Windows laptop. The sound is noticeably delay especially when song has many notes per bar. Any suggestion?

[@legattostacatto4805]

Do you still get latency?

[@onomatopoeidia]

Listen to the kit whilst tracking and DAW/SD2 on playback.