Setting up Roland V-Drums TD-07 with Pro Tools Intro

[lkisac]

I've installed Pro Tools Intro on my Windows 10 laptop. I have a Roland V-Drums TD-07 electronic drum kit. It is currently plugged in to my laptop through USB, but I'm having trouble getting Pro Tools to recognize it. I'm not seeing it in the Playback Engine to set it as the Input device. I'm ok with just recording it through one track for now, just for simple recording.

I could not find any existing threads that helped with this setup. Could anyone help get me started?

Any help is much appreciated, thanks.

[its2loud]

You need to change a setting in the TD07 module as well as having downloaded the driver for Windows. It will only show up as a stereo interface. It’s all in the manual

[albee1952]

Is this a new Roland kit, or a very old Roland Kit? If its old, then it probably cannot act as an interface(new, I don't know). In any case, another thing you need to do is go to(in Pro Tools) Setup>Midi>Midi Studio and create a new instrument, name it as you like, and(the crucial setting), set the Input Path. Assuming the Roland drivers are installed, it would probably appear on the list as"
Roland TD-07 on USB[Emulated]
Doing this tells Pro Tools where to "look for" incoming midi data(guessing you would want to record the midi from the Roland?)

In the future, when you have questions like this, remember to include some basic info on the setup(Computer, OS, any/all interfaces, etc). My instructions above are for Windows users and might be a bit different for a Mac user

[lkisac]

Originally Posted by its2loud

You need to change a setting in the TD07 module as well as having downloaded the driver for Windows. It will only show up as a stereo interface. It’s all in the manual

Thanks for the quick response. I'll review the manual if it lists it there. Is the link to the drivers also included there or should I just search online for it?

[lkisac]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Is this a new Roland kit, or a very old Roland Kit? If its old, then it probably cannot act as an interface(new, I don't know). In any case, another thing you need to do is go to(in Pro Tools) Setup>Midi>Midi Studio and create a new instrument, name it as you like, and(the crucial setting), set the Input Path. Assuming the Roland drivers are installed, it would probably appear on the list as"
Roland TD-07 on USB[Emulated]
Doing this tells Pro Tools where to "look for" incoming midi data(guessing you would want to record the midi from the Roland?)

In the future, when you have questions like this, remember to include some basic info on the setup(Computer, OS, any/all interfaces, etc). My instructions above are for Windows users and might be a bit different for a Mac user

Thanks for the advice. I'll give this a try as well and post back.

[lkisac]

Originally Posted by its2loud

You need to change a setting in the TD07 module as well as having downloaded the driver for Windows. It will only show up as a stereo interface. It’s all in the manual

Odd, my first response is not showing...
Thanks for the quick response. I'll review the roland manual if it is listed there.

[lkisac]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Is this a new Roland kit, or a very old Roland Kit? If its old, then it probably cannot act as an interface(new, I don't know). In any case, another thing you need to do is go to(in Pro Tools) Setup>Midi>Midi Studio and create a new instrument, name it as you like, and(the crucial setting), set the Input Path. Assuming the Roland drivers are installed, it would probably appear on the list as"
Roland TD-07 on USB[Emulated]
Doing this tells Pro Tools where to "look for" incoming midi data(guessing you would want to record the midi from the Roland?)

In the future, when you have questions like this, remember to include some basic info on the setup(Computer, OS, any/all interfaces, etc). My instructions above are for Windows users and might be a bit different for a Mac user

I've created the instrument, and likewise created an instrument track for it, however, I'm not seeing it as an option to set for this instrument track. I'm looking at the input dropdown for the instrument track which currently says "no input". I see search, interface and bus options but the newly created instrument track is nowhere to be found. When I check the MIDI settings, I do see the instrument created there so it appears to be saved.

My system is Windows 10, and no issues following your instructions, thanks.

[Top Jimmy]

Originally Posted by lkisac

I've created the instrument, and likewise created an instrument track for it, however, I'm not seeing it as an option to set for this instrument track. I'm looking at the input dropdown for the instrument track which currently says "no input". I see search, interface and bus options but the newly created instrument track is nowhere to be found. When I check the MIDI settings, I do see the instrument created there so it appears to be saved.

My system is Windows 10, and no issues following your instructions, thanks.

You need to understand the differences between using your drum module as an audio device, and as a MIDI device. 2loud was talking about using it as an audio device. Albee is referring to using it as a MIDI device.

So which do you want? Do you want to use your module as an audio device, MIDI device, or both?

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

You need to understand the differences between using your drum module as an audio device, and as a MIDI device. 2loud was talking about using it as an audio device. Albee is referring to using it as a MIDI device.

So which do you want? Do you want to use your module as an audio device, MIDI device, or both?

That^^^, Speaking only from the idea of using the kit as a midi device, so you can play drum parts into a session to trigger a drum VI(like Superior Drummer ,Addictive Drums, etc). Once the Midi Studio configuration is done, create a stereo Instrument track>insert the drum VI of choice and put the track into record-ready. Playing the Roland kit should trigger the VI plugin to make sound. Now, notes could be all wrong(like you hit your bass drum trigger but hear a cymbal sound) and that is down to the note assignment. The good news here is that most of these VI drum plugins have a mapping option available for Roland kits(as well as other brands), so setting that mapping in the plugin should make things easier. The way Pro Tools defaults, Instrument tracks will receive midi from any/all connected(and configured) midi hardware. Later on, as your setup gets more complicated, then you can explore the options that are available(but for now, keep it simple).

To use the drum sounds from the Roland module, things get a little more complicated. In that case, I would go "old school" and create a midi track(which, by default, should receive midi info as soon as its put into record-ready), and then use a stereo Aux track, or stereo Audio track(if you choose to use an Audio track, put it in Input mode by clicking the green "I" button). If the Roland module is set as the Audio Engine(Hardware menu?), then the Roland should be an available input choice(maybe the ONLY choice, I don't know how the TD-07 works as an interface).

Assuming you want to record more than just drums, you may find adding a separate audio interface to be a better option(that would add dedicated audio inputs where you could connect audio outputs from the Roland, as well as microphones or DI'd instruments like guitar and bass).

[lkisac]

Originally Posted by albee1952

That^^^, Speaking only from the idea of using the kit as a midi device, so you can play drum parts into a session to trigger a drum VI(like Superior Drummer ,Addictive Drums, etc). Once the Midi Studio configuration is done, create a stereo Instrument track>insert the drum VI of choice and put the track into record-ready. Playing the Roland kit should trigger the VI plugin to make sound. Now, notes could be all wrong(like you hit your bass drum trigger but hear a cymbal sound) and that is down to the note assignment. The good news here is that most of these VI drum plugins have a mapping option available for Roland kits(as well as other brands), so setting that mapping in the plugin should make things easier. The way Pro Tools defaults, Instrument tracks will receive midi from any/all connected(and configured) midi hardware. Later on, as your setup gets more complicated, then you can explore the options that are available(but for now, keep it simple).

To use the drum sounds from the Roland module, things get a little more complicated. In that case, I would go "old school" and create a midi track(which, by default, should receive midi info as soon as its put into record-ready), and then use a stereo Aux track, or stereo Audio track(if you choose to use an Audio track, put it in Input mode by clicking the green "I" button). If the Roland module is set as the Audio Engine(Hardware menu?), then the Roland should be an available input choice(maybe the ONLY choice, I don't know how the TD-07 works as an interface).

Assuming you want to record more than just drums, you may find adding a separate audio interface to be a better option(that would add dedicated audio inputs where you could connect audio outputs from the Roland, as well as microphones or DI'd instruments like guitar and bass).

(not sure why my responses are not showing sometimes...)

Using a MIDI track, I'm able to see the Roland TD-7 as Input, but I can't see sound going through. I put it in record mode but it's not recording.
I attached a screenshot of the MIDI track. Let me know if I can attach any more screenshots that could help in troubleshooting, thanks.