Roland TD-07KV Electronic V-Drums Kit

Overall this is a good solid drum kit. I’ve had no issues with it so far and I hit the drum pads pretty hard. Great sound. I paired it with the DW 2000 kick pedal and feels right for this type of kit.

UPDATE (12/6/2021): I wanted to update this review. I’ve had this kit for about a year and I’ve played on it almost daily throughout 2021. I still love it and do not regret the decision at all. However, I’ll offer some updates to my guidance below:

First, I’ve updated all of my toms that came with it. In the review below, I had already gotten a larger snare and moved the 8″ tom over to the floor tom, but I’ve also replaced the other two 6″ toms with 8″ toms – all sourced via ebay instead of new. The playable size is so much better. I haven’t changed anything else out yet, but I may add another crash or change the ride for a 3-zone. I don’t regret getting the 07KV, but I’ve already spent more between the original purchase and upgrades that I could have just purchased the 17KV. But I did know going into this that might end up being the case. Having hindsight of knowing how much I would enjoy learning and playing, I should have just spent more on the better kit. If you are debating between the two, I would recommend just spending the extra $300 and get the 17KV. In my case, I’m OK with my path – and I plan to eventually upgrade my module to something with more inputs, even beyond the 17KV capabilities, so I don’t see the limitations of the 07KV as a regret. I still don’t regret my purchase and either set is fantastic.

One last note – I have switched over to Drumeo for lessons and I like the videos better, now that my timing and basics are improved. I play along to music rather than using the Melodics methods. Melodics was nice and I may switch back to learn other styles, but I found Drumeo provides a more mentored method to help you understand how to learn, rather than just timing and beats.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I’ve been an amateur drummer for years intermittently. I had a Pearl Rhythm Traveler set that I used to cart around when several friends would get together. That was years ago and I never really practiced that much – always wanted to, but it was either too loud (with normal heads) or sound feedback was non-existent (with the mesh heads in place). So it went into a closet for more than a decade.

I wanted to get back into it and started looking at electronic sets, since they are far more affordable now than they were 15+ years ago. I looked at some Alesis sets but the reviews left me questioning whether I’d be happy. My intent was to get something where I could practice again and actually take some lessons to learn properly. I’ve always appreciated the quality and sound of Roland sets. After coming across the Roland DMK1, I saw this was a new release to sit between that at the 17KV. It’s probably more than I needed to spend, but I figured I would rather spend a bit more for quality and have less regrets later.

This set has exceeded my expectations. It was very easy to set up, and there are a lot of tutorials out on the web to help. It’s very sturdy and compact, the latter of which was important to me as I didn’t want a monstrous set in my office. You can read many reviews of the set out there, so I’ll stick to some things I think would be helpful to those in a similar situation.

Compared to the 17KV, I was on the fence about stepping up, but with the 07KV I was already over what I wanted to spend (my original mission was to spend about $500, so I blew that budget). I struggled with “well, it’s only $300 more”, but in the end I’m very happy with the 07KV. The 17KV had a better module, larger toms and a better hi-hat pedal, but the module itself wasn’t really that enticing. I’ve learned (after 6 months or so now) that all of those custom mods that are available in the 17KV module just isn’t something I’m doing. I’m using Melodics attached to a PC to learn, and I pretty much stick with 2 or 3 of the in-built kits. I’m sure if I was dragging this out to gigs and needed to tune it more, I might feel differently, but what it does suits me fine. There’s plenty of customizations, and yes, more kits in the 17KV, but I’m not sure it would make much difference for my use.

Compared to the 1DMK, I appreciate this has bluetooth to hook your phone to it for music/play-along. I also like this has some customization available over the 1DMK and I have made some slight adjustments to pad sensitivity. the module in the 1DMK is really limited, so I think going up to the 07KV over the 1DMK was a wise choice.

I did upgrade to a 12″ snare and moved the 8″ tom to the low tom position. I picked one up on eBay for about $130. That larger snare has made a nice difference, but I probably like having the larger tom in the low tom position more than the larger snare. I also find that the hi-hat pedal on this set isn’t as responsive/predictable as a traditional hi-hat. I may upgrade that as well as the one with the 17KV is better (at least from reading reviews). Yes, I know that with the few upgrades I could have just had the 17KV, but again price was concerning and slowly adding is mentally more acceptable than the big outlay, considering I was wondering if I would really continue to play.

I’m very happy with this set. I’m a lefty, but I set the kit of righty and I’m learning “open” to keep my dominant hand on the hi-hat. So far so good, but I had some things to unlearn from my crude self-learning. The sounds quality from the drums is fantastic. Sensitivity is great and I actually like the small high and mid tom sizes as it forces me to be more accurate in my drumming.

Using the two Roland setup videos (YouTube), setup was pretty easy. The only area where I had uncertainty was how tight/loose the cymbals and hihat should be. I had some powered speakers and headphones to use for output that worked well. Of course, larger heads and hihat would be nice but, for the money, it’s a decent set that sounds good, has some useful options and isn’t overwhelming to learn. Overall, a good set to start with.

Kit is compact and the module sounds great! Response from hi-hat marginal. Trigger pedal doesn’t always work or is late. Hi hat cymbal itself has a stuck trigger inside so I have to play it upside for a little while. Module now has a popping sound in the headphones. It’s loud and distorts anything I try to play essentially making this kit worthless! Thanks Roland. There’s $1050 I will never get back!

Very impressed with the sound quality and programming options. Very easy to use. Triggers spot on. Great kit.