Free Apps From Roland, Simmons Enhance Functionality Of Electronic Drum Sets

Roland and Simmons have announced new apps for the companies’ respective electronic drum set lines. Roland V-Drums owners now have access to a lesson-oriented app, while Simmons SD2000 players can enhance the sampling and editing capabilities of the SD2000 brain by installing a new iOS app.

Melodics For V-Drums

At the CES show this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, Roland Corporation and Melodics announced the release of a dedicated desktop drum learning app for Roland V-Drums, compatible with Mac or PC. Melodics For V-Drums is being offered currently as a free download.

Roland and Melodics collaborated on the release of the new software to help Roland V-Drums users create and enhance efficient drumming techniques. The app supports V-Drums equipped with a USB computer connector such as the TD-50, TD-30, TD-25, TD-15, TD-11, and TD-1 series, and features 40 free onboard lessons. V-Drums users can start taking lessons immediately after installing the app on their computer and connecting to the V-Drums via a USB cable. Paid subscribers are eligible to receive an additional 60 lessons, with new lessons being added every week.

The Melodics app was originally designed to help DJs or EDM musicians who use pad controllers and drum machines to build up their finger-drumming skills. The software’s lesson programs have a highly visual design that integrates interactive game styles to keep users motivated. Lessons are created by a variety of contemporary musicians to cover a wide range of music genres and playing styles, and new lessons are introduced every week to encourage regular practice.

Simmons Advanced App

The Simmons Advanced app for iPhone and iPad adds sampling and editing functionality to Simmons’ SD2000 drum brain, and is available for free in the Apple App Store.

The app offers a user-friendly graphic interface and promises to enhance the SD2000 sound module’s built-in sampling and editing parameters. The app also enables users to record their own samples and upload them to a computer and to the electronic drum kit’s brain.

The SD2000 sound module features a built-in performance mixer that allows players to control volume, EQ, and pitch, as well as to shape and apply filters on the fly. All of these features can be edited with Advanced app. The app also allows users to control tempo for play-along tracks, and to manage a sound library.