This is without a doubt the best e-drum snare on the market. I tried a few others including the PD120 and Alesis Strike Pro SE snare as well as my own DIY 14" snare. The Roland PD140DS is the best option for the best tone and most accurate triggering. It's also the most expensive e-drum snare there is. For my use, I use it on an acoustic to electronic conversion drum set. The 14 inch diameter really gives you that authentic snare size while you're playing. There is just something about hitting a 14 inch snare that feels correct. The mesh heads are still not anything like a single ply coated head, but they're pretty good. What seals the deals is the triggering. On this snare, with my TD 27 module, positional was sensing is amazing. It does a great job at highlighting my inaccurate off-center snare strikes! You can pull back a little bit and get great realistic rimshot cracks. Cross sticking, something I don't use very often, is accurate and works very well. The drum itself seems durable and I don't think I'm going to wear through it too quickly. I'm not sure it would hold up to years of abuse, unlike my Pearl free-floating snare, which is over 20 years old. At least right now, the drum is durable, sounds great, and triggers perfectly. The only thing I did out of the box was to tighten the snare head up about two cranks, to give it a much tighter head, which is typically how I setup my acoustic snares. The mesh head just isn't the same as a coated head. I will learn to live with that. The rest of this drum is excellent. In order to use this snare drum, it must be connected to the Roland TD 27 or TD 50 using the USB cable. It will not work with any other module. clearly, if you don't have those modules, the snare drum is not for you.

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This digital square is well worth the money. It plays well sounds just like a acoustic snare There $ is a little high, but I'm well pleased.

I have owned four Roland drum kits starting with the TD-10. I have upgraded along the way with the TD-20, the TD20X, the TD-30 and now the TD-50X. I have all the mesh drum triggers and all the floppy cymbals and I love them all. What I am trying to say is that I am a fan. Roland makes a great product. The snare drum is actually the same diameter and depth as a standard snare drum. I ordered the TD-50X, along with the new digital, snare, hi hat and ride cymbal. The ride cymbal has yet to arrive. When I received the brain, I hooked it up with all my original pads and played the various kits. Although most of the pre-set kits were not to my liking, sound wise, I could tell right away that the brain was a keeper! The sound of the drums and cymbals has noticeably improved. After playing for quite some time with my original triggers I then introduced the new digital snare and hi hat. The sound is not affected at all by the different digital triggers, which I knew going in after speaking with someone at Roland. If there is a difference in feel, I cannot detect it in a way that justifies the price. I wanted to like these, real bad. Rim shots, cross sticking, differences in tonality between center and edge seemed just as real to me using my previous snare and hi hat. I am not afraid to spend some money if I feel I am getting a return in line with the money spent, but if there is any difference in feel when playing the new snare and hi hat, I didn't feel it. My current snare is the PD-128S (slightly smaller diameter than the new digital one) and my hi hat (also smaller by an inch) is the VH13 if I remember correctly. I actually like the smaller diameters more as they allow me a bit more flexibility when setting up the kit as I have created a fairly large kit from all the variations I have purchased over the years. The one difference I can feel on the new snare is a reduction in stick bounce, even tuned pretty tight. I think I read somewhere that the new snare has a triple drumhead or one drumhead that is three times thicker. I have been playing rock and or progressive rock drums for over 45 years. Maybe my problem with these pieces is I am rarely playing a drum part that might demonstrate the finesse and fine differences in tone or texture that might be exposed by someone playing a more subtle style of music. If you have much older triggers for your snare and hi hat than what I am currently using, I am sure you will be blown away by these new digital triggers (snare, hi hat, ride cymbal). Bottom line, great product, but the difference in "feel" isn't enough to justify the cost in my opinion. If you're willing to pay big bucks for a 1% to 5% improvement, go for it! Last word... I am not sure how this works in our brains but the newer TD-50X sounds do seem to create a different "feel" for me when playing the same triggers I have had for the last few years. I guess it is like the difference in playing a great sounding guitar versus a cheaper, less than good sounding guitar. When the sounds are inspiring, it makes you play better.

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Nice and big like a real drum. Sits well even with a KV30 kit.

This snare is the most realistic electronic drum I have ever played. The PD-140DS picks up every subtle nuance from the sticks; the rolls/rim shots are just like an acoustic snare.

The PD-140DS from Roland came stock with my TD-50K Kit.

The response, speed, feel, and sensitivity are just on a whole new level. (Yes, I know it's a lot to shell out for the TD-50, but if you're serious about your sound and feel, it's worth it). If you don't have the cash, then you've got a new toy to save for ;)

Technology is growing, rapidly. This is a fact. With this rapid growth comes beefy computer processors that are getting more and more powerful, and increasingly affordable. The TD-50 has an insanely powerful processing engine that allows this snare (and Digital 18" Ride) to respond with amazing sensitivity and speed. I've watched a lot of demos and read a lot of tech specs on the TD-50, and the new Digital Pads. There's really nothing out there that comes close. If you're on a budget, it's understandable to shy away, but if you're not, then why compromise?

This is a big leap forward, and a future proof purchase. Well worth it if you can afford the price.

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