Roland TM1 First Impressions

Roland has a new hybrid drum module for under $200. Does it hold up?

The TM1 is a cross between a drum module and a guitar stomp box. This module sits on the floor and has 2 single zone trigger inputs. The footswitch embedded into the module allows you to change kits and mute the sounds. I enjoyed using this module, I think its a solid addition to the edrum landscape. The only real downside is that you can only use 2 triggers at once. So it's only a good choice for drummers in very specific situations.

Link To The Roland TM1 on Amazon

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[BeardedDrums]

I like it, the fact that it’s a stomp box and could just be set on the floor beside the drum kit is very interesting and might persuade me to actually integrate some electronics sounds into the kit. There are many covers that I do with the band that require simply just an affected snare or Kik sound and this just might fit the bill. The pricing is great too. Great review as always my friend 👊💯

[davidsalyers]

Love your expression at 1 minute. hilarious . thanks Justin for all your input great job

[gonzorudeboy]

Actually the kind of product made for me. Perfect complement to my acoustic kit. Thanks for the vid, great work as always Justin.

[demonocusmetalocus]

Perfect for metal guys who just want to trigger their kick drums

[youngguns]

Excellent Review! This Module is a great option for the Gigging Drummer.

[jpsquared]

Hey Justin, Great and fair review. One point about your comment on the limited input - you noted at about 4:37 that you wished it had 4 and they could have done that for the $300 price point. Look at it this way: I'll be the street price will be $149. You could buy two and get your 4 inputs, right? Not a bad deal at that. You'd also get two sets of foot switches for more control and real estate on the floor. Just a thought.

[PLFORTE]

Don't have many thought about this one but you did an excellent job at covering it, as always. Keep it up!!

[michaeloconnelldrums]

For the price and what it offers you I could see this being really useful to make my tiny gigging kit sound much better. It's a collapseable kit that I made myself and the kick sounds weak and boxy. But with this I wouldn't have to deal with miking the kick and using extreme eq. Minimal features and a cheap price make this perfect for the small pub gigs :)

[JasonWelchMusic]

I have 4 toms a kick and a snare.
Im debating between using three tm1 modules.... or one tm6.
....Seems like alot of extras, but three tm1's are under $600. But one tm6 is over $800.
Both allow downloading your own samples, so let the debates begin... and go!

[ZenZoba]

I just bought two of them. Small kit works great. Very simple to use

[NickBauman]

Nice review once again your the best.Always enjoy watching

[twisties]

good job on the review ... I saw some vids on this but no one said anything about the limitations. I have the TM2 already so I'm already ahead.

[facelen]

Hello, great and informative videos man. Thanks. I have a question: when you cross stick, does it always trigger the snare sound? Or is it because in the video there is a dual zone trigger on the snare?

[KitCatStudio]

Hey Justin loving your vids always a major help, when being stuck with an e-drum issue!
Still looking for a cheap device to expand my fantastic tm6pro trigger inputs. All inputs are already split. I guess tm1 is not the right instrument for the trick! Maybe Roland tmc6 ? Tnx a lot from Tel Aviv ☺️

[boristomakic]

Am I wrong or you are talking about TM1 and you have TM6 on the video?

[mraash]

Couldn't agree more about the lack of inputs. I'd happily pay another £100 for 2 more inputs. It' feels like they're trying to push you towards the TM-6 if you want more inputs with no consideration about the jump in price.

[silhy]

Seems pretty fun to play with. Do you play frequently on acoustic sets?
In case not, don't you missed it?

[jedijeffp]

Great review. Seems like an interesting product, but at that price point with only 2 trigger inputs, what's the advantage of this product over the Alesis SamplePad 4?

[tronque]

I’m just concerned what happens when Roland eventually stops making updates to the app and doesn’t work on newer devices. Then Tm-1 loses a lot of its functionality, right?

[Bluums]

Hmm, I’m not sure why you previously disliked the TM-2 since it’s cheap and it does have two dual zone inputs. Ok, it doesn’t have a foot switch and no app, since it’s a bit older. And by pushing both arrow buttons together, it mutes the current kit, so equally convenient.