Roland VQD106 Review: How Quiet Is Roland’s Quiet Design Kit?

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Most electronic kits are sold on sounds, pad sizes and module features. The VQD106 is sold on one thing: less noise. Roland launched it in October 2024 as V-Drums Quiet Design, and every part of it, from the pads to the rack feet to the pedal bases, was redesigned to cut what the people around you hear.

That’s a very specific promise, so this review spends more time than usual on what Roland’s noise claim does and does not say. Then it covers the parts you’d judge any kit on: the module, the pads, the size and what owners report.

I built this from Roland’s product and spec pages, MusicRadar and DrumSpy launch coverage, hands-on reviews from MusicRadar, Gearnews and The Drum Ninja, and customer reviews on Sweetwater. I did not play or measure the kit myself.

Our score: 7.9 / 10. On paper, the right kit if noise is your hard limit and the wrong one if it isn’t. It loses points for a module you can get in much cheaper Roland kits and for small pads.

Price and where it sits

I don’t quote exact prices. At launch, MusicRadar reported the VQD106 near the top of the $1,000 to $2,000 bracket, with the VQD106PADS version (no module) a little lower. Sweetwater has since listed it on sale below that.

For context, the same TD-07 module comes in the TD-07DMK2, which sits under $1,000. So a large part of the VQD106’s price is the quiet hardware, not the electronics. DrumSpy’s buyers’ guide makes the same point: you pay mainly for the isolation design, and the sound library is the trade-off.

What Roland’s “75% quieter” claim actually says

This is the most important section of the review, so I’ll be exact.

• The claim: Roland says the VQD106 delivers up to 75% less playing noise than a conventional V-Drums kit. Some Roland pages phrase it as reducing noise “by 75 percent.” The headline wording is “up to.”
• The comparison: a conventional V-Drums kit. Roland doesn’t say which model.
• The test: Roland says “detailed testing in special facilities” showed the result. It gives no method, no microphone position and no conditions.
• The numbers: Roland publishes no dB values for the VQD106 or for the kit it was compared with.
• The room-level claim: Roland’s US spec page says stick hits on the pads produce in-room sound levels similar to an average conversation. Again, no figure.

What this means for you: the VQD106 is clearly designed to be quieter, and every reviewer I read agreed it is very quiet. But “up to 75%” is not a number you can plug into your apartment. It doesn’t tell you whether the 75% applies to the sound in the room, the thump through the floor, or both. MusicRadar’s January 2025 review came closest to a check: the reviewer compared it with a standard TD-07 kit using a decibel meter and found it “noticeably quieter,” but published no figures. Gearnews’ reviewer said the 75% claim “definitely feels that way,” also without numbers.

You may see single dB figures for this kit on retailer pages. I couldn’t trace any to a published measurement, so I leave them out. My explainer on how much noise e-kits make covers what we do and don’t know about e-kit volume in general.

How the noise reduction works

The design is visible in Roland’s spec sheet, and it’s the reason to buy this kit.

Honeycomb pads. The PDQ-8S snare and PDQ-8 toms put a tensionable Roland mesh head over a honeycomb rubber insert, with vents on the underside. Gearnews explains the idea as “It’s all down to air”: a normal mesh pad traps air and thumps, while these let it escape and absorb the stick impact.

Cymbals. The three CYQ-12 pads use the same honeycomb rubber with a mesh outer skin and venting. That’s a big change from the hard rubber cymbal pads on most kits, which clack louder than the drums.

Kick. The KDQ-8 has an 8-inch playing surface with a triple-layer cushion and double-ply mesh, mounted in a floating frame that decouples it from the housing. It comes with a KDB-Q-W quiet beater with a round head. Gearnews describes air-filled, spherical rubber feet on its legs.

Rack. A four-post rack with an anti-vibration mechanism and hemispherical rubber feet.

Pedal bases. The NEQ-K (kick) and NEQ-H (hi-hat) bases sit under your pedals to stop foot stomps from reaching the floor. Gearnews describes a rubber slab with a carpet-like top and eight bumps underneath that leave air gaps.

The order matters. In shared buildings, the complaint is almost always the kick, then the hi-hat pedal, then the cymbals. The VQD106 attacks all three, which is why it beats a regular kit with a single noise fix bolted on.

Who the VQD106 is for, and who it is not for

Good fit

• Apartment and condo drummers whose neighbors or landlord are the main limit.
• Late-night players. A Sweetwater reviewer says they can play at 2 or 3 a.m. without issues.
• Shared houses with a sleeping baby, a home office, or a family member who hates the clack of cymbal pads.
• Players who’d otherwise build a riser. The pedal bases and isolated rack do some of that job out of the box.

Not a great fit

• Anyone who wants the best sound for the money. The TD-07 module is the same one in Roland’s cheaper kits.
• Detached houses or garages. If noise isn’t the problem, you’re paying for engineering you don’t need.
• Larger players. The 8-inch snare and toms feel small, and Gearnews’ reviewer reported accidental rim hits on the snare.
• Gigging drummers. Sweetwater reviewers say the module is fine for practice but limited for live use.

What’s in the box

Not included: kick pedal and drum throne. Roland suggests its DAP-3X accessory package for both. Budget for headphones too.

VQD106PADS: the same pads and hardware without the module and cables, for players who want to use another module.

Module and sounds: the TD-07

The VQD106 uses Roland’s TD-07, the same module family as the TD-07 kits. According to Roland:

• 50 kit slots, with more than 20 presets.
• 143 instruments and 30 multi-effect types, plus pad EQ, an overhead mic simulator and room effect.
• Metronome from 20 to 260 bpm with five rhythm types and 15 sounds.
• Five coach modes.
• 16×2 backlit LCD.

That’s a solid practice module, and Roland’s samples are clean. But it’s a small library for a kit at this price, and the screen is a two-line display. Gearnews called the TD-07 “quite weedy” next to Roland’s flagship and said its reviewer switched to Superior Drummer 3 on a computer after about 30 minutes. The Drum Ninja said it would be more excited by a bigger module or a lower price.

The practical answer is that the VQD106 is a good controller for drum software. USB MIDI is built in, and a program like Superior Drummer, EZdrummer or a free alternative gives you a huge library. My roundup of drum software covers the options. That adds cost and a computer, though.

Pads and feel

Snare: PDQ-8S

An 8-inch mesh head with a 10-inch rim, separate head and rim sensors, and a soft rubber cover on the rim for quieter rim-shots. The 8-inch head is small. Gearnews’ reviewer said it felt too small and caused occasional rim triggers he didn’t intend, and that fast rolls didn’t register reliably. Both are worth knowing if you’re an experienced player.

Toms: PDQ-8

Three 8-inch toms, single trigger only. You can’t play rim-shots on them. Three toms of the same size also means less pitch spread around the kit, though the module can tune each one.

Cymbals: CYQ-12

Three 12-inch pads for hi-hat, crash and ride. The crash and ride have bow and edge zones and choke. There’s no bell zone on the ride, which matters if you play a lot of bell patterns. Gearnews found the cymbals take some getting used to, partly because the playing surface is smaller than the pad looks.

Hi-hat: CYQ-12 with FD-9

The hi-hat is a fixed pad with the FD-9 controller pedal, not a moving hi-hat on a stand. One Sweetwater reviewer said the pedal mutes well but plays poorly and planned to upgrade it.

Kick: KDQ-8

The floating 8-inch pad takes single and double pedals, per Roland, and Gearnews lists the double-beater option as a plus. Roland sells a second NEQ-K base and a KDB-Q beater for a twin pedal. The quiet beater is part of the noise design, so if you swap it for a standard beater, expect more thump.

Overall feel

The mesh heads feel like V-Drums mesh, which Gearnews and The Drum Ninja both praised. The honeycomb insert damps the pad, so expect a slightly different rebound from a standard mesh pad. The Drum Ninja found the drums less responsive than Roland’s higher-end kits.

Hardware and footprint

Roland lists 1,300 mm wide, 1,200 mm deep and 1,200 mm tall, about 51-3/16 by 47-1/4 by 47-1/4 inches, and a weight of 29.8 kg (65 lb 12 oz).

There’s a catch in Roland’s own spec sheet. It says the dimensions and weight include the module, kick pad, kick pedal and throne, then says the kick pedal and throne are not included. So treat the weight as approximate for what’s actually in the box.

At about 51 inches wide, it’s similar to Roland’s compact kits and fits a bedroom corner. Sweetwater reviewers call the kit well built and fairly light, though one says the kick unit is the heaviest part and another found the shipping boxes heavy.

Noise in real life

Here’s what the design should and shouldn’t do, based on Roland’s description and reviewer reports.

Should help a lot:

• Stick noise in the room, because of the honeycomb pads and cymbals.
• Pedal stomps through the floor, because of the floating kick, quiet beater and NEQ bases.
• Rack vibration into the floor, because of the rubber feet.

Won’t disappear:

• A beater is still hitting a pad. The VQD106 has a pedal-driven kick, not a beaterless one. Roland’s TD-02KV uses a beaterless KT-1 kick, and that’s a different kind of quiet.
• Someone in the same room will still hear you play.
• Concrete floors behave differently from wood-frame floors. A kit that’s fine over concrete may still bother someone under a wooden floor.

If you live above someone, I’d still consider a riser under the VQD106 at first, then try without it. My guide to drum risers covers ready-made platforms, and what neighbors can hear explains how the sound travels.

Setting it up for the least noise

A few setup choices decide how much of the design’s benefit you actually get. None of these need extra money.

1. Use both pedal bases. Put the kick pedal on the NEQ-K and the FD-9 on the NEQ-H, and keep the pedals fully on the bases. A pedal heel hanging off the edge puts your stomp straight into the floor.
2. Keep the quiet beater. The round-headed KDB-Q-W is part of Roland’s noise design. A felt or plastic beater from another pedal will hit harder.
3. Let the rack feet do their job. Don’t put the rack on a hard board or a tight carpet edge that squashes the rubber feet unevenly.
4. Change one thing at a time. If you adjust head tension for feel, listen for extra stick noise and back off if it rises.
5. Set a sensible headphone level. Many players hit harder when the kit sounds quiet in their ears. Turn the headphones up a little and you’ll often play softer.

Then ask the person downstairs. Their ears are the only test that counts.

Connectivity and apps

The harness has a second crash input, so you can add a cymbal later. Bluetooth audio lets you play along to songs from your phone, and Bluetooth MIDI connects to apps on a tablet.

What’s missing: separate 1/4-inch outputs, multichannel USB audio and an SD card slot. The output and headphones share one mini jack, so you can’t run an amp and headphones at the same time without a splitter.

What owners and reviewers say

There isn’t a big pool of owner feedback yet, but what exists points the same way.

• Sweetwater customers rate it five stars across five reviews. The common praise is how quiet it is, including for late-night play in apartments, along with the mesh feel and build quality. Complaints are the hi-hat pedal (one review), the module being limited for live use (two reviews) and single-trigger toms (one review).
• MusicRadar found it very quiet, the pads responsive and the kit compact but sturdy. Its cons were the high price and single-zone toms, and its verdict was that if noise is what stands between you and drumming, it is “worth every penny.”
• Gearnews gave it 4 out of 5: “Is this a ‘pro’ kit? No. Is it a great practice kit? Yes.” The reviewer praised the pad design and build, and criticized the module, the small snare and roll response.
• The Drum Ninja called it a top pick for apartment drummers, while questioning the price for the module you get.
• DrumSpy said it’s the right buy only if downstairs noise is your main concern, and suggested other kits give better value otherwise.

The pattern: everyone agrees it’s quiet, and nearly everyone wishes it had a better module.

Problems and fixes

Accidental rim triggers on the snare. Lower the rim sensitivity in the trigger settings and aim a little further toward the center. The 8-inch head leaves less room than a 10- or 12-inch snare.

Fast rolls drop notes. Check the snare and tom sensitivity and scan time in the trigger menu. If it still bothers you, that’s a limit of the small pads.

The hi-hat pedal feels vague. Run the hi-hat calibration and try a different pedal feel setting. A Sweetwater reviewer upgraded the pedal itself.

The sounds get boring. Use USB MIDI into drum software. The TD-07 library is fixed in size, so software is the real fix.

Still too loud downstairs. Add a riser or extra mat under the kick and hi-hat pedal bases. Keep the quiet beater on.

Upgrades worth buying

1. A kick pedal and throne. Required. Roland suggests the DAP-3X package.
2. Closed-back headphones, so you can hear the kit clearly at low volume.
3. Drum software. The cheapest big upgrade to the sounds.
4. A riser if you live above someone and the kit alone isn’t enough.
5. A different module, for VQD106PADS owners or later. Roland’s V71 firmware notes say version 1.12 added trigger types for the KDQ-8, PDQ-8S, PDQ-8 and CYQ-12. Gearnews notes the pads-only kit uses a custom D-plug cable snake, so you may need other cables for a non-TD-07 module. Check compatibility with your dealer first.

Alternatives

Roland TD-02KV. Much cheaper, with a beaterless kick that’s very quiet through the floor. Rubber toms and a smaller module, but for many beginners it solves the same problem for a lot less.

Roland TD-07DMK2. The same module family in an all-mesh compact kit for well under the VQD106’s price. Add a riser and it closes some of the noise gap.

Roland TD-07KV2. Bigger pads, two crashes and a 12-inch ride, but no quiet design. Better if the room is fine but you want more kit.

Roland TD313. A far better module and a 12-inch snare for a similar budget, but a standard beater-driven kick and no noise engineering.

For a wider comparison of low-noise options, see my silent practice kit roundup.

Bottom line

The VQD106 does the one job it was built for. Every reviewer and every owner review I found says it’s very quiet, and its design goes after the kick, the pedals, the cymbals and the rack, which is where e-kit noise really comes from. Just read Roland’s 75% figure for what it is: a manufacturer claim against an unnamed V-Drums kit, with no dB values behind it. Buy it if noise decides whether you can play at all. If it doesn’t, a cheaper kit with a bigger module will make you happier.