This post is in response to our ongoing threads on various V-Drums forums concerning Roland cymbal problems on the newer Made in Malaysia models. We buy and sell tons of newer Roland electronic drum kits and we have witnessed this problem over and over and over again in the past 3 years. So far, we have not witnessed any attempt by Roland to rectify the problem, admit the problem or reimburse buyers in many countries that DO NOT feature great warranty service coverage. This is a catastrophic business flaw in our opinion!
Roland Made in Malaysia Cymbal Problems
This is not an attempt to bash Roland. We love the company and its products, use V-Drums ourselves and have set up our entire business based around second hand sales of Roland gear. We just want the truth to be told and at this point. There is simply no way to deny the serious quality control issues with the newer generation of cymbals from that darned Malay factory!
We first started to see broken edge zones, occasional broken bell zones and even less frequent complete cymbal triggering failure on the Made in Malaysia cymbals on the second generation of Roland TD-17 kits. These kits came with the newer ball style cymbal mounts, compared to the older TD-11 style booms, for reference. Buying these kits caused our business great loss when it first occurred, since there was no warning and several kits came in at once with the problem. We had to eat the expense.
Over the past 3 years now, we have seen an increase in Roland cymbal problems, all on the Malaysian-made models. Now, we are extremely careful about buying TD-17 sets and have also seen the problem in TD-27 and TD-07 sets. In fact, one of our own VAD-506 sets had a broken edge zone on a CY-16R-T cymbal that we sold BRAND NEW to a good customer. Of course, the cymbal worked fine when we sold it, but the guy developed the issue soon after and he always takes great care of his gear. The flaw showed its ugly face time and time again. We are happy that he reported it to us and that we were able to get him warranty coverage, in this case.
We see broken edge zones on many CY-5 hi hats. We see broken edge zones of CY-8 crashes and rides. We see lots and lots of broken edge zones on CY-12C and CY-13R styles from TD-17KVX kits. We have seen an increase in faults on CY-14C-T and CY-16R-T. When will the problem be solved?
Roland MUST Address the Problem
When we see an issue in our business, we do not hide from it or pretend it does not exist. We look for a solution. The obvious answer is for Roland to admit the problem, issue a press release telling people that the issue will be covered for an extended time under warranty and also inform buyers how to get service in countries where Roland DOES NOT have headquarters or an independent distributor. We have witnessed no evidence of any action on the part of Roland and it really makes us so sad (and mad!), since we focus most of our retail business on their products!
Roland, here is your wake up call! There is more edrum competition now than ever before. Lots of other companies are closing the gap on your market leadership. Now is not the time to allow your reputation to suffer so badly as customer after customer spends a literal fortune on a drum set, just to deal with a known and obvious manufacturing defect affecting an entire product line.
Roland: You are better than this. Your past history is stellar! Your older products are simply the best and most durable edrums ever built. We love Roland! However, we just do not trust the current company trajectory due to the issues we see every week in our store. Please Roland, fix the problem! I think your executives are grossly out of touch with your own product dissatisfaction ratings that are discussed on social media and in forums globally every day. Maybe it is time to read these posts and take action already…
Whose Problem Is It?
This post is in no way a criticism of Roland distributors. They are doing the best that they can to provide support. Independent distributors are completely innocent of all blame, so do not be angry at the place where you bought your drum set… This problem is a manufacturing issue; not a service issue. This post is a critique of the company itself, since a solution can be implemented, but for whatever, has not been implemented. Why?
We are hoping that someone from Roland will reach out and address this issue. We look forward to posting a complete retraction of this post in the future, as soon as a retraction is justified. If this post remains, that means that NO ONE at Roland cared enough to do anything about it…
Roland Cymbal Problems Update
Update: March 2022: Today, our Roland distributor reached out and said that Roland Corp asked him to contact us and tell us that the cymbal issue was fixed. The distributor did not elaborate what the issue was, but assured us that the number of complaints about defective made in Malaysia cymbals should decrease now. We will continue to monitor the situation with an open mind and will report our honest findings, as always. We would have loved the chance to discuss the matter with Roland directly, but at least it offers some semblance of hope. Once again, we invite Roland to contact us anytime to detail the matter so that we can share it with all of you.
Update: August 2022: I have been buying many sets recently and have witnessed MORE and MORE broken Malaysian cymbals; not less. I recently bought an entire lot of TD-1 sets and EVERY SINGLE cymbal was broken across a dozen sets. Many friends of mine on social media have reported more and more cymbals broken in the CY-T line on TD-27 sets. I will continue to report my experiences for the benefit of consumers worldwide. If Roland wants me to stop, they can send me a BIG FAT cheque for my losses and FIX their manufacturing defects! Unacceptable!!!
