Jesse G
Addictive Drums has an a section in it for mapping which is real easy to use. 
 
I click the question mark in the upper right hand corner of AD2
I select Map Window drop down box  on upper the left side
I click Empty under Map Preset  Drop down box. 
I click on a Kit piece in the Window and then select "learn" for the particular type of sound from that piece
I then click Learn for the kit piece and I then click the Pad on my Controller I want to assign for the kit piece and you will hear the Kit piece.
 
Continue for all Drum pieces you want assigned for the Drum Kit.
When done click SAVE under the Map Preset Drop Down box and give it a name. 
 
You are done. 
 
There is more in depth information but that's the basics for setting up a drum pad for AD2.
 
Groove3.com has a pretty good video Tutorial for using AD2 and Mapping to keys and pads.
 
See this AD2 Mapping video as well on Youtube.com

Good stuff, Jesse!
 
Here's the link to the Groove 3 course that contains the AD2 keymapping videos.
 
https://www.groove3.com/X...Drums-2-Advanced-Vol-2

Yes, great info.  Thank you!

Husker,
 
Let us know how well the provided information worked for you.
============================
 
The Maartian
 
  I never realized that the AD2 Mapping video was one of the sample videos on the Groove3 site.  I purchased the videos after AD2 was offered in Sonar by Cakewalk.   

Will do, just need to figure out what to do about a controller.   

husker
Will do, just need to figure out what to do about a controller.   

What???
 
The FA08 has 16 pads, why not use those pads and map them to AD2.  That is what i did with the M-Audio Code.
 
Once I lost the use of my Trigger Finger, I regained some real estate on my desk, while still have the pads on my  CODE to trigger AD2. 

The Pads on the FA08 aren't really useful as a drum controller.  They are designed for other things (sampling, selecting parts, etc.)  They don't really send the midi data.
 
I have a question in on the Roland forum now, but it isn't looking promising to use those pads.

Are you willing to try a drum kit? 
I bought a Yamaha DXR 450 for $500 and it solved my aged old issue with having to play drum parts in 3 or 4 passes on a keyboard. Now I can do it all in one pass. I'm not a very good drummer but it gets things pretty close to what I wanted and then good old PRV editing finishes it off. It's made for better drum tracks overall and faster.
And a another added bonus-  Like any instrument the more you play/ practice the better you get. my drumming improved to the point where I'm not intimidated to sit behind a kit at a jam session now. 

Hmmm.  I'll take a look at that.  Not sure I would have the room (or would want to put up with what the wife would think!).  I'l do some measurements - thanks for the suggestion.
 
I had been looking at the NI Maschine, as my plans for my summer bonus was to get Komplete.  Getting a Maschine saves me a couple hundred overall in getting into NI. 

Using an drum kit will be the best solution but the most expensive ... i' m not sure how happy you will be with something that costs 500$. Mine cost a lot more and uses a fast Roland brain to convert the hits from the pads to MIDI notes ... plus you need a super fast interface like the MOTU AVB to get timing really tight ... otherwise the latency will render most of what you play unusable

... and the edrum kit needs a lot of space ...

A good working solution may be a proper drum pad /drum synth with MIDI out like e.g. the Nord Drum 2 which I got mounted right next to the keyboards. Does not need much space. Has superb triggering. Works with a kick pad ... this can in combination with AD2 work like real cool groove machine

There's no difference in latency I would think in any of the major brands, and the driver is probably the same through out the line up from top to bottom. It's a MIDI /USB driver anyhow, not an audio driver.  Yamaha has Stienberg  drivers for there audio stuff so possibly the drums use a Stienberg midi driver.  
The timing is dead on as far as I can tell. I can leave my snare tracks alone because they are either right on the mark or just a hair ahead of the beat which is the whole point. That's why the tracks sound better. Your using a stick, not a finger. and the notes get put where I wanted them to go more or less. 
You will hear latency , of course, if you monitor your playing via a VST drum set. So I use the brain  sounds while tracking so there is zero latency in my headphones. Even at my lowest buffer settings which gives me something like 10 ms RTL I can hear the echo and it throws me off. 
 
Of course the better kits are more satisfying to play especially live. You get better playing surfaces and more zones.  But the low end kits are a big step up from using your fingers, and that was all I was looking for just, like the OP.  
An Octapad or something big enough to hit with a stick would do the same thing. The brain sound quality is not worth worrying about as you will be using a VST once the midi is captured. Mine actually sound pretty good for goofing around when we have a jam session or a porch party. I stick a real snare and Hi Hat in there. I use a patch where the kit snare becomes a cowbell!! We always need more cowbell after all! 
 
FYI The Yamaha kit takes up 36" x 16" of floor space. I have it on my right side and all I do is swivel my chair. It sort of gets in my way when playing guitar but it weighs nothing so I just push it back a bit.