SPD-S drum pads

[thiscocks]

Hi,

Has anyone had experience of the Roland SPDs? I played on one in a music shop at the weekend and thought it would be a cool addition to a v-drum kit in regards to multi samples to play along to.

However, I will buy my v-drum(td12) soon, I dont want to buy a spds and find out I can do most things it does on the TD12. I only want to be able to use say, a couple of percussion tracks as backing/click. Kind of two questions now but: Is it possible to record your own percussion track on the TD12, and then layer over another track of eg. sound effects ontop? If so then I will probably not get the SPDs yet!!

Cheers for any info,
Tim

[Hercules]

Hi Tim,

I just bought an SPD-S on eBay to add to my TD-6V and SPD-20 - it should arrive in a couple of days so I'll be able to answer more of your questions in detail then, but to get things started.....
- the TD-12 has 250 sequencer patterns but cannot sample
- the SPD-S has tbc sequencer patterns but CAN sample
- the TD-12 has 50 drum kits (patches) and 12 input ports for pads
- the SPD-S has 128 patches, 9 onboard pads and 1 input port for pads

The devices can be MIDI connected so you should be able to setup sequencer patterns on both and assign one pad on either device to trigger both sets of patterns........
You could trigger the samples recorded to the SPD-S from the TD-12 also....
In all, I'd say they're a good combination.

[thiscocks]

Hi Tim,

I just bought an SPD-S on eBay to add to my TD-6V and SPD-20 - it should arrive in a couple of days so I'll be able to answer more of your questions in detail then, but to get things started.....
- the TD-12 has 250 sequencer patterns but cannot sample
- the SPD-S has tbc sequencer patterns but CAN sample
- the TD-12 has 50 drum kits (patches) and 12 input ports for pads
- the SPD-S has 128 patches, 9 onboard pads and 1 input port for pads

The devices can be MIDI connected so you should be able to setup sequencer patterns on both and assign one pad on either device to trigger both sets of patterns........
You could trigger the samples recorded to the SPD-S from the TD-12 also....
In all, I'd say they're a good combination.

Cheers for that,

Yes I really liked a couple of the built-in sound effects on the SPDs which I dont think will be on the TD12. No doubt it goes very well with the roland drum modules. Guess the only slight bit of work you'd have to do with regards to using sequenced patterns on both the spds and td-6/12, is getting the same tempo. Would be interesting to hear how you get on! Damn, think Im going to go and buy one now...

Regards

[Mr Stixx]

With the TD-12 you will be able to record drums or/and percussion loops or patterns using two tracks, midi channels 10 & 11. As long as the sounds you want to use are from the module, you should be fine.

You can do the above also on the spd-s but with the spd-s, you can sample any sound you want and mix it into a loop or pattern, so you are not restricted for sounds. You can also add real time FX to these patterns that you can contol whilst it plays.

Then you have the fact that you have a percusion/drum/special effects pad added to your kit or even a second drum kit at your side. The spd-s offers so much as an addition or even as a stand-alone unit. Check out my vids to see it used as a full kit.

In short, the spd-s is a powerfull tool but if its only a couple of tracks your looking for, its probably not worth the expense.

[almazza]

I have a SPD-S. It works pretty well. I record samples onto it either via the 'ins' which I have connected to a set of outs from my board, or I load up samples on a complact flash card. A few things to consider:

1) Don't expect to be able to play the pads like you would a regular Roland pad, it's doesn't provide that level of dynamics.

2) 512M CF cards are a b**tch to find .

Adam

[V(ader)DRUMMER]

The spd-s offers so much as an addition or even as a stand-alone unit. Check out my vids to see it used as a full kit.

In short, the spd-s is a powerfull tool but if its only a couple of tracks your looking for, its probably not worth the expense.

Stixx is right on. The SPD-S is a fantastic and versatile piece of equipment. I've had mine for about a year and I'm still only scratching the surface of its full potential. But, it is pricey, so I wouldn't invest in one unless you really want to use it for all it's worth. Do check out Stixx's video clips. They really give you a good idea of the many ways you can use an SPD-S. Those clips helped sell me on making my SPD-S purchase.

[thiscocks]

great, thanks for the info guys. Considering their price and looking at its capabilities (good vids..) I think I will wait and first get used to the TD12 and what it can do before getting further into the sample/loops thing. Im sure the TD12 will fullfil most of my needs!....

Thanks again,
Tim

[Hercules]

I have a SPD-S. It works pretty well. I record samples onto it either via the 'ins' which I have connected to a set of outs from my board, or I load up samples on a complact flash card. A few things to consider:

1) Don't expect to be able to play the pads like you would a regular Roland pad, it's doesn't provide that level of dynamics.

2) 512M CF cards are a b**tch to find .

Adam

Hey Adam,

Could you elaborate a bit on your statement #1? What are the limitations that you have found?

Thanks

[almazza]

I don't know if I would call it a limitation, since I don't think you buy it expecting it perform like a Roland pad. But in general I have found the pads not as responsive as say a PD8 pad. But I knew that going in. I will admit I probably haven't played with the sensitivity settings and dynamics curves as much as I could, but you definitely don't seem to get the same level of respnsiveness

Adam

[BarT]

The SPD-S doesn't have a threshold setting for internal pads, so you can't get them to respond to a fairly light touch (like a threshold of 0-2 on a PD pad). Presumably the preset threshold is slightly higher to avoid crosstalk between adjacent pads. (It doesn't have Crosstalk Cancel for internal pads either.)


Bruce

[Hercules]

Thanks guys,

I'll do some fiddling when my SPD-S arrives and see what else I can tweek.

[-Aj-]

The SPDS is a great piece of kit!

the TD12 cannot do any sampling and is rather limited in sequencing, however it does have a built in metronome if you want to use a click.

Yes the SPDS pads arn't as dynamic or sensitive as a regular pad, but they are more durable. SPDS' are often worked into acoustic setups, I love that I dont have to "play nice" with my spds, A rock drummer mid song will often forget to back off on the pad so its nice the SPDS triggers are a little less sensitve. Besides the SPDS is meant for samples and loops mainly along with a few one shot sounds here and there.. that is its intended primary use, and dynamics arn't important in triggering most one shot samples and especially loops, where you (9 times out of 10) want it to always play back at the same volume (which a too dynamic pad might hinder)

I'd reccomend and SPDS to anyone!

Alex

[mart]

[BarT]

Welcome!

You may have read here that an expression pedal on an SPD-S can be used to control volume as well as effects. But I believe we made an incorrect assumption five years ago when the SPD-S was very new, because an expression pedal is often used for volume control of other instruments. I think on an SPD-S the expression pedal can only be used for effects, not volume.


Bruce

[Hercules]

I don't know if I would call it a limitation, since I don't think you buy it expecting it perform like a Roland pad. But in general I have found the pads not as responsive as say a PD8 pad. But I knew that going in. I will admit I probably haven't played with the sensitivity settings and dynamics curves as much as I could, but you definitely don't seem to get the same level of respnsiveness

Adam

Hey Adam, I see what you mean about the "lack of" dynamics and sensitivity now that I've played on the SPD-S for a while.....it's still good and certainly has features that you don't get in any other piece of Roland kit - works very well as a supplement to the kit, but the TD-6V kit and SPD-20 leave it for dead as a playable instrument.