SPD 6 Midi Functions??

[JimVII]

I read that the new SPD 6 has MIDI out. Does it not have MIDI in? If not, does this mean you can assign it's own sounds to external pads, but you cannot use it as an extra pad source to the TD-8/10?
I was going to use it as "auxillery" pads to ad on to my set (cowbells, etc.) I wanted to be able to use the sounds in the TD, instead of the one's that are built in.
Does anybody know if this can be done?

-Jim

[jrcel]

To use the sounds on the TD8 take a midi cord from the midi out of the multi pad into the midi in of the TD8.

[JimVII]

jrcel-

Wouldn't the above be the set up for triggering the SPD 6's sounds with the TD module? I was under the impression that when MIDI out goes to MIDI in, the "out" source holds the sounds, and the "in" source uses them. Maybe I am missing something?

-j

-Jim

[puttenvr]

MIDI connections have nothing to do with sounds. Each module/percussion pad has its own outputs for the sounds. Connect these outputs to the sound system.

With MIDI you only trigger 1,2 or 3 sounds. So if you connect the SPD6 to the TD-8 then you can trigger 2 sounds with one strike. But, both sounds leave their own source. It is not that the SPD sounds are merged in the td-8 or so.

Clear?

[JimVII]

puttenvr-

Yea, I get what you are saying. A long time ago when i first got a MIDI set up (sequencer, synth, drum machine, sampler) I asked a music store salesman about cables, and he told me I needed audio cables besides MIDI cables. I made the mistake of asking why. I then got the "you pitiful newbie" speech from him...
I do understand that actual audio signals are not transmitted through the MIDI cables (they only handle the MIDI data.)

My question was simply:
If the SPD 6 only has MIDI out, how can i use the SPD 6 to trigger the patches (not just audio) from the TD-8?
I thought that the MIDI out sent the data and the MIDI in recieved the data.

(out)TD-8-->(in)SPD 6

Am I wrong?This is how I always set my old stuff up...

-J

[CaptKidd]

JimVII, You have your little diagram backwards, the Midi Out from the SPD-6 would go to the Mini In on the TD-8. When you hit a Pad on the SPD-6 it will send a signal through the Midi Out to the Midi In on the TD-8 and trigger the assigned sound to that Midi note. To hear the sound from the SPD-6 you will still have to have audio cables from that into your mixer or to the audio in on your TD-8. On my SPD-20 (big brother to the SPD-6) I can just assign a Midi note to a pad but I can also turn off the sound on that pad too so when I hook it up to my sampler I can trigger the sampler from the pad but not have a sound from the SPD-20 if I don't want it. Hope this helps

Brian

[jrcel]

There are some really good books on midi avaiable, try the local library. If you want to control sounds on the TD8 from the multi pad, you connect the midi out of the multi pad to the midi in of the TD8. It has alwys worked this way.

[JimVII]

Thanks for the help!
Wow. I guess I was way off. The weird thing is that my old set up worked great. It was probably due to the fact that I had both the midi in and out jacks connected up.

Would there be a way to use some of the SPD sounds on some of the SPD pads (let's say, pads 1-3) and use the TD-8's sounds (through MIDI) on pads 4-6?
Kind of like "mix and matching."
I assume this would mean turning off some of the sounds from one of the modules on certain pads.
On my old set up I would just turn off local control or even just turn the volume down on the module I didn't want to hear.

-Jim

[BINARY]

Ok, I don't know anything about the SPD-6, but I'm certain it has both a MIDI in, and a MIDI out/thru.
If it doesn't, then don't buy it.

Think of it like your keyboard, right?
When you type the letter "B" your computer just sends a signal to the computer that says, "send 'B'"

All the SPD-6 is doing when transmitting MIDI is sending a number.
You hit a pad, and it sends either:

• a sound out the audio out
or
• a MIDI signal out the MIDI out
or
• both

...ok? so when you hit one of the pads, it's sending a message out the MIDI out port saying "PLAY NUMBER 48"

Your TD-8 recieves this and says, "ok, number 48? that corresponds to the car crash sound, so here goes..."
and sends the car crash sound out the audio out.

I hope this makes sense. It's a little over-simplified, but in answer to your question, you should be able to trigger the TD-8 from the SPD-6, as I think every MIDI module since the beginning of MIDI has had a MIDI in as well as MIDI out.

BINARY

[JimVII]

Hey, Binary.
You would think it would have both, but from all the specs and photos I saw, it only has MIDI out. I guess this is one of the reasons it only cost between 200-300 dollars. I was just looking for a low cost alternative to some of the other multi-pads. My kit is already costing a ton as it is now...

-Jim

[BINARY]

Yeah, I just checked the Roland site, and there's just one MIDI port. That's pretty lame.

I guess you can either hit EBAY and get one of the other SPD models, or you just won't be able to use the SPD-6 sounds with the TD-8. You can still use the TD-8 sounds with the SPD-6 though.

Keep in mind that might get frustrating somewhere down the road if you start interfacing with your computer.

BINARY

[jrcel]

You can also pick up one of these for dirt cheap, Roland Octapad , Octapad II pad 80, Kat Drumkat {any}, Simmons Poratakit, Malletkat, same idea, keyboard layout. I realy don't know what Roland is thinking about, it's midi, it should have full midi capability. I guess they think thet're a toy company these days.

[This message has been edited by jrcel (edited February 07, 2001).]

[CaptKidd]

Yes Jim you should be able to turn off the sound of the SPD-6 on say 3 pads and just trigger a Midi Note on those 3 pads but also be able to have just the SPD-6 sounds on the remaining 3 pads without triggering a Midi Note on those. Thats the way the SPD-20 works. I do agree though that there may be other alternatives like the Octapads, DrumKats etc. that will work just as good if not better but on the other hand I still wouldn't necessarily rule out the SPD-6. But I would highly recommend trying it out before you buy it (when ever it becomes availiable).

Brian

[Ectosan]

Also, the previous SPD multi-pad, the SPD-11, should have dropped in price considerably since the SPD-20 and SPD-6 have been released. I still use my SPD-11 for all of my "auxilliary" percussion sounds, and it still holds up nicely. It also has a MIDI In, Out, and Thru, plus it can drive 4 external pads with only regular 1/4" instrument cables. Check eBay, I'm sure there's one or two lurking around on there somewhere...

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-Ectosan
"Yeah, but can you play REAL drums, too?"