Roland spd-s

[Carter.it]

Hy guys i'm using an spd-s from a couple of months in my kit and it's just a great machine, BUt....i was wondering if i culd get some more sounds..do you know wich is the best way to do that????
Thx

[DamoSyzygy]

it depends on the types of sounds youre after.

The SPD-S can record via line-in or mic-in so either plug the sound directly into the back (eg. from a stereo system to the SPD-S) or go out with a microphone and record your own sounds.

You can also do a search for sounds online. Load up google and type in "sound fx" and see how you go.

[Carter.it]

Appreciate man!! thx for your good advices...do you know how can i import fx sounds? just import them in the card??? but which is the right format? .wav is good?
Thx again

[Supersteve]

So on a e-kit you could record differnet real kits and have many kits in one? Think of of the options!

You could have any kit you ever dreamed of. As long as you recorded each drum of that kit. Have a birch, maple, etc... whenever you want.

[DamoSyzygy]

SPD-S uses wav files, so provided the format is correct and you use a CF card, importing them is as easy as dragging and dropping from a computer screen

[altered_beast]

So on a e-kit you could record differnet real kits and have many kits in one? Think of of the options!

You could have any kit you ever dreamed of. As long as you recorded each drum of that kit. Have a birch, maple, etc... whenever you want.

Not really, the SPD-S is a sampling unit Steve, not an e-kit. It's a box with 6 main pads and 3 rim shot type pads at the top. I will be getting one when I can find one cheap enough.

[Jay.B.]

They certainly look like a fantastic option to incorporate electronics in to an acoustic setup, been looking at various different options for a while now and this seems to be the best out of all I've seen, time to start saving some pennies for my next addition :-) or send a letter to the north pole asking santa for one LOL

[altered_beast]

haha yea, they are pretty expensive. I badly want one. The cheapest one I've seen is the bundle they sell on Thomann.de, easily the cheapest one going but you'll need to buy a British power supply if you get that. I'm spending too much on cymbals and other stuff right now but it's on the wishlist.

[Jay.B.]

Aha! thomann... yes they have some great deals on there, I'm looking at getting one second hand I think, I was looking at the SPD6 and a separate sampler, maybe an EMU ESI32 or ESI64 not a bad second hand price on those, but having it all in one unit would be rather fantastic :-)

[PeartWeckler]

I picked up my SPD-S a month and a half ago and the LCD broke on it after three weeks. I put it in the trunk of my miata every day on my way to work, which is 8 miles one way, no traffic. But my mazdaspeed suspension is more stiff than the usual miata suspension, so that may have been the trick that did it in. I don't know. I do know that the glass bezel was not scratched or damaged in any way, and that the store I got it from agreed to replace it for me, since it was under 30 days from date of purchase. I just sent it back to them last week and hoping to hear back from them any day now with a shipping confirmation on the replacement SPD-S. I will give a heads up when that happens or not.

(1) If you purchase the SPD-S, I recommend getting a case for it. I talked to Roland, and the person I spoke to wasn't aware of anything Roland sells as a case for the SPD-S. Gatorcases didn't turn up anything either, at least not anything that had the right dimensions for this expensive piece of equipment.

(2) Roland didn't have any response to my query about a "glove" for the SPD-S. Apparently they didn't figure that a drumstick could easily knock out the LCD, or break any one of the plastic knobs on the front panel, the panel that sits BETWEEN the drummer AND the pads being hit.

The cost of the LCD "board" from Roland is $119.00. And the local authorized dealer quoted me 1-1.5 hours of labor @ $60/hr. This was before I figured out I could get a new one from the retailer. A gifted techie could probably find the LCD part from some of these electronics parts stores and solder it into the existing board.

So, yes I plan on getting a case for my SPD-S. And perhaps a glove for it too. Probably will have to make my own though.

Oh, and
(3) The rubber black strike pad is not fixed to the SPD-S, at least in the sense that when the unit is held upside down, the strike pad hangs down sort of like a hammuck would between two trees. Now, most of us aren't going to be playing on a SPD-S mounted above the kit (maybe Neil Peart would), but anything above/near the vertical 90 degrees, the freefloating mass of this weighty strike pad has got to have an effect on the whole dynamics/sensitivity of this thing. E.g., the second stroke on a double stroke roll might be met by a rebounding rubber mass, cancelling out the stroke, and thus rendering the intending action useless.

That's my take anyway,

Steph
P.S. My application was to synthecize Sade's "Sweetest Taboo" shaker, rimshot, bass line, etc, which is going to be rather fun when I get the chance to play on one of these things again.

[harryconway]

I transport my SPD-S in a DJ's padded record bag. It holds the Roland unit plus my Electro-Harmonix 16 Sec. loop station and foot controller, power supplies, Ernnie Ball Jr. volume pedal and all my assorted wires. If you just want a case for the Roland, look at laptop cases.

[eirikhw]

Roland makes one:

CB-HPD-10 Gig Bag for HPD/SPD series (http://www.roland.com/products/en/CB-HPD-10/index.html)

[PeartWeckler]

Thanks! I am impressed although in the users manual it says:

"Protect the product from strong impact.
(Do not drop it!)"

So, I will probably continue to look for a hard case for mine. Something with a good inch of foam internal. I'll let you know how it goes.

And by the way, I did receive my replacement SPD-S at the post office last Thursday (just in time for the weekend). And yes, I stuck it in the car again and took it to work - I wrapped it in a towel first, and stuck it in the front passenger seat, instead of the trunk.

Steph
P.S. Went to the Montreal Jazz Fest this weekend. Anyone else go??