Adding midi pads to an acoustic set

Piebe

Senior Member
Hi,

I have a 4 piece Mapex big city kit (customized) to which i want to add digital pads which make it possible for me to play samples and if possible loop them while drumming. Three things are essential for it to be, namely easy to hit (10 inch) midi and economy class. If it has on boards sounds that fine, if it has none that is even better. What is the piece of equipment that i will be needing? Is an Alesys e-drumkit perhaps worth considering? Or are there cheaper and better options for this. The patterns will only be used for vocals and some sounds but will not play a head part in the band. I hope my description is concrete enough.
 
Hi,

I have a 4 piece Mapex big city kit (customized) to which i want to add digital pads which make it possible for me to play samples and if possible loop them while drumming. Three things are essential for it to be, namely easy to hit (10 inch) midi and economy class. If it has on boards sounds that fine, if it has none that is even better. What is the piece of equipment that i will be needing? Is an Alesys e-drumkit perhaps worth considering? Or are there cheaper and better options for this. The patterns will only be used for vocals and some sounds but will not play a head part in the band. I hope my description is concrete enough.

Not sure what you meant by 'economy class' but this might be what you are looking for:

http://www.alesis.com/samplepad

I have no experience with this but I'd start there in your search.

I do have a Roland SPD-S that will do exactly what you want. However, the newest model is the SPD-SX which has some improvements. Much higher price tag though.

For middle ground I'd say look for a gently used SPD-S (GENTLY used).

Jim
 
The ones mentioned above (SamplePad, SPD-S, SPD-SX), and the Yamaha Multi-12 are the only pads I know of where you can load user samples.
Higher end full drum kits from Roland and Yamaha can load samples, but they're pretty pricey.
I think the SamplePad is strictly 'load a sound - hit the pad' type thing. Not 100% sure though.

Your best bet would be to download the manuals and see if they can do what you're looking for.
 
The ones mentioned above (SamplePad, SPD-S, SPD-SX), and the Yamaha Multi-12 are the only pads I know of where you can load user samples.
Higher end full drum kits from Roland and Yamaha can load samples, but they're pretty pricey.
I think the SamplePad is strictly 'load a sound - hit the pad' type thing. Not 100% sure though.

Your best bet would be to download the manuals and see if they can do what you're looking for.
+1

(I also forgot to mention the Yamaha which is a very nice unit)

The manual download idea is a very good one. That's one thing I really appreciate about downloadable PDF manuals is the ability to 'preview' what you'll buy in terms of features and abilities.
 
I've got a Multi-12 and really like it a lot. I think it's a little pricey for what Piebe probably wants to spend though. I've seen pretty good deals on used ones once in a while.
 
Thanks for the replies, the Alesis looks like what i need. I can hook it up to my laptop which will function as a sound base.
 
I went through several attempts to do this. I found the Alesis to be the best option money-wise. It also allows you to load your own sounds via an SD card. I was trying to find a way to avoid having to use my laptop on stage while keeping the price below $300. There are some little quirks with this thing, but all in all, it works great. And I've performed with it several times now.
 
Not having to bring your laptop sure is a big plus and the use of sd is also something i applaud. I know now what i'm on the look out for. Thanks for the useful tip (love your drumming btw)!
 
Thanks a lot man. If you end up with the sample pad and have trouble loading your own sounds, feel free to PM me. I'll point you toward some resources that helped me.
 
Thank you, i'd like to see some video's of the pads in live action if you can hook me up with them.
 
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