Alesis Sample Pad

welshsurfinsk8r

Junior Member
Has anyone bought the new Alesis sample pad? Im looking to incorporate a bass drop into my playing and was wondering if it's suitable.
You can load sounds onto it but i'm told they can only be 16bit. This means nothing to me :\

Any help greatly appreciated

Rick
 
I have a SamplePad, and it's VERY cool! Ultra simple to operate, and if you must read the instructions, they're a brief 90 seconds well spent.

16bit has to do with the structure of a sample. The higher the bit rate, the more 'true' the sound. CDs are 16bit, so the SamplePad is right there. BTW, the Roland and Yamaha units only take 16bit .wav files as well.

The only possible drawbacks are, it only plays mono samples (do you really need a stereo kick, snare, or tom?) and only takes 14mb of samples. So that's about 3 minutes of CD quality sound, which should be way more than one would need for a bunch of drum hits, cymbals, sfx, and even short loops.

The best thing is the price: $200. It's the least exepensive, easiest to use sample/pad unit there is.

Bermuda
 
One cool thing is, it will take samples with variuos sample rates. All 16bit, but 44.1khz (CD quality) and down: 22,050, 11,025, etc. are all usable. So, depending on the sound, you can conserve space and stretch the usable ram. You wouldn't want to downsample a cymbal, but a kick, or timp hit, or toms for example don't absolutely need that full resolution. You can really expand your available custom sounds by resampling where appropriate.

Bermuda
 
I have a video of a sampling pad I made out of a cut up Rock Band drum set. I just put it on a piece of plywood, wired the cut off pads back to the main part, and I'm about to paint it to match my white and gray kit soon (hopefully)

Here's a video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2031219102610 (here is the program to use the pads with the computer: http://andrewrudson.com/main.php)

It's pretty convenient, because I also can play our into MP3 from it, since it's going directly into the sound board.

Just thought I'd let you know of some alternatives. ;)
 
Cool custom pad, although it's a bit bigger than the SamplePad. Also, you have to have a sound source (laptop) so that's an extra piece of gear. Are the pads dynamic?

Bermuda
 
Cool custom pad, although it's a bit bigger than the SamplePad. Also, you have to have a sound source (laptop) so that's an extra piece of gear. Are the pads dynamic?

Bermuda

I hate to sound stupid, but what do you mean by dynamic?

And now that I look at the SamplePad...I kind of want it so I can use triggers.
 
Dynamics means varying levels, so do your Rock Band pads play soft, loud, and at various levels inbetween?

Bermuda
 
Hi,

I got my pad today and it's awesome :)

But does anybody know if you can have more then the 8 kits that's included with the pad?
If so, how do I add more kits?



Karl
 
I just got mine yesterday for a musical I'm playing in this weekend. I've got to trigger some sound effects. I got them loaded finally using the SD card.

My question is this: when I play the sound it plays the entire sample and if I hit the pad again it just layers another sound on top. Is there any way to make hitting the pad again end the last sample and start a new one?

For example: I've got a car horn programmed in. I wanted to be able to play the horn sound in rhythm with the music, but because the first sound keeps going I don't get the effect I'm looking for.

Any help would be great.
 
The monophonic/polyphonic feature... no, it won't do it. I'd suggest trimming the sample accordingly.

The unit is really pretty amazing, but let's not forget that for $199, it's not going to do everything. The Roland SPD-SX will do it, and it's also $799. However, it doesn't do everything either, even at 4x the price.

Bermuda
 
Hey there,
I am super interested in the sample pad and I am about to buy it. I have been on the fence about spending the extra cash to get the Roland or a Yamaha. There's certain pads out there that have really nice sounds but are just too expensive, and when I saw this bad boy I figured I could get it and then just find the sounds I really want online and put them on the SD card, but I am a little hesitant. I am still not 100% sure how to download sounds, where to get them, and what the best way to organize them and put them on the pad would be. I can't seem to find any information on this, much less an owners manuel, so I would greatly appreciate any advice/feedback on the pad.
 
Arranging samples on a pad is a personal preference, whatever works for you is the right way.

Samples are available on disc (sample libraries) and you can find them online. You need just enough computer background to move a file onto an SD card, and that will get you through 90% of the process. No folders or directories, just put them straight onto the card.

But sometimes it helps to tweak a sample in a sound editing program, just to make sure it's 'tight'. That is, if there's any space (dead air) in front of the actual sound in the file, it won't trigger exactly when you hit. Obviously, with rhythmic hits, delays aren't good. So, you edit the file to remove that dead air, maybe tweak the EQ, raise the volume, or add an effect, and then it's ready to save to the card and load into the pad.

Remember, this unit takes only .wav files (16bit 44.1khz, 22,050, or 11,025) and plays mono samples, although you can pan them to make a stereo output for a kit, for example.

Once you get the hang of it, it's all very quick and easy.

Bermuda
 
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Awesome. Thanks for getting back to me def a helpful response. I've been working on gather the sounds I want over the past couple days. I still havent found a really solid place to get kit sounds from. Would you mind directing me to a couple websites? Also, is there anyway to download sounds from other pads? I am dying to get some of the Roland 808 sounds but every time I try I end up at sketchy websites and feel like I am about to get a virus at any moment.
 
I don't download sounds, but I know there are sites out there. But if you're not 100% comfortable with them, simply don't click on anything.

There are all types of sample discs available, some as little as $10 or less, and some feature a number of the classic machines like Roland, Linn, Oberheim, etc. Sometimes the files are .wav format, sometimes they're audio CDs, which means you'll need to extract (rip) the sounds and save as .wav files. Those will probably be your best way to get a large number of sounds without a lot of fuss.

You may also find other players willing to swap/give samples from their libraries.

And, you can often grab sounds from existing CDs, but again that means ripping them and editing in an editing program.

It's possible to grab sounds from other machines if you simply record their output into an audio editing program.

Now that I've mentioned it 3 times, I think that's your first step - get an audio editor. I use Sound Forge, but it's certainly not free. I think free programs like Cool Edit are still around, or you can try Office Depot/Staples for their $10 software selection, probably something in there.

Bermuda
 
I have the Sample Pad and it is awesome. If you are looking for more control, look elsewhere. It will reproduce sounds and give you that extra something you need.

It won't shoot around corners, fry eggs, or cure cancer.
 
I just got mine this weekend. easy to use. just go to google type in free wav files and search and save. you will need a sdhc storage card with a card reader. walmart has em for 8 bucks. the card is 12. be careful files must be wav. no mpegs. click on properties to tell, i am trying to play loops anyone have any luck with that yet? also to stop playing a sound hit both select buttons.
 
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