Anybody tried/own the Roland Spd-S drumpad?

[Psypher]

Hi....

I am consitering buying the Spd-S and was just thinking if any of you guys have tried/own it and have any comments for or against it?

For those who dont know it, it is a electronic drumming device from Roland with 9 pads to hammer your sticks in!

It looks pretty cool and can add some live drumming to your tracks (instead of programming it) or live acts.

I was especially wondering about how serious it is and would a polyfhony of 8 be enough for normal drumming (Would it be maxed out to often)?

Used the Spd-6 once but thats polyphony of 4 wasnt enough but 8 might easily be?

thanx in advance

Kasper

[Hollowcell]

I have a HPD-15 pad and it works really well.

Even if it does have low poly it won't matter so much because you can always use it to trigger something else in the chain anyway. It's the controller your after with this type of thing in my opinion.

The level of programming with the HPD is really nice, and although I haven't played with the pad you are after, I'm sure it would have a similar feel.

Good luck with the hunt mate.

[Psypher]

Yeah, of course I will use it as a MIDI-trigger anyway, but though it is pretty cheap then most of the price is for the sampling and onboard parts and effects and stuff, so I think it would be pretty expensive if I only could use it as a 9 pads trigger module.

So I would appreciate it to be used as both else there probably would be another cheaper module for me, like a 9 pad MIDI trigger with nothing else in it. Dont know if anybody has made one.....

I also think that hpd-15 is way to expensive if you dont use the onboard sounds and so, but hpd-15 also have the twice polyphony or so, so no problem there......
but thanx for your comment

[Hollowcell]

The Roland stuff is quite cheap here, so I never thought about the price too much.

I use the sounds off the HPD alot, but only high precussion. It's great for varying the decays of hats and cymbals.

A cheaper option could be one of the older Roland precussion pads. Wish I could remember the name for you - someone can help me out here. For some reason I think it was called SPD6 or something like that. No sampling either (from memory), but a good controller.

Anyway, let us know what you go for in the end.

[Psypher]

Yeah, You are right SPD-6, I?ve actually used it but its polyphony of 4 voices destroyed the use of all the onboard sounds and stuff for me, because I want to be able to both use the internal sounds and play around with them and to use it as a controller.
I also think its discontiued product now....

Roland isn?t cheap here as all other music gear!

When the HPD-15 was released it was about 1720$ (American dollars), (around 1000$ in the US) now its around 1400$!!

The SPD-S is approx. 740$. (449$ in the US)

So a whole other world compared to US prices.....

Anybody else who have any comments about Roland drum controllers or the Spd-S?