I am thinking about parting with my beloved Tanzbar in favour of the Roland SPD-SX.
I have no experience with the Roland SPD-SX, drummed on an accoustic set for a year - many moons ago .
Just the fact that it is a pro unit that is used by many and I am moving away from sequencing for now + would love to just play in and experiment with played drum loops or even playing pads or other synth/noise parts over midi.
Would be happy with hearing some feedback from owners and also from people who moved on. Also fine if you just have thoughts and no experience, after all we are a friendly supportive bunch a geeks over here…
I’m mot a drummer but I have thought this one for at least a couple of years. Seen it in use for numerous live shows and it’s always a pleasure hearing a talented musician playing live drums (909s or acoustic samples or whatever sounds) like that. Can’t think of any better way to lay down grooves than with the SPDSX. I say go for it!
Looks really cool if you are confident with the sticks. The real-time sampling direct on the pads for start/end points seems like a well thought out workflow and I see there’s a new red version now with expanded memory.
I have been thinking about it a lot, maybe too much. I just need to part with the Tanzbar or the Mother32 to fund the SPD-SX and that’s the more difficult part… maybe I will just keep everything and add it when the pockets are ready.
I am a drummer and have used the SPD-SX in different ways. I prefer using it as a midi controller for Ableton, Analog Rytm or Octatrack. Sampling with the SPD-SX is not very practical and there are not many sample tweaking possibilities. Another disadvantage is that you can not launch multiple loops in time. But it’s a fantastic companion for controlling Elektron boxes.
I had the SPD-SX and returned it. I felt it was too expensive for what it was. I got an Alesis Sample Pad 4 ($179 new) and have been happy with it. The Alesis with 8 sample pads has more features including midi din.
Then again I treat them as accessories (not the main drum instrument) since I have a drumset already.
I think the main criticisms online for the Alesis is quality control and crosstalk. But I haven’t had any problems.
I just started looking into a basic kick-snare-hat system with a Roland TM-2 module. But, I am a noob in this field.
Will have a look into the Alesis products too. I really only need a kick-snare-hat little system with midi-control possibilities of course AND sample trigger but not necessarily at the same time.
Yes to all of that. The SPD will do all of that very well. Did you know that it can process external audio through its effects?
The SPDSX is pretty versatile. In the past, I have used it as a drum kit or percussion on gigs, controlling Ableton Live, an effects processor, sample player, and audio interface.
I like what its effects do to other things.
I wish the sampling was more immediate and that the pads could send CC messages, and that the time stretch sounded different.
I’ve been thinking about buying one of these, but since the current model has been out awhile now, I wonder if Roland will be releasing an updated model soon? Just about every drummer I see is using one of these, so I don’t doubt they’re very good.
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