ROLAND SPD30

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realistic, while the electronic offerings are
chunky and have that lovely ‘produced’ depth
that is typical of all that Roland has turned
out, from the JV synth series on.
The great thing about a company so
steeped in electronic music production as
Roland is that the R&D resources lavished on
top-end synth engines permeate through its
disparate ranges, and the Octapad benefi ts
hugely from decades of heavy-duty
programming and sound creation. In short,
it sounds ace.
But Roland also has a track record of
managing to balance functionality with ease
of use – of prime importance to demanding
users working on stage and studio. While
there are compromises to be struck with a
unit like the SPD-30 (its compact nature
means a certain degree of menu navigation
I
t’s hard to believe, but it’s a quarter of a
century since Roland introduced the
original Octapad (the Pad-8). First
embraced by fl ouncy-trousered New
Romantics gaily triggering the fi zzing snares
and brash handclaps of contemporary drum
machines, the Octapad has grown from a
soundless trigger-surface-only pad to a fully
fl edged music-making tool in the last 25
years. Designs don’t stick around that long
unless they’re fundamentally solid, so it’s
testament to Roland getting a lot of things
right from the off that the eight-padded
wonder is still with us.
Build
One of the things that immediately hit the
mark in 1985 was the size and layout of the
Pad-8. Eight well-proportioned pads gave
decent target areas for live performance,
and the number of pads meant access to ‘full
kits’ of hi-hat/snare/kick and toms or good
arrays of ethnic percussion tones all at once.
Sensibly, Roland has never strayed from the
original blueprint.
The new Roland SPD-30 reviewed here,
however, is a little slinkier than the tea
tray-simple styling of older models. The
pads are slightly recessed into a nicely
curved ice-white plastic chassis, while the
control area on the right of the unit is
reassuringly Roland. By which I mean
everything’s laid out neat as a spinster’s
pantry, with a smattering of rubbery tactile
buttons and continuous data pots
ROLAND SPD-30
£629 Twenty-fi ve years in, can the Octapad still
impress as it did on its release? Jordan McLachlan gets
hands on with Roland’s latest trigger pad offering
surrounding a generous 2½"
square backlit LCD.
The rear of the unit is equally
impressive – assuming you’re fascinated
by the interconnectivity offered by hi-tech
musical production tools, of course. MIDI in/
out is to be expected, as are L/R stereo and
headphone outs and Mix In socket for iPods
etc; but there are also fi ve ¼" sockets to
allow for use with V-Drum ride, hi-hat, snare
and kick pads (so you could potentially use
the Octapad as a super-compact e-kit), plus
USB MIDI connection and a USB memory slot
for storing user-created data. In all, it’s a
thoroughly modern package that’s been well
conceived to meet the demands of both
studio and live use.
Internally, things continue in much the
same vein. Fifty kits made up from nearly
700 sounds, 30 multi-effect types, seven
ambience settings and the ability to create up
to 50 phrase loops are just some of the
SPD-30’s highlights. In short, it’s a powerful
little package.
Hands On
Even without delving into the complexities of
creating loops or editing sounds, the new
Octapad is impressive. The wonderfully
responsive pads are lovely to play and the
stock of preset patches serves up an
endlessly satisfying selection of full-bodied
tones. The acoustic sounds (both drum kit
and ethnic percussion) are involving and
94 RHYTHM JULY 2010
PRICE
£629
SOUNDS
670
KITS
50
PADS/PLAYING
SURFACES
Eight
FEATURES
Phrase Loop, multi-
effects, ambience
effects, V-Link for
video control
CONNECTIONS
USB MIDI, USB
memory slot, phones,
stereo L/R out, Mix
In, ride, hi-hat, snare,
kick and hi-hat control
inputs, foot switch
input, MIDI In/Out
CONTACT
Roland (UK) Ltd,
Atlantic Close,
Swansea
SA7 9FJ
Tel: [phone]
Website: www.roland.
co.uk
ESSENTIAL SPEC
Roland’s Octapad benefi ts hugely from
decades of heavy-duty programming and sound
creation. In short, it sounds ace…
PADS ARE SLIGHTLY
recessed into a nicely curved
ice-white plastic chassis
LIKE THE ORIGINAL PAD-8,
eight good-sized pads give decent
target areas for live performance
5 S TA R RE V I E W
RHY178.gear_roland 94 19/5/10 11:50:27 am