Roland SPD:One Percussion Pads

88
| SUMMER 2017 WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM
GEAR REVIEW
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I
f this month’s hybrid feature has whet
your appetite to start incorporating
electronics into your setup, then Roland’s
brand new SPD::ONE series percussion
pads will doubtless have caught your attention.
These brand new pads join Roland’s family of
electronic percussion and come in four
different fl avours: Electro, Kick, Percussion and
Wav. The fi rst three share common features
and functionality, while the SPD::ONE Wav –
aimed at those wishing to incorporate their
own backing tracks and click – works slightly
differently (more about that later). So, with the
fi rst models in Europe landing at
Rhythm HQ’s
Funky Bunker days after they were announced,
we’re feeling the need for SPD.
Build
One thing you may notice when you fi rst take a
look at the SPD::ONE pads is their resemblance
to Roland’s iconic Boss pedal line-up – the
brightly-coloured, all-metal chassis and font
styling wouldn’t look out of place on your guitar
player’s pedalboard. Interestingly enough,
these pads are designed to be played with a
stick, hand or even tapped with your foot, and
as such Roland isn’t just aiming these at
drummers – for us, though, it means they can
be placed anywhere within your kit. If you do
want to mount them (which most of us will)
you can use the included hardware which
clamps each pad to a tom holder, L-rod or
cowbell post up to 12.7mm in diameter. This is
good news for many, however our Pearl
Reference holders didn’t stand a chance, so we
fashioned a mounting solution from our
V-Drums kit and a spare multi-clamp in order
to use the Electro pad on a gig.
Hands On
With mounting sorted, let’s talk about
sounds. We’re going to take the fact that
Roland has covered every base here (and it
has) as read. Each module is loaded with
useable, model-appropriate sounds
spanning classic to contemporary, and
they’re all sampled with great detail and
quality. As mentioned, the Electro, Kick and
From £219 Roland’s simplest pad offering yet
makes hybrid-ising your kit easy. With four to
choose from, One could be all you need
ROLAND SPD::ONE
PERCUSSION PADS
WORDS: STUART WILLIAMS
Percussion pads feature a similar layout and
feature set, and it’s all very self-explanatory.
From left to right you have a 12-position
rotary control for selecting your sounds,
tuning control for altering the pitch of the
sample, a dual effects control (you can select
one of two) and your master volume. Now,
the sound selector actually has two layers to
it, so out of the box you actually have two
sounds per position at your disposal by
pressing the instrument variation switch.
When you do, the LED next to it blinks once
or twice to indicate which layer you have
IF THIS MONTH’S HYBRID FEATURE
HAS WHET YOUR APPETITE TO START
INCORPORATING ELECTRONICS INTO
YOUR SET-UP, THEN ROLAND’S
BRAND NEW SPD::ONE SERIES
PERCUSSION PADS WILL DOUBTLESS
HAVE CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION
selected. Handy. As well as this, each of
these three pads can load a custom sample
into the twelfth position. You simply select
the User slot, connect to your computer via
USB, press the variation button and drag a
.wav fi le into the SPD::ONE (which appears
1
ALESIS
SAMPLEPAD 4
We say: “There are
plenty of facilities on
offer from this fantastic
little pad, and at just
over a hundred pounds,
it has to be money
well spent. ”
2
ROLAND TM-2
We say: “ With up to
four single-zone trigger
inputs, plus SD card
sample playback, the
TM-2 can be paired with
pads or acoustic triggers
to make a hybrid
set-up. ”
WAV
SDP::ONE Wav offers
unique sample and click track
playback options. It’s cleverly
thought out, and takes the
pain out of using a click live
RHY271.gear_roland.indd 88 7/13/17 11:04 AM