NAMM 2010 Roland news part one: drums and percussion
| Posted in Music Technology
The Octapad SPD-30 digital percussion pad is among a host of new products being introduced today by Roland on its booth at the 2010 NAMM show in California, with the Japanese manufacturer describing it as “the perfect portable electronic percussion instrument for any playing application”.
Describing any new product as perfect feel like a bit of a challenge to us here at Musical Notes, so let’s take a closer look at what the SPD-30 offers, starting with its eight trigger pads, each of which sports LEDS.
Roland is keen to point out that the same trigger technology that’s used in its V-Drums is employed in the SPD-30, meaning that each of the trigger pads boasts a similar dynamic response and trigger consistency across the pad’s entire surface. According to the manufacturer, this makes for “an extremely natural and responsive playing feel” – we can’t wait to find out for ourselves.
The Octapad also includes 50 kits for players to choose between alongside individual drum and percussion sounds numbering in the hundreds. Onboard effects include 30 types of multi-effect plus ambience with an equaliser and limiter. Tremendous fun is promised, meanwhile, by the phrase loop function, which boasts the ability to record three parts per phrase.
Finally, the SPD-30′s external trigger/control inputs mean that it can either be connected to other Octapads and a hi-hat controller, effectively letting the player build his or her own electronic drum kit.
Speaking of which, Roland is also presenting the latest addition to the V-Drum range at NAMM, named the TD-12KX. Aimed at actively gigging drummers, the new kit builds on the features presented in the TD-12KV, with a larger kick, floor tom pad, and an improved stand design. The kit’s editing features have also been improved.
According to Roland, a key feature of the TD-12KX is its use of the manufacturer’s patented multi-layer mesh heads for the kick, snare and tom pads, all of which is intended to create a more realistic playing experience for drummers wishing to thrash the hell out of something. The same COSM sound engine as the well-liked TD-20 kit is also included, providing a wealth of editable sounds and parameters via V-Edit’s icon-based interface. Indeed, the new kit boasts more editing possibilities than ever, including microphone placement, bass drum beater selection, and adding a hi-hat tambourine.
Last on the list of features but nonetheless very significant is the use of a new stand for the kit, the MDS-12X, which promises a lower centre-of-weight to provide more stability. As drummers hamer away at those improved pads, they’ll be grateful for that.
Find out what else Roland has announced at the NAMM 2010 exhibition in part two of this article.
About Barney Jameson
A contributor, editor and in some cases creator of more music and pro audio magazines than he cares to remember, Barney Jameson is a veteran of writing about gear, and a pretty keen singer songwriter to boot.
Having started his musical education reading old copies of the Melody Maker while riding the tube to University in the mid-nineties, Barney once sang in a band called Sugarstone, troubling record company chequebooks not quite enough to make it a career option. Instead, he achieved his goal of starting a music magazine of his own when he founded Playmusic in the early noughties. Later on, having exploited VIP access to as many festivals as possible, he wrote about the pro audio industry throughout Europe and the Middle East, travelling to far-flung destinations such as Dubai, Doha and Muscat (nice mountains).
As the latest addition to the DV247 team, Barney has big plans. But when he’s not plotting online domination of the musical instrument world, he keeps himself busy writing songs on a battered old acoustic guitar and playing them to audiences in his home town.
Tags: NAMM 2010, Roland Octoapad, TD-12KX, V-Drums
The SPD-30 oddly goes back to the built-in sounds only philosophy.
Why not pep up the SPD-S concept, with a proper MIDI short-sequence player (instead of the audio phrase recorder), easier handling, software editor, expanded pad/pedal management and support for up-to-date storage media?
As a fan of the SPD range (I have the -8, -11 -20 and -S), this is a very disappointing bit of same-old same-old.
Sylvia Miller