SPD-SX Users?

[Rich G.]

My drummer just got a Roland SPD-SX sampler and I'm trying to help him out with it.
Anyone use one of these?? I can't find decent any forums out there.

I'm trying to do the most fundamental of fundamental things with this and I can't seem to make it happen! ugh!

I have a short hand clap sample I loaded into it via USB. I can assign it to a pad and play it back.

Now I want to have it repeat IN TIME with the kit. If I set the pad to loop it repeats the loop as fast as it can BapBapBapBapBapBapBap... I just want it to back fill with silence after playing the sample until the next beat comes around... just like any $2 metronome would do. I DO NOT want to time stretch the sample so it goes BaaaAAAaaaapBaaaAAAaaaapBaaaAAAaaaap.

 

[Rich G.]

After many hours of trying to use this hammer as a screwdriver I learned an important lesson... The SPD-SX is a sampler, not a drum machine. It can't play back samples quantized to a beat. If I want to play back samples in time, it looks like I have to create that sample in time... even if that means the majority of the sample is silence.

 

[jimfist]

After many hours of trying to use this hammer as a screwdriver I learned an important lesson... The SPD-SX is a sampler, not a drum machine. It can't play back samples quantized to a beat. If I want to play back samples in time, it looks like I have to create that sample in time... even if that means the majority of the sample is silence.

I helped a drummer program his SPD-S, and it looks like the SPD-SX is an updated version. As I recall, we got a memory card to vastly increase the internal memory, and when we used looping techniques to create triggered "sequences". You're correct: short percussive sound loops will have a lot of silence in the recording, and you fine tune the sample loop tempo by messing with the sample's start/end points, which determine the tempo of the loop. Shouldn't be that big of a deal.

It takes a fair amount of skill for a drummer to be able to lock in with looped samples and keep his act together without falling out of time. It also takes a bit of practice and trial-and-error to come up with tempos that "feel right" under the adrenaline of a live performance. Even though you may have timed your loops to be dead accurate and rehearse them night after night, perceptions can change ever-so-slightly on stage in front of a crowd.

Good luck!

 

[BBN]

Jimfist covered it.
My drummer uses the SPD-SX and if we need a song length 'looped sample', it's done in a DAW and then uploaded as a full length track into the SPD-SX.
When he uses things like hand claps and percussion samples, he usually does them real time on the pad.

Tell your drummer to spend some time with it, it is an invaluable tool.
We use it for piano intros, synth notes, etc. It sounds awesome.

 

[Rich G.]

Thanks guys! We had our first rehearsal with it this weekend. The SPD-SX has plenty of memory (4GB) so we're good there. It's going to be a bit of a learning curve getting the band to play along with it, but we'll get it.

I do wish it were set up where the user dictated the loop length instead of the sample length dictating the loop length.

 

[jimfist]

Make sure you fully understand the concepts of "sample loops" and "sample loop playback" vs. samples triggered as part of a "sequence loop" that is external or separate from the loops themselves. I think you may be looking to create sequence loops.

 

[Rich G.]

Make sure you fully understand the concepts of "sample loops" and "sample loop playback" vs. samples triggered as part of a "sequence loop" that is external or separate from the loops themselves. I think you may be looking to create sequence loops.

Yes, I think I had 'sequencing' in mind, but I've since changed my thinking a bit. Can the SPD-SX do sequencing? The only mention of sequencing in the manual is when they refer to an external midi sequencer.