Here we find (from left to right) a USB memory slot, a USB B computer MIDI connection, a socket for the external PSU, a quarter‑inch headphone socket, a pair of quarter‑inch left/right outputs, a quarter‑inch input for mixing in external audio, five external trigger input jacks (for other pads, such as a kick-drum or hi-hat pedal), a footswitch socket, and MIDI In/Out connectors. Pad sensitivity, by the way, can be adjusted if temperature changes during travel or inside a venue affect pad response.Įach pad has an accompanying LED indicator that can be set to function in four ways: Off, Type 1 (only the large buttons to switch between kits are lit) Type 2 (kit buttons lit, pad indicators will be lit when a pad is struck) and Type 3 (kit buttons and pad indicators are on continuously: very helpful on darkened stages).Īt the back of the unit, all the expected jack sockets are recessed beneath the upper lip of the main panel.
This strategy seems to have worked out quite well, because even a damn good whacking towards the edge of a pad didn't trigger any misfires. The idea here is to avoid any potential crosstalk that might occur when a stick lands too close to an adjacent pad. Unlike similarly designed units, the pads are individual components, as opposed to one rubber slab that's scored horizontally and vertically to delineate the different zones. Each sturdy 4.5 x 3.5‑inch pad surface sits about a quarter of an inch above the surrounding plastic border, in order to minimise the chance of accidental strikes on the SPD30's chassis. Resembling a tea tray from the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the updated model has eight pads that are housed in a lightweight (3.8kg/8lbs) but durable moulded plastic frame. The resulting piece of kit doesn't look all that different from its 20th century progenitors. Benefiting from Roland's V‑Drum pad technology and 30 onboard effects, the latest incarnation of the instrument is aimed squarely at musicians who want to combine live percussion performance with phrase looping, MIDI triggering and sound editing.
Now, after some three years of development, Roland have resurrected the Octapad name with the SPD30. When the SPD line came into existence not long afterwards, onboard sounds were added and the 'Octapad' moniker was dropped.
A second version, known as the Pad80 Octapad II, followed in 1989, with increased patch capability and the ability to store data on memory cards. Suddenly your Tears For Fears and your Scritti Polittis had something more dynamic than their haircuts on stage to draw the audience's attention.
When Roland created the original Octapad Pad8 back in 1985, they gave the bands of the day a sleek, portable option for triggering MIDI elements during their live set or in the studio.
What does the latest addition to the family have to offer? Roland's Octapad range has been with us in one form or another for an amazing 25 years.