Showing posts with label electric drums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electric drums. Show all posts

Friday, November 16, 2012

Simmons Digital Multi Pad Electronic Drum Set Review

Simmons Digital Multi Pad Electronic Drum Set
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)

I have only used this product for learning how to play so I have not used all of it's capabilities and probably never will. Pro's
Very competitive price.
Design and interface are good
Build quality is good. Cons's
Processor has trouble registering beats when using three or more in a rhythm pattern. If you hit the pads harder this is not a problem so it sort of forces you to concentrate. Heavier sticks might help. It does not have that many preprogrammed acoustics kits but they are programmable. Pads are small so this is not meant for a young child. The processor works okay and is not going to impress you but for the price range what are you going to do.
If Simmons put $50 more dollars into this it would be awesome. At two fifty for a amateur it is worth wild. I would compare it to an economical drum pad and not a toy. The Rolland alternative is about two times more and it would not be worth it to me. If you need a foot pedal/switch "Hosa" makes one that you can change the polarity of it for about 30 dollars with shipping but I have not tried one yet. The manual is just a quick start guide and is the only thing available at the time of this post. The drum pad is not that hard to figure out though.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

DD-502mkII Digital Drum Set w/ AP-30 Amp, Stool & Headphones Review

DD-502mkII Digital Drum Set w/ AP-30 Amp, Stool and Headphones
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The DD-502mkII drum set is the perfect all around set. You have multiple sounds in one kit and they come out crisp and clean as a live kit.

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Alesis USB Studio Drum Kit Five-Piece USB Drum Set Review

Alesis USB Studio Drum Kit Five-Piece USB Drum Set
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Not too happy with this set- for me, Roland was way better.
First, if you think you're getting an electronic drum set that also has a USB connection - you're mistaken. You ONLY get a USB connection. That means you can't just plug in a set of headphones and start playing. There's nothing to plug into- the included midi controller is just that - and nothing more.
Next problem and most important, is this concept of crosstalk - which is when the sound of one drum triggers when you hit another. In fact, if you just bump the stand with a stick it can trigger several drum sounds at once. Alesis had a useless solution already for this, they call it a feature (a knob on the MIDI controller to adjust the sensitivity, which had little to no effect for me, rendering this set pretty useless for my needs.
Third, how nice of them to include a light pair of drums sticks - unless you'd like a pair a bit more professional - in which case, decent sticks with a bit more weight will do almost immediate damage to the drum skins - my advice- stay away!

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Friday, October 5, 2012

Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Quadropad Large Review

Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Quadropad Large
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I have mostly good things to say about this pad. The only down side is that when I put the film sheets onto each pad (to make them more realistic for scrapes and what not) it made them a lot louder. For a pad, I was surprised as to how loud it became. It almost like hitting a piece of plastic. I feel like it also detracted from the more natural bounce that it had before putting on the plastic films. Be cautionary when you put them on. Just put on one at first and play on it for a while to make sure you like the feel.

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Friday, September 28, 2012

Hansenfutz Futz Practice Pedal - Portable Practice Kick Pedal Review

Hansenfutz Futz Practice Pedal - Portable Practice Kick Pedal
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I travel a lot so I have a portable practice pad which straps to my knee that I take with me on trips but tapping your feet on a flat floor is really tough on the ankles and doesn't come anywhere near approximating the feel of a bass or hi hat pedal. So I was excited when I saw this product and immediately sent away for it. I have not been disappointed.
First I must say that it doesn't exactly duplicate the feeling of a real pedal, but I think that would be impossible for such a compact product to do. The first priority is portability. There are pads you can buy and attach to a real drum bass pedal, but it's huge and clunky, not something you can tote around in your bag. This pedal is light but sturdy and is capable of being adjusted to various angles and tension levels. And it beats tapping and stomping on the floor any day.
It works best on carpeted surfaces because it's got velcro on the bottom; if you use it on a smooth floor it will slide around a lot. Also, you need a screwdriver to adjust it. I wish this wasn't the case or that it at least came with small tools you can use on it. But once you get it the way you like it, you shouldn't need to adjust it ever again. It is fun to fool around with and try different settings. I love taking this on the road and being able to practice grooves more naturally and accurately. I recommend this for anyone who loves to play and practice even when they can't be behind their drum set.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

SPECTRUM AIL 401 4-PAD DIGITAL DRUM SET Review

SPECTRUM AIL 401 4-PAD DIGITAL DRUM SET
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I got this for my son for his birthday. He just started drum lessons and I didn't want to purchase an actual drum set. He loves it and I love the headset feature. This is a great product.

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Monday, August 6, 2012

DW Drums Bass Drum Riser (Adjustable Lifter) Review

DW Drums Bass Drum Riser (Adjustable Lifter)
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this stand is perfect.
currently using a 18" x 14" bass drum with wooden hoops.
perfect.

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Thursday, August 2, 2012

YAMAHA ELEC PERC KICK TOWER 2 BEATER SURFACE (DTXPRESS/DTXPLORER) Review

YAMAHA ELEC PERC KICK TOWER 2 BEATER SURFACE (DTXPRESS/DTXPLORER)
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I have had a yamaha express DTII for about 7 years and my pedal went out on it about three months ago. I found this pedal and ordered it right away. It came in reasonably fast and it replaced my old pedal perfectly. I just hooked it up and was ready to go.

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Bridgecraft/Derosa 5 Pc Drum Set with Cymbals - Black Review

Bridgecraft/Derosa 5 Pc Drum Set with Cymbals - Black
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I am happy with this set. I received all parts-nothing missing or broken. Me and my music buddies like the sound and the set comes with all everything a drummer needs. Looks and feels high-end.

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Yamaha DTXplorer Electronic Drum Set (Standard) Review

Yamaha DTXplorer Electronic Drum Set (Standard)
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For value-for-money and quality, nothing compares. An excellent product with lots of features and accurate pads. Yamaha is the way to go! I'm very happy with my purchase.

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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Alesis DM10 Pro Kit Professional Electronic Drumset Review

Alesis DM10 Pro Kit Professional Electronic Drumset
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I've been playing this kit and experimenting with the drum module for about a week now. It's my first electronic kit, but I have played on others. This is a quality kit in almost every detail. Set up was a little bit involved as far as assembling the rack and placing trigger pads and cymbals, but I was up and drumming in about 45 minutes.
I rated this 4 out of 5 stars only because I did have an issue with the Surge 16" ride cymbal; the bell trigger didn't appear to be working. I called Alesis and got excellent help after a short wait. It turned out I had to go in to the settings (hit the "ext trg" key), select the ride bell trigger and change its input type from 'switch' to 'piezo'. This could have been set at the factory or been detailed in the user's guide for the cymbal, and save Alesis Tech Support and me some time. Also be sure to disable write protection on the module, so you can save this setting and any others you make. Instructions for this are in the user's manual which brings me to my next point.
The only documentation that came in the carton were the quick start guide (QSG) to assemble the set and the QSG's for the Surge cymbals. I had to download the user manual (among others) for the DM10 module from the Alesis website. It seems to me that you would rate a hard copy of the manuals for the price of the system.
Overall its a great system and I would buy it again if I had to do it over.


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With lightning-fast, highly accurate tracking, the widest dynamic range of any module, and incredibly drummer-friendly operation, the Alesis DM10 drum module has the most realistic, natural sound set available in any drum module. And now with this Pro Kit, it's been paired with Alesis' RealHead drum pads, SURGE Cymbals made of real cymbal alloy, and an ErgoRack mounting system--perfect for getting a live performance feel to your recordings.
The DM10 drum sound module contains true drum, cymbal and percussion sounds, built from real samples of classic studio drums and prized cymbals. Drummers will find some of the most in-demand acoustic drum sounds from legendary drum brands, a huge arsenal of top producers' go-to snare drums, real American, Canadian, Chinese, and Turkish cymbals, and a choice selection of classic drum machine and electronic percussion sounds that have fueled the biggest hit records. You can also load new sound sets via USB connection from your computer, so that your drumming sounds never go stale.

Key Features
DM10 drum module with 12 trigger inputs and mixer
RealHead acoustic-feel 8-inch and 10-inch dual-zone drum pads with real heads
SURGE Cymbals are alloy acoustic cymbals with triggers
12-inch SURGE Hi-Hat, 13-inch SURGE Crash with choke, 16-inch SURGE Ride with choke
Ergonomically curved, chrome-plated ErgoRack
Premium instrument library sampled from real drums and cymbals
Dynamic Articulation changes sounds' timbre along with dynamics for realism
Sound-set loading and use with software drum modules, both via USB
Play along and record yourself with the sequencer
Mix input for practicing with CD and MP3 players

RealHead Drum Pads This Pro Kit includes acoustic-feeling RealHead pads in eight and 10-inch sizes, and these dual-zone pads feature real mylar drumheads and real triple-flanged counterhoops for an excellent drumming feel. The snare and tom pads are dual zone, enabling you to perform rimshots, rim clicks, or assign other sounds such as wind chimes, cymbals, gongs and cowbells on the tom rims. You can use virtually any single or double kick pedal with the RealHead Kick Pad, or split the DM10's kick input with a Y-cable and connect an optional second kick pad for the pedal feel you prefer.

Surge Cymbals The best choice in electronic cymbals, the Pro Kit includes the following SURGE cymbals: a 12-inch SURGE Hi-Hat, a 13-inch SURGE Crash with choke, and a 16-inch SURGE triple-zone Ride Cymbal with choke. Comprised of a genuine alloy cymbal coated with a clear sound-dampening layer, SURGE Cymbals feel like acoustic cymbals because they begin life as just that. The Crash and Ride cymbals feature large choke strips on the undersides for even more attention to accurate cymbal control. The SURGE Ride also features multiple-zone triggering on the bell, face and edge. The SURGE Hi-Hat Cymbal offers continuously variable control using the included pedal.
ErgoRack Putting it all together is the Pro Kit's ergonomically curved, chrome-plated ErgoRack, which is large enough to enable you to add on additional drum pads and SURGE Cymbals. You can even mount acoustic drums, cymbals, and percussion instruments on this roadworthy system.
The ErgoRack employs standard one and one-half-inch tubing for compatibility with virtually all drum manufacturers' rack hardware. The rack features quick-release, metal clamps for fast setup and tear down. The Crash and Ride cymbals mount on large, knurled boom cymbal arms that are height adjustable right in the rack down tubes. The DM10 Pro Kit comes with tom mounts that enable freely adjustable mounting. Drummer-friendly wing-screws are present on all important rack clamps and pads for ease of adjustment without reaching for a drum key.
DM10 Inputs and Outputs The DM10 module has 12 trigger inputs, perfect for creating custom configurations. You can use it with virtually all drum and cymbal pads and acoustic drum triggers thanks to easy-to-configure trigger settings. The DM10 also has full MIDI implementation so if 12 trigger inputs aren't enough to accommodate your giant setup, just add the optional Trigger I/O.
The DM10 accommodates both continuous and switch (open/closed) hi-hat control pedals. You get full MIDI implementation including both MIDI In and Out for working with traditional MIDI gear along with the USB jack, which can also send MIDI to your Mac or PC. The DM10 also has a stereo Auxiliary input for connecting line-level devices like a CD player or iPod so you can play along.
The DM10 has two stereo pairs of 1/4-inch outputs for main and auxiliary feeds, so you can send separate mixes to the house and monitor systems. This enables you to send the metronome or a loop to the monitor mix and not to the audience mix. There's also a high-powered headphone output with its own volume knob. For managing everything easily, there's also a top-panel mixer.
Dynamic Articulation Discerning ears will notice that each sound is actually a series of different samples; multiple dynamic-level samples and articulations are all built in so as you play harder and softer, the drum or cymbal changes its timbre, not just its volume. This engineered realism is known as Dynamic Articulation, an Alesis exclusive.
This results in sounds that respond accurately not only to dynamic changes, but also with the appropriate timbral and color changes you'd expect from their acoustic counterparts. You can play with or without reverb for different room sounds and enjoy a wide variety of rimshots, rim clicks and different stick-placement sounds on the cymbals. The Random Sample feature also ensures you don't get the same sound twice for further creative realism.
What's in the Box
Specifications


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Thursday, June 7, 2012

Roland PM-01 Personal Monitor Review

Roland PM-01 Personal Monitor
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I just got one of these to go with my V-Drums Lite. I was apprehensive at first being only 15w, but a friend had the same setup and said he was happy with it. So, I took the chance. It is 15w. No doubt. However, I'm in a bedroom sized home office and it's fine. Not as loud as I would have liked, but it's loud enough to hear the drums clearly. Sound is crisp, highs sound clear. For the price (I got used at $100), and design to go with the Lite system, there's no equal. The next up would be the Roland PM-10 and that's $260+.
Bass is good, but will not rattle windows, or pound your chest, it's a 15w 4" midrange speaker in a band pass enclosure. But it's good enough for practice sessions. For the price to move up, I think I'll be happy with this until I'm a in a band and performing on stage in front of an audience, ie- not any time soon ;)

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Monday, May 21, 2012

Ion Drum Rocker Premium Drum Set Review

Ion Drum Rocker Premium Drum Set
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I searched a long time before deciding to buy this particular drum set. I am a beginning drummer who Has an Acoustic set at Church. I wanted to practice at home but tearing down and lugging an acoustic set of drums home and back every weeek was not going to fly. (and I'm sure my neighbor would not appreciate the loud sound of the drums) So I searched and searched and searched online and at the local music store (who wanted $900 bucks for a similar set) and I made the decision on this one because of the price mainly. I was skeptical at first and kept my receipt and all parts handy just in case i needed to return this and......
The product is great. There are no problems with the wiring or foot pedals or anything. It does not have a "cheap" feeling to it either. physically speaking, it looks like a 500 or even 600 dollar equipment. The only thing that takes it down a notch for me is that you miss having a separate ride pad and crash pad. (they only give you one choice, either a ride or a crash) but fortunately you can buy a separate crash/ride cymbal and install it into the main brain. another disappointment is that it seems that you cannot add a splash cymbal pad if you wanted to. (oh well you can't have it all for this price)
When i practice, i do so in my living room which is not very large. My wife stated that it sounds as if i am striking phone books with drumsticks when i practice with the headphones on. This is a major plus because I have neighbors and i do not want to disturb them with my drumming nor do I want to announce to the neighborhood that I have a drum set in my house. (break-ins) It comes with a port where you can plug in speakers and play out loud also if need be. The variety of sounds are also fun too. I have not ventured deep into what the brain can do but so far I am far form being unimpressed
Even though the price is lower than other drum sets which can cost you 600-1500 and up. This one is not cheaply built. All of the parts and arms and body of the drum set is stable. My curious cats have already tipped it over, but no broken parts or anything like that. Overall I believe that if you are a beginning drummer like myself, this is the perfect low cost quiet set for you.

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Rock solid, hard-rocking drums.
The rock solid, heavy-duty electronic Pro Session drum set from Ion Audio (model IED12) is ready to stand up to the pounding drummers can exact on their gear. With a rugged rack (stand) and adjustable hardware, you'll have no problem setting it up the way you like to play.
Click here for a larger image.

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Thursday, May 10, 2012

ION Audio Sound Session Complete Electronic Drum Set Review

ION Audio Sound Session Complete Electronic Drum Set
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I bought these as a Christmas gift for my brother, who's in his 40s. He's been a wannabe drummer for a while and has had a few acoustic drums sets, at least one of very high quality--but he's never had an electronic drum set. (He's jammed with bands, but not played professionally.) He had to sell his last and best drum set and hasn't had a set for a long time. Plus he lives in an apartment. So I saw these at Target for $200 and decided to take a chance, thinking I could always return them if they sucked or were broken.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see him during Christmas and wasn't able to give him the set until 1 week ago, long after I'd lost the receipt, so I was really worried that he wouldn't like them.
Well, I got a call today, after he'd been playing them "hard" for a week and he raved about them. Things he mentioned:
- 100 sounds (each of which is tunable, which I didn't see mentioned in the specs, but was hoping for).
- He says he really beats the s**t out of his drums and he's really impressed that the set so far has no dings, and neither do the sticks or rims of the drums. This, he thinks, is because there is a tube of air around the edges that prevents them from getting damaged.
- Came with headphones (though I'm not sure of the quality). He said I could have mine back. :)
- Came with drum sticks (as mentioned, no dents so far)
- He likes the way the module lights up, so it can help you learn how to play
- Likes that you can remove the drum part from the songs that come with it, so you can "be" the drummer
- Likes that you can plug in an MP3 player
- Likes that you can record your own playing. It sounded like you could only lay down one track at a time, but he's not that familiar with sequencers so I'm not sure if that's correct or not.
- Said when he got it out of the box he thought the stand would be flimsy, but he's very impressed with it because it's held up really well.
- He said the pedals were made in a sturdy way too with some kind of special bushing or something.
Basically, he said it was the best gift he ever got ("the best gift a man could give another man" were his exact words), so all I can say is that if you're on the fence, get the thing! I should get one for myself.
Oh, I just remembered one more thing he said. He said, "If I'd known electronic drums were this good, I would have bought a set a long time ago."
Update 5/15/2010 It's been 3(?) months and he's still playing these things on a daily basis for a few hours a day. He claims, and I can see, that he's a much better drummer. Now he can keep time! (He refused to use a metronome in the past.) He now thinks in terms of patterns and fills, 16 beat measures, practicing with a part until you get it, trying different things to see which sounds best, etc. all concepts that he never got before.) On the down side, shortly after my first review, one of the foot pedals broke (he really does stomp the hell out of them though). He is pretty good at figuring things out though, so was able to fix it by himself. Had something to do with the way the contacts are made. Ever since his fix, it's still been going strong.
Update 2/27/2011 He's still, still playing them. They must be very well constructed.

Click Here to see more reviews about: ION Audio Sound Session Complete Electronic Drum Set

Learn the drums with Ion Audio's Sound Session complete electronic drum set--a great choice for those who don't have room for a traditional set of drums or need to keep practice session on the quiet side. Fitting into a fraction of the space of an acoustic drum set, the Sound Session set comes with everything you need to get started playing.
It features natural-feeling drum and cymbal pads as well as foot pedals for hi-hat and bass drum. A rugged, adjustable stand holds the drum and cymbal pads and comes with all the mounting hardware, and the set also includes all the cables you'll need.
The Sound Session set includes a drum-sound module with over 100 different instruments in 15 drum sets. You can modify and save the drum sounds and drum set for totally custom setups. There are 41 play-along music patterns for practicing and jamming out. You can listen to the drum parts on the patterns to get ideas for what to play, then mute the drums and play your own part. Record your drum performance and listen back, and use the built-in metronome for learning to play with a steady beat.
Key Features
Complete electronic drum set
Natural-feeling drum and cymbal pads on a completely adjustable stand
Takes up less space than acoustic drums
Makes almost no sound when played with headphones
108 drum, cymbal, and percussion sounds in 15 customizable drum sets
40 play-along music patterns with mutable drum parts for practicing and jamming out
Light-up play-along display for learning drum patterns
Record your drum performance and listen back
Metronome for learning to play with a steady beat
1/8-inch stereo headphone and speaker-system outputs, mix-in input for CD or MP3 player

What's in the Box
Three drum pads
Two cymbal pads
Two foot pedals
Adjustable stand with mounting hardware
Sound module
Connection cables


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Monday, April 16, 2012

Simmons SDMK4 Digital Multi Pad Electronic Drum Set Review

Simmons SDMK4 Digital Multi Pad Electronic Drum Set
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Although the drum kit has good sound volume and a wide variety of programmed and assignable drum sounds, the action on the pads is not very fast and the pedals are too sensitive. This product might be better suited to a non-drummer.

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Saturday, April 14, 2012

OSP AP30 30 Watt Digital Drum Amplifier Review

OSP AP30 30 Watt Digital Drum Amplifier
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When I first set this up on the E.drum set I was really.. really disappointed. It was simply not loud enough. I had already ordered a new drum brain as I was not happy with the current one...
New drum brain.... AMP WAS KICKING. I had to throttle it back to keep the windows from shaking. This is the perfect match for a good electronic drum set. I play at home with my sons and there is no doubt you can hear the drums over my guitar and my other son's bass.
This won't go to "11". But for home use "4" may be just enough!

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Roland SPD-S Sampling Percussion Pad Review

Roland SPD-S Sampling Percussion Pad
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Features:
Aside from things I mention below under the "Sound" heading, I'm mostly quite happy with the SPD-S. It's the only electronic multipad that is is so compact, and the only one with a built-in sampler.
A few minor shortcomings: (1) You need a 512MB Compact Flash card (larger ones won't work; smaller ones are just silly and are even harder to find) and a computer with a Compact Flash slot to transfer your own samples into it. Fortunately 512MB cards and readers are really cheap. I got a SanDisk card and a Kingston universal memory card reader (USB-based) from Amazon; both work great. (2) The LCD screen is absurdly small. Having to keep patch names down to 8 characters gives me nostalgic flashbacks to the MS-DOS days, but not in a good way.
Quality:
No problems so far. I've had it for over a year, but haven't used it heavily. I heard a rumor somewhere that the problem with the pad contacts is fixed in recent units, but I can't vouch for anything.
Sound:
The sound fidelity seems good, although I haven't done any really critical listening or recording with it. The quality of the included samples and the ways it can manipulate them are a different matter. There are maybe 50-100 or so moderately useful preloaded sounds, depending on your style: basic acoustic and electric kicks, toms, cymbals, snares, and small percussion. (If you have a half-decent drum sample CD it probably has better sounds.) There are also a bunch of useless loops and sounds that were obviously included just to make flashy demos, like a guy saying "You got the groove!". I hoped that the included CD would have more useful sounds, but it seems to basically have the same sounds that are preloaded into memory, plus more loops.
And if you want to play the sounds EXPRESSIVELY, it will take some work. First you have to train yourself to hit the rather small pads, preferably near the middle where they're most responsive, and never too lightly, because they don't notice light hits at all. Fortunately you can select from a few different velocity curves, though you have to select one curve for all the flat pads and one for the edge pads. I settled on curve LOG1 for both the flat and edge pads, with sensitivity 5 and 7 respectively. I'm pretty happy with the feel now, although I really wish it would respond to light taps. (For external pads, you can set everything independently for each, including the minimum velocity that it will respond to-- this feature would have been really nice for the built-in pads. I'm very happy with the way my KD7 kick pad responds when plugged into the SPD-S.)
The other problem is that the sound generator is really wimpy in terms of sound manipulation. A really good percussion sound module would optionally (1) allow at least 8 different samples per pad depending on the velocity, and/or cross-fade between a few different samples; (2) vary the pitch depending on velocity; (3) have real envelope generators; (4) have per-voice filters. The SPD-S has almost none of those features. It can have two samples per pad, selected by velocity (no cross-fading), which is pretty weak. It can't change the pitch or even the duration of a sample dynamically, although you can do a bit with the effects (see below). It doesn't have any filtering for each voice, although once again you can fake it a bit using effects. There are no envelope generators except for a really basic "dynamic attack" feature that I've found pretty useful.
So basically, to make the sounds change in any way (besides volume and attack) in response to velocity, you have to use the built-in effects processor. Many of the effect parameters can be set to respond to velocity. The main problem with this is that there is only one effects processor, shared by all the pads that have effects enabled (fortunately you can select which pads' sounds are routed to the effects). So you can, for example, use a pitch-shift effect to make the pitch respond to velocity, but if you hit one pad and its sound is still playing when you hit another pad, the pitch of the first will suddenly change in response to the second. By far the most useful setup I've found is to use the "isolator" effect (really just a simple 3-band graphic equalizer) on just the toms, with the high band set to respond to velocity. The fact that the filter is shared by all the toms is not too noticeable. You could probably also get some nice results with the 4-band Parametric Equalizer, 2-Band Compressor, or a few other effects, although I haven't yet found settings on those that work for me.
It can play loops, but you can't set loop points or anything; it plays the sound from beginning to end and then starts over. It doesn't even loop seamlessly. I made a half-decent timpani roll sound that looped perfectly on my computer, but on the SPD-S there was a little click every time it got to the end. The loop feature is really meant for phrases, not continuous sounds.
There is NO WAY to get a realistic snare drum sound out of this thing.
Ease of use:
I haven't had any trouble learning to use it, but I have a couple of engineering degrees so maybe I'm not typical...
Overall:
My goal with buying the SPD-S was to put together a decent hybrid drum kit that I can roll around on the Boston subway system. I use an acoustic hi-hat, snare, and crash/ride cymbal; the SPD-S is my toms, kick drum (with KD7 pedal trigger), and other supplemental percussion. It works pretty well for this. I would NOT want to use the SPD-S for snare or cymbals.
The basic problems with the SPD-S are that it uses old technology, and that Roland cut too many corners on the sound generator. A new model is long overdue. Hopefully the next generation SPD will include: (1) much more responsive pads (difficult, but supposedly the HandSonics are much more sensitive, so apparently Roland knows how to do this); (2) a more powerful sampler, with envelopes, pitch manipulation, loop points, etc.; (3) a USB port so you can just plug it into any computer and transfer samples; (4) at least 2GB of built-in memory (Flash chips are so cheap these days that there's no excuse for having less) and a modern memory card slot.

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