That sample could be an old-school vintage snare crack, of course, but this unit isn’t just about percussion: you could equally trigger a vocal hook, a looped piano phrase, a complete backing track or a bespoke sample of your dog barking that you’ve recorded and imported. The guiding concept is that the Roland SPD-SX lets you trigger audio samples by striking a pad or external trigger at key moments in your set. The Roland SPD-SX is a sampling pad, whereas the Octapad SPD-30 is a percussion pad. So it’s no wonder you’re dying to know: what exactly is the difference between the Roland SPD-SX Sampling Pad and the Roland Octapad SPD-30 – and which one would suit your setup? Let’s pad up and answer your FAQs. They look kinda similar, too, with rubber pads, LEDs and a backlit screen lined up on a road-ready chassis. Both of these units sound equally awesome, creating mind-blowing sounds that drag percussion into a bold new dawn.
Spend a little time loitering on the live circuit and pretty soon you’ll see a pro musician beating on two mysterious black boxes bearing the Roland logo.
