#spd-sx

What a killer setup from @bramey48! Love it bro! #HeartBeforeBeat #worshipdrummer ・・・ Simple and clean. • • • #Group1Crew #wearethecrew #goldplateddreams #tour #drums #bigfatsnaredrum #roadready #ableton #abletonlive #alclair #istanbul #istanbulagop #vaterpercussion #remopercussion #remo #drums #drumsoutlet #heartbeforebeat #sundayseat #clean #myhappyplace #nashville

A photo posted by WorshipDrummer (@worshipdrummer.ca) on Apr 19, 2016 at 3:29pm PDT

There are a few ways to mount the drum pad and several locations for you to place it. With that being said, however, one question that keeps popping up is how do you mount the SPD-SX over your bass drum?

Sweet gear rundown from @johnny.hamilton. #HeartBeforeBeat #worshipdrummer ・・・ Since our stuff got stolen in December, I have been accumulating my drum setup again and this is where I'm at: @officialludwigdrums 70's Gold Sparkle 13/14/16/18/24 – @heartbeatpercussion 24" Epic Ride 21" Classic Crash 17" Classic Hats – @roland_us SPD-SX – @dwdrums 9000 hardware/throne/kick pedal – @evansdrumheads G1, G2, Hydraulic, EMAD, EQ3 – @promarkbydaddario 747b Super Rock

A photo posted by WorshipDrummer (@worshipdrummer.ca) on Apr 14, 2016 at 5:03am PDT

How To Mount Your Roland SPD-SX Over Your Bass Drum

It’s actually fairly simple and here’s what you’ll need:

Roland SPD-SX (that’s an obvious one)

The Roland APC-33 Clamp

A strong and solid cymbal stand with boom arm. Something like the DW 9000 Series Heavy Duty Boom Cymbal Stand would work well.

Alternatively, you can also use a cymbal boom arm (or piping) with clamp and mount it to your ride cymbal stand.

Here’s a look at Josh Alltop’s setup with it clamped to the ride.

That's awesome, @joshalltop! Blessings bro! #HeartBeforeBeat ・・・ Another stellar day in the studio working on a new international record for @gatewayworship. Peru, we are coming for you guys! #gatewayworship #peru • • • • • • • • • #drums #drumming #drumlife #drummers #musicians #musicianslife #tour #sundayseat #worshipdrummer #64audio #vaterdrumsticks #remopercussion #drums #groove #teamremo #instagroove #beataday #drummer #snare #drummingco #heartbeatpercussion #musicstudio #musicproducer #production #vintagegear #vintagedrums #rolandus

A photo posted by WorshipDrummer (@worshipdrummer.ca) on May 10, 2016 at 8:01pm PDT

  For an alternate mounting option, check out the Roland PDS-10, but note that it will not be able to mount over your bass drum.

Detailed Pics of SPD-SX Mounted Over Bass Drum

Here are some pics from different angles showing how I mounted the it over my bass drum:

Have any questions? Have a different method? Let us know in the comments.

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I’ve been meaning to use the Roland SPD-SX I bought a while ago in my shows, so I'm fiddling around and figuring out what it can do. I’m thinking about using it both stand-alone and in conjunction with Ableton Live and/or some iPad apps.

It’s a very nice piece of hardware, but the software... well, just look at this.

It’s a half-assed attempt at skeuomorphism that runs slower than Java on a 486. To top it off, it only allows transferring wav/aiff files from the computer, which you can also do by using a USB drive - the easy part. The hard part is editing parameters using cascading menus on the unit’s tiny LCD, which of course you can’t do using this app.

Now, the way this works is very simple: once you plug the SPD-SX to a computer via USB it becomes a simple USB storage device. Wave Manager works by changing files directly on the unit - very straightforward, but not very smart. If you copy the contents of the SPD-SX to a USB drive, Wave Manager can’t tell the difference.

Ok, so what? Well, you’d think there would be a good reason for Roland to keep Wave Manager limited to audio transfer instead of making it a full-fledged editor. But I’m a geek with no life, so of course I decided to look into the other files present in the unit:

Well, well, well, would you look at that. It’s all XML! Some of it is well structured and fairly easy to read, while some other parts (specifically the sample list) are an over-engineered mess with lists of numbers pointing to lists of files. Either way, it’s very clear Roland could (and should!) put out a better tool to edit those parameters. At the very least they should publish a file format reference for someone to come up with a better editor.

I've used a Roland SPD-SX in my live setup since March 2014, never with any issues. I began using it for backing track playback and click, but after moving over to an Alesis HD24 for backing track duties, the SPD-SX is now only used for triggering, mainly snare and the built in pads.

However, issues began almost 4 weeks ago. The unit shut down, asked for reboot & a reformat. After following the instructions, I reformatted the unit, reinstalled all the software as per Roland's technical support. It then worked fine for a couple of gigs.

During a full-day rehearsal a week ago, the unit began triggering the snare half a beat late, and completely froze - leaving me unable to change patch/kit. I turned the unit off, and rebooted it - to once again, be asked to reformat the internal memory.

What? Not very helpful.

However, after a couple of phone calls and emails - the guys at PMT Northampton sent it off to Roland for repair/replacement. Top marks to Roland, they repaired the unit (replacing the main control board) and sent it back out for delivery in 1-2 days!

What a beaut piece of gear