Major Roland HPD-15 Handsonic G.A.S.- Anyone Try One Of These?

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #1 09-18-2007, 03:05 PM

Not that I'd be able to afford one of these for a long, long time, but being that I've wanted some sort of super-compact drum/percussion setup to go with my bass looping stuff, this thing looks awesome. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDvSXmSHKKE (of course there's a dig at bass players in this one

)

I could run it through my bass rig which includes my Looperlative and effects, so I could go way beyond the onboard sequencing/effects. Anyone try one of these?

bluestarbass · #2 09-19-2007, 09:20 AM

Meh, if your really good at hand drums you may dig it. The built in sounds suck, and its not all that accurate. I used to work at a sam ash and they had one set up. Id play with it sometimes, dont really think it was worth the money though.

ROON · #3 09-19-2007, 09:49 AM

Looks like some futuristic disc-launching weapon that straps onto your arm.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #4 09-19-2007, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluestarbass

Meh, if your really good at hand drums you may dig it. The built in sounds suck, and its not all that accurate. I used to work at a sam ash and they had one set up. Id play with it sometimes, dont really think it was worth the money though.

What do you mean by not all that accurate? I know that the sensitivity is completely adjustable through the software, so do you mean something other than sensitivity?

bluestarbass · #5 09-19-2007, 11:39 AM

No I meant sensitivity. Maybe I didnt mess around with it enough. Sometimes Id hit it and it wouldnt make a sound, and sometimes it made a couple sounds. Im sure if I played with enough I probably would have gotten it to work. A floor model isnt the best way to test these things either. They get alot more abuse than a normal unit.

BassChuck · #6 09-19-2007, 11:39 AM

I have one and it's a blast. I've done hours of professional recording with it and a couple of points,

1.) The drum parts are what I want them to be.

2.) This piece has GREAT sounds in it, drummers were fooled.

3.) I saved so much $ by not having to hire drummers for sessions that it paid for itself.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #7 09-19-2007, 11:52 AM

I hadn't even heard of one before checking out what Gary Willis used on his latest album yesterday- so far it looks like what I'd want for a play-along unit as it's not big and one-dimensional (like acoustic percussion) and not needing pre-programming and oriented towards music other than what I play (Korg Electribe and Akai MPC boxes). And I wouldn't have to use drumsticks, which I'm terrible with