Correction about Roland Handsonic

I previously expressed disappointment with this device's tuning
facilities in that one could only tune a sound in 50 cent steps.

Well, I dug a bit deeper into the thing last night and found that it
_is_ microtunable. Each sound can be tuned anywhere from -2400 to
+2400 cents in 1 cent steps. This is possible on a per pad, per pad
set (or patch) basis. Where I had gone wrong before was trying to
adjust the pitch in "quick edit" mode. Full edit mode gives you the
necessary fine resolution. Could the preset Indonesian gongs be
already in slendro/pelog? Guess I'll find out eventually...

Paolo

Paolo,

Hi!

This does look like a really nice piece indeed. How does it feel
under you fingers? Is it limited to only 15 sounds in a "patch" - or
can you use velocity crossfading to have more? Is it easy when you
are playing a number of different sounds in a patch to keep your
fingers from causing vibrational crosstalk between the different
areas of the head? I'm also a hand drummer; I play Tar, Bodhran and
Riq - but I have used my fair share of midi percussion controllers
too. One piece I've used quite a bit is the Roland SPD Pad, which has
8 small pads - and with a pedal, you can alternate between two layers
of 8 sounds for 16 total per patch. You can also use a second switch
to toggle through a number of patches - for playing full midi range
scales. Do you know if there are similar ways to get a more full
range out of the Handsonic? Also, does it allow you to record it's
midi out into a sequencer, then play it back into the Handsonic as a
midi module would? It is great that they gave such a wide range for
the tuning. Hey - if you put together some mp3s with this, please let
us know - I'd personally be interested to hear what you've came up
with on this.

Good Day,

Jacky Ligon

--- In tuning@egroups.com, phv40@h... wrote:

> Well, I dug a bit deeper into the thing last night and found that
it
> _is_ microtunable. Each sound can be tuned anywhere from -2400 to
> +2400 cents in 1 cent steps. This is possible on a per pad, per
pad
> set (or patch) basis. Where I had gone wrong before was trying to
> adjust the pitch in "quick edit" mode. Full edit mode gives you
the
> necessary fine resolution. Could the preset Indonesian gongs be
> already in slendro/pelog? Guess I'll find out eventually...
>
> Paolo

Hi Jacky,

> This does look like a really nice piece indeed. How does it feel
> under you fingers? Is it limited to only 15 sounds in a "patch" -
or
> can you use velocity crossfading to have more? Is it easy when you
> are playing a number of different sounds in a patch to keep your
> fingers from causing vibrational crosstalk between the different
> areas of the head?

The pads really are sensitive enough for finger playing and are also
sensitive to muting and pressure techniques. They are also
positionally sensitive. I have not experienced crosstalk problems,
but have yet to have a "real" hand drummer try it.

In full edit mode, the system only allows the user to select one
sound per pad. I suspect some of the sounds are either physical
models or multisamples in order to make the positional sensitive
performance possible (i.e. striking by the edge instead of closer to
the middle). I haven't really explored the MIDI implementation
though as to whether it is possible to crossfade between, say, an
internal sound and a sound on an external module.

For one pad set, you can assign 18 sounds as far as I can tell. You
can assign individual sounds to both ribbons and the D-Beam. Total
polyphony is 64.

> I'm also a hand drummer; I play Tar, Bodhran and

I'm not. :) I had 2 months of tabla lessons and played simple
percussion parts on assorted gongs (for the Muslim numbers, the
larger, Indonesian-like gongs, for the tribal stuff, the ones that
look like frying pans without handles) when I was with a Filipino
folk music and dance troupe. I've ordered Glen Velez's videos and
dug up my conga drumming book to try to further my education in hand
percussion playing

> Riq - but I have used my fair share of midi percussion controllers
> too. One piece I've used quite a bit is the Roland SPD Pad, which
has
> 8 small pads - and with a pedal, you can alternate between two
layers
> of 8 sounds for 16 total per patch. You can also use a second
switch
> to toggle through a number of patches - for playing full midi range
> scales. Do you know if there are similar ways to get a more full
> range out of the Handsonic? Also, does it allow you to record it's
> midi out into a sequencer, then play it back into the Handsonic as
a
> midi module would? It is great that they gave such a wide range for
> the tuning. Hey - if you put together some mp3s with this, please
let
> us know - I'd personally be interested to hear what you've came up
> with on this.

To be honest, I haven't dug into the MIDI implementation yet. There
is an input for a switch pedal/kick pedal and another for an
expresion pedal. I have some friends who have invited me to jam with
them. I will try to record the sessions, should it take place, on my
Minidisc recorder. Better yet, I'll try to record the gig when a
real hand drummer is playing it.

Paolo