Introducing the Roland HPD-20 HandSonic digital hand percussion
With the HandSonic HPD-20, Roland takes digital hand percussion to a whole new level. Unique and versatile, this instrument is ideal for a variety of composers, percussionists, producers and more! Featuring the renowned SuperNATURAL sound engine as well as potent multi-effects, the HPD-20 offers 850 dynamic, ready-to-play sounds, plus the ability to import your own custom sounds with USB flash memory.
The 13 pads on this instrument have an ultra-sensitive response and flexible control options for playing onboard sounds and external MIDI instruments with a great range of expression.
Excelling in computer music applications, the HandSonic pad interface is perfect for playing virtual instruments, recording MIDI and audio performances in DAW software, and much more. Furthermore, with its convenient trigger inputs, it is easy to expand the HPD-20 with a Roland pad and hi-hat controller, allowing you to build a super-compact percussion set.
Discover the power of HandSonic
Going far beyond most pad controllers, the HandSonic HPD-20 is a sophisticated hand percussion instrument with great levels of expressive power. It features 13 velocity-sensitive pads arranged in a circular configuration, with the pads in different sizes so as to provide maximum ergonomic efficiency. To play sounds, you can strike the pads, touch or press a pad to dampen or mute another pad's tone, adjust its pitch and more. This allows you to execute traditional hand percussion techniques with authentic results, as well as create dynamic, unique textures that are perfect for electronic dance music and other modern styles.
On the two largest pads, it is also possible to play with natural tone variations depending on where you strike the pads. Further sound control is available through the Roll button, Realtime Modify knob, and the D-BEAM, which allows you to play sounds and manipulate effects with hand movements in the air.
Packed with SuperNATURAL sounds
The HPD-20 comes with 850 onboard sounds that are always accessible and ready to play. This instrument features an enormous library of world instruments, as well as melodic and orchestral percussion. Also available are traditional drum kit sounds, plus a large selection of electronic tones that are ideal for modern music creators. All of these sounds offer an incredible range of dynamic expression due to the powerful combination of Roland's SuperNATURAL sound engine and the ultra-sensitive response and unique functionality of the HandSonic pad interface. In total, the HPD-20 provides 200 kits, including 100 that are filled with ready-to-go setups, and they can be freely modified just how you like for any style or playing situation.
Import your own custom sounds
As well as having numerous built-in sounds, the HPD-20 allows you to import up to 500 of your own WAV sounds and play them from the pads. Just load up a USB flash drive with your favourite sounds from your computer, then connect it to the HPD-20 to import them, assign to pads, and create your very own kits.
The types of sounds that can be used aren't limited to short percussion strikes - with up to 12 minutes of time available, you can customise your HandSonic with audio phrases, sound effects, backing music, and more. As soon as your sounds are in the HPD-20, you're free to use them just like the onboard sounds, with complete editing and effects capabilities at your disposal. This includes the ability to continuously loop beats and other rhythmic sounds, as well as start/stop playback with the pads.
Deep editing and dynamic multi-effects
Inside the HPD-20 is a full set of powerful tools for creating new sounds. When building a user kit, it is possible to edit each instrument individually through its volume, pitch, decay and more. It is also possible to layer two sounds together and assign parameters to blend or switch them dynamically based on your playing velocity. Three independent multi-effects engines, each one equipped with 25 different effects, provide rich sound-shaping options, from standard chorus and echo to more intense effects such as distortion, filter, and bit crush, each one ideal for dance music and electronica.
The Realtime Modify knob then allows for tweaking pitch and effects while performing for expressive sound shaping on the fly. Ambience effects and EQ can also be applied to an entire kit for some final sweet additions to your music.
Quick Rec and USB
With the handy Quick Rec function, capturing a performance or idea is just a push of a button away. You can play along with the built-in metronome for steady time as you record, or even go without to capture playing without being constrained by a set tempo. It's also just as easy to save your recordings to a connected USB flash drive by just hitting the Export function button.
Then, you can adjust level and other parameters however you want, and save! It is also possible to back up your HPD-20 user kits and other setting to USB memory as well. With the HDP-20's USB Computer port, it's a breeze to connect to a Mac or Windows computers and use the powerful HandSonic pad interface to play virtual instruments and record beats in audio/MIDI music production software.
Trigger inputs and MIDI
The HPD-20 excels as a standalone instrument, but its capabilities can be extended even further with external devices. With the TRIG IN jack, you can connect a wide range of Roland pad types for stick playing, or a kick pad for banging out beats from the floor. By then adding a Roland hi-hat controller to the dedicated jack, and you've got a versatile and super-compact percussion kit! MIDI I/O provides even more possibilities, allowing you to trigger HPD-20 sounds from V-Drums, SPD-series pads, keyboards, and more, or even play sounds on other instruments from the HandSonic.
