Handsonic

[Tom Roady <tomroady@charter.net>]

Title: Handsonic

I agree with Marc and Bill that the handsonic is really a very creative tool and a very playable percussion instrument...I use it every day in the studio and on the weekends play drumset with it live on gigs... as primarily a hand percussionist in studios I really love the choices of all the world instruments available and how great they sound...not to mention using the internal effects to create totally new sounds.... I've used it on everything from CNN bumpers to country recordings.

2 MAJOR improvements would make my world a lot easier...pretty simple ones actually....another pair of assignable stereo outputs so I could send what I actually play into my EDP without sending the loop itself into it...I control the timing from the handsonic to the EDP.....and being able to copy individual sounds from one kit to another would be a great improvement I feel...I've talked about this with Steve Fischer and Mike Snyder from Roland and they really can't say what is in store for the next version...bottom line...I really recommend it to any percussionist / looper  tr


From: Bill Cummings <billcumm@sprynet.com>
Date: Sun, 05 May 2002 11:03:38 -0400
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Handsonic

It's a great unit. Sounds are tremendous, and interface is pretty darn good.
I use it sometimes as a standalone drum kit, playing it with timbale sticks.
Also use it as a supplemental pad/sound source on BALDR setup. Benefits
greatly from a full range sound system with subwoofers. Watch out for the
Z-beam (or whatever they call it) mine's always triggering when I don't want
it to, so I usually try to remember to turn it off.

From: RandomLFO@aol.com
Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 11:24:07 EDT
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Handsonic

     Hello. I use the HandSonic Live almost everyday. I play for dance 
classes at VCU the Richmond Ballet, and other places as well. I also use it 
for live improvs and with a band that I am currently forming. (Both the 
guitarists in the group have an EDP. One also has a Repeater and a Jamman - 
The HPD is an excellent instrument to use for live looping.) One of it's 
strong points is having 15 pads in a playing surface the size of a conga 
head. It's very intuitve to say the least. It has some nice realtime control 
features as well (2 ribbon controllers, a D-beam, and 4 knobs). 
     I've also been using it a lot in my little studio. It appears quite a 
bit in the two current commission pieces that I am working on for faculty 
choreographers. 
     The internal sound set is a mixed bag. Some of the sounds are really 
nice, but some sounds seem like wasted space (IMHO). It's not Nirvana, but 
for having everything in one compact, intuitive unit (A fairly flexible sound 
set, plenty of realtime control, etc.) it's great. (Do note that not 
everything is implemented the way I wished it was, and that I intially 
rejected the Handsonic as a work in progress)
     My advice is to closely scrutinize at a local music store, or buy it 
from a store that wil allow you return it. If you would like more detailed 
info, feel free to email me directly.
     Take care, Marc