The (unofficial) Octapad UPGRADE

The (unofficial) Octapad Upgrade is a DOWNLOADABLE EXPANSION for the Roland Octapad SPD-30 .

The Roland Octapad has been one of the top digital percussion instruments since 2010, and in all that time there has never been an upgrade available .... until now!

This Upgrade expansion gives you the following:

• 99 brand new melodic and percussive kits

• 30 new Phrase Loops

• tuned pad settings for optimised playability

• full support for up to 3 additional pads (Kick, Snare & Hi-hat)

• a simple download + interactive support document

99 NEW KITS

Installing this upgrade completely replaces the old, original stock sounds with 99 brand new, custom-made and carefully constructed kits.

These new kits are the result of hundreds of hours of tinkering and tweaking to develop melodic, percussive and hybrid kits that offer a completely new Octapad-playing experience.

Over the course of all this playing, every piece of the Octapad’s inner workings have been explored, and different combinations of sounds, effects and parameters combined and tested in the search for ever-better kits to play.

Some kits also stack together, with instruments across multiple kits tuned to the same key and scale to create compelling layers of sound.

30 NEW PHRASE LOOPS

Phrase Loops are included to demo the new sounds, as well as provide a base over which you can play and perform.

These are a great way to familiarise yourself with the new sounds of the Octapad, as well as to discover which kits are intended to stack together.

Each Loop consists of 1-2 layers of a looping pattern, with at least one layer free for experimentation.

SETTINGS

Included in the Upgrade are the settings from the original Octapad on which these kits were crafted,

This means that Kit Volumes are automatically set for consistency, pad sensitivities are set for intended dynamic feel and FX are in place for every kit.

EXPANDED PADS

In addition to the 8 pads of the standard Octapad, each of the 99 kits has instrumentation in place for 3 additional pad inputs.

By default these are Kick, Snare and Hi-hat Control (hi-hat pedal), so each new kit offers 11 playable pads in total.

(See Roland documentation for more on expanding the Octapad hardware)

DOWNLOAD AND PLAY

On purchase of the Upgrade, you will have access to a downloadable file that can be transferred to the Octapad via a USB memory stick (32Gb max).

Follow the simple installation instructions and play your brand new expanded Octapad within the next 5 minutes!

Additionally an interactive document is available to guide you through the finer points of the Upgrade.

This guide offers the following chapters:

Overview, Install guide, F.A.Q., The Inner Workings, Global Settings, Kit Guide, Make It Yours.