Alesis Announces Samplepad – Customizable Electronic Drum Pad
Alesis has announced SamplePad, a compact four-pad instrument that allows drummers to upload their own samples and assign them to the unit’s pads. It has 25 percussion and electronic drum sounds built in, and allows drummers to load their own samples using a standard SD card to create custom combinations. An external trigger input and the ability to mount it on virtually any snare stand or rack make SamplePad one of the easiest ways to expand any drumset.
SamplePad offers an intuitive interface that makes it easy to find and assign samples. By simply striking a pad and dialing to the desired sound, drummers can quickly reassign sounds as needed, and entire pad combinations can be saved internally as kits for easy recall. Drummers can tune and add reverb to their samples, then assign them to any of the four pads or the kick input. A MIDI output allows drummers to use SamplePad as a controller for triggering sound modules and software. SamplePad fits on a standard snare drum stand or can be mounted to any stand or rack. For studio use, SamplePad can simply be played on a tabletop.
SamplePad comes equipped with standard dual 1/4-inch outputs for amplification, and a headphone output for monitoring. Its kick input works with most pads and triggers including the Alesis DMPad and RealHead Kick Pads.
SamplePad will be available at musical instrument retailers in Q1 of 2012 with an estimated street price of $199.00.
