Roland HandSonic HPD-20 - Quick Guide; HandSonic Basics

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Quick Guide
HandSonic Basics
Pads and Kits
Pads
The HandSonic has 13 striking surfaces that you can strike with your
hands and ngers. Each of these striking surfaces is called a “pad.”
You can assign a dierent sound to each pad.
A sound can also be assigned to the D-BEAM just like a pad.
This means that the HandSonic lets you play a large number of
instrumental sounds simultaneously, or skillfully switch between the
sounds of dierent playing techniques.
Kits
A set of sounds assigned to these pads is called a “kit.”
The HandSonic can store 200 such kits; you can switch instantly
between kits.
You can edit the pitch, duration, and tonal character of the sound
assigned to each pad; these edited sounds are automatically saved in the kit, and will be applied the next time you
select that kit.
The HandSonic comes with more than 100 such kits that cover a wide range of
musical styles.
When you power-on the HandSonic, the number and name of the currently
selected kit is shown. This is called the “kit screen.”
Kit
Pads
Kit screen
Instruments and Layers
Instruments
The HandSonic provides more than 800 sounds. Each sound is called an “instrument” (abbreviated “inst”). If an
instrument is assigned to a pad, you’ll be able to play it.
Layers
Two instruments can be assigned to each pad; these two
assignments are called “layers.” The instruments (Inst A and Inst
B) assigned to the two layers can sound together, or you can
switch between them according to how strongly you strike the
pad.
Striking
force
Volume
Inst B
Inst A
This section explains the basic terms that you’ll need to know, and how the HandSonic is structured.
“Switching Sound Sets (Kits)” (p. 16)
“Layering Sounds (Layer)” (p. 24)
“Changing Sounds (Instruments)” (p. 17)
Quick Guide