---
title: "M-Audio SP-2 vs Roland DP-10"
url: "https://mid1.com/compare/m-audio-sp-2-vs-roland-dp-10"
site: "mid1 (mid1.com)"
---

# M-Audio SP-2 vs Roland DP-10

Both are picks from our guide: Best Sustain Pedals (https://mid1.com/guides/accessories/best-sustain-pedals).

## Specs head to head

| Spec | M-Audio SP-2 | Roland DP-10 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type | Piano-style switch pedal | Continuous half-damper pedal |
| Half-damper support | No | Yes, full and half-damper compatible |
| Cable | 6 ft, 1/4" jack | 2.2 m extended cable |
| Weight | 14.1 oz | 1.7 lb |
| Dimensions | 10.5 x 3 x 2.5 in | 9.5 x 4 x 3 in |

## M-Audio SP-2

Our rating: 7.8 out of 10.

Best for: Anyone who just needs sustain to work, on any keyboard, without spending much.

The M-Audio SP-2 is the pedal most people buy first, and the r/piano thread backs it: one comment calls it "a good inexpensive option if you don't need a continuous (not just on/off) pedal." At about $25 with nearly 30,000 ratings, it is the default answer for anyone who just wants sustain to work.

It is a traditional piano-style pedal with a chrome foot plate, a heavy duty mechanism, and rubber pads underneath that grip the floor instead of sliding. A polarity switch on the housing handles either wiring convention without guesswork. It ships with a 6 foot cable ending in a standard 1/4 inch jack.

It is a switch pedal only, sustain is either fully on or fully off, so a half-damper input gets nothing extra from it. It feels lighter underfoot than the pedals above it, and the fixed 6 foot cable is short for a stacked or raised rig.

## Roland DP-10

Our rating: 9.1 out of 10.

Best for: Players who want the closest feel to an acoustic piano's damper pedal and a keyboard that can read it.

The Roland DP-10 is the pedal the r/piano thread's most specific recommendation pointed to: "I would go with a roland, its got the closest feel that ive experienced." At about $51, roughly double the SP-2 and slightly ahead of the FC4A, it is built as a real-feel continuous pedal rather than a simple switch.

It ships with a non-slip rubber plate built into the base, which Roland calls out for hardwood or slip-prone stages, and an extended 2.2 meter cable for setups with keyboards stacked on stands. It is full and half-damper compatible, so it reads continuous pressure on a supporting keyboard and still works as a plain switch pedal on anything else.

Half-damper response is only useful on a keyboard built to read it, and plenty of controllers and stage pianos treat it as a basic on/off input regardless of what the pedal sends. At roughly double the SP-2's price, you are paying for a feature a lot of setups will never use. It is also heavier and bulkier than either pedal below it.

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Source: https://mid1.com/compare/m-audio-sp-2-vs-roland-dp-10