Okay, so I am relatively new to production and I don't have much bias other than that I like warm and vintage sounds, and having been an emcee for years I developed a habit of working with producers who use the Boss/Roland series of samplers. I started of my own production work with just a 606 b/c I figured it was best to work with as a stand alone unit...it was cool, I got around the polyphony issues by bouncing to the computer then back, etc...there are some nice efx and the swing is particularly dope I thought, very good as a drum sequencing machine and I found the efx more useful for drums and bass then samples, don't know if that makes any sense. It was very easy to use as well, but anyway, this is about the 303 I just grabbed last week. This thing is FUCKING INCREDIBLE! From what I have done so far the efx on this thing and overall warmth added to the sound completely blows my 606 out of the water, especially the lo fi processor and vinyl sim efx which seem like garbage on the 606 now that I have put my hands on a 303. They work well together but I plan to do all my sample sequencing on the 303, the sound in this thing is AMAZING. It's also just way easier to tweak samples and be creative in the simple layout IMO

One question I have tho is, since I really prefer the sound of the 303, is my 606 overkill since I'm only going to use it to play out my rhythm tracks, which I'll probably run thru the 303 compressor as I record them anyway?

I feel like I would be straight with something like DR-202 to help sequence the drum and bass tracks along with the SP-303 and my BR-900 multitracker

Thoughts??

Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long-winded post.

Seems like you are saying the only reason you would use the 606 is as a midi sequencer. If that is the case I would get rid of it and use something smaller/simpler.

hi
i had the 606, the 404 and the 202, now i stay with the 303 and the 505.
i can say easly that the 303 got the best compression fx in all the sp range.
and maybe the warmest sound too.
i got the dr202 too (d'n'b presets are incredible there!)...
dr202+sp303 could be a good couple. plus , you have the br900...

if you need a sequencer maybe the 606 is however a cool macine for that aim. saying this i never try how well midi works on it...
since now i never sequenced from the dr202 to the sp303, i have to try this.

is the vinyl sim effect really that different between 606 and 303?
Didnt know about that.

From what Ive heard 303 indeed a lot of warmth to the overall sound of a track, so If you like vintage stuff I think you will be ( and I see that you actually are ) happy with this machine.

As for the sequencing purposes I'd advice you getting closer look on some cheapest mpc 2000 /1k with JJos would be a lot better, but it costs more/ or yamaha rm1x.

What I keep repeating lately is that Ive recently bought 2kXL and Im really stunned with its possibilites. I think that one should check those akais even if one's really satisfied with his SP setup...

peace

hi elhuana
unfortunately, me too.
i mean, i never used the vynil fx on the 606, but i was talkin about the compressor fx itself (not the compressor inside the vynil fx)...anyway, the 303 got also a nice compressor on the vynil fx...

Thanks for the replies fellas!

I'm still undecided on what will eventually be paired with the 303...I discovered a glitch with my 606 I'm trying to resolve, so I may need to get rid of the thing anyway....

@ elhuana, yeah man I can def say that having the 2 machines side by side there is a significant difference in the vinyl sim, lo fi processor and the compressor efx...the 303 gives me that phat sound that I felt was missing, to me the 606 beats sound a lil more hollow, its not something where I like yo this thing is wack, but when I was able to run some tracks thru both to compare it was a dramatic diff to me.


Peace

what kind of?
im curious 'cause i had one too that makes me decide to sell it: when i played 2fx+patterns live, the machine had bugs, like as almost stopped itself playing...

^
Actually I figured out the problem i was having...

The only time the 606 ever cut out was when their were polyphony issues but I have been recording most of my final beats since I started producing with 2 efx being tweaked in real time, that is of course single voice, but yeah when i track out the beats to my mixer I almost always have 2 efx running on whatever I am recording. Hope that answers your question.

Peace

i agree, 303 sounds a little doper at times

303 is fun to mess around with too. You just feel more accomplished making a beat on that instead of something like a 606, just because its soo small and everyone is like "wtf? u made this on that?"

I have a 303 and a 606 amongst other things. Keep'em both. Use the 606 for samples and 303 for drum loops. You can sequence the drums on the 606 and bounce them over to the 303 to free up some polyphony on the 606. Stick a midi cable in there and make patterns on both. Set the midi prefs correctly then press play or record and let it hit you.