So ive had this thing for a few days now... Im very happy with it. Heres some big upgrades ive noticed over the 404:

-lofi compressor !
-effect memory
-dedicated pattern/sample copy
-more pads +velocity sensitivity
-improved effects
-improved timestretch (not a huge difference...mostly improved in the hi end)
-you can have both line and mic in (aswell as USB in) all playing through the 555 at the same time. so it almost acts like a small mixer.
-pattern start/stop and effects on/off can be triggered by pedal
-midi out !
-the light on the screen acts as a level meter. This is very usefull when sampling/resampling
-swing quantize that works really well !
-knobs are smooooooooth I really dig the knobs.
-loop capture.
-audi interface
-metronome that can be turned on/off at any time. Very usefull for the loop capture. (except sampling )

All in all im happy with the features of this over the 404. There is 1 gripe I have tho (that makes me happy I have a 404) No vinyl sim compressor!!!!! what the hell ? I love that thing. owell.. good thing I still got my 404 (Its also nice to have 28 pads sitting in front of me!) also the battery thing... but again...I got the 404.

Loop capture is interesting. I definitely notice the start delay... that friggin sucks. Its only an issue with drums tho so I definitely wouldnt call it useless but its not that great. I love being able to apply live external audio to my beat as it runs. No more waiting till I record it out ! When I resample patterns I basically just use free mode and let the first bar play out and then start recording. Then I save it to a pad and cut out the dead air.

Also, ive been triggering my EPS (mainly to scale samples..especially bass)
with this thing via midi and then sampling the sequence of the external instrument to the loop capture ! this is SICK and I never even thought of it b4 The 555 definitely has the best midi capability of ne of the SPs ive used. The pads will trigger external stuff connected to the midi out. The problem is you cant turn certain pads midi out to off (like midi/drum on the MPC) This was annoying at first, but I found a workaround. Basiclly what ive been doing is keeping the banks g,h,i, and j empty...since they are on channel 2 and I set whatever device I plan on triggering to channel 2 and there you go. Works great ! So then I sequence it and save it to loop capture so I can apply effects and whatnot. Thankfully on the EPS I can set the key range so I can just dedicate a specific bank to trigger it.

All in all... I think the 555 has completed my studio for the most part. And its working really well for me as a center piece. The only thing I still want to get an SH-201. But as far as sampling/sequencing goes... between the 555...404...and the EPS I got all the features I could ever need for sampling and then some ! And its all a really friendly and easy to use setup.

Oh, also... I could be wrong on this... I havent done a side by side comparison yet... but I think the 555 could also have more headroom ? It definately feels significantly louder than my 404. Also ill put up some audio demos of the super filter, amp sim and lofi compressor soon.

excelent!!! luv your post, really thanks!

Sounds good, but does it remembers pattern tempos ?

nice one Frantic, sounds wicked

can you please explain what you mean by "effects memory"?
can pads 'remember' what effect was assigned to them, or does it relate to the effect 'remembering' what position the knobs where at?

reading through the list of Pros really made me realise that there are some ultra useful additions here (level meter, multiple inputs, sample/pattern copy, swing).

if that loop pause could get fixed with an OS update, I'd seriously consider getting one to sit beside my 404. as it stands though, the Loop Capture is the most desirable feature it has for me, so I really couldn't settle for it being a bit dodgy

i'm keen to hear the beats you're making on it

I'm interested in hearing more about effects memory too

effect memory just calls up a specific effect and the settings you saved it with. This could have been better (remembers what pads it was assigned to) but its better than nothing...

Still sounds quite useful - it's a right pain to write down settings (eg on the tape delay) so that you can get 'that sound' when you want it.

sounds awsome! im looking forward to the audio examples!

and also, it looks like theirs vinyl sim at effect 8 in the mfx b section. Atleast its there in the photo's..

The 555 looks like an incredible machine. If it only it wasnt so ridiculously expensive over here...

the 555 is soooo dope.. but yes like Frantic said!! i cannot believe they left out the vinyl sim Compressor section. There is an effect called Vinyl Sim but it doesnt hit as dope as the 404!! Still the LOfi comp kinda makes up for it but i still like the 404's sound.

hey J.daniels, it's only 60,000 yen over here in japan! i'm actually thinking about getting it and selling my mpc1k(???) cuz i don't want to bother with getting the upgradepads later on...
-which that sh'# is weak by the way-
plus i don't really use it, it's practically brand new, 30 hd, 128megs ram; i barely turn it on.
anyway ur in australia, yeh! if u need some help gettin it from over here i could point u right or whatever. u know if its a "gift" u wouldn't even pay import taxes.

how much is it over there?

oh wow, 60 000 yen is half the price than the retail price here which is 1200 australian dollars(127000 yen)! You might have to hook me up with some sites!

ya, vinyl sim is there but minus the compressor...I think they added a filter instead ? (like this thing didnt have enough filters already ?) Lofi comp definitely makes up for it... but I would still like to have it. Its very unique

I agree I just used the vinyl sim on my 303 to smash a sample together with some drums, it makes the sample more audible without masking the thump of the bass drum or the crack of the snare. I gotta figure out how to use the shit out the effects I have on my 303 to compete with 404's and now 555's.

Does the 303 vinyl sim have a a vinyl fluctuation in it too?

SP 555 has one effect knob for 'rnG' (filter-like thing but not really a filter), it has a knob for 'noS' (vinyl noise volume) and one for 'FLU' (fluctuation of vinyl speed). All in all I'm happy with this effect...

Can someone post a 303 or 404 audio example with that effect? I'd like to know if I'm missing out on something.

Sure I'll make a little beat with the vinyl sim on my 303. The only thing the 555 has different is there's a filter instead of a compressor.

Here it is, I applied the vinyl sim(heavy on the compressor) on the sample as well as the whole drum track, so you can get the best idea of the sound it creates.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=721110