My mate is thinking about getting an SP-555 and I thought this'd be the best place to ask a question or two.

1. How's the sequencer, compared to the SP-404 (with regard to timing)? Are there any limitations of which he should be aware?

2. Does it have the same effects limitation as the 404 (insofar as you can either have effects on one sample OR all samples but NOT selective samples)?

3. When transferring from the loop function to a pad, does the loop carry on seamlessly on the pad, or is it matter of timing it properly?

1.never used the pattern sequencer, im sure someone else here adores it though

2.you can assign effects to any number of any samples

3.the loop stops when you transfer it to a pad. however you can quickly erase the loop and start a new one which can be used to great avail if you have already saved some loops or samples that you are playing with.

the sp555 is in its own league of samplers its hard to compare it to sequencers or mpcs when it does something all its own.

And on that note... I was in GC the other day and they said it's listed as "out of production" already... meaning that Roland is gonna release something new to replace it. I hope they come with something really dope, cause the 555 is definitely an impressive piece of hardware.

The sequencer is the same as the 404... one track. You can however copy patterns... can't believe they left that feature off the 404.

Another cool addition over the 404 is the ability to save effects settings to the CF card... you get one full bank of saved settings (16 of em).

this is more than just saved settings, you can change the effects rhythmically because they are mapped to each pad 1-16 when you press effect memory.

so much cool stuff to do with that it blows my mind

Thanks for the answers so far chaps.



What I meant here was: if you capture a loop then transfer it to a pad, does the pad automatically continue playing the loop, or would you need to hit the pad again to continue the loop? Thinking about live applications here.

so yes you have to hit again but it plays again while saving.

its no ableton live, for live use youd need more than one piece of gear or be djing or something so you can ready loops in your headphones then slide the mixer over once its ready

Another question:

4. Is it possible to "pause" a sample halfway through, then continue the rest of that sample at a later point? Or is it a case of playing from the start of a sample every time?

not directly possible

but you can just record the last part of the sample and put it on another pad .

or you could get a turntable

I'll don't think my friend will be getting a turntable. He does have a KP3 and Korg microX, there's some limited sampling possible on the KP so I guess that could be a workaround.

I mean, basically he's looking for something that can sample, sequence and is good for live applications. He's also a bit of a control-centric guy though, likes to have options. Are there any alternatives that he might consider?

midi + ableton live

kp3