Hey, everybody! I'm the guy who has held off on getting a hardware sampler because he thought he was going to get a monome, until of course his computer devoured itself from the inside and suddenly a monome would be totally useless. Oh, and tenori-ons are weak sauce.

I am drawn to the sp202 or 303 because I could take it on the bus with me, but I hear it's nowhere near the level of the 555 or 606 in terms of ability and sound quality.

So my question is this: What is your favorite SP unit and why? (what does it allow you to do better than other units out there?)

welcome to the forums homie, to kind of help answering your question if your lookin for a sp that can be taken with you somewhere n your limited in funds i would say look into a used sp404. the 303 is definitely nice as hell but not portable in terms of battery power. if thats not an issue for you then take a look at all the different models features n try to decide which model suits your needs the best

raw hip hop on the 303 and 404, some people love the limitations, some people hate em, but look into them (i think all its "shortcomings" can be found posted on any given page of the 404 tricks and tips section) and see if these things really would be a problem with you, i couldn't imagine having anything but the 404 and a stack of vinyl cause i don't need anything else, but some people use a sampler for much more than i would.....

but usually the 303/404 is either "perfect" (for the most part) to the owner, or its not what they thought they were gettin at all, as for other models, i'm sure some of the great users of this board will be posting some info for you soon

If you want something to make simple beats and get comfortable with then I'd say a 404, if you want to have more complex editing and playback options with computer support I'd def go with a 606. Don't sleep on the 505 either, it sounds like a 303 and offers visual sample editing all wrapped in lo-fi grime.

404 very simple and portable.

Thanks for the help, guys.
I'm leaning toward a 404 at the moment.

Somewhat off topic: does the 202 sound a lot grungier than later models, or are they all pretty much equal in terms of sound quality?

The 202 probably uses a 20bit A/D converter like the 303.

never used any other sp than a 505. All I can say about the machine is, that I love it. There are some things I would change if I could... but if I could do everything I wanted to with the machine then making music with it wouldnt be half as hard or nearly as rewarding.

welcome to the board and goodluck.

keep in mind the 202 doesnt have a sequencer

i've never had or used a 555, 606, 303 or 202 but i got the others and i would say they all have their strengths, seriously i like 'em all but the 404 is the one i would choose if i could only have one of my three.

404

the 606 is real dope but only 8 polyphony which sucks. if i had the doe id snag a 404 as well more notes and better use of effects btw the two.

no one has said this but if u dont know yet, the 555 and below are single track sequencers and the 606 does 4 tracks. i dont know if u can adjust the volume of a pad w/ the 404 but if u can, tracking out would be that much of a problem if u have a midi interface w/ your computer.

^actually the 505 is a 4 track sequencer

i thought that it was but was thinkin about the series jumping roland does like the 505 555 606 the 505 has a screen like the 606 as well right?

yeah its pretty close