yeah most do prob gonna go w og maschine or 606

303 and 404 can both copy patterns. I'm sure other sp's can too. I would go for the 303. Good sound. Its limited but powerful and the ext. resampling is a sellig point in itself

Yeah the 303 is a sexy beast.

Wait hold up...you can copy patterns on the 303?

Yeah, from what i remember you make a pattern in bank c/d back it up then move it to a/b then you load up your saved c/d patterns then move your pattern back from a/b to c/d. Now u have a copy

ea1 isn't a drum machine. Maybe you're thinking er1. ea1 is just a 2 voice synth box.

yeah that's the one synth on my list. I was referring to drum machines as a generic term for drum machines and samplers, as a lot of people call samplers drum machines. found the xr20 samples on the net messing with those now great stuff. 606 I was looking at has no card... might have to get maschine just worried its gonna sound too thin

i'd consider adding a sampletrak to that list...great deal for what if offers and would compliment your overall gear well w pitch, etc

i've considered that, but its a little harder to find. my list is all off guitarcenter.com. well, the 555 is gone so that's out. now its between the 606, microsampler, and korg esx--all $200... thoughts??

the es1 is far cheaper than the esx, if you use it only for drums it's ok: good seq, only oneshot mode (damn) but for drum is ok. Motion seq too (automation of tweaking)

perhaps the thread title was misleading. using the generic term 'drum machine' as a blanket phrase to include drum machines and samplers, as many producers refer to samplers as drum machines (but not vice versa). not looking for something to handle just drums, but do everything. this unit will be used instead of, or in conjunction with og 404. and this is for straight hip-hop--no techno, no dancy stuff.
korg es1 doesn't technically loop? didn't know that!

ah ok, now it's more clear
unfortunately the es1 doesn't loop, you have to sequence samples to do that; same thing for the esx...the zoom st224 could be a good companion for the 404 then, as lodger said; if you don't need many memory, if you need real pitch, resampling of patterns, sampling while the sequencer is playing, then this could be a cool machine for that aim...(but think that the "resampling of patterns" could be done by sampling between the 2 machines, so, technically maybe a yamaha su10 or an sp202 could be the business...or not? just another thought)

would you guys pay $200 for a sampletrak? i know its high but the days of finding one for $90 are quickly fleeting.

in conjunction with 404? ESX
standalone? 606

depends on how you prefer to work.

The Korg Electribe ESX can loop. It has two keyboard sections in which you can loop and also select a tail loop too.

I've been using 555 for quite a while and I think it's time for me to get a new one, too. Thanks for the recommendations!