Lol, yeah.

As for sampling by ear on the SP-606, you obviously use your ears too, however you can see on the screen what you are doing.

I think the 404 and 606 are both awesome machines.

i'd love a 606, but not as my primary machine. i like making beats on the road too much to give up battery power. sitting at the park, you finish a blunt and whip something up while the weed fairy still has you lit... priceless...

^ best fun ever

Where is the 505 on this pole... ? Personally I just woke up to this one, but I would recommend weighing it in there with the rest.

I have a 555 and love it. The 404 vs 555 question is heavy...

Things I like about the 555 missing on the 404:
16 pads - roll - effect memory - synth (comes thru every now and then) - USB (if you're into that sort of thing) - XLR mic in

The biggest addition by far for me is the loop capture. This provides such a nice work around for only having one track to sequence on... I'm telling you. Using it to resample sequences gives you a looser feel to your timing and also lets you use your effects in some different ways... as in applying them to an entire sequence as opposed to individual samples. Heads who are good on a 404 prolly have their own work around and might say that loop cap aint shit, but I would disagree... fo real.

I think the portability of the 404 is huge... and for a lot of people, that alone would dictate having to pick just one SP.

word !