so many good deals. need help deciding. which one and why?
(current og404 owner)...

sp-555........$350
sp-606........$200
sp-303........$150 (edit)
sp-505........$150
dr-202........$160
xr-20..........$100 (edit)
ea-1 mkii....$125
es-1 mkii....$150

thanks!

Maybe if you could define your needs, as in what your searching for in another drum machine, it might be easier te help.

I'd say the 505 according to the price/bang for your buck.. It's mostly like a 303 (apparantly) yet a little bit bigger and stuff plus it's cheaper than a 303 itself. Other than that I just love the 303 because of it's look, ease of how to use it and by the fact Dilla and Madlib used it. (Yeah I know, kinda lame) But to pay 50 bucks extra for that, I don't know.

Keep in mind that I've never used a 505 before and am considering one myself though.

I think that the og404's (imo the best sp) perfect companion is the sp202

my reason for this : you already have plenty of memory and effects are top notch with your 404, now you can add the few things the 404 is lacking with a 202: grit and dirt courtesy of the lo fi settings and the filter and true pitch control..

this is the set up I have, I don't need anything else from and sp... I also own a 505 and almost never use it but it does have some great features that are not in the 404... if you're looking to get into more involved sequencing and producing 'in the box' I would say you might want to think about something other than a 202, but imo the 202/404 combo is the best... and you can get one cheaper than 160 as well

good input so far. love the 404 kinda wish it had pattern copy though. chromatic pitch is nice but i don't need it. if i cop 505, 606 or 555 i'd prob not use it with the 404, but any of the other pieces i'd probably use with the 404. like how the 404 sequencer works but pattern copy would be really freeing without too much freedom. 404sx would be nice too i guess... also mpc 500's are $200. 505 would work but they're slow with a 128 card. 303 is slow too that was my first sampler. 202's are cool but i don't need the grit. dollar bin wax from a handytrax so everything sounds plenty lo fi in the 404. if i could use the 202 filters and pitch to make basslines that would be considered.

really love how the 555 and 606 have audio interface. like 606's amount of banks. my beats are missing booming 808 kicks, basslines and melodic variation the most. xr20 could solve much of this

i would get the 505 over the 303, that's as much as i can say. i also liked the 505 than the 606 for chopping but the 606 got some DOPE features. note repeat, mute groups, pan.

also i wouldn't get the dr-202 or xr-20 unless you really need a drum machine for some reason. if you don't have a sampler that's more important at this point, and they work as drum machines anyway (just throw some drum samples in.) it's worth noting you can get all the drum samples the dr-202 and xr-20 have in them pretty easily.

got the 404 so either looking for something to replace it (555, 505, 606) or use with it (xr20, es1mkii)
you like the auto chop better on the 505 or you talking about manual chop? cause i don't really use the auto...
edit: 303 is actually $150 now & xr20 is $100--those are in abundance at gcenter. called the store the 505 has no card

the 505 chop is much better than the 606 chop. the 505 you set a level of autochop but then can adjust the chops all at once. the 606 is either auto-chop with no adjustments (take the regions it gives you) or chop everything seperately, which for me makes the 606 chop take at least twice as long.

SP505
IMO the same warm sound like the 303
the only SP that I tried who has pitch function without need to tweak/resample (awesome for bass lines and keyboard or guitar samples)
16 pads
a lot of beautiful effects.

needed to edit to add

LoFi and pad feeling...

I owned the 404, 303, 808 in the past.
I just copped the 606 a week ago and it is good but nothing I used before compares with the 505, at least talking about SPs

the chop on the 606 is fast enough for me. I had the 606 for 2 months of solid use. almost all the clicky buttons are dead. I opened it to see if maybe
something was loose or could be adjusted or fixed. turns out they are little clickers soldered to the board, maybe it needs more tork to push down on them, or I got a LEMON. damn, i remember the 505 buttons getting sticky, but not just die after 2 months, I pretty much found work arounds, and be real gentle now. 606 breaks, just like an asr, breaks down right when you get a groove on it.

the 404 is pretty much indestructable, same with the 303, 202, 555. thanks to the 1 peice membrane, that also protects from spills, but you gotta shut down and flip the box over right then. I recovered from a wine spill on my mixer, smoke was even coming out of it. thought forshure she was toast. fired her up a couple weeks later, and it works better
ha. good old,. old stuff.

lost a brand new br 1200($650) from a spill, with only 2 tracks recorded on it. darn.

the 505 was pretty good, the sound is a little trashier than a 303.

ill do a few pros and cons for the heck of it.

pros. -
--------------------------------------
202
real pitch, batteries, superb beat matching.decent filter.
good for live jamming only,
so you will need something to record to or resample your stuff.
--------------------------------------

303
import files, RCA in and out, resample pads + external.
good sequencer. better sound than 202 .
better lofi button sound than 404. warm FX. comfy pads.
-------------------------------------
404

import export wave files. super Ultra wide frequency range.
clean sine tone for subsonic. almost unlimited recording time.
rca only. batteries . onboard mic.
--------------------------------------
505
chop~, pitch banks~
record velocity changes with jog wheel .

--------------------------------------
555
usb audio, phatom poiwer XLR, live looping sequencer.
SUPER FILTER.
volecity pads
--------------------------------------
606
chop banks, dbeam, 2 fx at once .
shit loads of banks and patterns.
gritty sound, all the time with LONG.
wave editor, clip board to copy pads and chop them fast.
velocity pads ( gotta beat the shit out of your pads to make it work)
--------------------------------------


cons
--------------------------------------
202

lofi sound only, low memory for sample time.
lots of quircks with memory banks.
--------------------------------------
303
glitchy time stretcher.
--------------------------------------
404
Weird 16 bit sound,
no resample+ext. !

--------------------------------------
505
sharp spikey sound.
have to press stop to do anything.
no velocity.
--------------------------------------

555
low sample time for livelooper.
mufflier sound.

--------------------------------------

606

BUTTONS BREAK #%$^#$@^%!!!!,
have to start stop all day breaking the buttons.
micro scope is alien space ship code.

ALL >, NO RESAMPLE SEQUENCER.

^^^ the most complete pros and cons I found about the SPs so far, props for that, I don't only share all your cons on the 505, I wish it could have velocity pads tho...
about the velocity pads on the 606 yeah you are right, you need to bang it hard to get it to work... and the lack of pitch like the 505 is a shame, the 606 could be a beast if you could do 16 levels (tune and velocity) just like the MPCs since it has the same pad distribution like the MPCs, all my buttons are working good tho... I don't need to bang hard on them, maybe because I bought it almost new and it is in pretty good shape yet.
my 505 is indestructible and pad feeling is just one of the best features in this machine, og404 has very hard pads, I never tried the SX tho... anyways I think I am done with SPs without display... 505 and 606 for now, I might sell the 606 later (because the lack of pitch, I was expecting the 606 to have that) but IDK yet, maybe if I spend more time with her I will decide not, but I will never sell my 505, she is a keeper

not mine but here is a busted 606 for $150 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SP-606-TRIGGER- ... 2eca7c8bea


You can get a clean one for $200 tho... I got mine from GC for $200 + shipping and it was in pristine condition

My recommendation is if you are going to buy something do it NOW, you don't want to wait till Nov-Dec when everybody has money to spend on Xmas gifts and prices raise like crazy! you will ended up paying 50% more by the end of the year

damn now i'm looking at used mpc studio ($350), used maschine ($200) and mikro ($150). what do ya'll think about studio vs. maschine vs. mikro? aaahhh!!!

honestly on the sp's i don't really care about the pads, 16 levels or pitch. (the 606 was designed to pitch w/ P606 program though, ving.)

^do they come with software? if so get the maschine (not mikro) the studio is still buggy as hell. if they don't have the software don't bother IMO.