I took a break from trying (lol) to make music and now I miss it something terrible. I need a SP back in my life, but damn… the prices of these things have shot up. 90% of the 404's on Ebay go for like $300. The 303 goes for like $300. These are for used units, not even like excellent condition. People on craigslist won't budge off $300 for either the 404 or 303. A couple years ago I could have easily copped a 303 & a 404 in great shape with extras for $300 total for both. Now you have to look for a long time to find a deal. I'm an SP fiend, I've owned a 202, 303, 404og, 404sx, 505, and 555. So expensive SP's are kind of heartbreaking.

My top 3 all-time fav SP

1 - 303
2 - 202
3 - 404og

(Roland please combine all 3 of these machines into one sampler at Namm in a couple weeks!)

I don't need anything else ever. I tried the MV thing, the MPC thing, the computer thing. I can't do it. I'm not smart enough or something. I even had a microsampler which was dope, but too big to sneak into my backpack at work. I still had more love for the SP's.

Moral of the story is hold onto your SP's because they're becoming harder to find and becoming more expensive. I know Roland is suppose to announce a new sampler in a couple weeks, and I'm hoping for a new SP with the simplicity and style of the older 202/303/404.

I feel you bro. We shouldnt need to have our thinking caps on to make music.
If the new one is more of a 505/606/808 (& i think it is)--
Roland can have all my damn hard-earned money, but the 303/404's are way more popular so we shall see.

I'm on the hunt for a 303 too. But with a $300 price range, I might just cop a 202 for a quick hundred.

i see people asking fucking 200 for a 202 on CL. its disgusting

Shit is bananas! Even the sampletrak climbed up the Price-latter a bit...

glad i bought my 303 for 200 bucks in near perfect condition.

that's the reason why i bought a lot of Memory Cards and hoard them, even those get more expensive (i.e. Smartcards)

They will probably drop in price for a while when the new one comes out.

Then they will go up even more when everyone realises the new one is shit and they need that 'retro' SP and everyone will call em vintage SP's

honestly $300 isn't that bad. i've paid ~$280/230/250 for the the 404s I've had over the years. 303s should be cheaper but ultimately it's a very good deal, a fucking technics turntable w/o a mixer or anything else would be about the same price

In 7 years there will be a revival and they will go for more than 1000$$$
haha not my style to keep shit for those reasons, buts nice that the sp's are something that has that value aswell.

Sorry but this is foolish to pay that price for those machines.
I always paid not more $150 for an OG 404 (in perfect condition, even $120 one time) and not more $90 for a 202 (and these days in found some 202 @ 50€) ...

If prices go up , more up it's because of guys like you who assume to pay $280 for a 404...

I don't really care because I live in Europe and here the prices don't go up ( and I have already 2 OG's and one 202) but I imagine a little american kid who would to start makin beat with a 404 : more than $250... C'MON GUYS !!!!

(And the worst is that 202, 303 an OG 404 are more & more used and not reliable... I'll buy more to have a reserve hahaha)

Do what I do. Visit all your local pawn shops, music stores, or what not. From time to time, a SP might show up. If you have some, but not all the cash you need, just talk to the sales rep about doing it in layaway. You put down at least 20% of the sales price. You have a certain amount of time to get the rest of the cash, and then eventually pick it up. I once saw a SP202 for $285, but that just screamed like a ripoff when I saw that. Maybe if it had the memory card, but it didn't.

Layaway is something you can't do on eBay or buying from guitarcenter.com. For them, you'll need a debit or cc card, and you usually pay what the buyer wants, shipping charges, but it's worth a shot.

Musical gear isn't meant to be cheap. Supply & demand come into factor eventually. Yes, you would assume because something is used you'd get a bargain on it, but there are people out there willing to pay good money on vintage gear, and even some cosmetic scrapes or missing knobs won't deter them.

Don't forget, check the market place here. You might get lucky.

The days of buying an SP for cheap are long gone. They're more popular than ever, now that they're out of production. Oddly enough, you can find an MPC2000 for the same price nowadays. But I'm sure the prices of them are gonna go back up again.

BRAINFEEDER CREW PROBABLY OUTBIDDING EVERYONE ON EBAY AND BUYIN UP ALL THE SP'S...

i'm laughing way too hard at this

btw HELLOPILLOW where do you find SPs in europe? online or through some frined? cause i live in europe too but for me only solution is ebay n shit... i bought my 606 from a guy at random, found him on a site with used electromics.but i guess that was an exception caus its was the only time i found an SP for sale here lol you can PM me not to fuck up this thread

hahaha!