Well, I recently inherited a collection of old LP's, and got an idea to buy a turntable and make some samples. Can I connect a turntable directly to the SP 606 and just sample, or do I need a mixer, preamp, and who knows what else, to realize my LP-samples ambition?

a mixer helps, and the mixer ought to have a pre-amp in it anyway
if you sample directly out of the turntable it can be too loud/quiet and you don't want to 'mix' the sound within your SP
also, if you run it through a mixer you can EQ it too

that said, there's nothing to stop you plugging the turntable right into the 606 and having a go.
but even the cheapest DJ mixer will help

I usually use software for mixing;
Is this combination any good: turntables plugged directly into sp, LP samples chopped on sp, sp connected to pc and various software programs for sequencing, mixing?

Do I need any special cables for turntables, or special turntables itself for connection to sp 606?

that should work. Just make sure when you are sampling to turn the audio input up as far as you can without clipping to get a strong signal.

Unless U DJ try a TT w/ line level outs, or better yet a SPDIF out (Stanton & Numark make some). Then you can just have that direct to the SP keeping your signal path nice. Even get get separate 'sampling' & listening needles to be extra thorough!

This Stanton is hot if you're gwop dropping:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=801078

It has removable RCA cables (line outs/switchable to phono) and a SPDIF out. Meaning you can get a long SPDIF cable and not be tethered to your SP by a shortass cable all the time-
The digital can be low sometime, but clean .I find using the Islolater with one of the Mastering presets is an awesome way to boost whatever come out of the 606.

A table with pitch control is very useful when sampling. That way you can get the bpm around the area you want. The sp makes samples sound crappy if you change the bpm too much.

everything makes samples sound crappy if you change the bpm too much. The sp is nowhere near as good at this as Abelton/Acid though, so I do get what you mean

There are actually uses for that timestretch though - what sounds crappy on its own can come across as crunchy/lo fi in the mix, which can be a good thing.

I used to have a crappy gemini sampler and you could pitch that thing 30% and it still sounded good, I wish I still had it sometimes.

Pitching and timestretch are two different things. The 606 does perfect pitching through the included groovebox software. There's a LOT of hidden power in that software - even the timestretch sounds a hell of a lot better through P606 (basically as good as Acid)

[quote="606man"]Pitching and timestretch are two different things.

No shit, thats why I use the turn table to match the speed before putting it in the sampler.

That's not always a viable option though, as pitching literally changes the pitch (and therefore the tune) of the sound. That's why timestretch was invented, as for all its flaws, it has a lot of usefulness too. Both methods have their time/place - and it's good to have access to both on the 606!

I havent really messed around with the software too much. I need too I just got my 606 about a month ago. The manual doesnt really tell you a whole lot about it. Do you know if there are any books or tutoriol videos for the p606?

Thank you for your answers, I'll check out suggested turntables!

I've been thinking about putting together a 'manual' for p606, since it seems I'm one of about three people in the world who know how yo use it!

Dude that would be nice, please do.