Roland releases new sampler: Roland SP-555

Quinnx always has something interesting to say. It would be a shame if it left. It's really people like Quinnx that make this a message of ideas and such. If people like Quinnx didn't exist this message board would not exist: We could just go to the Roland website to get all of our information.

ARTEMIO: basing your opinion on a first impression with the specs is, well, ridiculous.

Artemio..you REALLY make me lol. Basing my "opinion on a first impression of the specs" is actually SMART. You know with this forum its a no-win situation. If i went and bought the unit , got it home, THEN complained about it you are probably one of those people that would say "you should have checked the specs before buying". LMAO @ Artemio... and honestly no one really cares that you dont give your opinion that much. And also who cares that you made thousands of sounds..lol I been with Roland since they came out with the W-30, so with me being a long time customer of Roland products I WILL "bytch" and complain when and where I want. Dont like it?? Dont comment.

Funny guy...lol

also... This new unit still is a toy. 130 millisecond limit on editing samples(without repeating the process) is well ummmmm..."Ridiculous"

i think it's an update of the sp 404, more options and more practical,

1x Roland MC 808
1x Roland SP 404
1x Roland Cm 30 (Cube)

Doug Crazy:

1. Yes, I know I am a funny guy

2. I did not say someone should care about my opinion. I always tell people they have to have their own. However, why bash a sampler which is NOT FOR YOU? There will be people that will LOVE IT. I understand your complaints, but I do not like they way you guys express it. Be polite. This is personal of course!

3. Buying a unit without first trying it out is dangerous. I already burned my hands with Akai MPD-24 whose pads were praised by most if not all but appeared to be disappointing.

Cool and I was about to buy the Mpd..lol

So you see now that commenting the gear by specs is, for the most part, really pointless?

Artemio, would you please comment on AKAI MDP16 if you have had a chance to try it? was it any better than 24? thanks.

WELL... not pointless... but I think I may have come in strong.. I have a tendency to do that (like with the MC-808) but honestly... the Specs on the sample editing (a VERY important part) are really bad. Roland could have just used the same method of editing that the 606 has. This flaw is a serious damage to workflow for those that love to adjust sample start/end points. I seriously hope Roland fixes this before release. I used the 404 for a good while before getting rid of it... and the main reason was the tedious editing of samples. It was agaonizing. But as you say... others may love this machine.

Hey Doug!

I agree with some of the things you've said, but he SP-555's actually pretty cool in some respects. I saw the new SP-555 videos on Roland US and (even though I have an MV-8800, as you know), I'd still think about getting one as a live unit, as the MV is pretty large and heavy and the smaller footprint of the SP looks good for taking to a gig, especially those in small venues (and where you don't want to take something as expensive as the MV). It also has quite a cool Ableton Live like feature for capturing live loops on the fly.

If you actually were about to buy the MPD, take care. I had an MPD-24 back in December and although good, the pads a very shallow (no way as deep as the MPC's or MV's) and don't feel that great at all (kinda hard).

SekondThought
"Computers are cool, but hardware rules".

Sek..whats up man. Ok.. let me go check the video..i didnt know one was up. you know how I am..I have a habit of attacking..lol. I think the fact that both you and Artemio didnt give the MPD a good rating..I am going to have to really mess with it before buying. I was going off the strength of the videos i see on youtube... damn..maybe I am just confused..lol. But dude.... i am just so dissapointed that the editing is not up to par on the Sp555. Roland MUST realize that there are many people that do crazy editing of samples and dont have time to mark-edit-mark-edit-mark-edit just to get 2 seconds into the sample. The 606 does it CORRECTLY. But oh well let me go check out the video anyway.

dv1394:

Well MPD-16 is known to be definitely worse than MPD-24. And even though it's built not for the price and looks nice, MPD-24 really doesn't cut it for me, I expected much more. If so, I'd suggest you look at Roland Handsonic - this is what I am going to do!

Doug Crazy:

Again I am saying you're not quite getting the SP-555's purpose. It's mainly a live work sampler, not a little workstation like the 505. I am not defending it, I am just saying SP-555 makes sense for what it does, and judging from the SP-404 that I liked a lot, it's going to be great.

I’ve always been on the fence buying a SP-404 and now the SP-555.
The main reason I haven’t bought one is because of the 3 digit display.
I work with a few different grooveboxes live, and I run into far too much trouble trying to manage my 50+ tracks with a 3 digit display. I stopped using my SH-32 and my D-2 live because of this. It is just too confusing keeping track of all samples, sequences, and patches with a 3 digit display. Things are almost always being accidentally over written.

The other thing that stopped me from buying the sp-404 is that is does not have tracks like the sp-606.

The new SP-555’s overdub feature seems a little strange way of working, would not it be better to assign the overdubs to a pad on the fly. So if you make a mistake you can turn off the pad? I think it would be interesting to see if any DJ’s or producers like it this way.

I do like the new computer software librarian of the sp-555.

I guess I will be holding out for a sp-666.

John

Roland obviuosly doesn't listen to their users. Korg FTW!

Don't get me wrong, it's a neat little box if it's under $400 street, which I doubt that it is.

Ok... now the video is Hot...lol That function of using the 555 as a audio interface is CRAZY. Hmmmm. OK.. now I need to investigate further. hehehe if i buy this (and love it) I will be the first to admit i was wrong.

Yours Truly

Doug Crazy (aka the Simon Cowell of Roland Products..LOL)