SP505 -Good buy?

Was looking at the 505, just wondering is it worth copping for $150?. Its meant to be a sp303 but with added features, looks like a toy but sounds pretty good feature wise.

Just wondering worth it, or pass up for another hw sampler?

I picked up an sp-202 for about that much which does a lot less and i love it. really great for lo-fi crunge, two filters, crappy time stretching (which sounds awesome), etc. these are relatively limited machines but i think they are great. check out the feedback at vintagesynth -

http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/sp50 ... nts_anchor

also check out the sp forum.

yeah seems good but 128mb memory card only, wanted a hardware sampler to chop. Ain't a mpc for sure which I'm used to but not sure if I'm buying it for the price, however, sounds awesome for the crunch.

acronym wrote:yeah seems good but 128mb memory card only, wanted a hardware sampler to chop. Ain't a mpc for sure which I'm used to but not sure if I'm buying it for the price, however, sounds awesome for the crunch.

after a few years of not getting around to it.. I finally grabbed a 303 (a few members here recently encouraged me to get one) and it was a good idea. It isn't an mpc... which is a good thing... because this thing is actually great to have next to the mpc. I didn't expect it to be as good next to an mpc as it is.. you can take existing mpc beats and add another level of dynamics to a beat/song...

im not sure of all the 505 features, but if it has any similarity to the 303, for 150 I suggest getting it. The fx aren't like a 2000 dollar vocal compressor or anything like that and it isn't trying to be either... but with the effects it does have you can do a lot. It's really fun to use. The sample editing is really loose on the 303, but that is the best part. you can turn any sample into a pad sound almost.. haha.

bottom line: worth it.

Yeah get it. SP505 is a 303 but with LCD screen, Chop and Pitch Shop, 4 track sequencer, step edit, microscope edit. Basically what the SP-404 should've been.

I sold my 505 for $200, so yes, its a decent price. Brand new, I paid $523 from Upstairs Records back in the day.

cheers but decided not to buy it in the end,just reading it and the restriction just outweighed what I really want being a 404sx or 606.

the 505 is dope i paid 120 but would have been willing to pay 150.

I've got mine on layaway. All I need is $100, and I can take it home. I haven't really messed with the 505 before, so it's going to be a learning experience. I found the memory cards online, but most people want $65 for 128MB. I wish there were a decent video manual for it, but Olby's old videos on youtube will have to do.

hahah olby is that dude for the sp stuff!

how long you been producing headphones? im by seattle too.

seattle here too... man, we need to all meet up god damn it!

Damn, everybody getting SP505s for cheap. I would have paid $150 for a SP505, I just picked up an SP 303 for $100 yesterday with 64MB card and a hard case and I thought that was a good deal. I have wanted one since back in 2003 when my friend was selling his for $100 but I didn't have the money.

Very excited to learn this thing! With the FX and grit it seems like a great companion to a 2000XL.

I have a 303. I would cop another if I could find one for under $200. $150 was a steal for a 505.

damien907 wrote:hahah olby is that dude for the sp stuff!

how long you been producing headphones? im by seattle too.

Thanks, I've kinda had alot of false start/stops, like you buy some gear/software, you're just getting used to it, and then s*it happens, and you're forced to sell what you had at the time, or you couldn't make heads or tails of what you had bought, and sold it like a dumbass. I haven't really made actual songs, but I am insterested in collaborating down the road a bit later, so yeah, maybe we should hang, make some beats, etc. I know I didn't really answer the question, but if a tree falls in the forest, and nobody hears it, why brag? But I have messed with some gear here and there in and about 95...?

I live out in SeaTac, but I've got to pick up a decent desk worstation from GC, a new computer/audio interface, studio monitors, and a synth, and I either want to do some trip hop/dub, or some acid house tracks when I'm ready. Most of my gear is in the pawn shop, but once I get it all out, then I'm gonna just want a table where all the beat boxes and effects are at my disposal. I just ordered a Roland MC-09 and Kork Kaosspad mini 1 this week, so even if the sampler is whack on the 09 (6 seconds of sampling time), once I pair it up to the 505, it shouldn't matter too much. My ESX can sequence the 09/505, and I should be able to work some magic with just a few pieces of equipment.

I've got a better job lined up, so I should be fine budget wise, and can invest in better equipment as I see fit....

The SP-505 is a dope buddy....he will drink beers with you and make sure your stash dont get messed with. He is an awesome wing man and will take an L with the fat girl so you get the trophy chick...

He's like that...he will go down fighting with you til the bloody end.

Nah, JK..kind of.. that's how I feel about my 505. It's about 95% identical to the 303. Some people say the Vinyl Sim sounds diff on the 303, I say BS. The outs on the 303 are a bit noisier though...and the sequencer on the 505 is deeper. The screen of course so you have waveform chop.

I love my 505 and my 202.... I will never get rid of it. There is NO equivalent for the FX and sound on those machines.

I picked it up today. It's not as easy to jump into like the 202/303, and I thought it was easy as picking some .wav files, dumping them into the smart media card, and having the 505 read them. Nope, 505 didn't like them. I'll have to experiment a bit and see what's going on with that. It'd be a PITA to play the samples and sample into the 505, but I could do it that way if I can't get it to work. But boy that might suck!

But I've printed the manual, and when I'm not busy studying for some tests on my days off, going to hang in bed with my cat, and get to know this thing. The effects are good, but sometimes I find you have to select what pads the effect go on, and they don't always work on some sounds. I want to try the sample/chop asap, but I just better take it easy, and figure out how this unit works. I wish they made video dvds for this, but they don't.

But, my next purchase is going to be a dj mixer, and a technic 1200......And plenty of SM cards.