Product: Roland 606
Price Paid: US $200 used
Submitted
06/29/2004
at
12:42pm
by
alex
Email: alex_prescott<at>hotmail dot com
Ease of Use
:
9
there are some "hidden" features that aren't readily apparent from looking at the interface, but for the most part you can get right to it with no problems. you can switch between "pattern write" and "pattern play" on the fly, which is a nice little feature. you can't really edit the sounds, but using accent does alter them quite a bit (doesn't just make it LOUDER). they are quite readily "modable" though, which can create quite a few new possibilities. great manual
Features
:
No Opinion
features? ummm, how about great sounds? no midi, just sync 24. you get this box for the sounds...
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
10
ohhh yessss. like sex. ok, not like sex but almost as rewarding. fizzy, snappy, soft, wicked little bastard. can be a bit noisy at high volumes, but this is to be expected from an old analogue unit. like no other out there. a bit lo-fi, but i love that.
Reliability
:
9
made of plastic, so i wouldn't take it out much, but it is still going strong after 20 years with no loss of functionality. i guess it depends on how much the (previous) owner cared to treat it. i got lucky.
Customer Support
:
2
pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft...
Overall Rating
:
10
sick little box. perfect beats. add a little delay and reverb, maybe some flange here and there. roland got it right back in the day. i wish i could say the same for their current product line. i like mine as it is, as it is heavily modified with individual outs, snare decay/tone/snappy, bass boost for the kick drum, and a filter on the hihats. i can easily use this for all the beats in a track and love the way it fits in there. very easy to mix in. i guess i paid towards the higher end of the cost spectrum, but it is quite mint, so i don't care. i wanted it, so i got it. get one.
Product: Roland 606
Price Paid: 200$ (aus) used
Submitted
07/13/2002
at
01:04am
by
carl
Email: carlbartos<at>hotmail dot com
Ease of Use
:
7
it has a logical lay out and a very good manual in the manual there's a basic course and an advanced course the basic course is just writing separate patterns which you don't really need the manual for but the advanced course is about writing tracks which i don't really bother with but if you wanted to you probably would need the manual
Features
:
8
it's sequencer gives you plenty of room to work in and has no shitty presets it is before the time of midi but it does have din sync and two trigger outputs which are great if you have any other vintage gear it has no effects but it does have a phones out and if you connect the 606 to your amp via the phones out and turn the volume up all the way then you get a really nice overdrive effect this unit is best used with somekind of distortion
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
10
it's similar to the tr909 and tr808 but sounds a lot better you can't change the sounds at all but i don't see why you would want to oh you can add accent to them which is really cool the bass drum can be used like a 909 kick but isn't as tacky so you be more flexible with it, the snare is probably the best snare in the universe, the toms when distorted give you a crazy boom which even if you don't normaly use toms will make you keep coming back for more and the cymbols sound very realistic and can be used for anything at all
Reliability
:
7
it's not very durable but if you look after it it will serve you well
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
never needed it
Overall Rating
:
10
I'd buy a thousand of them if i had to anything you do can be polished off with a bit 606 drums i hook it up to my jupiter4 and i have a weird boss digital sampler delay pedal DSD3 that has trigger in and they work really well together iv'e never used one but i asume (as they were made to go hand in hand) that the tb 303 would work really well with this as well if you do have a tb 303 you really hould get one these as well 150$-200$ us is a reasonable price
Product: Roland 606
Price Paid: US $65
Submitted
03/04/1996
at
10:05am
by
Chad Carey
Ease of Use
:
7
overall the 606 is easy to program and use with the exception of the sequencer which is a pain. The manual if you can get one is fair to good. If you are familiar with Roland products you probably won't need a manual for basic operation.
Features
:
3
The 606 has a din sync in. Its a classic drum machine but is pretty simple. Features are not why one buys a 606 its the sound.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
8
This drum machine is very unrealistic and thats the appeal for many of us.The sounds are classic and simple. Used properly the 606 can have an enourmous effect on a song.
Reliability
:
7
Dependible, but fragile. All plastic.
Overall Rating
:
10
The high hats cymbaals and snare drum are great. I love it and would buy it again, but not for some of the prices paid today. I wouldn't recommend spending more than about $100 for one unless in excellent condition then I would say $125
