Roland SP-808 Groove Sampler

The Roland 808 is very easy to operate. I wish Roland had a digital version to install on my MAC! I've owned my 808 for at least ten years and will NEVER let it go! I also own the original users manual and the VHS video manual.
(if ROLAND is willing to make an offer, I can make a fully digital DVD version of this video)....hint, hint
ultraimageinc@Gmail.com
I'm Tony
...holla at your boy!

I have upgraded from a 100mb to 250mb internal drive. Operation still is the same. But finding new ZIP drives these days is crazy.
(The kid at Best Buy laughed at me when I asked him if they were in stock...I would've too!)
The 808 sequencing is great. For me it's a breeze to compose and bounce trax.
I also love how I can scrub to make perfect samples and loops, as well as the different ways to execute a sample.

The on-board effects are usable, and I love the dirty synth sound! But I usually run a midi keyboard patched thru a drum machine/synth box.
(ex. ROLAND 505, or kick it back to the old school-BOSS DR-5)

Ummmm....it's old now, many disks have somehow erased while in use. I lost a lot of kick-*** songs that I've spent days on-it's ok tho, I still love my 808
now I run my master output thru my Lexicon USB interface and record into computer software....I use Logic.
If you still tour with it....back up your disks.

I have always referred to my manuals for support, but ROLAND usually has a stellar support team!

The ROLAND 808 is a great tool in my studio, actually now I am a video producer and I use it to create custom samples for scoring.....but I still write some sik *** jamz with it tho
I still want to see it completely digital to add to my software collection

have an early version i think. have 100mb disks and afraid they might not work if i upgrade OS, anyway happy with as is. i like the manual, i studied and underlined and used and helped me get the most out of its many features.

my major gripe is you can only play 4 tracks at a time, so i run two beside each other. heres how i work. i use various synths and sequencers and sample loops into sp808. eject zip and transfer to my pc and turn in wav file. using ableton live i build up a song. chop it up into more loops and back onto zip, turn back into roland file and into sp808. i play out with the two sp808, the on board effects are great, really top stuff. a simple set up that never fails me and not a laptop in sight.

i love the effects. these were not just some after thought, some real classsic effects, real pro stuff, compressor etc. sound seems good and clear.

very, beats my laptop hands down, has only crashed once or twice.

have never used.

wanted one the day they came out, looks really cool. its only since 1998 that i have truely started to use these great little machines, maybe my favourite bit of kit. perfect for my underground type house/dance sound and style.

The Sp-808ex has been the cornerstone of my home studio since I got it back in 2001. I was using it somewhat effectively by like 2 months, but I still learn a little here and there about the extensive effects on board, diagnostic tests, etc. I actually like editin' better on the 808 then my other recorder, Yamaha AW16g (fx and audio) simply because it's easier. The manual was somewhat helpful, but only after I had been messing with it for a few months. One thing is there are so many features I have yet to utilize them all so.

This thing is a monster when it comes to effects! I think this can do just about whatever you want it to do in this realm. Sure some of the fx might not sound as clean as some outboard shit, but you can't really complain for a product bought new ($1100, cheaper than MPC) that has a four track digital recorder, sampling, sequencing (not even sure how to use it effectively!), MIDI, vocoder, the aforementioned effects and the capability of being part of your live show arsenal! Sure, the MPC has the most extensive sequencing abilities and it has the pressure sensitive keys, 16 tone resampling features, and bpm changing function, but the 808's fx alone are something that is hard to deny. The two together is like holy matrimony I am certain (drooling...). It can be expanded with the op-1 and op-2 expansions offering more rca outputs or xlr inputs/outputs, digital and optical outputs, and a scsi to connect an external zip to it, however, these are rare now that the 808 is discontinued. So finding a new one (running about $300) is a bitch.

The 808 is great for my hip hop endeavors. The sampling and resampling abilities make it ideal for choppin' up some jazz piano, cuttin' up a break, flippin' a phat bassline from a synth and gettin' peoples' heads noddin'. It does tend to add a little bit of noise into the mix when you start bumpin' the sounds at 0dbs, but I like that, others might not. Definitely has its own sound and feel. People actually tell me that all the time; I'd have to agree.

Zip Drive... This may be the achillies heel of the 808. I have read about numerous, and have experienced numerous major problems with mine. I have actually had to replace mine and as I have said, I have only had it for five years. It has led to at least two discs of info being lost to the abyss. Gut-wrenching to say the least. May be due in part to my excessive use of the machine, as I often spend whole days banging out joints on it. I am sure if you keep your need for beats in check it might work better (zip drives are meant for storage not operation). Another thing is that "disk busy" error occurs frequently when the 808 is performing multiple task. This can be quite annoying, and may not be conducive to a great live set, but there are ways around it. So overall, I use this machine like it was built like a airplane blackbox, but at the same time I am always dreading that it may fail me again.

FUCK ROLAND! what kinda shit is that to discontinue the product and its expansions just about 2 years after it hits the market. Especially with such a big user base! There is such a huge demand for this still and they don't offer the buyers any real support by discontinuing it. It just inflates the price of the rare products, cool if you want to sell yours lousy if your trying to find parts for it.

It's like an abusive, destructive relationship that has the best sex (weird analog). Love and hate. I wish it was more reliable for my use, had better sequencing abilities and expandable internal memory so you wouldn't have to wait to load other discs. I wish i had an MPC to compliment it. BUT, I can't deny that this machine is a god sent. I have spent a large chunk of the last 5 years standing/sitting behind it gaining fulfillment unparalleled by my other activities. It also has expanded my taste in music (how many of ya know about crate diggin') and indirectly allowed me to strive toward all kinds of inspirations of mine. If this were stolen would I replace it? If it were stolen I would probably go on a murderous pillaging of the earth until it was returned to me just as it was. Definitely a good piece for any digital artist to develop skills with.

The Sp808 is very easy to use once you read the manual and learn all the tricks this thing has got up its sleeve. FX are well rounded and very simple to apply in realtime. As most have said, the manual can be a bit awkward in the way it words things but its layout is basic and easy to browse. Creating songs is simple, since you can sequence single hits, and full sample loops, very easy to bounce tracks.

This sampler has amazing features, its best probably being the realtime effects and user editable effects patches. I was blown away by how much you could tweak the FX on this unit.
However the polyphony on this is very small, only 4 samples at once. The
sample banks are easily accesible, 16 pads per bank and 64 banks total. 23 minutes of stereo sampling (46 min. mono) per zip disk. Disks can quickly be changed at the drive on the front. Pads are NOT touch sensitive but can be controlled by midi and become touch sensitive.
Onboard analog synth can be programmed or controlled via midi. could be useful in some circumstances...
drums can be sequenced using recorded samples...however the sequencer will not finish the sample from the beat you are sequencing , so this causes it to sound chopped up.. but a way to get around this is sequence each hit to a seperate track and just keep bouncing.
Onboard mixer is useful but a bit limiting, since every thing is controlled by using arrows and a jog wheel...it would be nice to have individual aux and panning knobs for each track but this can also be done if you have the expansion unit which you can output each of the 4 tracks seperately to an external mixer.
Overall, all the FX alone were worth the money I paid for this unit.

Once again the FX sounds are incredible. I use it to make Dub, reggae tracks, and also hip hop. It is obviously geared to Dance and remix music but seems to work great for anything, because it is also a baisc 4 track digital recorder. The FX on this thing make it an instrument itself...they can all be tweaked in realtime with the 3 assinable knobs...this is the best feature for what I use this for which is Dub music, where the essence of it is in the "playing" of the FX. another amazing feature of this is the D Beam controller, which is an infrared sensor on the upper right of the machine...depending on the position of your hand the FX parameters change..FX can be accurately controlled with this with some practice.

This is a pretty reliable machine, its only running off a zip disk so you cant expect too much from it. Sometimes it skips when maxxing the polyphony of samples, which can be annoying. but if all your samples are recorded live to tracks it isnt a problem at all. Other than that this machine is very reliable and would definetley use it as the heart of a gig with out a bacckup

never dealt with Roland, I want to try an find the expansion unit and maybe a larger zip drive...

Overall this machine is a steal for the money i paid for it. Of course there is now much more sophiticated digital machines on the market, but I like this one beacuse its so easy to use and friendly to my budget.mif it lost, I would probably end up saving up for a more advanced machine, and then buy another one of these later on, just to use as a sample bank and FX unit.

Using OS 1.1 i think. A lot of the features need to be accessed through pushing buttons and scrolling through menus, but hey - if you read the manual, no problem! the manual is a bit funny as it is obviously translated from a language other than english so sometimes you have to figure out what its trying to say, but in general, once you get to know this machine and all it can do, its a beauty! only drawback i have found is that you can't cut samples real close like drum fills and such. the machine can't read the zips fast enough. so it can't replace a more sophisticated sequencer. but its the best 650 bucks i have ever spent on a piece of equipment, hands down.

amazing range of effects. i bought this thing for the sampler mostly. but not only is it a sampler - its a digital 4 track with awesome effects. PLUS the virtual analog synth. not bad for a medium-sized machine. at home i run a mac G4 with cubase and reason so when i first bought this thing, it mostly sat around until i wanted something hands-on to play with and loop samples etc. not until i left the country for 7 months with only my sp-808, my guitar, bass and cd collection did i discover all you can do with this thing. i wrote an album on it. a mix of electro, sample-based indie stuff.

i use the machine for layering live instruments over sampled beats, as well as programming the virtual synth. the synth is limited, but given some tweaking, i really enjoy what i've been able to do.
i haven't tried to control the sp 808 from an external controller, that's next on my list.
again, amazing range of effects. playing my album for people, most are surprised at how clean it sounds, as well as how good my guitar and bass came out in the mix, given the quality of the effects used...hey i just plugged in to the 1/4 inch jack...sounds much better than what i was doing in cubase and reason.

i bought it used. in the year i've had it the jogwheel has gotten a bit looser, although no big deal. once it fucked up on me and resaved over all my user patches. i'm a calm guy so i didn't freak out but i guess when you smoke and play you can't just blame the machine!
i'd use it on a gig without backup i think, though i haven't yet. haven't had any major problems yet. i'm going to try and update the os and install a 250 zip.

i've called roland a couple times for various reasons - asking about backing up the zips, power supply switches etc. they've been friendly and helpful.

if somehow i lost this thing, i think i'd get another. like i said, its the best money i've spent on equipment ever. i love all the features packed into the size of the machine...for the effects and sampler unit alone it was worth the money. add the digital 4-track and you're laughing! i pity the fools who spent all their hard-earned money on the VS digital recorders. these machines are jam-packed full of juicy usability! the only gripe i have is the inability to slice samples really closely. for dance beats and hip hop i like to play my own hi-hats and kick beats. sometimes the machine can't handle it. that's why i've just picked up a yamaha rd 7000. with the sp-808 and another sound engine/sequencer you can do anything!

I bought mine with the old OS and updated it to the "EX" OS by contacting Roland (which--if you're wondering how easy or hard it is to contact them--I rated that seperately in the "Customer Service" area).

Presets? We don't need no stinkin' presets! It's a groove sampler--sample your own presets. Sure--Roland gives you a disk with some loops on it--but don't expect to make any "original" music using that disk alone.

As for editing stuff goes--I would say that this is one of the more complex pieces of gear that I own. You can NOT survive without a manual unless you're already well versed with Roland's other groove sampling products (and even then--it's still a little hairy). There are many many many many MANY key combinations and sequences to memorize if you ever want to get fluent with it. I've owned this for 2 years now and I STILL need the manual to guide me through some of the more more complex and less used options and features within. There are still times that I get sick of reading the manual and I just start changing options until I get the sound that I want.

The manual must have been written in Japanese and translated to English using Google's on-line translater. I think that they could have done a better job on the manual by just drawing cave-man pictures instead of trying to actaully write anything.

The one HUGE gripe that I have about this is the polyphony. I can't stand the fact that only 4 samples can go at the same time. Sure--you can resample all you want--but when you're in a creative mood trying to get a quick idea out--it sucks having to go through all of the menus to get something re-sampled right.

The FX on this are what make this box really cool. I use this sometimes as an outboard FX unit, alone (on my DJ sets). The D-Beam kicks arse on DJ sets (one hand on the fader, the other on the vinyl, and your head going up and down with the music--controling the D-Beam)... People are always tripped out when I tell them how it works... In fact--once I tell them--they won't stop playing with it until I tell them that it uses "invisible UV lazer technology" and that if they keep their body parts over the beam for too long--that they'll go blind or impotent.

The ability to expand is there--but costly (the expansion boards are rare and thus--end up going for about the same price as the unit themselves!)

I have a huge gripe about the 808's MIDI implementation... I was hoping that I could somehow use this as a DAW controller for Cakewalk or something... Not so. The MIDI implementation is very complex and doesn't make much sense. I like the fact that you can control stuff using MIDI--but unfortunately--it always seems just a dollar short of doing exactly what I want it to do.

Don't be fooled about the "sequencer" in here... It's not really a "MIDI Sequencer"--it's just something to arrange the timing of when samples should be played. I don't like the sequencer in here and really end up just using this as an FX unit and phrase sampler. The only time I would use the sequencer in here is if I were to play a live show and don't want to bring an un-reliable computer with me.

The only instrument on here is the on-board virtual analog synth... It's all right--nothing to rant and rave about. Definitely fun to play with. I've used it in a few songs... Check out http://www.soundclick.com/thesilencexperiment in my song "Deleto"--I used it to make that 70's-ish retro synth sound which goes on throughout the whole song. I like the step sequencer control--reminds me of the old days.

This unit is good for all types of music (Rock, Dance, Rap, Pop)... It's got FX in it for all sorts of different purposes. I love the FX on this box. I keep it around for that alone.

I did notice, however, that the knobs for the parameters seem to be a little "jerky" at times... When I'm trying to do a really slow filter sweep--it seems that the values are working in kind of large steps rather than moving smooth.

This has crashed on me a few times--but ussually when I'm trying to do something stupid (and I'm not sure what the outcome is really going to be).... Using it for normal operation (and things that I know will work)--it works great. I take it on gigs all of the time.

Ha!

Do the words "your call will be ignored in the order in which it was recieved" mean anything to you?

I had to contact Roland for the update to the EX version... I gave them my information and credit card data (because they wanted to charge about $50 for the upgrade--I think). Several months went by and I got nothing. I called them back and asked what had happened. They said that they couldn't get payment because my credit card had expired! Well--sure--it expired! They didn't even try to run the payment for over 2 months! And then they didn't even call me to say that it didn't go through! After clearing it all up--I finally got my long awaited package in the mail. To my suprise--they couldn't even find an original manual for the 808EX (which was supposed to come with the disk--becuase the OS is quite different)... Instead--it looked like some intern at Roland had the "important" job of photocopying the EX manuals and binding them with cheap staples so that people that ordered the upgrades could have crappy versions of the manual. Sometimes I wonder if Roland runs their company out of the garage of some dude's house or something.

If it got lost or stolen... I would try to get a Fantom X series keyboard instead. If I couldn't afford a Fantom X, I would try to get another 808, then. The Fantom X (and S as well) is bascially a keyboard with the XV engine mixed with an 808 sampler. I haven't had the chance to see if every single feature exists the same way in the X as in the 808--but when I sat down in front of a Fantom at my local guitar center--using it's sampling functions was almost exactly like using the 808.

I love the FX on this the most--and I hate the polyphony the most.

I would compare this to an AKAI MPC. I haven't had the actual luxury of using an MPC--but from what I've heard and read about them--the 808 is a cheaper version of the MPC.

I wish that it had a better MIDI implementation and that it had more controls for editing things (rather than needing to use complex key combinations and sequences).

Overall, this tool helps me create music. Sometimes I can get stuck on it (trying to get something to work the way I want)--but overall, it's proven it's usefulness.

Took me a few nights with the manual and the machine to get my head around it, but before this all I'd used before was the old DR Sample, and a tape 4 track with a bunch of effects peddles. Once you figure out the machines strengths you can get the sounds and set ups you're looking for very easily. The only bummer about this is while laying phrases onto the multitrack there tends to be clicks and pops at the end of each phrase. It can be hard to get rid of these especially if you've sampled a continous sound (a swell or wash in the background). Other than that this machine rips it up.

Built in effects: Numerous. I have the original SP-808 (black one) but after readin some reviews above it sounds like upgrading the OS might be the way to go. Stacked with options, sample size, pitch, stretch, resampling (which is the basis for all sound making on this)... the list goes on. Looks like there's plenty of options for data transfer but for some reason I prefer to do everything through bald old audio.

GREAT sound quality!!! Have used mine for HipHop and downbeat mostly, but has built in synths and pretty basic syth sequencer that could be good for techno-house style stuff. No velocity aor aftertouch, but when I play live use use the pad volume almost like a fader which makes for some good sounds. I find myself playing this like a live intrument.

Once I switched the machine off halfway through closing it down (mid-save on the zip disk) DON'T DO THIS. all my samples on that disk got completely scrambled. Other that that I've had mine for almost 3 years and not a single problem.

N/A

Great great great machine. Haven't used an MPC but heard they're more about beat sequencing. Have FruityLoops on my PC so no need for that anyway. Found the digital 4-track really great for playing live instruments into the sampler to a beat, then choosing a section to sample and phrase. Easy to use a good mix a processed and organic type sounds.

Well This is my third review of this piece.. The SP-808 is the most user upgradable piece that I've ever seen in my life.. The drive went out on me.. That's not becuase of the drive, but because of the cheap Fujifilm disks that I had..

I replaced the zip drive.. for $75 and bought some IOMEGA brand disks.
It works perfectly...

Same as the rest..

I am using the original sp-808.. I submitted a review before, but now that I've gotten into this. This has proven to be one of the best pieces of live/studio gear I've purchased, YOU DO NOT NEED AN MPC. Just load all your drumkits from your pc to the sp-808 via the conversion utility. The manual is very comprehensive, but you can easily learn this box on your own

This thing is tight. It has a step sequencer, however I do not use mine. I use drive it as a sample module with the XP-60. This thing is NO JOKE. It's not multitimbral, but it can respond on one selectable midi channel (1-10) It's very flexible. Drop live drum loops into it for live gigs, use it as a loop sampler with efx for between sets.. Trigger SFX.. This thing is the bomb in the live set..

This can be used for any loop or sample based production. The quality of the sounds are based totally on what you put into this thing. Drum loops, vocal samples, percussion, one shots, anything. The pads do not react to velocity or aftertouch, but you can connect a midi keyboard and volia

Totally dependable. You have to be organized with it, and it will love you back. I've dropped it, and it's still kicks @#$

Never needed em'

This is the BOMB PIECE.. MUST HAVE

I "EX"-ed my 808. This was done by copying the OS from an 808 EX and loading it onto my standard 808. It makes a hellova difference!! I highly recommend it!! The new effects (including the vocoder) alone are worth it! This thing is very simple out of the box! But read the manual and you learn a ton more! Watch the video manual and it all clicks home! This thing couldn't be any simpler!! And with the 808 to Wav converter (available on rolands' web site), you can transfer the samples to wavs or vice-versa!! This means no generation loss when you want to record your entire sequence to a CD! Just take your recording, save it to a sample, convert the sample to WAV, then burn your disk!!

It has a 4 channel digital recorder but you can only utilize one effect at a time. You can assign that effect to all 4 channels at once if you are so inclined. I prefer to effect one channel at a time and record it to a sample. You can get the most out of this beast by routing and re-routing. It takes a little rethinking, but this thing is so versital that it doesn't matter. You can find your own way to get the job done!

The samples sound great!! Recorded from a source or transferred from a WAV, you can't tell the difference. Pitch or time stretch functions are pretty good. They aren't even in the same ballpark with the VP9000, but you'd be paying $3500 for the entire unit then!! The D-beam is fun especially when using this in a DJ setup. The drunks really think you're performing magic!!

It can play 4 samples at a time. No velocity or aftertouch with the pads, but it will recieve both from an external midi keyboard. The "EX"-ed 808 has over 300 effects, and they are supurb!! The voice effects are really fun for live or studio (or prank calls!) The distortion types are gold! The original effects were phenominal, but the added are unbelievable!! There's actually a mono analog synth based from the JP engine in there!! You can program sounds if you're patient enough to wade through the effects menus!! The step modulator is fun to program patterns into the synth or to use as a chopping tool for your samples! (too bad you can't make it start or sync to the beginning of a sample or a sequence!)

The sequencer is really nice! Especially the step sequencer! You can sequence the samples into very nice-short or choppy patterns! Watch out for overlaps or you will get a Drive Busy error. This can easily be avoided if you know what to look for.

Your samples sound as good as your source!! The resampling is great as well! This will work well with just about any type of music you're trying to create!! And with the 808 Sample to Wav converter, you can plug your tweaked samples into Acid or Cubase with no generation loss.

I have used this thing on the road and in the studio without any problems!! It fits prefectly into a Toshiba laptop bag which I have used for about a hundred DJ gigs. Although I've always been careful with it and have never dropped it, there have been some rough times and it's working fine! I haven't worried about backing up disks because of the wav converter program.

I've never had to deal with customer support so I really wouldn't know. It was very easy to upgrade to the EX and I found the info on a web site. The zip will eventually be upgraded as soon as I buy two 250 MB internal IDE drives! (One for inside the 808 and one for my PC). I totally recommend the upgrade!!

If it were lost or stolen, I would probably buy a multi effects box and a true digital multitrack recorder. I'd miss all the fun effects though!! I love how versital this box is! I don't particularly like the limited poliphony, but what do you expect with sample lengths limited to disk space? I wish this would send midi externally and perform the roll of a true sequencer. I also wish this would map to a keyboard like other sequencers. (I bought a Yamaha a3000 for that task). I'm using it along with a Nord Lead II, a Waldorf Q, a Korg Prophecy, a Roland 303, a Korg X5DR, a dual PIII 1000 MHz PC running Cubase, Acid and Reason. The effects sends and returns on my Mackie mixer use the effects of this baby most of the time! If you're shopping for one of these on Ebay, BUY IT!!! You can find one for under $600 and that's a STEAL!! Spend the $30 for the video manual and buy a ton of Zip disks!! You won't regret it!!

The SP-808 easy to use concerning sampling and triggering loops, but there is so much that this little box can do. The manual could have used more laymans terms, but it's cool. For the price.. It can kick the crap out of an mpc, if you have a sequencer already.

This box can only play four phrases at a time. This however is not limiting. All the effects are DJ oriented, they sound professional. I purchased the origianl SP-808, It came with the digital and scsi expansion card already on board. With the extra outputs and scsi, there is nothing you can't remix with this thing

The sp-808 does not come with sounds on board per say, but it does ship with a zip with guitar and synth loops. They really weren't my taste, but they might be helpful for someone who is producing techno, or some other electronic genre. The sp-808 does not have velocity and aftertouch on the pads. but connect a midi controller and you're set.

I've dropped this thing many times. You can depend on it. It is built very solidly. You can use it during a gig without a backup

N/A

I choose the sp-808 because I wanted a portable digital multitrack that could do a little more than just record tracks. I like the remix functions, and for the price.. It's a steal

This thing is great for what it seems designed for which is phrase sampling. Once you get over the intiial learning curve I found it very easy to sample sounds/phrases assign them to the pads and then jam. Moving samples around from pad to pad is simple with a clipboard function. Triming samples by ear is very quick, the machine lets you hit one button to play the last bit of sample before the loop point, to trim you just keep hitting this play button whilst listening to the loop and altering the loop point with the dial. I also have a dedicated real sampler and this is way quicker for this.

Routing of tracks I found a bit harder but overall very ergonomic and lets you get into the flow of making music.

Quick phrase sampling with 4 tracks that you can arrange phrases in step time or real time. Timestretch samples especially longer ones is very cool, ver ergonomic you can go into timestretch mode then without leaving go from sample to sample altering each one. I find these types of facilty very much make or break gear if a facility is buried under submenus or if you have to stuff around too much to get to it- You can alter sequence the timing after with nudge etc. Also bounce tracks down. I used to just jam away with loops and things sampled or which I sequenced, lay down one track, jam over the top then you can resample from the combined tracks if youve made something funky, effects amusing but I didnt get into so much I used it more for combining bits of rhythms.
Sequencer allows step and real time arrange of phrases but this is not really a note sequencer like the MPC2000 good for arrangement on a phrase level.
Max 4 sample polyphony so you have to bounce tracks once this is exceeded, expandable ouputs 4 i think and scsi for connect to zip.
Now ex model with 250mb seems like a hell of a lot of sample time to play with.
Call me shallow but its also v nice to look at I think

Sampler what goes in mostly comes out. Use for rhythm based music i think, but maybe you could use it to arrange songs if you have your phrases already played/sequenced. Sound quality I thought "good enough", sometimes timestrech has a ringing artifact when higher amounts used, you could think positively and call this a "feature" but is sounds a bit discordant sometimes. Effects of the mangling school not much subtlety which may be your thing.
Not velocity sensiive but cando from external keyboard

Yes no problems

No idea

Mine was stolen and Ive bought an MPC 2000xl. If i was rockefeller id have both as they each have aspects that are unique. I found 808 great for experimenting its v ergonomic and throwing together loops and phrases with so much sample time you can just use it like a 4 track and then edit later. But 808 limits on micro timing means you cant really progtram beats. I think to arrange songs beyond a few bars I found I was losing the plot and preferred to transfer to computer sequencer to arrange the big picture, but for coming up with short bursts of funky rhythms I think this is v cool machine for me. mpc is more for making beats and sequencing external modules, also in mpc you can have 64 tracks going then use the "track mute" function to drop tracks in and out as it plays - this is cool for arranging/jamming on mpc - as you can see different ways of working, try before you buy and see which suits what you are trying to achieve

My 808 has been upgraded to EX software - well worth the upgrade, but get the manual. This machine is very deep ! After six months od use I am still finding new things. You need to spend alot of time getting to know this box, to get the most out of it. It can be frustrating at first !

The effects are fantastic, you can totally mangle a sound / loop with these. Very hands on and fast to reasample with the FX.

The 4 samples at one time limitation is a worry at first, but the key here is to resample.

MIDI implementation is fine for what the box is designed to do. It sync's to logic perfectly, and the built in mono synth can be played via a keyboard or sequencer.

The step sequencer is a bit fiddly at first, bit is a great way to line up samples for effecting, eq and bouncing.

Pad to track is a great feature, you can to a live mix to another recorder etc.

If the moneys tight I would recommend this to get started into electronic music for sure, it has all the basic bases covered.

What you put in comes out - sort of ! It uses compression, but its very good, hard to hear a difference from cd's etc. Also it has a pleasing natural bass boost.

The effects as i said are great, and sync to the tempo maps.

The synth and sample pads respond to velocity from external controllers only.

Never crashed

In Australia very good. I rang them and asked about upgrading my classic 808. The guy emailed me the upgrade and sold me the ex manual.

If it were lost or stolen, I would look around first to see what Roland have replaced it with ! They seem to upgrade products fast !
The great thing with this box is that it is very fast to get stuff happening, unlike trad samplers where you have to do a lot of data entry etc. Its a very creative box, so I would probabaly buy it again, as theres not much around at the moment that compares.

This is the most versitile piece of equipment i have ever owned. Editing is a breeze because it tells you the BPM of the sample. The manual is typical roland gibberish but it can be helpful sometimes.

4 track digital recorder/sequencer, doesn't sound like much but you can just bounce the tracks back and forth with little or no noticeable sound degredation. I've done 16 tracks this way and it still sounded great. Built in DSP synth is cool but you gotta tweak the crap out of it. built in effects are fabulous, but that's a matter of taste. Make sure to get the I/O expansion board to link to a computer, console, etc.

Pads play perfectly. Selling this as a dance machine is selling it short. It is stuck in there with the "groove approved" Crap factories, but this machine can do anything from soundscaping to track making.

I would (and do) depend on this machine to work perfectly. I have had no problems whatsoever and no complaints either.

Nevr dealt with roland.

If somebody stole this from me, I would hunt them down and wear thier skin as a trophy. I value this machine so much that I just bougt a second one in case something happens to the first one.

This machine is the most intuitive sampler I've worked with. Sample editing features are all designed based on musical concepts, like tempo, beats, etc, and you don't have ever to deal with the miliseconds BS (You can, though, if you want to)
I've done a lot of tweaking and reprograming on the fly, live, during a gig, things I would never consider trying with other gear.

Again, this is such a cleverly designed machine!
The concept of having a four-track, a phrase sampler and a great effects module (even its limited synth and analogue step-sequencer)integrated inone unit is awesome. You can do incredible things with everything running in sync.
I miss a real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting "Acid-like" capability.
But, as with all Roland samplers, it's really stupid that their file system is not compatible with any other system in the world. Transfering files from your computer to the 808 is a drag.

Triggering samples from the pads work flawlessly; The on-board effects are the best, but having to switch pages to tweak the three knobs is confusing. I would rather have all the six parameter knobs available all the time.
The I-Beam controller is fun to use, and very good to impress chicks... I was afraid it wouldn't work well under stage lighting, but I had no problems so far.

It's very reliable.
The only problem I had was when we did a song using it's four track as a long playback, and for no apparent reason the unit would crash. I still don't know if it was due to stage vibrations (this was a very loud heavy song)or possibly the zip disk was corrupted, but fact is I had to actually boot up again.

It's an amazing piece of equipment. It helped me develop a very personal sound as a keyboard player, and it is very easy and intuitive, so you can be really fluid while creating.

This item is relatively easy to use. This is my first sampler/four track unit. I figured out almost every aspect of sampling (and editing them) without looking at the manual once. The effects were the same way. Look up how to turn them on and away you go! A lot of great choices and many (up to 6) editable parameters for each effect. I haven't looked through the manual yet. It's rather large, but I'm sure it's very informative.

It takes Zip disks which are a great way to store your info. Each disk holds 24 minutes of samples/tracks. The only problem is that you can not transfer samples from one disk to another without another Zip drive connected via SCSI. The unit is laid out in an easy to understand fashion and all of the buttons/knobs are labeled. It would be nice to be able to use more than 4 samples at once, but for such an affordable unit sacrifices had to be made. Also the effects affect every sound that you have playing, which can get annoying.

This unit offers a wide variety of effects (I think 100) so almost every type is covered.

I would play live without a backup. I have seen many bands use this piece of equipment in their touring arsenal. It's pretty heavy duty (although I wouldn't want to drop it and see what happens).

I would buy it again, but probably the newer EX version. I've been creating music for 1 1/2 years and I own the MC 505, a Yamaha PSR6, and a Nord Lead 2.

Ohhh..... Do not purchace this item unless have a good deal of time to learn the nonsensical layout and editing methods. I've spent as much time with the manual as with the sampler (and i've used this thing for 3 months).

More features than you'll ever find use for.

Pretty unique. Also, the medium is very bass friendly. I work with very bass-heavy material and it seems to get richer and tighter when it's run through the SP-808 vs many other digital formats. The mixing board EQ is quite harsh though.

Sometimes fussy. It tends to stall with even as little as 3 tracks of recorded samples playing at once (i have the origional black model).

Not the best place to get in-depth questions answered.

Major pain in the @$$. Confusing and rarely handles everything that i need it to. However, it has great sound and features.

This machine is extremely easy to use and very intuitive. Plug it in, put a zip disk in, hit a button and the sample plays back. Simple, hey?
The manual is typical roland - really good for basic operation and really bad for technical aspects. I still haven't figured out the four-track, but I've got a VS-1680 so it's not like I would ever use it anyway :-)

Polyphony is four samples at once. You can add one insert effect that is in serial with the main outs, so it's applied to all the samples that are playing back. The effects are really cool - you can do quite a bit with them and almost all of them will sync to MIDI. This machine can be completely controlled by MIDI, which is great if you want to use a sample as a drum beat or a loop.

Each sample can be looped, triggered to play when you press the button, or only play when the button is held down. The big red buttons are super easy to see in the dark (because they're lighted) and clearly labelled so that you won't press the wrong one. You can categorize the samples into 256 banks of 16 samples each, but at 44.1 kHz in stereo the ZIP disk will only hold about 20 minutes. If you sample in mono it's about 40 minutes.

ZIP disks rock! Cheap media that has a good capacity! Woo hoo! I wouldn't bother with the SCSI option for an external ZIP drive. It's too expensive just to back up samples (if you're really serious into sampling then you'd have an e-mu or an Akai S5000/S6000).

I'd like to see a waveform viewer; it would make editing the samples alot easier than just doing it through headphones or monitors.

The D-Beam controller is practically useless. It's neat to impress your friends with the ability to control samples with your hand, but that's it. I've never really used it for more than 10 minutes.

The onboard synth is really, really cheesy. It's not even cool old-school (like a Yamaha DX7); it's just cheesy. Don't think that you could incorporate this in any way.

I write industrial music and I sample from movies, tv, and lots of drones. It works really well for this. It's kind of a pain to loop drum beats and even then it's hard to get them so they don't sound out of sync so I don't do that. But just for sampling vocals and phrases it works really well and I can't complain.

I've played live with it about 15 times and it has NEVER let me down. This machine is well built and has a great, intuitive operating system.

I emailed Roland with some questions and they got back to me right away, so I'm pretty happy with their customer support.

I'd buy it again in a second over a rackmount - it's easier to use and you can use it standalone. It might not have all the features of a $4000 Akai but all you need to do is plug it in and start making some music.

I think one of the best things about this piece of kit is that you can start to use it within minutes but that there is real depth to the functionality which you can just pick up over time. I didn't use the 4-track recorder for 6 months because I was developing my skills in the sampling/effects sections. That was one of the things that attracted me to this sampler rather than the rackmounted jobs.

The manual, it has to be said, is badly written - a great deal is lost in the (all too obvious) translation.

It is an incredibly flexible machine and any gripes about functionality would have to be petty. I use it for straight sampling and as a 4-track recorder. It has a stack of screens and menus which are uncomplicated and useful. I haven't bought the expansion board as it is expensive and fairly limited - especially when you realise that there is a PC/Mac utility that converts the Roland compressed audio to wav files. No need for that digital out for mixing on a computer.

There is a built in mono synth, which is a bit of a laugh, but no more. Other than that, of course, it doesn't have any sounds of its own. I know most people use it for remixing and dance-based production, but I think that's selling it short. The last project I did was working with a vocalist who wanted to put a demo together. I sampled her vocals and my backing parts and then resampled the vairous elements with EQ/compression/reverb and other effects as appropriate. In short, I used it like a VS840. Everyone was really impressed with the results and there was very little deterioration is quality, even with 4 or 5 bounces in some cases.

This section wouldn't be complete without a mention of the D-Beam controller. When I first got the machine, I did mess around with it for a while and had a bit of fun. I haven't used it in the last 6 months.

The thing is pretty solid all round and if I gigged, I don't think I'd have a problem using it.

Nothing has gone wrong with it in the 18 months I've had it, although I've only used it at home.

I've never dealt with Roland because nothing has ever gone wrong. In any event, I always try and use web forums to resolve any issues.

In my humble opionon, if a piece of equipment is easy to use, you can channel more of your energy into being creative. I can't imagine picking up an Akai or EMU rack mounted job after using this because it is packed full of excellent, high quality features and is incredibly easy to get to grips with.

Since I bought this, Yamaha have brought out a similar product which I would certainly take a look at if this one was stolen. But with the drop in price of this machine since I bought it, I wouldn't bet against the fact that I'd end up with a new SP-808.

Pretty intuitive---once you perform a function, it's easy to get back to it again, which is more than I can say for the manual which skips around alot and calls out or highlights things in a very inconsistent manner---you can't skip through things---what you may have thought was an extraneous tip could really be a vital step in your procedure! If you do follow it word-for-word, things do work out!

Polyphony is covered in other reviews, but I'll reiterate that with resampling of pads and non-degenerative track bouncing I've built huge sounding pieces(maybe TOO huge!) The effects are outstanding and VERY editable. The "virtual" synth sounds fat and is quite versatile---had no problem triggering it from my little general midi Casio. The sequencer, used for arranging samples works wonderfully in several different input modes.

I'm not using this for dance music, but to create instrumental avant garde pop using samples and real instrumentation. The sampler is great and sound quality is first-rate. I've DI'd my Fender P-bass using a high-end bass preamp/DI, added a little sp-808 onboard compression, and got as good a bass sound as you could ask for(then I sent it back out through my bass amp, and sampled it again, effortlessly combining the two sounds later) This thing can work as conventionally or as whacked as you desire!

I've only had mine 2 weeks, so it's hard to say, but I've got a good feeling. . .

I've called Roland twice, and always got a living breathing person within minutes.

If lost or stolen I would buy it again instantly. It inspires me and opens my head up! There's so much in this box---once you understand the routing, etc., anything is possible! For me, this is truly a studio in a box, with a GREAT sampler!

This is a sampler with a DIFFERENCE!!!!!The supplied zip disk will have you jamming for hours before you even think about sampling anything into it.Most of the sample's seem to come from the MC505 which is another bit of brillant kit from Roland,but back to the 808.It's a breeze to edit and the manual is clearly laid out with quick start manuals and a much more in depth one.A lot off the normal problems with sampling a addresed by the 808 it's self it will automaticly work out BPM's,timestretch to match another sample with hardly any input by the user.

It only has polyphony of 4 note's but this is not a problem as you also have on board a 4 track stereo(8 track mono) hard disk recorder which you can record on to and bounce to your hearts content, also it has the capability of being able to resample up to 4 pads at once ie you could resample a drumloop,bass,vocal and strings which would normally take up four pads onto 1! the real gem of this machine is that it can resample thru it's effects and boy oh boy are they good they are a bit on the dance orientanted side but this machince is ideal for this genre of music there are 100 preset and 100 user effects. Pads are not veolicity sensitive but it is over midi. The midi spec is fine and i have had no probs live or in the studio. you can buy an expansion board which increase's the out puts to 10 (8 tracks and stereo master)this also give you an SCSI port for connection off another zip drive you CANNOT conect any other form of SCSI drive which is a shame as being able to connect a cdrom drive would of been the icing on this already majestic wedding cake!!!

it's a machine that the more you put into learning it's capabilities the more it will amaze you. i'v had mine 6 months and i still can,t beleive what it does!!
sample rate can be either 32khz or 44.1khz mono or stereo

rock solid timing,robust never had a problem in 6 months

Roland U.K. are brillant, free software upgrade's and allways friendly
and helpfull. The SP808 man there is a guy called "Mars"

if i had it nicked or lost it i would cry all the way to my local music shop to buy a new one!!!!!
much better than the akai attempts in my opinion i tried the mpc2000 & mpc3000 and the roland won hands down

This is very straight forward to use - learning it though will take a while - I still keep finding things it can do. The manual isn't bad (a big complement for a roland manual) there are the occasional "this was written by a non english speaker" moments. My real complaint is that some topics are scattered about in lots of places - it hasn't really decided if its a tutorial or reference.

this has been covered in the other reviews. The main thing i have to add is that with digital resampling you can get around almost any limitation - I have ended up with loops that contain bits and pieces that are several generations old and NO noticable noise.

very clean, great effects, great performance instrument

Seems good - don't know why people complain about the zip disks I know people who've been using them for years without problems

Not needed to find out yet

This is a mental instrument. In some ways its a shame that its being sold as a Dance machine. I use it for soundscaping stuff. Its great for building great sonic vistas .The effects are clean and powerful. One of the big problems is that it is perhaps too playable - loop making sessions sometimes end up as extended jams lasting much longer than I intended. Would I get one again - well lets just say that last night I caught myself considering having two of them.
This is a great instrument with a huge amount of possibility that will take a long time to explore and get the most of. Don't be put off by the dance merchants who will moan about it and move on to the next "best thing since sliced bread". Like any instrument it has to be known to get the most out of it.

The SP-808 is very simple to use. Most functions are intuitive and easy to learn. Once I learn a function, I rarely have to consult the manual again. The basics of the sampler are very accessible and performance friendly. Editing the patches is straightforward, and the payoff is big, but due to all the parameters it takes patience and a good ear. Since this complexity adds to the overall quality of sound, I refuse to take off points for ease of use.

The polyphony is technically 4 stereo tracks, but due to resampling/bouncing it is virtually unlimited. The sample pads can be assigned to a fader and are responsive and adjustable (different types of triggering available). The effects range from excellent to phenomenal with any parameter assignable to a control knob. Generally speaking, this thing is packed with options. It is expandable, although I have chosen not to. MIDI is velocity sensitive, and you can control mixer volumes, playback, locators, recording and effects via external MIDI signals. The on-board sequencer is 16 steps but offers unique options such as parallel manipulation of 2 parameters, gate settings, and different playback modes. It is a simple sequencer, but it begs to be exploited. It is also adjustable during playback. The internal sequencer does not send MIDI out signals.

For the sounds that it has, the expressiveness and quality is high. It's primary function as a sampler will rely on the expressiveness of what it is sampling. This is difficult to describe, but the synth is more about sonic theory than mimicry. You can make a pulse wave stand on it's head and drink a lemonade through a straw, but good luck in getting it to sound like a classic grand piano. That's the sheer joy of it, though. There are really no rules, just what you can make it do. The internal synth reacts to velocity, but has no aftertouch. But oooo the sounds. If I had a real analog synth, I probably wouldn't gush, but they are soft, warm, fuzzy, buzzacious, and vibrant. Some of the coziest digital imitations of analog I have heard.

It hasn't given out on me yet. I've trucked it all over in just a towel and a plastic bag. It's my most solid piece of equipment. Wouldn't wanna drop it too much though. I would use it without backup. My concern is actually in the Zip disks, not in the SP-808. I've never had a Zip go bad on me, but if they did... I can't imagine how smoke would affect the Infrared D-beam. If it were a problem you could adjust the sensitivity, or just shut it off. I've never had effect drop-outs or glitches of any sort.

I've never had to use Customer Support. Yet.

This is the pinnacle of my sonic experience to date. There is a certain feeling of Zen about this machine. I find that the only limitations of the SP-808 are the ones which people impose on themselves. Some people complain of too little storage space (Zip), but really just need to be more selective in what they are using, and where they use it. One song per zip is perfect. And complying with space requirements is just as fun as writing tight code. For a DJ, one disk can hold several "songs" which consist of nothing more than different preset BPM's for songs in their playlist. Then apply the effects real time with controls. Nice and neat. This machine would have to stoop to compete with other samplers in the same category. No product I've seen has this kind of vision and soul. Most of the naysayers are inflexible people who have no interest in creative solutions or making a piece of equipment perform optimally.

Great combination of playing samples from pads and a 4track recorder that can record pad events or digital audio. Easy to access menus and once you learn the major function they're all clearly marked on the front.

Unfortunately, the more you sequence, the less polyphony you have available from the pads. This makes sense, but it would be nice to have an expansion option. On the other hand, writing everything to ZIP is a great innovation: fast & cheap. FX are interesting, and the unusual ones (like lo-fi and radio static) have already proven useful.

Sounds are easy to manipulate, stretch/compress; resample using effects, and the internal synth fx program (that mimics an analog synth with a 16 note sequencer) is fun, though maybe not so useful. Samples come through crystal clear, though.

Using ZIPs is risky, and I would make 2 backups of anything I put on a ZIP. But they're cheap, so this isn't really a problem; and I've yet to see any removable cartridge system that is 100% reliable.

Roland has released an OS upgrade on their website, and most importantly a **SAMPLE CONVERTER** to load/unload aiffs or wavs from the SP-808 to your Mac or PC computer. This solves what was my only complaint about the unit, and I would whole-heartedly recommend this versatile sampler.

Useful in sketching out ideas, as part of a MIDI setup, taking tracks to a live gig, or just messing things around

The SP-808 is very intuitively designed, although mucking through the interface to find a specific effect parameter is annoying. Most functions can be achieved within a few moment of first booting up with little or no help from the manual (which is written better than most Roland manuals, IMHO). The manual is also quick to point out the limitations of this box, which is more than I can say for their ad slicks. Still, it's a joy to play with.

Basically, you've got 4 voice stereo polyphony due to the speed limitations of the ZIP drive. If you plan on using this as the backbone of your system, that will ultimately drive you nuts. I'm using it as a scratchpad for drum and bass loops, ultimately feeding into a PC based multitrack system. Works well that way, although I see the optional digital interface will be a necessity.
It's effects are very strong and easy to use... and the i-beam is a blast. Using it to control effects on samples and on selected inputs simultaneously gave me new-found expressiveness while playing my key- board. Also of note, the sequencer records touch sensitivity in the samples if triggered from an external source through MIDI, so the pads lack of touch sensitivity is not such a problem.
The sequencer itself is simple enough...

The demo disk that ships with the unit is ideal for learning the machines capabilities. You'll play for a few hours, back up the disk, format a new one, and start from scratch... I can't think of why someone would buy something this capable and end up using factory- shipped, canned loops.
The sampler itself sounds GREAT, especially considering that compres- sion is being used. I couldn't hear any.

My dog has nocked it onto the floor about a dozen times in the last 2 months... no problem yet. I sure hope Roland gives us a quicker, more reliable backup system than ZIP-2-ZIP... storing ZIP images on a standard PC HD would be good enough.

n/a

This is a great -addition- to a setup... it's almost worth what I paid for it for it's mixing and effects capability, in my opinion. To throw the sampling and sequencing bits in there just make it even sweeter. If you're looking to make this the hub of your music workstation, you may be dissapointed...
I like Roland's choice of ZIPs as the central storage of this device... They're cheap enough that you can dedicate 100MB to a single song... and it's instantly available. You can easily switch disks between songs if you're playing live as it only takes a few seconds for the disk to spin up to speed.

This is the new groovesampler from roland. I bought it the very day it arrived at my local guitar center (thank god for their liberal return policy). Sampling is easy enough though your only choice is straight from audio since there is no support for reading AIFs, WAVs or akai format samples. The supplied demo disk was pretty lame though it did have some interesting guitar samples there. The manual was pretty thorough thorough. I can't excuse the fact that you can't save as WAV, SMF, or AIF roland should know (as do Akai , Kurzweil,a nd Ensoniq) that you would probably want to be able to work with your loops in a PC editor at some point. right now there are no tools that will read/decode the roland proprietary format in use on this system. so you are stuck. Maybe they will roll something out or maybe it will be fixed in the next realease.

the built in effects are quite nice. This is actually the best part of the unit in my opinion. they can all be applied in real time (though this can cause drop outs) but they are qite versatile and easy to work with. No complex routing scheme at all. The pads aren't velocity sensitive. As far as expanison, well you can buy a SCSI adapter but you can attach ONLY another ZIP drive !!!!! No support for a hard drive. This is clearly stated in the manual though I wished that they would have put this in the advertised specs. Roland is banking it all on the ZIP drive. See this unit is supposed to be a sampler/hard disk recorder with the ZIP drive being the "hard disk". I don' think the ZIP is up to the task of repeated use. they use a compression scheme to read/write to the ZIP and it works pretty well but there are drop outs when you get too many things going on at once (like real time effects or use of the D-beam controller) the sequencer is accetable. It does its job well.

this unit is good for a scratch pad item if you alreay have other samplers . If you wanted to get into the world of sampling and some basic "hard disk" recording with some neat effects then this unit just might be for you. Flying in a vocal track or a lead guitar track is easy since there is recording available (as long as you don't overflow your 100 Mb zip drive with too many samples)

Its well made though a bit light and the edit wheel is fragile. I don't know if it would do well in a club especially with all the smoke and grit. The smoke alone might make the D beam go haywire. For me this would be strictly for home use.

N/A I answered all my questions myself through experimentation

I would not buy this unit again though I would be willing to check out the next rev (if there is one) of the product. A "real hard dirve" or at least support for a SCSI attached hard drive would be nice. Support for WAV, AIF, SMF would be cool. Maybe Akai will beef up their Remix 16 and offer it as competition against the 808. Then again they might have something else in mind.