Boss SP505 Groove Sampling Workstation

Feature:
i like the fact that one can run a line input through it and use it as an effects box, that's very handy. I've heard people say the effects don't sound good, but i really like them. as for the chopping feature though, i'm kind of dissipointed that one can not record and play back a beat made with the chop bank, you kind of have to copy and past into another sample bank, which takes a lot longer than you would think. I never use the BPM sync or BPM adjust, because it sounds kind of bad.

Quality:
i think it will probably last quite a while, though the memory card cover peice is already broken some how. Also sometimes when playing back a song thats made up of lots of measure long samples it will occasionally skip, and loose its timing, very annoying but only happens once in a while. I think it has a very slow processor.

Value:
for three hundred dollers it really doesn't get much better, ecept maybe if the pads were velocity sensitive.

Desirability:
sex appeal? wtf, umm its a sampler, not a pocket pu$$y. though i do get off on pulling the card in and out. (lol)

Sound:
it can sound down sampled sometimes, even though it says its 16bit 44.1k. i think this is due to the fact that when sampling the peak meater says the signal is louder than it really is, so when played back its much quieter than the preset samples. you can amplify the samples, but still you have a loss of quality in the amount of bits you used to record in the first place. Also stereo samples take up two tracks of polyphony, so 4 stereo samples equals no more polyphony.

Support:
i rate eight cause i havn't had to talk to them.

Overall:
i'm going to keep it for a while, i don't have any need for an mpc, though if i had the extra money i'd have opted for the mpc, but this suits my just fine for the time being.

Feature:
I wish the sequencing had a better interface. I find it to be a very long proccess ... too long. The effects are superb! They all have great stereo and clean sound. The delay can be set to match BPM using musical time signature; i.e. half-notes, dotted quarter-notes, etc ...

Quality:
I'd have to say that even with it's downs, I definitly won't sell this machine. It's perfect for what I want it to do.

Value:
A better sequencer would make this even more worth the chump change it actually does cost.

Desirability:
I didn't buy it for looks and it really isn't that durable. Watch out for those knobs!

Sound:
Overall, the machine does do a good job sampling and being true to sound. Although, I feel it lacks a good sub bass frequency. I use this as an add on to a MIDI sequencer that actually costed me less and it puts the bass range of the sp505 to shame. You might not notice this if used alone. I prefer MIDI composition and adding warped sounds using the sampler. The effects are VERY COOL TO PLAY WITH!!! I sometimes use it for just a processor because it's so fun to play with.

Support:
Never had any issues with needing service/support.

Overall:
Could be a little easier to sequence, but that's ok. I'm planning on getting a MIDI sequencer that incorporates sampling into the sequencing interface simply for ease of use and speed of composition. I'll keep my sp505 as a processor that's MIDI sync'd. Plus, it is fun to play with ...