Boss Electronic instrument

I bought the DR660 when they were first out and the price was right.I wanted something to jam to with my guitar,then found out you needed to be a programming drum nerd and was bummed out.At the time,computers were not a dime a dozen,so the MIDI was useless to me and was only able to use preset beats at best.But then....dug it out of mothballs and bought a Yamaha midi interface,installed Guitar Pro 5,downloaded 1000`s of .GP3 files of some good tunes I like and setup Guitar Pro to play those .GP3 files which are very close to having the actual drummer in my room.At least better than any drummer I ever met that will play anytime I need a drummer.The great part is I can TURN IT OFF anytime I want and takes up much less space than an actual drum set.So this thing after all these years turned out to be quite a useful tool.Setting it up for Guitar Pro to play my drum tracks was almost too easy.So there you have it ! Matter of fact,made a few You Tube tracks for fun as a GUESS the drummer and song.Living proof of how useful the DR660 is - https://youtu.be/pHDEf7XRndE

See the manufacturer's specs and other reviews on AF. This yellow metal box is ultra stable and sturdy and the display can be easily read even if you are short-sighted. UTILIZATION The overall setup is rather simple if you don't venture too far. The manual is clear, but menu browsing is a bit opaque. Editing of sounds and effects: If you start from a factory pattern and limit yourself to inserting fill-ins and doing copy-paste, it's pretty easy, specially with the EZ function. If you want to create a pattern (and especially a song!) from all the pieces, it gets tricky (the time you spend programming you stop using the instrument, don't you?). It's a pity because the possibilities are very large. SOUNDS Sounds and effects are adapted to my needs (demo making and/or playback). All rock, funk and blues patterns are nice and you can have fun with the shuffle function. The more classic patterns (waltzes, 6/8, jazz and anything else that isn't binary) are nothing to write home about, you have to reprogram everything. The guitar input with amp/effects simulation is cool, it allows you to rehearse or jam with headphones without taking up too much space. OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for 6 years, for home studio only. I had already used Dr Rythm 10 and the drum machine included in the Korg D1600MKII. I occasionally mix the Korg and DR880. Which feature do you like best? The default patterns are truly realistic and easy to edit. The "world" percussions are superb (gong, Chinese cymbals, etc...). Its good velocity response make playing live with it quite enjoyable. The least? Programming, but only because I am not gifted at it... Too many parameters to master. How would you rate its value for money? It's justified, given the possibilities it offers. Based on your experience, would you buy this product again? Certainly, but I still prefer a good drummer!

There are many great samples on this drum machine, all of which can have their tone, pitch, reverb, and decay adjusted. There are 200 preset patterns, 64 preset drum kits, and up to 200 user patterns can be edited along with 64 editable drum kits. Each drum kit can feature up to 32 unique samples across 16 dynamically touch sensitive buttons. There are multiple bass samples that are available as well, selectable across any of the drum kits. The bass is monophonic, but the majority of the drum samples are polyphonic. Each pattern can be edited with a fill, accessible by using the fill button as well. Patterns are edited in either step mode or in real-time with the use of a metronome. There is a 1/8" headphone out, 1/4" left and right outputs, MIDI in and out, and power can be supplied from 6 AA batteries or a BOSS power adapter, which runs for around $15. UTILIZATION It is very easy to edit patterns and make new ones from scratch. After the fact, individual samples can be manipulated. The only limiting factor is patches are designed to be 2 measures long, instead of 4 or 8 measures long. 4 measure patterns can be created using an 8/4 time signature, but this is not ideal. An additional fill pattern can be created along with each user pattern. Each preset patterns comes default with a fill pattern. Patterns can be combined to program songs. SOUNDS The sounds that come with this are pretty ok; there is a basic sampling of a variety of genres including rap/hip-hop, rock, latin, and swing. The bass samples are very good, and sound on average more realistic than the drum samples, but there tend to be more dance and techno related bass sounds than any other genre. OVERALL OPINION Overall this is a good drum machine, it's the first one I purchased and learned how to use. I now own a DR-880, which although sounds much better and can do more, takes me a longer time to get my patches created. Sometimes having too much choice can be a detriment to the musical process. If I could add two features to this drum machine, it would be the ability to program at minimum 4 measure patterns (8 would be even better and more musical) as well as some kind of random feature in order to randomize the dynamics and tone slightly for rock oriented music, to sound more like a real drummer.

The capabilities of this unit are awesome! For the sampling musician, I'd consider this a baby MPC2000. The chop function for dividing and truncating samples will take a lot of headaches out of creating for the sampleheads out there. Price paid $499 UTILIZATION Very user friendly machine. With very little knowledge, a person could be up and sampling in no time. But you will be farming in your own sounds pretty quickly, cause the onboard sounds are weak. Looks kinda delicate, I wouldn't take this thing too far from home. SOUNDS The sounds out the box are kinda cheesy. With Roland's diverse library of sounds, I expected a better soundset. Where's the XV sounds? Very weak... OVERALL OPINION Returned it within a few days for an EMU MP7, so I guess you could say the marrige was annulled... :-( Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: Unknown ( 3-, 2004)

A lot of people underestimate this little box. It has everything I need. Most people don't like the sequencer but I think its quite fun. I love to sit there and bang everything out myself. It has quantize, but I dont use it. Smartmedia cards are a plus. $250 USD Sound quality is awesome. I love the effects. Changing the Time/BPM of a sample makes it sound odd, but thats just the 303 flava, son. sounds RAW. I figured out how to freak it pretty quick, and been having a blast ever since. If you have patience, and a brain, you should be able to make hot beats on this machine!!! Seems like its well built. Its plastic with some metal. The pads seem like they can take a beating. I ABSOLUTELY love this machine. I've been having so much fun with it since I got it and if it ever went missing I'd be horribly depressed to the point of no return. Until I bought another...which I would. the 303 is sort of primitive, but i think that's part of its appeal. Sometimes you'll make a mistake on the 303 and you'll come out with something completely unique that you wouldn't have even thought of if you were using the cut-and-paste blah-ness of software samplers.(IMHO) If you're considering buying one, I say DO IT. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: alwaysfresh ( 2-, 2006)

The Boss sp 202 is an amazing sounding sampler both in Hifi, standard and Lo-fi mode, Lo-fi 2 isn't for me though as its too overkill. A sampler shouldn't always be judged by the sample rates, this sampler can do both clean(Hi-fi) and dirty very well. I know as I've owned many samplers that the dynamics and the filters are quality. I like to pair up this machine with a tape deck and sample sample mostly in standard (standard starts to get pretty lofi sounding). Otherwise I might record a drum beat and melody from my 202 into my 303 then loop it and play the loops in the 303 sequencer then track it to tape or DAW. The lack of a sequencer makes this sampler difficult for a lot of people but I use it to give character to my hip hop beats. As for the sample time I just pitch everything up on my stanton st150 (50% pitch max) which is huge before sampling. The 202 can only pitch down so much. I might even sample straight from a tape decks line outs. The lack of individual pitching (Pitching every pad individually) was a handy cap but theres ways of getting round that by bouncing things back and forth from 202 to 303( or any good sampler or DAW) and back to 202. I recommend this machine to lovers of Lo-fi though I would just as easily recommend a Roland Sp 404 as it can do Lo-fi just as well but different with its Lo-fi mode, bit crusher, tape compression and vinyl sim. I mainly bought this because I found an extremely cheap deal (50€). Just a 404 and tape deck, turntable, sound card is all you really need which is my honest and humble opinion. Peace and love

I bought this unit not long ago, but don't remember exactly where (that's my memory for ya). But I do remember how much I paid for it, $350. (that's also my memory for ya). Most people comment on how great the sounds in the machine are, and I'll be no exception. This unit sounds simply brilliant. The drums are top notch, as are the rock guitars...I can't imagine how they could be any better. The basses are also rich and lifelike. Everything else is quite adequate. At first, I thought I might like to have more than 4 tracks in the sequencer, but now I think more would be overkill. Four is enough for percussion, bass, lead, and accompaniment, and that's all one needs. I have read complaints from others about the construction (something about the scrolling wheel malfunctioning) but I personally have not experienced any such problems. Memory failed on me once, when I used it outdoors on a freezing cold winter day. Lesson learned: don't use it outdoors on freezing cold winter days. I enjoyed using this machine so much, I created a CD using it. It's called "CLASSY COOL", and it features pop-jazz reworkings of some well-known classical pieces. Check out some soundclips and hear the DR5 in action at: http://hometown.aol.com/motionizer/page47.html This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought on eBay for $280; I needed a way to record drum tracks without going into a studio. The sounds you get are very, very realistic; I've done a lot of recordings with this drum machine already and people are always hard-pressed to tell it's a drum machine and not live. Its snare and bass drum sounds are especially impressive; the "natural" kit's snare sound is exactly that. The DR-770 sounds especially organic if you play it as a drum kit rather than using programmed patterns, for a more human touch. Multitracking different parts also allow much more intricate parts to be played. One thing that you can't get with this drum machine is cymbal sounds. It just doesn't have the complex character of stick hitting metal, and the sustain is poor on all the crash settings. It's also not possible to play a convincing ride part on here. Good. The pads are velocity sensitive, which means they can lose sensitivity over time, but that's part of the deal. This is an indispensable tool for the one-man, home-recording musician who doesn't own a drum kit (or can't play one). Granted, the dynamics are probably better on an actual electronic drum kit with pads, but since those run at least $1,000, compared with $200-400 for drum machines, they are out of reach for most casual musicians. The Dr. Rhythm is invaluable in this respect. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was in the navy on a gulf tour in hong kong doing some window shopping when i ran across the doctor rhythm. I used it with headphones during the tour. It has a nice sound,nice look. But i found it difficult to understand the break down of the song building concept. I purchased this unit for approximatly $300.00 in 1989. I like the wieght,color,price and also the sound quality of this unit.It has a protability that suits people who are into mobile recording and that are limited by space.So i feel i like it for a beginner unit and can use it as a accompany piece in my home studio. The unit is limited on midi hookups, and i find the unit a little difficult for a musician to steer through the menu options abd scale option are hard to understand. I wish it had more different sound. I wish i coulld store new rythms into the unit. The unit is sturdy, I stored inside a navy bunk for days and it still worked greatly.It can withstand a little punishment ond hold up to a lot of tapping on the pads. The boottom line is that the boss dr, rythm is a piece that is strong,light,portable,and affordable.It is limited and a little difficult to work for a beginner.I would say shop around and try to find a more user friendly piece. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

acquired on ebay for $180 this is a lightweight, go-anywhere drum machine that can be run off of batteries, compact and easily carried, it allows me to program patterns while on a bus, a plane, etc. this thing could use a some backlighting fo the LCD dispaly, and both the pads and sounds occasionally leave something to be desired. construction is fairly solid, the audio outputs in the back feel a bit iffy, but overall not too bad. for a starter on a budget, it is a decent machine. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

If you play electric guitar and don't own one of the Boss DR 110 drum machines then you are missing out big time. The drum and bass sounds are great as well as the guitar effects. There is a huge amount of flexibility with this unit... from customizing your guitar tone & effects, to creating your own drum & bass kits... its a very deep unit. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun or easy to use. In fact, the only downfall I've had with this unit is that I just lose track of time playing with it. If you are learning how to play guitar, then this unit will help you so much. For instance, there are some great patterns that help you embrace scale modes like the major scale. UTILIZATION The fact that you can dial up a pattern, instantly set the key & tempo, and then jam along with it using great guitar sounds makes the unit worth the money, but it can do a whole lot more. And if you like playing with those long, trippy delays, well, the DR110 keeps the delay in time with the song, so you can base the delay off rhythm rather than milliseconds (but both options are available). Every guitar instructor/school should have one of these available for their students. SOUNDS Great sounds all around, patterns are realistic and this component gives all the versatility you will need. The ability to change the kit or tempo to a pattern makes this machine priceless. Adding a baseline is a bonus amd the sounds are all there. What do you want from a drummer, and a bass player? To show up on time. Machines always there, waiting. To keep a beat and not miss a note. The machine is spot on. When playing smaller gigs, you don't have to worry about needing extra space for a drum set and bass amp. Plus you get all the money. OVERALL OPINION Every guitar player that wishes they had a drummer and bass player to jam with to help push their playing should have one of these. I love it.