All user reviews of 4/5 for the Roland SP-555

What polyphony? 12 votes

What effect? 37 digital effects

What connection (Audio, MIDI, digital ...)? USB (compatible with USB-MIDI and USB Audio), memory card slot (CompactFlash), line input, microphone input with phantom power, streaming audio on the USB bus and import WAV / AIFF

What converters?

Converter waveforms (Mac and PC) for importing and exporting WAV / AIFF

How much memory as standard? up? Maximum recording time (mono, approx.) Memory - STANDARD ... 11 min. LO-FI ... 22 min. 12 hours via a compact flash card of 2 gigabytes.

Is there an editing utility for Mac / PC? Yes, SP-555 Wave Converter for PC and MAC, easy to use.

UTILIZATION

The general configuration is it simple?

Yes, relatively intuitive

Editing sounds and effects is it easy?

Via the software is rather simple, we must live to learn, but the handling and quick.

The manual is clear and sufficient?

Clear enough to read once.

SOUNDS

The A / D converters and D / A are transparent?

Digital and no more.

The effects and filters are effective?

According to taste, too digital for me.

The dynamics are respected? the distorted sounds is a bit destructive.

OVERALL OPINION

How long have you use it?

3, 4.

What is so special that you love the most, least?

the +
Very good machine to play loops, the pads are of good quality and capacity of memory cards with is impressive.

The -

Nullisime when it comes to playing one shot, if you want to drum kits on the pads you will be disappointed. The effects are of poor quality, the beam of gadget is very unclear, the function loop average catch too.

Have you tried many other models before buying it?

I also have a MK2 Electribe, the two machines complement the MKE for one-shot and the sp 555 for loops.

How would you rate the quality / price? With experience, you do again this choice?

A bit expensive but it's probably one of the best samplers for loop, very easy to use and assignment of samples through the software is very simple. For loop-based music is perfect (not to create but to play live). The camera is good quality and robust, the pads are pretty good size and comfortable use even though I'd recommend buying a foot.

- What is polyphony?
12 votes up

- What converter?
Original Size 555 sp. Import / export to wav / aiff

- What effect?
Many effects, the best for me are the new filters, bpm Loop, tape echo, and then others, but there are 37 types so I'm not all dcrires. Three potentiomtre for controls.

- How much memory as standard? maximum?
Internal memory standard: 11 minutes. Memory on compact flash: up to 2 GB ... is that a lot (772 minutes in standard)

- What connection (Audio, MIDI, numrique ...)?
Midi in / out. RCA in / usb out.Prise reception and sending pc (midi and audio, but I have not tried MIDI) with driver.Prise jack / xlr in faade with 2 potentiomtre for the volume of between (1 mic and 1 line in). Potentiomtre a comprehensive volume. 1 headphone. 1 connection pedals.

Is there a utility edition of Mac / PC?
Yes, wave converter that allows you to place all samples in the slots of Sp on the compact flash card. Comes with a light Sonar.
-Loop Capture function is to say looping in real time (15 seconds) or external source or internally / externally.

-160 Samples: 32 in internal memory, 128 memory card.

-Ditto for the patterns.

-D-beam: infrared sensor control sign three paramtres: a synth (8 sounds can not be modified, if not the harmonics-twenty-range volume and delay), a filter (4 types low-pass, high pass, and notch-bypass with four degrees of resonance type of filter) and a dclencheur (trigger that launches a sample by moving past the sensor, for percussive sounds funny, despite trs dclenchement not a sensible, obvious).

-Function V-link: synchronizes visual effects to music in real time through video compatible units v-link. I have not used but it seems interesting.

Veloci-on pads.

Then, full of small functions such inhrentes sampler: roll (rptitions a sample), type of sample dclenchement (gate / trigger, loop) etc. ...

CHARACTERISTICS good despite small weaknesses. Machine convenient and enjoyable handling.


UTILIZATION

- The configuration gnrale Is it easy?
Yes, accessible, pretty, lgre, clear.

- The edition of sounds and effects is it easy?
Yes. The edition of sounds is limited trs, trs but intuitive. Ideal for making her tear it off and have fun.
The edition is better than the effects on his prdecesseur 404, thanks in particular the memory effect function (amlioration big because it will keep in memory 16 paramtrs effects, id al to live) and the function that allows you to assign effect prciser sources affected by the impact.

- The manual is clear and sufficient? ...
Clearly yes, I do not know enough. Logically yes because it is full, but some simple functions seem empty to me on this machine do not appear (global dry / wet on the effects ...)

SOUNDS

- The A / D and D / A are transparent?
I think yes.

- Effects and filters are effective?
The new filter is simple but beautiful.

on the other hand there are problem of levels of effects (fx mode limit function limits the amount of kills the effect of the best quality effects).
There is no potentiometer or function to adjust the overall volume effects (such as dry / wet), which would be simple to do and really handy, because often, the effects volume takes up too much space compared to samples, especially when you decrease the volume of individual samples. I am pretty demanding because of the work to clean and this same live, it's a hell of a default, as the problem only after you have an effect on a sample, when the enlve is this, the sample sounds softer, and the mix loses quality.

- The dynamic is it respect? ...
More or less. I do not know actually. It sounds quite a bit my ear. The sound is good plutt respect. The problem lies in the volume rglage too limited. A compressor is not great. The quality of enlve resample the original sample.

OVERALL OPINION

- How long have you use it?
For 2 weeks.

- Have you tried many other models before acqurir?
Yes, 404.

- How do you report qualitprix?
Trs good is the main strength of this machine.

- With the exprience, you do again this choice? ...
Yes but I call Roland to tell him he has omitted the important dtails trs.


In my opinion, the undeniable quality of bte

The loop-capture, which is a novelty in this range. It explodes with good, and it opens up with possibilities.
The easy-thanks to new features "memory effect" and "effect assign" (and setting the bpm).
-The new filter.
-The microphone interface: knob volume, jack / XLR.
-The storage capacity, strong point.
-The increase of 4 pads (thus 40 samples from the 404).
-The addition of the fast on the pads.
-The D-beam, with a lot of fun.
-Function V-link is more that can be very practical.
MIDI-Out and USB
In my opinion, large defects amliorer:

The Sampler slot-effects in BPM, including MIDI (the sp555 does not recognize the bpm of an external sequencer off mode pattern, or I do not know and must explain it to me, please).
The BPM-rglage prcis is not enough, no calculation of what would Bpm t perfect.
-Too bad there have no connection jack Stereo (TRS but not important).
-The dry / wet overall effect is not adjustable. For me, the major concern of this machine.
The loop limit-capture 15 seconds, and the save function to pad that allows the loop BACKUP pads, stops the playback of the loop.
-One is obliged to save the delay in progress (if such a feedback infinity) on the loop if you want to add capture an external source (microphone). It bothers me because pair and switch delay and loop t gnial would capture, for example a set live beatbox / singing.
-You can not put any effect on the loop playing on loop capture (there can be no effects on the sources, so we can not remove them from the loop). Gnant to live, when we cut the loop, forced Cuter sec.

That's basically, my criticism of this machine.
Roland has solutions if my problem or anyone that calls me, for I love this machine, and it could be perfect with LGERS adjustments, which reprsentent m am to 5% of the machine but which I think are important.
Thank you Roland.