street priceThe Roland SP-808 is a digital sampling workstation released by Roland in 1998. It features a built-in sampler, sequencer, and effects processor, allowing users to create and manipulate samples with ease. It has a large range of sample manipulation features, including time-stretching, pitch-shifting, looping, and effects. The SP-808 was used in hip-hop, techno, and other electronic music genres.
The SP808 features a distinctive black and red design with illuminated buttons and a professional control layout. The interface is divided into three main sections:
The device utilizes Virtual Memory Sampling, writing directly to Zip disk instead of RAM. This provides approximately 100MB of sample memory without requiring additional RAM upgrades. The system functions similarly to RAM-based samplers but with the advantage of built-in storage. This concept was gone wrong at some point of time and finally became the main problem of the SP-808.
The SP-808 represented at its time a significant advancement in sampling technology, offering professional features at an accessible price point. Despite its limitations, it stands as a powerful tool for music production, remixing, and live performance, likely to become a classic in its own right.
Its main drawback was and still is the ZIP storage and direct disk writing/ reading concept. Due to technology limitations, it's basically unable to upgrade with IDE2SD modules thats why now its usage area is mainly an effects processor.
Country of origin / production: Japan
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| Usage area | |
|---|---|
| Groovebox/ MPC | |
| Sampler | |
| Usage Design/ Form Factor | |
| Without Keys, Desktop | |
| Archetype | |
| Digital (D) | |
| Polyphony | |
| Voices | 4 |
| Tone Generator / Sound Synthesis | |
| Synthesis Method | Digital Subtractive |
| Technology of Sound Generation | PCM |
| Programs/ Voices/ Timbres | |
| Single Voice Preset | 99 |
| User-defined Single Voice | 99 |
| Sampler | |
| Sampler Format | Linear |
| Sampler Format | Phrase |
| Resolution | 16 bit/ 32 kHz |
| Resolution | 16 bit/ 44.1 kHz |
| Samples Bank Size | 1024 |
| Sequencer | |
| Pattern Sequencer | |
| Note Capacity | 128000 |
| User Songs Templates | 64 |
| MIDI | |
| General MIDI (GM) | |
| MIDI in/ out | |
| OUT | |
| Display | |
| Display type | LCD |
| Color resolution | Monochrome |
| Pads Matrix | |
| Pads Count | 16 |
| Pads Count, vertical | 4 |
| Pads Count, horizontal | 4 |
| Velocity | |
| Built-in controllers | |
| D-Beam Infra Red Controller | |
| Pad | 16 |
| Slider/ Drawbar | 6 |
| Jog dial | |
| Computer Interfaces | |
| ZIP drive: ZIP size | 100 |
| Power | |
| Voltage | 230V |
| Voltage | 240V |
| Voltage | 115/117V |
| Power Supply | Built-in, internal |
| Power consumption | 21 W |
| Dimensions | |
| Height | 99 mm |
| Width | 394 mm |
| Depth | 343 mm |
| Weight | 4.3 kg |
| Case/ body | |
| Metal&plastic | |
| Color | |
| Black | |
| Production start | 1998 |
| Production end | 2000 |
| Production ended | |
Roland SP808EX: Evolution of the Groove Sampler The Roland SP808EX represents a significant evolution of the original SP808 'Groove Sampler.' Released in 2000, this updated model brings both aesthetic and functional improvements to its predecessor's...