The Boss Dr. Sample SP-202 is a discontinued sampling workstation made by Boss Corporation, a division under Roland Corporation. Released in the year of 1998, it is the premier installment to the SP family, which includes Boss's popular SP-303 and Roland's SP-404 installments. The sampler is also successor to Roland's MS-1 Digital Sampler. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The following list is a correct order of each SP installment's release, as an attempt to help musicians avoid any confusion.
Being an early installment, the SP-202 has a limited number of features which were later improved and expanded on through future installments/upgrades of the SP lineage:
A number of musicians have used the SP-202 as part of their production and performance. Several artists include Fatboy Slim, as well as Tobacco. [5] [6]
Digital music technology encompasses the use of digital instruments to produce, perform or record music. These instruments vary, including computers, electronic effects units, software, and digital audio equipment. Digital music technology is used in performance, playback, recording, composition, mixing, analysis and editing of music, by professions in all parts of the music industry.
A groovebox is a self-contained electronic or digital musical instrument for the production of live, loop-based electronic music with a high degree of user control facilitating improvisation. The term "Groovebox" was originally used by Roland Corporation to refer to its MC-303, released in 1996. The term has since entered general use, and the concept dates back to the Movement Computer Systems Drum Computer in 1981 and Fairlight CMI Page R in 1982.
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument that records and plays back samples. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, sound effects or longer portions of music.
ReBirth RB-338 is a software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS 8-9 and iOS for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It was developed by Propellerhead Software, and its first alpha version was publicly released in October 1996. Propellerhead Software ceased developing the original program in January 1999. Support for desktop versions was officially discontinued in September 2005. Shortly afterward, the ReBirth Museum Web site was launched and the last desktop version's (2.0.1) disk image was made available as a free download and torrent. Propellerhead Software continues to develop other software relating to dance-oriented computer-based music composition, including Reason, its flagship software synthesizer, as well as portable "app" versions of ReBirth.
The Roland MC-303 is the first of a series of musical instruments known as a groovebox. It combines a simple sound module with a sequencer to record and store notation, along with controls aimed at encouraging the musician to improvise the music while it is playing. Despite the number in its name and the attention it received at its launch, the MC-303 has more in common with other MC prefixed synthesizers, which contain built-in sequencers, than it does with the famous Roland TB-303. As the first Groovebox, the MC-303 was the first in a line of inexpensive products specifically targeted towards house DJs and amateur home musicians rather than professional producers. It was superseded by the Roland MC-505. It is the predecessor to the Roland JX-305, Roland D2, Roland MC-307, Roland EG-101, Roland MC-09, Roland MC-909, Roland MC-808, and most recently the Roland MC-707 in 2019, along with its more portable sibling, the Roland MC-101.
Logic Pro is a proprietary digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform developed by Apple Inc. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by Emagic. Apple acquired Emagic in 2002 and renamed Logic to Logic Pro. It was the second most popular DAW – after Ableton Live – according to a survey conducted in 2015.
The Roland MC-202 (MicroComposer) is a monophonic analog synthesizer and music sequencer released by Roland in 1983. It was the first groovebox. Its synth is similar to the TB-303 bass synth and the SH-101 synthesizer, featuring one voltage-controlled oscillator with simultaneous saw and square/pulse-width waveforms. It is a successor to the Microcomposer family of sequencers, including the MC-8 and MC-4. The unit is portable and can be operated from batteries or an external power supply.
Electribe is a group of electronic musical instruments by Korg. From its beginnings with the Electribe R to the ESX-1, this series includes both analogue modeling synthesizers and sampling drum machines that can be programmed the same as a drum machine. The analogue modeling synth and sampling drum machine both share a drum-pattern section and a synth-pattern section, whereby the user can not only program drum patterns, but also synth and basslines. These hybrid machines could be considered 'grooveboxes'.
The discontinued Roland MC-909 Sampling Groovebox combines the features of a synthesizer, sequencer, and sampler, with extensive hands-on control of both the sound engine and the sequencing flow. It was intended primarily for live performance of pre-programmed patterns consisting of up to 16 tracks of MIDI data. It was released by Roland Corporation on October 8, 2002. This product was announced at the AES Fall Convention in 2002. It is the direct successor to the Roland MC-505 and is the predecessor to the Roland MC-808. Which eventually ended the "Groovebox by year 2010" line of products by Roland which began in the year 1996 with the Original Roland MC-303 groovebox. The Roland Groovebox began again resurgence in the year 2019 with a two new modern & redesign Roland MC-707 GROOVEBOX/Roland MC-101 GROOVEBOX. The Roland MC-909 was developed from the blueprint of Roland's own "Roland Fantom-S Workstation & Roland Fantom-X Workstation" and uses the same structure and operating system, with some differences regarding the Patterns section, not implemented in the Roland Fantom S/X6/X7/X8 Workstation.
The Boss Dr. Sample SP-303 is a discontinued digital sampler from Boss, successor of the Boss SP-202 Dr. Sample. The SP-303 was revamped and redesigned in 2005, and released as the SP-404, by Roland Corporation.
The MC-808 is a groovebox introduced by Roland in 2006. It is the successor to the late Roland MC-303, Roland MC-307, Roland MC-505 and Roland MC-909.
The Roland MS-1 digital sampler was a compact, 16-bit digital audio phrase sampler produced by Roland in 1994 as a straightforward, inexpensive, entry-level sampler. In 1998, the MS-1 was succeeded by the Boss SP-202 sampler.
The Roland SP-404 Sampling Workstation is a discontinued sampler made by Roland Corporation. Released in 2005, it is part of the SP family and successor to where Boss Corporation’s SP-505 sampler left off. The sampler was succeeded by the SP-555 in 2008, but was later given its own upgrade as the Roland SP-404SX Linear Wave Sampler in 2009. Another upgrade, the Roland SP-404A Linear Wave Sampler was released in 2017. A third upgrade, the SP-404MKII was released in 2021. The Roland SP-404 has played a huge role in influencing the sound of popular Hip Hop subgenre known as Lofi HipHop.
The Roland JV-1080 is a sample-based synthesizer/sound module in the form of a 2U rack. The JV-1080's synthesizer engine was also used in Roland's XP-50 workstation (1995). Due to its library of high-quality sounds and multi-timbral capabilities, it became a mainstay with film composers.
The Roland SP-555 is a discontinued music sampler manufactured by Roland Corporation. The 555 is part of the SP family, which includes Boss’s popular SP-303 and Roland's SP-404 installments. The sampler was released in 2008.
The Roland DJ-70 is a 16-bit linear A/D Conversion & 20-bit linear D/A Conversion sampling workstation and was released in 1992 by Roland Italy.
The Roland V-Synth is a polyphonic synthesizer. It was released 2003 and was Roland's flagship synthesizer at the time. It combines multiple oscillator technologies and a built in sampler. It also features an arpeggiator and COSM filtering to aid the creation of new sounds.
The Roland SP-808 GrooveSampler and SP-808EX/E-Mix Studio are both discontinued workstations, which function as digital samplers, synthesizers, and music sequencers. The digital samplers are a part of the long line of both Roland Corporation's and Boss Corporation's Groove Gear, which includes the more popular and successful Boss SP-303 and Roland SP-404 versions.
The BOSS SP-505 Groove Sampling Workstation/SP-505 is a sampling workstation made by Boss Corporation, which is a division of Roland Corporation. The digital sampler is part of the SP family and was released in the year of 2002, as a follow-up to Roland’s SP-303 installment. Ironically, both the 303 and 505 installments were succeeded by the release of Roland's SP-404 in the year of 2005.
The Roland SP-606 is a music sampler manufactured by Roland Corporation. It is part of the SP family, which includes Roland’s popular SP-303 and SP-404 installments. Released in the year of 2004, the sampler was soon succeeded in 2005 by the SP-404.