MM: Roland SP-606 Groove Sampler

SP-606 (Click for a close-up)

SP-606 Rear Panel (Click for a close-up)

P606 Screenshot (Click for a close-up)

Unveiled for the first time at Musikmesse, Roland's new SP-606 sampling workstation extends the legacy of the SP-505, incorporating 4x4 velocity pads, D Beam and V-LINK control, USB/CompactFlash compatibility, and more. The SP-606 is also bundled with Cakewalk's new P606 phrase generator/virtual groovebox for a comprehensive sample library and editing capabilities.

The SP-606 offers 8-voice, CD-quality audio with slice and dice editing of samples via the onboard Chop function. An 18,000 note 4-track MIDI sequencer with BPM Sync enables time stretching of audio phrases while a graphic LCD with waveform display allows zooming in during editing of Start and End points.

The velocity sensitive pads are laid out in a 4x4 grid for intuitive control over rhythm programming and phrase audio operation. Roland's D Beam controller and V-LINK video control have been included to create unique phrasing and real-time effects generation during performance or playback. Video clips can be triggered in sync with playback.

There are 40 effects onboard, including SP-505 effects such as Isolator, Filter + Drive, Slicer, Reverb and Tape Echo as well as new effects and an independent Mastering Effect for final mixing. Effect settings can be added and tweaked in realtime via the SP-606's front panel knobs, or re-sampled to another pad in realtime.

The External Sequence Sampling feature allows for easy capturing of audio loops generated by MIDI-based machines via connection to an external MIDI workstation, such as the MC-909. Under MIDI control, the SP-606 is able to detect the start and end points of the audio loop and perform a perfect capture.

A CompactFlash memory slot with up to 512MB capacity is included for storing audio samples and .WAV/AIFF files. A USB port facilitates transfer of MIDI data, audio files & audio stream downloading as well as .WAV/AIFF files. In combination, the CompactFlash and USB port enables importing or exporting of .WAV/AIFF files without requiring a separate Compact Flash reader/writer. The SP-606 also offers a coaxial S/PDIF I/O.

The unit comes bundled with P606 software from Cakewalk, eliminating the need for a static CD library. The PC-based P606 software functions as a phrase generator/virtual groovebox, integrating with the SP-606 via the USB interface. Three kinds of software synthesizers -- analog modeling, groovesynth and ACIDized file player -- are offered, as well as a loop sequencer, eight effect plug-ins and onscreen control over Mix. As a master controller, the SP-606 can seamlessly import, edit and playback P606 tracks.