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 is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefect ...

Features

While the Dr. Sample SP-303 may lack some of the features seen on other hip hop production samplers such as the Ensoniq ASR-10, the

Akai MPC The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of Music workstation#Third generation music workstations, music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine Sampler (musical instrument), ...

, and later SP installments, it however has many other unique features that make up for that. Like the SP-202, the SP-303 utilizes 8 pads, 4 soundbanks, and an external mic. The sampler provides up to three minutes and twelve seconds of sampling. The sample time can be expanded by the use of

SmartMedia SmartMedia is an obsolete flash memory, flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. The format mostly saw application in the early 2000s in digital cameras and audio production. SmartMedia m ...

cards (8MB-64MB supported). The SP-303 features twenty-six internal effects that can be applied to samples and external sources as well. Some of these effects are Filter + Drive, Pitch, Delay, Vinyl Sim, Isolator, Reverb, and Tape Echo. Another notable feature is the built-in pattern sequencer, where loops and patterns can be programmed.

Musicians

The SP-303 is often praised by various musicians for its unique sound qualities, specifically its pitch and compression effects. Frequent SP-303 and 404 user Dibiase said of the sampler, "The difference between the 303 and SP-404 is that the vinyl sound compression sounds way different in the 303. It has a grittier sound." The sampler has often been used live and in the studio by artists such as

Animal Collective Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore County, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). The band's work is cha ...

, Panda Bear,

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

Madlib Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...

and

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

. Dilla famously used only the SP-303 and a 45 record player to create 29 of the 31 tracks from '' Donuts'' while hospitalized. Madlib produced most of the collaboration album ''

Madvillainy ''Madvillainy'' is the only studio album by American hip-hop duo Madvillain, consisting of British-American rapper MF Doom and American record producer Madlib. It was released on March 23, 2004, by Stones Throw Records. The album was recor ...

'', by using a Boss SP-303, a portable

turntable A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

, and a

cassette deck A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a Transport (recording), transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertai ...

. This including beats for "Strange Ways", "Raid", and "Rhinestone Cowboy", which were all produced in his hotel room in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

References

External links

BOSS SP-303 Dr. Sample , Vintage Synth Explorer

BOSS Global Official site

(archive.org)
SP-Forums.com - An active forum dedicated to Roland's SP range
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roland Sp-303 SP-303 Boss Corporation Samplers (musical instrument) Grooveboxes Music sequencers Sound modules Music workstations Hip-hop production Japanese inventions