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Rhythm doctor boss 1 night mode6/19/2023 However, you can bulk dump the 550's pattern and song data, along with pad assignments, MIDI settings and even the metronome click level, to cassette tape via the Tape Save/Load mini-jack connection on the drum machine's rear panel. ![]() The 550 brings the DR range into the MIDI age belatedly if not wholeheartedly: equipped only with a MIDI In, it can be slaved to a MIDI sequencer and have its sounds played from a MIDI keyboard or percussion controller, but obviously you can't transfer pattern and song data via MIDI SysEx for remote storage. This one-bar limit seems to be a consequence of the way the 550 records rhythm patterns into its memory (see below), so given this limitation it would perhaps have been useful to be able to record "across" several consecutive one-bar patterns (say, specify a record range of patterns 51-54). Being limited to one-bar patterns does seem a bit of a relic from an earlier age, and doesn't exactly encourage musicians to think in terms of longer "phrases". The latest Dr Rhythm has 64 preset and 64 programmable one-bar pattern memories, and allows you to construct up to eight songs, each of up to 160 bars, by chaining these patterns together (longer songs can be created by linking DR550 Songs together, up to a maximum of 1280 bars for one "composite" song). The 550 is 12-voice polyphonic, which means that up to 12 instruments can sound at the same time. Quite sensibly, Boss have opted for a solid collection of standard kit sounds leavened by a workable if not extensive selection of Latin percussion instruments. However, before your ardour gets too aroused, I should point out that, unlike the R8 and R8M (but like the R5), the 550 can't play further sounds via plug-in PCM sample cards. ![]() At the same time, Boss have kept the 550's complement of sounds to a very creditable 48 (the R machines have 64 each), which is a good deal more than have appeared on previous Boss drum machines (for instance, the DR55 had four sounds and the DR110 six). Most importantly, the new DR's drum and percussion samples match those of Roland's R5, R8 and R8M in quality - in fact, a number of them have their origins in the R-series' library. However, proving that beauty is more than skin deep and size isn't everything, the most attractive aspect of the DR550 is that it earns its extra nought by packing a fair amount of sophistication into its compact frame. It also preserves the Dr Rhythm tradition of being kind to your wallet by weighing in, so to speak, at a healthy £199. Measuring a modest 7 3/8" (W) x 6 3/16" (D) x 1 5/8" (H) and weighing a mere 1lb 2oz including batteries, the DR550 - the latest offspring of the Boss division - does its predecessors proud. From the DR55 through the DR110 to the DR220A and DR220E, the emphasis has been on compact, lightweight machines which avoid burning a hole in your pocket - if anything, they're more likely to fit in it. ![]() ROLAND'S BOSS DIVISION have a fine tradition of producing dinky little drum machines.
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