Alex Ball Unleashes the Roland S-770: The Sampler That Refuses to Die

Roland’s S-770 wasn’t just another grey box – in 1990, it was the sampler equivalent of a rave bunker with reinforced concrete. Sixteen-bit, 48kHz stereo sampling, 24 voices, and proper multi-timbrality meant this thing could take a beating and keep pumping out soundscapes. Alex Ball wastes no time pointing out that the S-770’s specs would make plenty of modern samplers sweat, especially when you consider balanced ins, individual outs, and all the mod cons like envelopes, LFOs, and multi-mode filters.

But it’s not just the numbers. The S-770’s secret sauce is its hands-on control—hook it to a monitor, grab the mouse, and suddenly you’re editing samples with 1990s flair that still feels surprisingly modern. There’s a reason this beast isn’t just collecting dust in synth museums: it still kicks. If you’re the kind of person who dreams in waveforms, the S-770 is a gritty playground that refuses to grow old.

Let’s be clear: if you just want to play back pristine samples, the S-770 isn’t for you—go buy a toaster. Ball dives right into what makes this box a true sonic weapon: resampling and time stretching that’s as wild now as it was then. He shows off custom sample creation, dragging in viola, Super Gemini, and VP550 vocals, then slices, loops, and mangles everything until it’s barely recognisable. The S-770’s resampling lets you smash two sounds together using different algorithms, making every new patch a potential monster.

Time stretching is gloriously lo-fi and unpredictable, perfect for those who want their drums to sound like they’ve been through a blender. The best part? Ball doesn’t spoon-feed you every single menu or setting—he just rips into the meat of the sampler, showing enough chaos to make you want to dive into the video for the full, gritty details. Some things, frankly, you need to hear to believe.

Alex Ball doesn’t just geek out over the hardware—he ropes in Anders Enger Jensen to show off an S-770 loaded with actual A-ha tour sounds. This isn’t just a nostalgia trip; it’s a living history lesson with pianos, pads, and brass stabs straight from classic albums. If you thought vintage samplers were just for trainspotters, think again—these sounds are still dripping with atmosphere.

Then Ball drops the bomb: Roni Size, drum & bass pioneer, leaned on the S-760 for his Mercury Prize-winning ‘New Forms.’ Turns out, you don’t need the flagship model to make history—sometimes, it’s about wringing every last drop of inspiration from whatever box is in front of you. That’s the S-series in a nutshell: classic tech in the hands of creative maniacs.