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Boss SP-303 Dr. Sample was a digital phrase sampler and effects processor  released in 2001. The compact machine’s affordability and ease of use made it popular with musicians and producers.

Dr. Sample has now been discontinued, but if you are looking for a software-based alternative you will be pleased to know that developer, producer and YouTuber Blezz Beats has taken inspiration from the SP-303 for a new plugin, Mr. Sample.

Despite the similarity in name and the matching colour schemes, Mr. Sample does not replicate the Dr. Sample button-for-button. Instead, it aims to put in software what the SP-303 did in hardware: a relatively inexpensive sampler instrument that is fun, easy to use and loaded with effects.

Drag and drop samples into Mr. Sample and you’ll be able to chop them up and rearrange the slices or randomize them for glitchy patterns. Samples can be pitch-shifted and time-stretched, with the latter sounding particularly good, and aiming to capture the sound of the digital artifacts produced by the SP-303.

Mr. Sample has four sample modes: Normal, Lo-fi 1, Lo-fi 2 and Reverse. The lo-fi modes will give your sound some grit and grime, emulating the sound of the SP-303’s lo-fi modes, while Reverse will play each sample chop backwards.

The plugin falls short of delivering as many effects as the SP-303, which offered 26 effects and was beloved for the gritty sound of its vinyl simulator. The Mr. Sample plugin offers five effects that should nonetheless appeal to anyone interested in crunchy lo-fi beatmaking: Compression, Hiss, Crackle, Warp and Saturation.

Mr. Sample costs $50 and is available for Mac and Windows in VST, VST3 and AU formats.

Visit Blezz Beats website to download Mr. Sample.

YouTuber SamKing’s deep dive on the Boss SP-303:

Steinberg Dorico 5 improves the music notation software’s playback and note input features, and the free desktop and iPad versions have also been updated.

Already one of the best music notation and composition software apps, Steinberg Dorico has now been updated to version 5 and even better. The new version offers improved playback features, new workflows and additional customisation options.

Having already included expression maps and an integrated key editor, Dorico 5 makes it possible to make your ‘virtual performances’ even more realistic with the addition of Stage Templates. These enable you to move instruments around the stereo field, automatically positioning them in the conventional places on the ‘stage’ depending on your chosen ensemble.

Space Templates focus on the environment in which the performance is taking place – for example a concert hall, a recording studio or a church. A number of convolution reverb presets are provided to mimic the sounds of these locations.

The Pitch Contour Emphasis is designed to aid realism by modelling the dynamics of human musicians, while the inclusion of Groove Agent SE, Steinberg’s virtual drummer software, would make it easier to create real-sounding rhythms.


Other features include Scrub Playback – use this to listen to all the instruments in an arrangement at a specific point and then scrub backwards or forwards to check the harmonies and identify wrong notes.

On the note input front, you can now add markings and notations to multiple instruments in a single operation, saving you time. You also get Key Editor-style editing in the notation view – click and drag notes to move them around and make use of new live editing features that can be controlled exclusively with your mouse.

Throw in new customisation options, more engraving tools and enhancements for the free Dorico and Dorico for iPad – these now enable users to write for ensembles of up to eight players (previously only two) – and the cutdown Dorico Elements, and there’s a lot to chew on.

“This release marks the beginning of the next stage of Dorico’s evolution,” says Product Marketing Manager Daniel Spreadbury. “Although the musicians who use Dorico, and the uses they put it to, are incredibly diverse, playback and note input are the two functional areas that every user relies upon, and Dorico 5 strengthens both.

“We are particularly excited about the expansion of the feature set in Dorico Elements 5, and hope that many new users, especially students, will take advantage of the additional value provided at a very attractive price.”

Dorico 5 is available now in several versions, priced from $29.99 to $479.99.

Dorico SE 5 is available as a free download from the Steinberg website, while Dorico for iPad is available for free from the Apple App Store.

BOSS has introduced the SDE-3000D and SDE-3000EVH Dual Digital Delay pedals, two advanced effect processors based on the classic Roland SDE-3000 rackmount digital delay from the 1980s:

• The SDE-3000D provides two authentic reproductions of the Roland SDE-3000 in a floor-based pedal with independent delay parameters, versatile signal routing, and many other enhanced features.
• The SDE-3000EVH model goes even further, providing curated presets and expanded I/O to recreate the dual SDE-3000 setup at the heart of the late Eddie Van Halen’s three-cabinet live stage guitar sound.

Roland SDE-3000 released in 1983, at the dawn of the digital effects era, the Roland SDE-3000 became an integral part of music in the 1980s and 1990s. With the SDE-3000D, players can now have at their feet the delay sounds used to produce some of the most iconic music tracks of all time.

The SDE-3000’s sound was the result of clever and complex internal digital processing coupled, with nonlinear behaviors from the supporting analog circuitry. Adjustable delay phase, unique modulation response, and other elements also contributed to the effect’s distinctive sound.

While the SDE-3000 was mono, the SDE-3000D provides two discrete delays, with series or parallel operation, independent settings, and mono or stereo modulation on each. Nearly every parameter from the original is available, accessed via a retro interface derived from the vintage hardware.

With enhanced features, such as 100 user memories, flexible I/O, MIDI, and a wealth of onboard and external control options, the SDE-3000D also offers much greater versatility than its rackmount inspiration.

SDE-3000EVH Dual Delay

Jointly developed by EVH and BOSS, the SDE-3000EVH delivers an authentic recreation of the stereo delays at the heart of Eddie Van Halen’s live three-cabinet wet/dry/wet stage guitar sound.

The legendary guitarist pioneered this approach in the early 1990s, using a dry path from a single amplifier in the center cabinet and left and right cabinets amplified with wet-only delay effects for a wide, multi-dimensional soundstage.

EVH and BOSS worked closely in the development of the SDE-3000EVH to ensure it delivers Eddie Van Halen’s personal delay tone. It features sonic replicas of his presets and signature EVH stripe styling.

Eddie used two SDE-3000 units with unique settings to achieve his live sound. With the dual delays, multiple outputs, and versatile routing modes in the SDE-3000EVH, it’s possible for a player to recreate this setup with their own amps. Eight EVH presets include four presets designed for a wet/dry/wet setup plus four presets adapted for a standard stereo amplifier setup.

Along with the EVH presets and expanded I/O capabilities, the SDE-3000EVH includes all the core features of the SDE-3000D.

The BOSS SDE-3000D and SDE-3000EVH are available in the U.S. now for $499 and $599 respectively.