The SP1200 was a hardware sampler and sequencer released in 1981, making it one of the earliest samplers released at a (somewhat) accessible price. By releasing a machine that was accessible to a much wider range of producers, SP1200 creator Dave Rossum almost single handedly pushed hip-hop in many new directions – and by extension – influenced almost every hip-hop sub genre we can find nowadays.
While the price point was what made the machine accessible to a larger demographic, it was in fact the limitations that made it so special – it is rare to find a ‘machine’ retain so much character. One of the most famous ‘downsides’ is the limited sample time that forced producers to record the samples at faster speeds off their turntables before slowing (and by extensions pitching) them down or the unique, gritty sound the SP produced as a result of this loophole.
Within hip-hop there are several producers who’s names are always followed by compliments and debates about who is truly the best. Frankly, this is a discussion that’s almost not worth having – especially not within 250 words – regardless, one of these names is New York producer Pete Rock. Famous for using both the MPC2000XL and the SP1200, Pete still is incredibly fond the SP’s signature sound – in an interview he talks on how the exact technique used originally as a workaround for technical limitations created a signature sound for the machine.
Pete Rock, and DJ Premier