BOSS DR-550 MkII

Two versions on the shelf

In August 1992, Sound On Sound reviewed the MkII as a new option at £225 including VAT. A later October Music Technology comparison placed it £26 above the original DR-550, which was still in production according to that period report. These are dated UK market observations, not a worldwide price policy. They make a better opening than an unverified date of first shipment: the public could see both versions at once.

The MkII’s key numerical change was ninety-one sounds instead of the original’s forty-eight. The later machine still had twelve-note polyphony, sixty-four preset and sixty-four user patterns, and twelve non-dynamic pads arranged in four banks. It was an expansion of choices within a familiar way of working, not a jump to the sixteen pressure-sensitive pads of the DR-660. The MkII and DR-660 offered distinct ways of working, despite appearing together in the same review.

The image can teach the distinction at a glance. On the MkII’s front panel, the model name is visible above a display with a rhythm grid; a large volume knob sits to the right. Beneath the screen, several buttons do double duty for performance, pattern editing and tape functions. This density is part of the design. It gave a player a small portable surface and made each press of SHIFT or a mode key matter.

More sounds, the same kind of discipline

Simon Trask’s October review compared the MkII with Yamaha’s RY10 and Alesis’s SR-16. He noted the larger sound inventory but also its restrictions: sixteen-step maximum pattern length, non-dynamic pads, no MIDI Out and tape-based data saving. The MkII could run on six AA batteries. It could be a rhythm notebook on the move, then brought into a larger setup through MIDI In, but its sequencing and storage still asked for planning.

The pad edit functions brought more control than the small case suggested. The period comparison lists sound assignment, level, decay, pan, assign type, tone colour and accent follow. A player could shape individual sounds and their place in the pattern, even though the pads themselves did not respond to playing force.

The MkII also had a sharply different scope from the larger DR-660 launched in the same market moment. The DR-660 had sixteen velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive pads, longer patterns and a more expansive arrangement system. That contrast explains BOSS’s line better than calling the MkII “the improved DR-550.” It served the person who wanted a small, battery-powered sampled drummer with a wider sound palette, not the same workstation in a cheaper case.

A trace in a band's toolkit

A 1996 Musician feature recorded the DR-550 MkII among Luscious Jackson’s equipment. The source register supports an equipment mention; the full PDF was inaccessible in this review, and it does not establish a named song or an audible part. The mention connects the instrument to a working band’s toolkit without identifying a particular recording.

From the original DR-550 to the MkII, the sound set grew from forty-eight tones to ninety-one while the physical scale and pattern-based workflow remained familiar. The larger DR-660 offered a further choice: expressive pads and more room to arrange. The MkII’s appeal lay in how much could still fit into a small, portable box.