this lil green gerblin is based on the roland tr-606 drumatix drum machine from the early 80s. it uses analog synthesis (rather than digital samples) to create the drum sounds, so it's got a pretty classic and not at all "real" sound. like the original, you can't tweak most of the sounds, aside from the addition of being able to adjust the decay on the open hi-hat. also like the original, you've got a somewhat limited sound palette to work with -- a bass drum, snare drum, hi and lo toms, open and closed hats, a cymbal, and a handclap borrowed from the circuitry of the boss br-110 rhythm doctor (an EXTREMELY welcome addition). there's no way to swing the beat, no retrigger, and the accent is general -- it accents ALL the drums on that step. fairly limiting stuff...but at THIS price? oh man who cares? it's such a massive deal! you've got 5-pin midi, you've got midi over USB (so that takes care of your retrigger and swing if you need it that badly), you've got sync in/out, triggers on the toms, separate 1/8" outputs for each drum in addition to a general 1/4" output, and an input for a foot pedal for reasons i can't really fathom, to be honest! it's such a fantastic little machine, and it's practically made to go with the td-3 (much like the original tr-606 was made to go with the tb-303). you can hook the two up with a 1/8" trs cable and IMMEDIATELY just start jamming out like a much less talented luke vibert. it's absolutely worth the price of admission, and it's a great drum machine to learn the basics on, if that's what you're looking for. i couldn't recommend it more highly.ESPECIALLY when you can get it in translucent green! why more companies aren't bringing back the 90s eXtreme game boy aesthetic i can't fathom, this thing looks incredible! even better next to a translucent purple td-3!