How much are sockets these days, I ask myself? Surely not that much.

I refer to the back of Roland's latest Ringo; MIDI in and out are the only form of contact with the outside world. For the market the TR505 is aimed at, I would have thought that there are still plenty of people who would like to run a cheap, good-sounding drum box in sync with older bits of stuff — which, being pre-MIDI, had things like Sync in and out.

Yes, we're talking about the Sync system which Roland said they'd never make obsolete; the selfsame system as is on the sort of gear that someone who can only afford £220 for a drum machine would own.

Apart from this minor (or not depending on what you currently own) quibble it's hard to find anything to slag off on the TR505, apart from separate outputs. But then consider its price. At about the same dosh as the original cheap drum box, the Drumatix (TR606) the new 505 is really no comparison. This one has all the things on it that you need to make really great/stupid/interesting/flash drum patterns with.

What has it got then? Eh? Eh? Soundwise, the really sneaky thing is that, firstly, it's digital and so the drum sounds are of good quality. But apart from the usual run-of-the-mill drum sounds you also get congas, timbales, and cowbells to create havoc with. As far as I can gather the 505 is virtually a bastard offspring of the (more expensive) 707 and 727 beat boxes from the same stable. What makes the 505 really smart is that you get the best of both worlds (drums and percussion) in one cheap box.

Bashing away on the buttons, I discovered the 48 preset rhythm patterns that reside forever within the Habitat-style casing. Horror of horrors — presets that you can't tamper with! But further bashing revealed that these presets are in fact mostly usable. If Roland had provided a manual I might not have been so startled to find that they were presets. Normally a manual-less thing is a royal pain in the bum, but as this is built for idiots (yes, musicians) lack of a manual didn't hinder my probings. No doubt this was aided by the large display window (LCD for flash gits) which lets you know if you're about to programme something in real or step time, chain patterns together, change MIDI channels, etc. etc.

Perhaps it's the deluge of cheap drum boxes on to the market that makes the 505 fun to play with because having congas, timbales and cowbells going on in the most mundane drum pattern suddenly makes you think that you've discovered 'the funk' or similar.

Perhaps the equation 'Drums + Percussion (in a little box) = Fun' could apply, for surprisingly the only laughable sound was the claps — not unlike the 'gnats having their dinner' sound of the latest Casio drum box. When used (if one must use claps) in a pattern they blended (or is that blanded) in, well... averagely.

But the bass drum was good and tight, the crash cymbal is commendably long and nasty, and using the timbales and congas with accents it's quite possible to get some extremely loud and aggressive patterns going, which has to be good news. Personally, I hate timid-sounding drum boxes.

Facts, facts, facts. You get (deep breath please) 48 programmable patterns (plus those 48 presets), six tracks up to 423 measures, 16 sounds, plenty of buttons to press, mono, stereo and headphone outputs, mains or battery power, six pints of Guinness and two large tandooris please.

As the thing is so small and light and generally good fun I wonder if we'll see people programming Jesus And Mary Chain patterns into it while on the bus; surely this goes a long way towards the poverty-stricken musician being able to busk or turn up at gigs with all your band in one little bag.

Yes, on reflection I'm sure that the equation of 'Drums + Percussion (in a little box) = Good Loud Fun' applies. If only they'd been around three years ago!

ROLAND TR505: £220