The DR-220 derives from the earlier DR-110 (1983) without rotary controls but the same LCD "matrix" display panel, a much simplified version of that used in devices such as the Roland TR-707.
Because of "channel sharing" restrictions due to circuitry limitations, some voices cannot be sounded simultaneously; for instance, only one tom may be used per beat.
As with its predecessor, the DR-220 was packaged in a padded silver-vinyl snap-front carrying case, which provided a degree of protection to the device while allowing access to most of the controls and jacks on the front, sides, and back.
With the device were various printed guides: The DR-220 operates on battery power (four standard AA-size (Japan: UM-3) cells) or a Roland PSA series AC adapter.
The MkII version had access to 91 16-bit drum sounds, allowing the user to control parameters of each sample such as decay length and filtering.
The DR-550 was limited by no ability to store its patterns externally, except by recording the data to a cassette tape.