Other then the fact that it is a classic sampler which was used by J Dilla and Madlib, why do people still choose 303's over the newer SP's such as the 404? I have heard rumors that it has a lower bit-depth but when I brought that statement up at a music store, the salesman laughed and told me to get the 404. I now own a 555, which I love!

Someone please enlighten me on the 303...

the only 'good' things are the converters used in the 303.
It's supposed to sound a little more grimy, but it isn't really noticeable.

how many bits is it anyway? I found some info that said 20bit? sounds strange to me...

It's true, the 303 uses 20bit converters and the 404 uses 24bit converters.

the 303 has the same standard resolution as the 404. 16 bit 44khz. But the difference is the converters. The 303 has 20 bit converters and the 404 has 24 bit converters. Niether is better... its a matter of preference. I prefer the 404 in lofi. Its sounds like an old EPS.

do you have both by chance?
I'd really love a sound comparison... (Same sequence, same samples.)

The two notable differences are the 20bit A/D converter and the pads. A lot of 404 users that try a 303 say that the pads are much more responsive, I personally think that 303's have been around longer so that pads have a quality similar to a baseball glove thats been worked in nicely. I'm sure after a year or two of use a 404's pads would be the same. In the end a sampler is just an end to a means, if all I had was a casio and 4-track I would still try to find a neat way to make it sound live.

I would get the 303 over the 404 on the basis of the pads alone. If i resample a performance on the 404, it never plays back how i played it at all...

i never thought of that. I had trouble with the pads when i started on the sp404- now I like them. I dont know if they are broken in or I got used to them.

im coming from a mpc2000/XL and when i first touched the sp 404's pads yo that dont feel as bad as everyone here is claiming.... unless my XL's pads are different from all the others, but i dont think so... i can see people saying they're soft but their hard to me at the same time... idk im just rambling on and im llost i hope im posting this in the right thread

soopa signing out

If it is just the converters and the difference isn't noticable then I'm not missing out. The beauty of any SP is that you can get the sound you want using the effects. I've gotten a better sound on the SP then the MPC 1000.

Appreciate the feedback, PEACE!!

the pads on the 303 out of box when i had it were super responsive and way softer in comparison to the 404, the 404 pads feel extremely stiff and kinda cheaply made and i definitely think they will not change...

i prefer the sound of the 303 cause it had the 2 lo fi settings... but i still prefer the 404 over my 2000xl + 1000 which are sitting in their respective boxes...

I can't believe they changed the pads on the 404, I like them way more the 2000xl pads.