Just copped an 808 for a pretty decent price. Really glad I got it but coming from a 404 this thing is deep! Just going through the manual and its pretty much melting my brain. Does anybody know where I can get any tutorials or tips to get going? Is it worth getting that cheesy late 90s DVD tutorial thingy?

Pretty much the only thing i've worked out so far is sampling to the pads and using the effects.

btw the effects are awesome! Easily the best quality i've heard out of all the SP's i've owned (555, 606, 404sx) !!! . And theres like 6 parameters to tweak on each effect and you can save your own effects patches!

I really am pretty much overwhelmed by this machine at the minute, the manual is over 200 pages too!

anybody else still rocking the 808? it doesnt seem to get that much love round here? Any tips anybody could share on just starting out with it?

And oh yeah, MUTE GROUPS!

yup, weird to believe that an old machine has mute groups and a lot of the newer ones dont. Enjoy your machine dude. Great Box!

I still use it quite a bit, but honestly the Zip drive has to go. The noise and everything else about it drives me crazy. One of these days there will be a break through with the drive and we'll be using CF or SD cards. When that day comes, I believe the price of the SP-808 will increase and people will likely use them much more. I also like it better than the other SPs, but that zip is just nuts and it's what keeps the price rock bottom.

Enjoy!

Jim

i've had an 808 for months now and i'm still learning it. the manual is very in depth actually, and i recommend using it. it's alot of reading, but things are broken down fairly well. it's such a powerful tool, (though i'm debating getting rid of it soon seeing as i can work much faster with the 303) and the effects are fucking awesome. you can create patches, and assign the controls to whatever you want basically. the synth sounds pretty great for what it is. the foot switch option for me is incredible. i'm a guitar player as well, so its like having a pedal to turn on and off effects. i'm sure that's not even half of what this thing can do. the thing that i haven't touched though is the 4 track. it's neat, but personally i dont need it. i can honestly say that i have no real beef with this thing. i guess the drive is a bit noisy, but crank your shit up to the red and you won't hear it.