does anybody know what the cdj800 is capable of? that loop ability is really nice right. (the beat loops, imean) but it seems that the 555 is not quite up to par with and i think that the pedals (rc-2,20xl,50) are just manually operated. the kp3 looks like it can do the same thing but i'm not sure. what can loop and or sample 2/4/8/16 bars perfectly? budget minded.

on the 404 (and probly most of these) you can just sample the bars you want and trim the marks accordingly so it loops right. knowing the bpm of the song can also help. i dont think/know if any machines like "hear" the music in bars and can sample out specific numbers of them.

the cdj800 can. i think the kp3 might be able too. i know how to do it with the 404 but its a little hard for me to get it right on. it is also a little time consuming. actually the 555 sells itself to do this but i read some stuff on here that makes it seem a little skeptical.

the 555 will do it. A simple trick to get around that .03 second delay is to copy your kick to another pad and put .03 seconds of air in front of it (adjust to -3 with the knob and that does the trick.) There have been times that it works perfectly for me though... so it could just be my timing being off. Also, the CDJ does it well ONLY if it catches the BPM right... so basically it only works 100% on house music...and besides... CDs come from the pit of hell...spin vinyl !

hey thanks!
by the way, do u have to set bpm before making said loop or does the 555 just record 1 bar per music input whatever bpm it is.
also it does 1/4, 2/4, and 4/4 right?

I'm not sure I totally follow your question, but the CDJ800 can loop a beat (you just hit a button to set the start point, and then another set the end. Pretty much like a 404). You then have 4 buttons to the left that will cut your loop in half, quarter, eighth, or sixteenth.

I don't think that's what you're asking, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

yeh, i've played on the cdj800. i was using that as an example as to what i would like to find (in a much cheaper package, really). the way u can hit those buttons on the fly and get it timed perfect. i'm getting better at well timed loops on the sp404 but it still can be a pain sometimes.
u know i don't like the cutting part though. cuttin a beat in half never sounded good on that thing, at least to me, it was rather useless overall. i know a lot of people like that beat cutter so to each his own.

and i would love to master tempo/pitch my loop with the clarity of a cdj.

by the way those buttons will grab like a two bar loop if u just hit it one time. instant loop.

I never knew you could just hit the buttons, but yeah, I don't really use the looping function much. I have a feeling house DJs are probably more into it. The only thing I really ever use it for is when I've got a long droning sound that I just want to go on forever so I can manipulate it.

I don't trust BPM counters.

Real Talk, I count out my own bpms to 15secs and multiply by 4 and boom it's right every time. If you can't count bpms and beatmatch with out technology you need some help with your fundamentals. Despite all the technology I have access to I still started from a turntable to learn the foundation of what I wish to accomplish.

or 10*6.
i just played with the cdj800 (and it's 1,2,4,8, so i think that means two bars max) today and a house cd was on it. not so good this time.
or 20*3
or 30*2