Im wondering because, i dunno but the pads arent very responsive and i usually have to tap them pretty hard..

so, to anyone thats ever played on either, do they have the same pads on the 404 and 303?

From what I can remember (only played the 303 a couple of times) they are pretty much the same.

For all intents and purposes they are the same, there is a minor cosmetic difference but same response, I find the sp series to have one of the best pad responses of any sampler.

the 303 pads are alot less spongy. I like them better.

Sounds good to me, I've only used a 404 once, but like I've said before I love the 303.

pads differ in softness for various sp models. for example on 404 they are rock hard to press, but on 505 they are a lot softer and they feel better than 303\404 pads. at least for me.

i was also strugglin with the response of the pads before but then i found out that if you press the area below the printed digit on the pad, it's response is perfect. the pads seem to have some sort of axis so be sure to press below that axis and you're set.

On my 303 I can hit the pad anywhere and get a response, but there is a sweet spot under the number on the pad, I use pad one so much for my kick drum samples that the bottom half of the number is completely faded away.

Hmmmm.... In the case of the 404, "Pad" is a funny word - they're switches, push buttons. I think any impression you might get that they have some kind of designed "feel" is down to the large "pad" wobbling on top of what is an ordinary switch. I find that if I hold one down just shy of triggering, you can get flams just by wiggling your finger around.

exactly

Ok, I was messing with my friends 303 side by side with my 404 and the 303 pads kick the crap out of 404 pads. big difference. way more responsive.

Yeah, I've only messed around with a 404 shortly @ guitar center so I couldn't tell much difference at the time, but I do know I've never had any problems with response on my 303.