so anyway once I decided I was gonna get a a new piece of gear I spent about two weeks researching what it would be. I have a job that's just sitting online so I have pretty much 8 hrs a day to read reviews, look up prices, etc. here's how it went, not that you should care...

oxygen8>axiom25>padkontrol>esx-1>mv-8800>mv-8000>sp-404

sp-404>sp-404>sp-404>sp-404>sp-404>sp-404>sp-404>sp-404> =)

the esx-1 looked dope and fun to play and supposedly you could do hip hop production on it but every track i heard sounded mad housey and I F*CKING HATE HOUSE MUSIC. =) the mvs looked tight but i'd prolly have to save like 6 months. i had read some negative comments about the 404 (it's not a mpc, basically) but then i read some head reviews and it sounded mad sweet. i don't really enjoy putting songs together, sequencing and such on a computer and the 404 seemed more like an actual instrument. then i realized what you could do with it and all the effects and the immediacy of working with it plus the fact that i already have a 1G cf card and i was sold. i mean, i'm buying it new, and for a couple hundred more i could get a mpc500 but it just doesn't look as fun to play with. plus with the built in mic and battery power i can just throw it in my bag and jet, not have to risk or bother taking the iBook. and if the 303 is good enough for Madlib, it's older brother is good enough for me. =)

one more thing, i know its been said before but you go to a lot of other forums and it's basically lists of how people spent 10s of thousands of dollars and how you should too. hell the only reason i started out looking at midi keyboards instead of more hip hop / beat oriented gear was that the other forums had given me the impression that you had to either have a lab full of mpcs and such or other high end gear or else do everything in software which to me just seemed lame. non-tactile, ya know? the cats in this forum seem on the most part to keep it mad real and be about the music, not the gear. i see lists of what y'all listen to and i have nothing but respect, and i typically think other people music tastes suck ass.

anyway... i know this is ramblin' but i cannot wait to get mine. i had to cancel the credit card and i'm just waitin' on the replacement. i cannot f*ckin' wait.

btw, i found a music supply site that'll split up purchases over $200 into three monthly payments and send the gear immediately, no credit check. i don't know the rules about mentioning dealers on this board so i'm not gonna post a link but if you want it message me. it's f*cking dope...

good,

SP-404 is the illest Hit me with a link to that spot your talkin about.

ha-ha, definitely lots of people are all about the gear rather than the music.

the 404 is good in that it is relatively simple, yet allows so much expression. you can really focus on the music rather than the technology. it is very hands on, and as they say "a day to learn, a lifetime to master" - it's simplicity means it is very adaptable to differing projects/styles. i first bought it for studio based beat production, but now aim to use it as a performance tool. the effects are really cool and allow some mad warping live or pre-recorded.



the only drawback i think the 404 has is that the pads are not velocity sensitive. i recently bought a padkontrol to control the 404 which has allowed further expression via velocity sensitive pads and a "roll" function. but the 404 is still the powerhouse that this connects to.

plus, this forum is here if you have any problems or queries with your sp. i've found that some really helpful and clever folk post here

let us know what you end up getting

judging from your sig you already have a MIDI controller, so you can use your piano keys to control the 404's samples - allowing the recording and playing of velocity sensitive midi data.

sorted!

word! though really i don't love triggering samples with the kbs or i'd just do it from the computer. actually i had considered getting the padkontrol anyway just because it's a fresh piece of gear, but i suspect after i get my 404 i'm gonna have enough to play with for a while...

just an update, i ordered my 404 on friday but the fools aren't shipping 'till tues 'cause of the long weekend. bastards! i keep reading the manual. pathetic.

I have alot of gear and a 404. I like gear and like making music.

has it arrived yet?

NO, its taking FOREVER. Its coming tomorrow supposedly so Im gonna go to bed now. =)

arriving on a sunday?!

get some good sleep bro, you'll be playing with it for HOURS once you get it

saturday. if i haven't been to sleep yet it's not a new day. =) anyway it got here WHILE I WAS SLEEPING somehow and i am hyped!

is there a trick to formatting the momory card? i hold down cancel and hit remain and nothing happens. i'm using a 1g cf card, right side up. i tried reformatting it in windows just in case but no luck. anyway it is still the freshest and i aint hatin'. if i have to get a new memory card so be it. sorry if this is noob isht but hey...

I dont think thats how u format it. I think you just hit bank C and follow the lights

well i think i figured it out, i don't think my card is compatible. to best buy!

well that was it brand new sandisk cf card and we are go. now excuse me while i lock myself in my room with my 404 my cd collection and my cannabis. =)