Hey, I'm new at this forum and I need some help from SP users...
I have a MPC500 which I use to make hip hop beats, you know, vinyl, sample, chop it, sequence, etc, and i love it!

But, I earned some money, and I can buy an SP 404 for 160€ or a 505 for 200€... What's your opinion? I like the fact that the 505 has a decent lcd screen (my mpc500 only has 2 lines, no wave edit), but I know that many people use and love the 404...

Well, any opinion is welcome, thanks in advance!
Peace
Carbono

They're such different types of machines. I think if you got the 505 it would probably replace your MPC500... whereas the 404 would probably supplement it more with a sh*tload of dope effects. They're both excellent pieces of kit, but there would be a lot more overlap between the 505 and the 500. If you're happy with the 500, I'd say go for the 404... but if you're looking to upgrade the MPC500 to an SP, then cop the 505.

i have both, i mean, i buy sp-505 right now from ebay...
what do you have to do with them? maybe they could work togheter, but you have also mpc 500...i've had mpc 500 and i sold it just yesterday for an mpc 1000. the screen is not so great enough to look at what you are doing, but i know many people that love this machine. i think that is not hte good one to start with mpc world.
sp-404(like sp-303) is good, the screen problem doesn't exist because all the operations are in front of you and that's great. you can make a sort of realtime sequencing with his pattern:you can switch pattern in line in realtime, a very useful thing. it got also batterys. and it save in .wav.
sp-505 is more in the mpc mood and it's the only sp to have a sort of pitch scale function. like sp-303 i think it has the best sound for the sp world. it don't save in .wav.

cheers
ps
destiny is strange: ihave my sp-404 for 200€ and my sp-505 for 150€
ps
both sp-404/505 don't have sensible pads

...as in "velocity sensitive".

You make a lot of good points ellaguru.

I would add that the 505's pads are a lot softer and more responsive... really nice feel to em, whereas the 404's pads are a bit more chunky and less sensitive.

...if sp-505 pads are like sp-303 i agree 100%!!

Well, I'm thinking that I'm not going for the 404 because at this point, having a mpc500, I really need a machine with a decent screen,lol! About the 505, does it need to be upgraded? more RAM?
What i read about the 505 that pleased me is the ability to easily set start and end of the loop, and knowing its tempo! How good is it for making bass lines, with the pitch shift option?
I know that the 505 is more close to an mpc, but I'm not planing to replace the 500, just make some beats in a diferent machine and I think that 200€ for a 505 is a good price, what do you think?

Thanks again!

do the sp-505 come with a smartmedia card or not? if yes, it should be a 64mb or 128mb card to work with more space. if it so 200€ is not a bad price.
the pitch scale function let you make the pitch of a sample in order to play it like keyboard notes. it find the succesion of notes in one or two bank. something similar to the "12 level" in your mpc 500. i think that after you can save notes as samples.
the autochop is made in 10 sonic levels (not parts). sp-505 (like sp-606)works better the chop hearing stop and go in a drum loop for example, less better in loop with continuous notes. but you can add or subctract and move wave pointers so you can decide the chop. is it also possible to trim the sample manually (start/end points).

No...I asked and it only comes with an original card of 16 mb...tI'm guessing that's pretty sh**ty, right? And those SM cards are not easy to find!

Dude... the thing about the 16MB card is that your machine will run about 10x faster with a smaller card than it will with a 128MB card. I have a 16MB and a 128MB and I prefer to use the 16. It limits the amount of sample time you can have obviously, but the increased speed is crucial. With a 128MB card you have to wait for it to process... which I guess is another big consideration between the 2 machines. A 404/555 with a good CF card processes things like copying, resampling, etc. instantly (or close to it)... whereas a 505 with a 128MB card takes at least 30 sec's to do the same things... sometimes longer.

I use a 16MB card and sample in long-play mode... which gives you a grittier sound anyway. Doing that, the 505 is dope... no complaints at all... but when I use the 128MB card the slow processing becomes an issue.

A 64MB card probably processes quicker than a 128, so that might be a good solution... but the 128 is really slow, and you'll only need that much space if you are recording 3 or 4 tracks in full stereo into your machine before you chop em up.

maybe the best solution is a 32mb smartmedia card

I read that with the original card we can have close to 2 minutes of sampling, that's enough for me! I only sample 4 ou 5 bars for each beat, and then chop'em up! Count Sierackula you talked about "long play mode", whats that? Is it mono sampling? If it is, and if that works with the 16 mb I'm good, cause I do the same thing in the 500!
One thing I don't understand, where the "projects" are saved? In the 500 it's in the CF card, in the 505 it's in the SM card? So you have to be buying new cards if you want to make more beats?

One question more, how are the effects on the 505? I guess I can use it on the 500 also by sampling in the 505 to get some kind of effects (That's just one option, besides composing in the 505)

Sorry for the noob questions, I really tryed to google them before!
Thanks!

Long-play mode is still stereo, but I think it is a lower bit rate or something. If you're sampling in mono, the 16MB card will definitely be enough.

The songs and patterns are actually stored on the 505s internal memory, then you can back them up to your card... but for immediate playback, it used the internal. One card would be enough if you buy a USB card reader... they're only like $15. Then you can back up your projects to your computer and reformat the card each time you start a new project. The backup can always be recopied from the computer onto the card if you want to revisit something later, or pull off some of the samples. I don't think you can export samples using the 505 though... and on the 404 you can export them to wav files that can be copied off your CF card onto your computer. If you have another machine (your MPC), you can record the samples from your 505 into it through the audio outs... but no transferring them as wav's from one card to the other.

As far as effects... I have a 505 and a 555 and I'd have to say the 555 has a lot more effects. I think the 404 has almost all the same effects as the 555, minus a few. The effects on the 505 are definitely good tho... just not as many as the 404/555.

I see, so i guess that with a 16mb card it's not possible to have 2 or 3 beats in it, I have to finish one, backup to pc, erase, restart, yeah?
For what I read, the only way to export the beats from the 505 is by RCA and recording it in a sampler or DAW. But that's not a turn-off to me, lol!
Well, I think that, with the 505 effects I'll be good because my mpc500 doesn't have many and I can only use 2 per beat =P

Even so, I'm very tempted to buy that 505 and I see that the 505 community is very helpful! Besides, since I got my mpc500, i found that the beatmaking community is like that!

Thanks!

the sp-505 and the sp-303 got exactly the same effects, the sp-404 also excetp 3 more effects:the subsonic (to create good sub basses), and two looper fx (one of is not bad at all). sp-505(and sp-303) and sp-404 can apply only one fx at time. i don't know for sp-555 but sp-606 can apply 2 fx at time.

cheers

yo man, if ya' want it so much then get it. it won't make you broke for life thats for sure. roland samplers were always "get what you pay for" so for that price it is great sampler. check my videos and you will be using it in no time.