ok this is very embarassing.

i'm having the DAMNDEST time getting smooth loop points on my sp404. since i don't really chop on the 404 i usually try the old hip hop standard of grabbing a loop from a record and having it loop.

now it's the damndest thing - i never produce like this on the mpc, and i'm TERRIBLE at getting a good tempo around my sample. there's always a clumsy shudder to the loop, and when i record a quantised 8th note hat or w/e it never stays on the beat.

how do you guys deal with this? do you "chop" on the sp404 by recording multiple takes of the record or by resampling?

having multiple midi entries seems to me the best/only way to slave the sample's tempo to your sampler...

i dont think looping is that hard on the 404. you can adjust your marker points easily. if you dont have a loop with a perfect tempo you could choose for a looped break or just play your drums without quantize.

looping is a headache on this thing. but i found im getting much better each time i try it.

I always record a loop in an empty bank, just to endlessly experiment with marking, and if that isnt going smoothly, ill just mark tiny sections and just resample then, to get more detached basic loops.

"ill just mark tiny sections and just resample then, to get more detached basic loops."

see that's essentially what i do on the mpc - collaging everything, even what i loop.

i am determined - i am gonna make a song i love on this thing and nothing else.

Don't forget that your sequence tempo is always set in an integer value so you can't specify 93.6 bpm for example as you do on the mpc. This makes that even if you were to make a perfectly looping sample, that it still would have to be a loop in for example exactly 93 bpm. The slightest difference would mean that your looping sample would start drifting sooner or later.

@Nym: Looking forward on hearing that song, we know you bring fire on the mpc. I'm really curious what you will bring on a box like the 404.

Yeah, i dont think they thought that through with this machine, and i sure as hell dunno how madlib looped and flipped those madvillian tracks with the 303.

Oh and another trick i do when looping a few bars is applying reverb to the loop in realtime. keep the 'cntrl 3' on 0, and whenever you feel its cutting harsh, just smooth it out manually by turning the knob till about half way and back down again.

for loops i set the start/end markers and constantly check the bpm value. but i agree with pt3r that the bpm value is not precise and you have to do some guess work to get it right (or close to right).

dont quantize

this is what i do if a sample is a little off: say for example its a 2 bar loop and just the last half measure is out of sync with the drums. resample it and chop of everything except that last half measure, and chop of the out of sync portion of the original sample , then just tap it in on beat when ure recording the sequence. if im stating the obvious and u guys r talkin about something else.....ma bad.

I plan the loops and chop beforehand on another program, like acid. Make sure it'll work for a whole number BPM...I also have to do this with the fantom x6 since it ridiculously only uses whole number BPMs as well.

nym its all in how you use your loop points

I've been a 202 user for damn near 7 years, and it really took me a while to get the hang of looping on it. I have an MPC now but i'd rather loop shit up on the Sp I dunno i get this weird feeling from it.

I can see exactly how Madlib did some of those tracks on the madvillian, esp Fancy clown.

yeah don't quanitise at all.

hah, fancy clown is the one song on that album that i cant see being made on the 303. Have you heard the original? he mangled it up quite abit...

Although tracks like raid, accordian and strange ways are quite 303 like, as there jjust looped and a few hats and kicks here and there played unquantized and thats the beat...

finally wrapped my head around this thing, and i love it!

no sample based hip hop producer who is making beats for emcees to rap over should need anything other than an sp404. this thing is wonderful.

it was only experience that i needed. my mpc is in disrepair as i'm modding the hell out of it (very excited) so i got to work on my sp404 alone last night - the sp404, a shitty old rickety turntable, and 2 dj mixers (one has a pretty nice noisy harsh warm sound to it, plus an eq which is convenient).

sp404 is great for lowend theory basslines, otherwise i'd have a hard time making a bassline w/out other gear (not digging subsonic too much). however, programming drums on it was very interesting. it was like making a ship in a bottle compared to the mpc -- and i loved it. i always go overboard with drums - the sp404 kept it very easy.

i'm still very much dependent on quantise, though - not used to the pads yet.

ii'm very glad to finally have gotten into this thing. i'm already pretty fast! but i have a long way to go.

i'm shocked - i figure henceforth i probably will be making most my emcee beats on the sp404. go figure!

ya NYM the 404 kinda makes u shut ya mind off and let the beat make you!

That is 'real' talk right there. Make sure to post up some results.