so i have played a couple shows this summer (just low key basement typa shit. . .but did just open for GDP and Pistol Pete. . .idk if any of u NJ heads know that slangcorp/division east shit) but anyway my sets havent been that hands on cuz ive been rapping with my other mc in the group as well as beat providing. . .but i want it to be more hands on if i can. . .let me go through wat my sets have consisted of. . .

the other MC in my group is a sick freestyer so i often just through on some loops and just fade them in and then out when i feel like he's done with that beat

but other than that, thats about where my sp use ends in my set, and i just play finished beats from my comp (the ones that we actually have rough songs over) and scratch over them and spit my verse/ chorus and shit

do alot of u guys actually completely recreate songs live with the sp? im nervous about doing that cuz i feel like ill fuck up and hit the wrong pattern or something, also the fact that i have to rap is an issue. . .but i feel like my set is kinda wack cuz its not that hands on. . .any advice? also ive heard of triggering with midi but have never really looked into it. . .wud that help?

Hey man, you gotta take risks if you wanna push the boundaries!


If you have an SP already a good addition might be a kaoss pad 3 - that way you can play stuff live from your sp into the 4 loop slots of the kp3 (also you can loop your voice into the kp3 and effect your voice with it (stutters, glitching, reversing, chorus, distortion, delay, etc etc))

when you need to focus on just plain rapping, you can switch back to a standard loop of the track

I completely agree with Cartesia, but if the KP3 it too much investment of time and money, then there are still a lot of options for you just in the 404 effects.

The benefit of using 404 effects, is how easy it is to return to your original beat in it's un-altered form. I rap too, so I know exactly what you are dealing with. I use the DJ looper, the delay, and the reverb (1) constantly, and my technique on each of these is very specific.

DJ Looper: this is really 2-3 effects in one. If we talk about the knobs left to right as A-B-C-D (A being your volume knob), turn the D knob all the way to the left to neutralize the stutter, then turn the C knob all the way to the right to neutralize the vinyl effect. Then, while your loop is playing, try turning the C knob from the right to the middle slowly. This will give you a cool effect like your beats are on vinyl and slowing down to a stop. Knobs B and D in the same effect will give you wild variations on stutters, if you want a glitch-hop type of sound here and there.

Delay: on this one, I turn knob C to the left to turn off the "endless delay", then I turn knob B to the center position, and knob D to the left position. You can create a sick snare delay for hip hop beats, with a single movement of knob D from left (clean) to right (delay), but you have to make this movement very quickly and on time. If you do it correctly then it sounds exactly like a vintage hip hop beat juggle.

Reverb: many hip-hop artists get freaked out if anyone puts any reverb on any part of their sound, however, this is a great transitional tool, as the 404 will drench the tone so drastically that the drum sections washes away completely, which can be a great trick to fake a classic kill-switch type blend. You just turn knob B, C, & D all the way to the left, then put your finger against the side of all three knobs and slowly move them all to full saturation. The cool thing about the box having limits is that your second loop will not have the reverb of your first loop, so you can drop it over the top really clean if your two pitches don't clash.

Hope some of this helps...these tips are like secret weapons to me.

thanks for tips!

heres what i would do/have done to create a middle ground where you are doing some stuff live but since youve built a song around it already theres no need to change the structure..... for example... put your drums and bass as sequenced playing from the computer/serato .. then manually drop in the music bits or loops from the sp//// reverse of it could be drums and bass looping off sp while the music or sound effect is one long loop you can scratch with from the computer/serato//// im assuming that u have something to dj with off the computer cuz of what you said but if im wrong then it still works minus the scratching your sample part


oh yeah.. i can add one tip to what mad trucker said about using the looper.. say everything is on effect, you hit the looper, stop the pattern-stays looping, start the next pattern-looping uneffected, then bam drop the looping and your new track comes in - just do it on beat