I have some questions about the SP-404:

1) The manual states there might be problems with extremely short samples, but most drum samples are extremely short. Will I have problems with that?
2) The manual says the SP-404 supports up to 16-bit of wav files. Aren't most drum samples 24-bit though?
3) Once you've imported all your wav files, assigned every file to a pad, make several banks,... Will all that still be there when I power it off?
4) I've read that making loops on the SP-404 is kind of troublesome. Is that true?
5) How is the sound quality? I've read that the sound quality of the MPC500 is better.

Thanks in advance.

1) The manual states there might be problems with extremely short samples, but most drum samples are extremely short. Will I have problems with that?

Yep, that what's written in the manual but I've NEVER had any problems with that.

2) The manual says the SP-404 supports up to 16-bit of wav files. Aren't most drum samples 24-bit though?

I think most of em are 16-bit. Never had to convert those from "SAMPLEPAXXX"

3) Once you've imported all your wav files, assigned every file to a pad, make several banks,... Will all that still be there when I power it off?

Yep. There is no such thing as "Save" button. Everything is saved all the time automatically

4) I've read that making loops on the SP-404 is kind of troublesome. Is that true?

Ummm... Where did you read that? Of course not everything on 404 can be done in 1 sec, but believe me, it's good device for making loops. ( However it wond resample whole patterns )

5) How is the sound quality? I've read that the sound quality of the MPC500 is better.

MPC500's owners would love it to be true.

1. I don't think i ever had a problem with that. but if you do you could just resample it with a little air at the end and... problem solved
2. Drum samples are 24-bit if you are recording them live with Protools HD or something, but 16-bit is the standard in audio since the invention of the cd.
3. Yes. Everything will be just as you left it no matter how it's set up when when you turn it off (and how awesome is that).
4. Takes some practice but you won't complain when you figure it out. the only time it becomes a problem for me is when i match my loops with sequencer. the tempo on the 404 is a little awkard and sometime inaccurate. i stopped using the sequencer last year and just resample everything, capturing my loops w/ the mark button. you get a feel for it after a while and it's no prob.
5. I think it sounds just as good as my MPC2500 (which i would have sold by now if it wasn't for the JJOS. If you ask me, the MPC500 could be in 3-D for all i care, but its operating system is WACK. the 404 is far more interesting. It has its limitations, but that ends up being a good thing after a while.

1) The manual states there might be problems with extremely short samples, but most drum samples are extremely short. Will I have problems with that?

I have never had problems with this either.


2) The manual says the SP-404 supports up to 16-bit of wav files. Aren't most drum samples 24-bit though?

16-bit is what I have always come across.


3) Once you've imported all your wav files, assigned every file to a pad, make several banks,... Will all that still be there when I power it off?

Yep! You can also back up everything to a compact flash card just to be safe.


4) I've read that making loops on the SP-404 is kind of troublesome. Is that true?

No problems here!


5) How is the sound quality? I've read that the sound quality of the MPC500 is better.

Never used the MPC500 but the SP-404 has great sound quality as far as I am concerned.

Get one! You won't be disappointed. Hours upon hours of fun!

Thanks! Sounds very good so far!

One last question: can I store entire sample banks? So in case I want more than the 120 samples, I can just replace an entire sample bank instead of each sample seperately.

There are probably a few ways of doing this. The way i do it is create backups of all my setups (sample banks, patterns, etc.) to a 1GB card. I have multiple cards so all I have to do is restore from a backup when I want more than just the 120 samples. It doesn't take too long to load the backups. This is the best way I have found to get beyond the 120 limit. Anyone else?