Hey guys, I'm new here. I can't decide whether i should get a SP-404 combined with a Korg KP3 (for the live looping), or go for the SP-555. I plan to use it in a live setting more so than for producing. Both seem to look great. i'm also possibly thinking of getting a laptop and looping on ableton live from there, but i'm more of a hardware guy, and i don't loop super crazy amount, just simple stuff. What you guys think? Anyone with live experience using a set up like those? Thanks!

that 555 has the loop capture which was really cool. i never use it live but i could and it would be helpful. its a 404 with a looper that can capture loops and put em on pads. i used to overdub a bunch of shit in the loop capture then send em to the pads. like layer after layer, sending em to the pads one at a time so id have a drumloop on the pads, then overdub a bassline, send that to the pads, then keep doing that. it was really fast and fun. but they both are kinda the same machine. so really its about how much you wanna spend cause the 555 is more and the 404 is portable i think and smaller which is cool too.

the 555 would be a better deal in the way of $$$ I own a kp3 but I traded some old gear for it, it is overpriced in my opinion. It is not as functional as you may think it is. try a 555

[quote="springwater"]that 555 has the loop capture which was really cool. i never use it live but i could and it would be helpful. its a 404 with a looper that can capture loops and put em on pads. i used to overdub a bunch of shit in the loop capture then send em to the pads. like layer after layer, sending em to the pads one at a time so id have a drumloop on the pads, then overdub a bassline, send that to the pads, then keep doing that.

Can you loop live without everything stopping, like a gap of silence? I've heard that everything stops when you try to add a new layer?


Also, i already own an MPC 1000, which i've been wondering about right now, would it be better for live use to use the MPC and KP3, or sell the MPC and get one of the previous mentioned set ups? I can't decide...Thanks.

overpriced? you can get em new for $300..


If you want to do live looping I recommend keeping the MPC and grabbing a KP3.. the 555 has 1 loop slot which is quite finicky.. the KP3 has 4 loop slots that you can slice up live, shift forward/backward in time, effect and resample live.. and always punch in/out right on time.

If you dont liek it, you can always sell the MPC later

I use a Kaossilator Pro, a KP3, and an SP404SX. These are insanely compact and fit in a single pedalboard case. I run these through a Behringer DJX750 mixer, with the KP3 in the effects loop and the other two units in channel 1 & 2, assigned to the crossfader.

In my experience, when I know the input BPM and can set the KP3 accurately, live looping is far suprier when done on this unit. I am totally obsessed with every part of my DJ rig, and I feel it's totally complete even with two mixer inputs to spare. Of course, for people who are not ready for a whole new approach to sampling, the KP3 will seem entirely illogical, because it purely focuses on live techniques, with very little reliablity in terms of recreating the same performance twice.

The SP404SX, however, is the opposite of live sampling, and it is set up to ensure that your original samples are not accidentally damaged...I love making beats on Logic 9, then uploading the seperate loops to the 404sx SD card, and knowing that sycronicity is not volitile. In the KP3, everything is volitile...you save a loop and then turn it off and back on, load the loop, and it may force two previously syncronized samples to be out of sync. However, it records one button while playing back another, and this is totally incredible live.

No clue about the 555.

[quote="MadTrucker"]I use a Kaossilator Pro, a KP3, and an SP404SX. These are insanely compact and fit in a single pedalboard case. I run these through a Behringer DJX750 mixer, with the KP3 in the effects loop and the other two units in channel 1 & 2, assigned to the crossfader.

Can you run the KP3 through the AUX send of a mixer and back, have everything run through it,b ut still plug a mic into it for solo vocal looping as well? I'm thinking of going for the KP3 and keeping the MPC for now, maybe in the future switching to a SP404...I also thought about going the lap top route, but i prefer hardware if possible. DO you think i can midi sync it with my mpc? Thanks.

any of that gear u meantioned can be synced with the MPC

what you can do with the KP3 is theres a switch on the front that selects whether it uses line input or mic.. so you could say have it on line, record a couple loops, then switch to mic and record a mic loop, then switch it back to line and get another line loop

also worth mentioning is you can live bounce 1-3 loops+the effects you apply onto the 4th loop slot, thus freeing up 3 more loop slots and letting you layer more effects.. also theres the 8 step loop slicer, ability to shift loops forward/backwards in time relative to each other, and change whether they retrigger when you hit them or just mute/unmute

[quote="cartesia"]any of that gear u meantioned can be synced with the MPC

what you can do with the KP3 is theres a switch on the front that selects whether it uses line input or mic.. so you could say have it on line, record a couple loops, then switch to mic and record a mic loop, then switch it back to line and get another line loop

That's Awesome! I'm pretty sure im decided on it now. How much is a good price for one, both new and used?

New you should be able to get one for somewhere around the 300 mark.. maybe 320-330 I'm not sure where the price is at the moment.

everything stops when you try to save the loop to the pads. but when you overdub everything is still going, and you can add layer after layer by just hitting record.
i used to set the measures to 4 so it only records 4 bars, then id record silence for the 4 bars just to get the thing in motion with the metronome, then id start layering shit over and over again. i think one time i layered like 20 different sounds non stop just for fun and had a nice ass 4 bar loop. so if you used it live, it would be gay if you had to stop to save it to a pad, but if you prep up and have everything ready for you on your pads then hit em as you need em, that would be cool. you can also play a pad and hear it while you use the loop capture, and set the loop capture to only record the external source and not the pad thats playing, so that would be a way to get separate tracks on your pads then play em by hitting em all at the same time.
im really high and just ramming but i can prolly explain this further if you need me to later.

"change whether they retrigger when you hit them or just mute/unmute"

Seriously? How did I miss that in the manual? I mean, it's a given that Korg's manual fails compared to the SP404SX manual (by far, the SX has the most killer manual EVER), but still...this is a major deal I overlooked on the KP3...does the KOP do this too?

What is a KOP? sorry if a noob question lol.

Oh, sorry. I'm referring to the Korg Kaossilator Pro when I say KOP. I saw somebody here abreviate it this way, so I went with it. I wish Korg had given it a code type name like normal gear has.

Anyway, it's clearly the most ruthless compact hardware unit I have ever purchased, but it needs another sampler put with it to get the full capability out of it, so it works great run through the KP3 and then into the SP404SX, for studio use to build rad loops and capture complex knob/pad performances.

I'm thinking of starting a podcast, where each webisode is one bank on the SP404SX fed full of KOP loops resampled in a continuous blend. It is SO sweet to remix songs using these two units...I use the SX to upload whatever tracks I want to DJ, adjust the tempo on the KOP, and then slam in wild breaks from the KOP while tweeking the holy hell out of the original on the SX. Of course it's not the ideal way to creat blends, like Abelton or Serato would be used for, but for glitch heads it is appropriately wild and noisey and will do the off-the-grid kind of things that software is not made for.

I want to say more, but let me stop coffee-typing this board, and just leave you with this last bit about combining the KOP and KP3: I can set the KOP to 200BPM, set the KP3 to 100BPM, and then cue up the KOP looping drum bank titled "breaks," and sample some finger movements from the KOP to the KP3...nearly instant 16-bar loops of drum-n-bass break patterns, and every variation of finger movement makes a brand new pattern...not to mention the feirce dub-like synth banks. Can you tell I am obsessed?

Can you tell I am obsessed?[/quote]

loll just a bit XD
I ended up gettign the KP3, so now i'm running it with a mpc 1000, how would you go about setting it up? i assume it is the same for nay sampler like an sp-404? What are the benefits of midi syncing the two?Thanks!