how much memory do you need? if you get a fully expanded 950 and mess with the sample rates, I'm sure it would suit your needs, at least in the one area you need help in, and then you've got your 555 to help should you need more, plus they're dirt cheap...2 cents!

peace be with you

well, the thing is im pretty sure theres a slight delay when u trigger sampling and things like that. When im sampling I try to start a fraction of a second late. That way I can just fine tune with the knobs till the loop is on point. Also keep in mind no matter how good your timing is there is really no such thing as perfect timing. after a few minutes of looping most things start to drift off a little if you did them with human timing. I'll see if I can throw that Mp3 together for u tonight.

That's very kind, DJFrantic. I just want to compare to make sure that my unit isn't faulty, since I have still time to return it. But the more I'm thinking the more I tend to keep it, I just like it's overall capacities.
So if you want to transfer the mp3 (no stress please), just let me know if you use PM or if you need my email. Thanks.

also what can sometimes happen -

from -

http://www.reasonfreaks.com/modules.php ... icle&id=21

"Cutting recorded samples
When you record sounds and you want to use these recordings as samples you need to cut the samples right. Remember that when you cut in a recorded sound. You always have to cut on the 0db point. Because when you don't, the sound will begin halfway in a wavform cycle resulting in a click or pop sound. When you are cutting loops of sound(s). You have to make sure that both the start and end of the sample end on the 0db point. That's the stripe that is in the middle of the wavform screen in most sound editors. Or you'll also have a click or pop when the loop starts over again."

your mileage may vary.

Yeah, thanks. That's a thing we've already discussed in this thread and which is right. It's just a bit difficult to achieve when recording on the 555, apart from stopping the input, which would cause an unwanted gap in the loop. When not working with PC all the time, and just with the 555, things are getting less visible and more intuitive..

Yeah I've noticed the silence in the loops too.

http://sp-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1807&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

It seems like it doesn't really start or stop recording when it says it will. Having the waveforms line-up is one thing but having actual silence is another problem. So I've come to the conclusion that making ambient loops on the 555 is not very feasible since they'll always hic-up.

Uhm, not really, you don't have to have that to get a perfect loop. I had plenty of loops on my SP-606 that had sound at the end and start. It was simply the exact same sound, as far as the spectrum goes.

In other words, the sound was continuous where it was going to loop.

Imagine sound as a sin graph ... as long as the graph touches or comes relatively close to the height of the start / end, then it will loop as if it's continuous.

http://home.alltel.net/okrebs/C3-7.gif

In the image it does "loop" at the 0dB line (mind you, this graph isn't sound related, just for reference purposes I've posted the link to this image).

You could easily lift the entire sin a bit higher and still have sound at the looping points.

phemox wrote :

"Uhm, not really, you don't have to have that to get a perfect loop"

what's a "perfect loop'" will depend on yr music yr play - "perfect" for one genre is going to sound crap for another - the perfection of a loop is going to be entirely subjective from listener to listener.

I actually don't keep that advice i posted in my head all the time - just thought it might help in this instance

I found my 404 to be useless when looping in concert with other instruments - it's "loops" and bpm do not match other midi clocks - they wander off in different directions very soon - have always had to record a single play of the loop in and quantize it in sequencer to keep the "loop" behaving.

there comes a point when if I am spending time on a computer - trimming, making volume envelopes etc - then wtf have i got the 404 for?

best of luck

Agreed.

ok the whats the main purpose of a 404/555 then???

Well, I agree as far as the software comment goes. Making loops probably is easier when it's visually visible.

I do not believe that this would totally replace the SP404/555 though... heck no.

No doubt... this is the only way to keep on time relative to the world outside the SP. If you're jamming on some SP loops and not combining other hardware it's not so much of an issue, but the timing does get real loose.

word... not worth taking it to the CPU imo. I would say, trust your ears and don't hold the sound so precious as to be disappointed by some random seams and pops. Throwing a slight delay on a loop will help blend things together a bit more, which works really well with pads and other bkgrnd sounds.

If you do want that smooth as butter sound, opening loops on your CPU and fading out the end, and poss. a slight fade-in on the front, will take out the creases. Then add a delay to fill the silence.

When using the Loop Capture, I find it really helpful to make a seamless loop by saving it to a pad and then using the "Start/End and Level" button to find the right spot to cut it. I just now added reverb to a synth part i had on my 555 (which did not loop seamlessly in the first place) and rerecorded it and cut it using that button, and it loops really well.

I don't know if this will help any of your problems, but good luck

i love using the 555 to make dope loops i do it all the time......and some loops i make will be hidden away for another day

I wanna hear those loops Jay, I'm sure they're sick. The stuff you have been posting is amazing.