namaste, sp i'm looking into take my first real step into hardware by getting a SP. Now i've been using software for the past few years and i've changed up workflows, DAWs, and styles many times during my software escapades and i'm at a point where I'm not really comfortable "settling" with JUST software itself before i've at least tried strictly hardware.

I've been on a long musical hiatus and these days i'm into ambient, abstract tunes and i also want to start making DnB and electric music. I've watched so many sets and videos of alot of my favorite artist using SP404s and i'm wondering if it could be a good fit for me. I want to see if it will light my creative spark back up.

My question is, should I just go head pick up a 404SX or try my luck with a 505 (as i've seen they're fairly similar and cheaper) so I can test my taste with pure samplers?

Also I'm not hurting for cash and I could easily pick up a 404 later this month or next month if that's the better choice.

any feedback would be much appreciated, thx sp.

they are both ok to get, but you will probably be better off with the 404 because it can import and export your banks faster. 505 is a sampling groove workstation so you gotta fiddle with tons of stuff that you don't have to with the 404. but its like comparing a nunchucks to a throwing star i guess.

i appreciate the feed, and I understand that it may be harder to import but that's not really a big deal to me as much as the workflow is concerned.

I also wanted to know if i would be able to hook up my midi keyboard to this somehow to play melodies? As I have no knowledge of importing to hardware, what does it mean when someone says to record you sounds into it rather than import? (the process)

you can hookup a keyboard to sample your melodies, the midi will just trigger pads, and is mostly useless unless you have a specific reason you need to use midi with your SP.

import sounds or full songs from your computer with drag and drop. and then they will play on your SP pads,

recording samples is just regular sampling, like sample a drum break,

and then chop it down into drum hits, like kick snare and hat . you can do this quick on the 404 with the mark button and resample.

one thing I wasnt quite good at on the 404 was chopping loops all the way to the end, so I would just end up with a few chops. and never get a real wicked chop style, i was more of a loop cat though, in my 404 days.

Workflow wise the 404sx cant be beat, this maschine dragged me out of a musical slump instantly, i was using software before too.
But this workflow isnt for everybody if your into ridgid sequencer based music you may prefare the 505, youll sacrifice a bit of operational speed but gain a better 4 track sequencer.
Did you mean play samples with the midi keys? Im pretty sure even on the 505 u cant record a midi sequence to later playback back through your keys,
When people say to record in they would mean sampking in though the audio inputs on the back,
And import is loading sounds from a memory card

i have a little more understanding now, but not convinced of either over the other so far. I would like the idea to be able to import sounds straight through SD with the SP404SX but if i'm going hardware I would be prepared to abandon it. Also, (505) as the smart card is the only means of importing other than recording straight into it, what is the extent of the machine itself keeping those sounds inside the machine? (or would i have to import new sounds every time I start a new project?) maybe a specialized video link could help me more than explaining.

The 505, 404 & 404SX take audio in for sure! Otherwise you couldn't really call them samplers, right? Cool thing is you get mulitple ways to get your sounds into the SPs. They're not a THOU MUST ONLY IMPORT FROM TEH 'PUTER ma(s)chine.

Here's a demo of one dude's 505 style, no matter if it doesn't make total sense. It's just a good example of workflow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt2e3PXbnAg

For the 505's stats, check this: http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/sp505.php

At top quality (CD standard) sound you can sample up to 2:17. Might not read like much if you're coming from a DAW background, but that's heaps when you think about it & start using hardware samplers. At lowest lo-fi you can get over 9 minutes. Catch is it'll sound gritty, most of us here love that tone but a lot of other people don't. It's personal, is all. With the right memory card you can get >1hour sampling at top quality.

well i've decided that I may just eventually end up getting both (as long as prices stay the same for used 505s), so now the question is which to get first and what equipment do I need to get started? (monitor type,wiring,etc.) I would also like to perform live in the future as well as sample into/from my laptop..so i guess the equipment for that as well.

let me know some of your set-ups or ideal set ups for the things and SPs i have in mind if you will. thanks again.

I have an SP-505 that I'm trying to sell, so message me if your interested. Thanks.

I've decided on the 505 as I can find it cheap. What are some of the cables I need to record samples in from a turntable/laptop?