Hey guys!
I got the sp-404 recently!
But,can I make a sidechain (ducking) effect in the sp-404??
If it works, how can I use into the kick & track??
I only just used the sidechain compressor effect from ableton.

It doesn't have an actual ducking/sidechain compressor but it is possible to get similar results.

Search for some of the old topics about this and you'll find more info.

The Korg Kaoss Quad has a ducking compressor, other than that it's pretty much rack effects territory (as far as I know) when it comes to hardware (probably easy to find some compressor that does it on the cheap though).

For me I like full sustain, zero release and level at max - may not be exactly sidechain but I find it has a nice pumping effect.

For a really really cheap hardware compressor for sidechain look up an alesis 3630, people basically give them away (trying to sell mine)

i have the kaoss quad, so far I have not found a 'comfortable' spot for the ducking comp on there..need to retest I guess.

I only had the SP-404 for one week or something like that, so I didn't mess with it all that much - I remember someone mentioning another FX besides COMP on one of the topics about sidechain compression.

I might be wrong but I remember liking the SP-555's LO-FI COMP better for this but there's no such FX on the 404... Right?


There was a thread about this on harmony-central and one of the mods (who has a studio and stuff) said something about noise levels being high. It is disliked on gearslutz too. Apparently some people find it useful for "out of the ordinary", aka "dirty" sounds - something the sp-forums crowd usually finds attractive.

It just takes one artist to make good use of a tool and then everyone goes crazy about it, though. Plus: cheap gear is always a good thing for musicians - so when gear is dissed and looses value, it's kinda good for someone. Obviously not great in your case as you're trying to sell the thing.


Don't mean to hijack the topic, but how's it working for you? Anything worth mentioning compared to SP FX?

yeah the SP555 lofi comp is very nice - not sidechain-y I guess but gritty and saturated. Forgot to mention I have the 404sx so I guess vinyl sim is not lik,e the 404, but the regular compressor isn't bad.

as for the 3630, yeah i mean it is what it is - Daft Punk and others have used it which doesn't make it great but I think for sidechain its ok. Yeah gearslutz hates about everything less than $800 - I used the 3630 on snare/bass (live drums) and it was ok but not my thing.

as for the kaoss quad - Its pretty fun, I don't use it as much as I thought I would...the combo (duh quad) of effects is nice though, like grain shift + filter + tape echo. I'd say the effects are of similar quality to the SP - it is nice though for example to keep a compression effect on the SP, then add your filter/delay/loopy stuff w/ the quad.

Thanks guys!!very helpful info! much appreciated!

i just use vinyl sim effect's compressor on my og 404. the more you boost the compressor knob, the more sounds will 'duck' out. set the volume levels of the samples you want to do the ducking (i.e. the kick) louder (e.g. 127), and the volume lower for samples you want to be ducked out. with the compressor all the way up, you can have a sample at volume 1 and it will still be loud, until the kick comes in and ducks it out

^^^^^^^^^^^
pretty much what he said


Record your kick drums hot and the rest of your samples mid level. Use the compressor or vinyl sim on the og 404.
If you use mfx 12 turn the 1st knob all the way to the right, middle knob all the way left, 3rd knob all the way to the right.

Read up on some older posts and most of all experiment with your machine. You might learn some valuable tricks and you could tell us how to do something interesting.

If you are going for a software dance party pumping effect, sell your 404 and stick to software

Experiment with turning the levels of the samples down that you want to duck and using the same knob configurations mentioned above.

Also, make sure you're compressing everything!

If the hi-hats are nice and low, the hits sound like they have different velocity's which can make it sound a little more natural

Actually, If you check out my bandcamp, I have a song called "turn it up" which uses the 404 compressor to duck the song when the kick drum sounds!

All fx used are from the 404

why is it so hard to get shit poppin on the 404sx though?

whats the difference in the effect of the og404msx comp vs 404sxmsxcomp?

404sx compressor seems to be best used on samples that are kind of soft. i.e not punchy.

not sure what the parameters are on the sx comp but on the og the mfx 12 compressor's parameters are: knob 1=sustain; knob 2= attack; knob 3= level.

when i have sustain all the way up, attack all the way down, and level at 3 o'clock, it sounds similar to the vinyl sim compressor [with comp knob all the way up and noise and flutter knobs all the way down]. with the level knob all the way up past 3 o'clock its definitely louder then the vinyl sim compressor

I didnt try it yet, but i was messing with the new audacity , and it has Auto DUck compressor, built right into the FX list. Its easy side chaining .

hey guys, just made the transfer from the mpc to the 404sx. it's been really creative and liberating working with visual wav files.

when i want this sidechain effect, i add a master comp on my pattern via remain and the fx button. crunchy, i have the sample level significantly lower, almost at around 20 to see if the method you prescribed works, but it doesn't? the drums just get louder and the sample itself doesn't compress to match the drums?

maybe its different on the sx then the og 404, but a couple things:
are you using the compressor effect or the vinyl sim compressor? i can't remember if there's a vinyl sim compressor on the sx. if its the vinyl sim, is the compressor knob turned all the way up? if its the compressor effect is the release up? is effect limit mode on? you get more ducking from the compressor effect with it on. lastly try recording the sample in quieter instead of sampling loud then turning it down