What's up guys, I just got a 404sx a few weeks ago. I've been trying to get acquainted with the ins and outs of it and my Microkorg XL at the same time...I've been recording chord progressions and basslines into Ableton and then dropping them onto an SD card with the SP404 Wave software. One problem I've encountered is that the 404 doesn't guess the right BPM of the sample unless it's only one bar in length, so I have to chop up a 4 bar loop into 4 different pads which is inconvenient. Is there any way to like..change the length of the pattern that the 404 reads to determine the BPM?
Aaaaaaand also, is there a way to add an effect and resample a bar at the exact same BPM--like basically just copy it to a different pad with an effect added? It is really annoying to try to press the record button perfectly at the end of the loop so that it maintains the same BPM.
I guess these questions only really matter if you are using the pattern sequencer to build tracks at a given BPM (as opposed to using the resampling method and not giving a damn), but it seems like there should be ways to accomplish what I've asked.
Can you guys explain sidechaining at all as well? I know it's basically like...record drums higher than everything, and bass higher than mids/highs. Compress everything individually and then EQ to taste? I've heard stuff about vinyl sim helping with ducking, what exactly does that do?
General tips on building, mixing, etc. are more than welcome, I'm trying to make raw lo-fi synthy goodness...For example, here is one of my main inspirations:
http://soundcloud.com/culpsp
Trying to achieve that level of rawness (eventually)
And here is my old ish: http://soundcloud.com/yarvy
Thank you all in advance!
404 Noob here...few questions!
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Dr Van Nostrand
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Re: 404 Noob here...few questions!
just cause a particular pad has some crazy BPM that doesn't seem to fall in line with what you know its BPM to be or the BPM of the pattern you wanna make doesn't mean its unusable, just make the sequence at the BPM you want and place it in......and you can leave as much space as you want after you resample something with an effect on, just mark out what you don't want afterwards, or you can even leave it, it really doesn't matter, its just blank space, the only reason you would wanna cut it short is so that it doesn't fill up the polyphony, which is actually a good habit to get into, but don't worry about pressing rec to stop it right in time, make sure you leave yourself plenty of space and then mark it up afterward
the more annoying issue when working with lengthy loops is that there are only whole number BPMs for patterns on the SP, and when i am using a long ass loop (4+ bars) and placing it in the sequencer, sometimes i'll choose a BPM for the pattern that will be just too slow and there will be a gap at the end of the pattern and it won't loop perfect, but when i turn the pattern BPM up one, it ends up cutting the loop short by a hair and it sounds weird, so your method of cutting up a longer sample into seperate one bar cuts is actually a good work around for getting a lengthy loop to better fit into a pattern and loop seamlessly (or as close as you can get it to) and is something you might wanna do for some loops.........and sometimes its better to make your cuts around particular parts of the loop that might not fall right on the 1 (heavy drum or instrument hits), just sequence it back together accordingly
somebody else can help with the sidechain, or you can search it, its been brought up on here countless times
the more annoying issue when working with lengthy loops is that there are only whole number BPMs for patterns on the SP, and when i am using a long ass loop (4+ bars) and placing it in the sequencer, sometimes i'll choose a BPM for the pattern that will be just too slow and there will be a gap at the end of the pattern and it won't loop perfect, but when i turn the pattern BPM up one, it ends up cutting the loop short by a hair and it sounds weird, so your method of cutting up a longer sample into seperate one bar cuts is actually a good work around for getting a lengthy loop to better fit into a pattern and loop seamlessly (or as close as you can get it to) and is something you might wanna do for some loops.........and sometimes its better to make your cuts around particular parts of the loop that might not fall right on the 1 (heavy drum or instrument hits), just sequence it back together accordingly
somebody else can help with the sidechain, or you can search it, its been brought up on here countless times
Re: 404 Noob here...few questions!
Yeah when I was experimenting I had the same problem -- the BPM being too slow and the loops not flowing properly when sped up.
And I will search for it, just thought I'd throw it in there while I'm already asking questions
And I will search for it, just thought I'd throw it in there while I'm already asking questions
Re: 404 Noob here...few questions!
Also think the vinyl sim on the SX doesn't have compression? Anyone verify this? Im OG404...
SP 404 OG
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SINISTER_6000
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Re: 404 Noob here...few questions!
i used to make synth loops in ableton and match the bpm to the one set on the 404 then sample into it.