Just got a 404sx, Having a problem with it

[WolfeCuts]

So i just got a 404SX today,
i got a new SD card which is a SanDisk SDHC 4gb , got it formatted and some samples loaded, they play fine and i can add effects ect, but the pattern doesnt seem to be working? when i push pattern select it lights up but the pads don't?
it works fine with the stock card that comes with it?

Am i missing something, any help would amazing, im really loving this machine.

Thanks guys (:

[Euclid Ov Oåklånd]

1. Press pattern select and it will illuminate.
2. Press rec button and all pads available for pattern recording will blink.
3. Select a blinking pad and then set pattern length and quantize settings.
4. Begin button mash!

Also check what version of the 404sx operating system you have, it should be current and if it isn't you can download one from Roland and install it using you sdhc card/

[WolfeCuts]

YEAAHH! its going now,
thanks man, really appreciate you taking the time to help

[Euclid Ov Oåklånd]

Anytime, I just got my 404sx a couple weeks ago and came across a few quirks that slowed me down. I like the sample editing a lot more than my 303 and not to mention sample processing time is minimal with a sandisk extreme pro card. I like the reverb on the 404sx a lot more and the djfx is nice to finally have but the 303 melts the 404sx in terms of the weird compression and sound it adds to samples.

[WolfeCuts]

yeah man i been told that!
altho i come from years of using a mpd32 and computers, so i wouldnt be as aware of the differences like you having a 303, but the effects i really enjoy playing with man some great sounds in the box. i find it hard to get a work flow going as im not use to it but im still learning

i made my first beat with it and i just used the resample and build it up, is there no metronome on the machine apart from in the pattern select mode and can you only Quantizing in pattern swell??

[Euclid Ov Oåklånd]

Yeah metronome is only audible in pattern record mode, but you can play a metronome of your computer or cell phone to keep time. Quantize also only works in pattern record mode. I used to just put on a loop I liked and drummed to it using my 303 pads until I got a good groove to it, after some weeks of doing that your timing will improve and you won't need a metronome.

[hseiken]

You can make a metronome out of a hi-hat sample looped. Change the length of silence to change the speed. Useful unless you're trying to match BPMs of different sources. And you can resample with it on because it belongs in your song.

I think a lot of dudes around here like the looseness that comes from not using quantize and metronome and I used to be a strict 'computer perfect' guy, but overtime, i like the rawness and human quality of no quantize or true metronome.

It adds a flavor that chips and bits can't do.

[WolfeCuts]

Thanks for the dope advice guys, love this forum haha

yeah i know what you mean i really love the character and groove you get from not Quantizing, thats a great tip to make a click from a hi hat and work with that tho (:

Im trying to do it by resampling a few bars of playing the samples, then resampling me playing a quick beat and trying to play those to together, if you know what i mean? but sometimes they dont match or they might for the first bar but then be really off when it loops the second time. maybe im doing it the wrong way or need to chop them abit tighter??

also is there any way to change the velocity of the hat hits so they dont sound as stale every time? maybe i needa do that in my software and put the different hits on the sp

im really sorry about all the questions guys for real, the SP is a new fascinating world for me haha, feel like a kid in a sweet shop everytime i find something new on it hahahah.

Thanks guys (:

[Euclid Ov Oåklånd]

add a delay to your hi hat line and fuck around with the knobs while resampling to spice up your rhythm. Once you have that play a kick and snare over it while resampling, don't get fancy just kick.snare.kick.snare since it'll be easiest to mark and loop. Once that little 1 bar or 2 bar drumloop is made you can play your sample chops over it or just put a sweet loop on top while resampling.

[yo-yo crunch]

with the sample pad and drum pad, instead of loop mode, manually trigger both pads every 2 or 4 bars or whatever. like how madlib does in that brazilintime youtube clip. that way they won't drift apart.
for the hi hat problem, resample it to another pad and lower the volume to simulate 2 hats with different velocities

[WolfeCuts]

Yo, thanks for the advice its been helping alot guys really appreciate it.
i gots one more question use might be able to answer for me tho.
is there away of playing two patterns that you have record at the same time? anytime i try it just plays one and ques the nest for when its finished??

[Euclid Ov Oåklånd]

Technically no,....but you could track out a pattern to tape or computer and bounce it back to your SP and play it as a sample while your other pattern sequence is running live. If you mark your sampled pattern properly at the start point the patterns should match without drifting out of time because they were made with the same midi time clock or what ever. Hope you can decipher that I'm pretty high still from yesterday. Something I noticed about working in only one sampler like my 303 or 404sx now is that you mark your samples in strange ways and it will still match in that machine, it's strange but in that way you can experience how a sampler really is an instrument like a turntable or a traditional acoustic instrument/

[WolfeCuts]

Thanks Euclid Ov Oåklånd my dude, you really helped me getting rocking

[Euclid Ov Oåklånd]

You're welcome, have fun!

[KidProcrass]

Sup guys no offense to the op but i had a question since Euclid mentioned the 404 and 303. I used to have a 303 and i bought a 404sx pretty much brand new off this guy today. Hes used it maybe 1-2 times tops. Anyway i get home and im hype to get something going but the second i drop the needle i can hear so much HI's its quite annoying to be honest. Is this a standard sound quality of the unit or do i have a problem. My 303 didnt boosts highs this bad.