Does anybody have both of these? Does the 404 have a MUCH better sound then the 2500? I want to just chop my samples on the 2500 and have all my drums coming from the 404 cause I think the drums sound flat coming out of the 2500 so hopefully this 404 will give my drums some balls. I just copped one for $330 on ebay. I was gonna get the 303 but the 404 has some better options i think.

you can't really compare the 404 to a 2500 unless you're using the exact same sounds. the 2500 is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of sequencing, chopping, programming etc.

I'd only compare them in the fact that they both sample and can both make beats.

Better Listen to the Dr. He knows his boxes.

I got both. I have to say that the mpc2500 sound A LOT punchier.
The sp-404 drums sound muddy compared to it. The sp-303 has even less punch then the 404.

....and I still think the 303 is the best of the 3.

i think we should put our heads together and supply Keesj with a handy 'FAQ' for all these MPC comparison threads we've had lately

what do you guys think?

Cmon you cant compare these completely different machines. And besides as you know PRODUCER makes the music not the machine. If you say you cant make punchy drums on 2500 that means you have to study harder to achieve this. Imo buying lots of different machines to achieve required sound is whack. Believe me study a bit each of your machine and you will be able to get the sound you want outta it. SP's can be as punchy as MPC's and otherwise.

the 2500 beats the shit out of the 404 no question and anybody here who says different is out of their mind.

and another thing. if you're drums ain't banging on one machine then buying another machine just to get you're drums up to par is a bad idea, unless you're buying a jomox drum machine.

Exactly.

well, the 2500 specs look better, but I wouldnt wanna enter an SP battle with it.
and yes I am out of my mind

not dissing the MPC though, I still love mine.

Yeah well I was just talking about the sound of it not the sequencing or any of the other features. Im just going to be using the 404 for eq and effects and for holding all my drum sounds. I ran my drums thru my fantom and they definitely sound alot more punchier than the drums when their on the 2500. I think that the 404 will have the same sound as the fantom which is good. I think the drums will definitely sound better if I just midi the 404 to the 2500 and trigger the sounds from that. I'll see though. If I dont like it ill just resell the 404 on ebay. LOL

It's a digital sampler so what goes in is what will come out basically. Mpc's can make drums hit hard you just have to eq the sample like on any sampler.

Like Dr. said. On 404 and 2500 sound distortion is minimal. These are modern day samplers so unlike SP1200 they wont give you that grimmey sound out of the box. You will need to tune and eq your samples to achieve sound you need.

Exactly,you need to eq the sounds in a mixer before sampling them in the MPC,that's what Pete Rock,Alchemist and all of them do