How do you use your sp?

[死死死]

I've been producing on ableton for a while now. I recently played a small gig in Japan with a friend who performed on the 404 and he recommended that I should get one. I bought one and mainly use it to add FX on samples; then I bounce my samples back onto ableton and finish the beat on there.

I know everyone has different methods of making beats but I was just wondering how the workflow is for most sp user's.

[alecsdelarge]

I started out the same way but now I usually just make the whole beat on either my 404 or 303, then master it etc. on Ableton.

I use the pattern sequencer more than the resampling method, but that changes depending on what I'm feeling at the time!

I've started putting full beats on my CF card now I've upgraded from 64MB as I wanna start playing live shows soon.

[dr00py]

Started with Ableton, when I got my SP I used Ableton as a "training wheels" so to speak while I was getting used to my machine (aside from SPBB of course), so a mix between resample method with a very liberal use of ableton. Eventually the computer crapped out and I was forced to face the SP alone, so went to full resample method. More recently, I reintegrated Ableton to the workflow, trying to use what I figured were my strengths on both fronts. As of late I've been chilling out and experimenting with the delay method.

At some point I'd like to take a crack at the sequencer but oddly enough I feel like it's more obtuse than resample and delay methods. Still, from what I understand, it will give you a bit more control in beat creating, good for tuning and whatever.

All methods are good I suppose, it's wild how they can inform how your beats come together.

Have fun

[Alnitak_Kid]

i found DAWs had too many avenues to go down and i found it hard to settle on any 1 idea and it ended up killing any kind of flow or enjoyment.

now i use the 303 and 404sx with the resample method and bounce between the two if i need more polyphony. "making music with my ears instead of my eyes"

i've also recently introduced the 404sx into my band's lineup for textures/loops/whatever.

[timmytoga]

I have a bunch of drum one shots organized on my MPC 2500. I make drum loops on there and then record them into my 404sx. I sample records through the MPC directly into the 404sx and chop on there.

Chopping samples in the MPC and using the sequencer there is more powerful but it requires more work and I have no attention span so the fastest way to do something is the best for me - hence the SP.

I combine the MPC drum loops I made and the sample chops on the SP to make shit.

[Ill Green]

Ever since I bought the MV, it changed my whole perspective on samplers. Nowadays, I use SPs like a DAW. 3 hours of sampling time is alot to play with, so I use the polyphony as tracks. 8 polyphony is 8 DAW tracks in my world now. I even record verses to a pad. I kick myself for buying so much shit when a single SP can do it all. Still, can't have enough SPs though

[mr.thraz]

if I’m working with F.L.Studio in wine....or just using my Linux D.A.W.'s on my desktop, I’ll use my SP-606 as a interface/controller/outboard efx processor. I use my SP-505 for additional outboard efx

here's the set-up.



sometimes, I’ll disconnect from the desktop and take the laptop (an old ass h.p. dv7 running UbuntuStudio) with the 606 and headphones to the park down the street or this bar I love (the WorkHorse in Austin, TX) that's if the cats, dog and or wife are too loud and distracting. In that situation I’m either opening a "session handler" in Linux (chopping samples in Shuriken, Sequencing in the Hydrogen Drum Machine and then arranging in Ardour4.) or I'm just opening FL as a sampler, either way, I'm using the 606 as my interface/controller.

sometimes I get tired of staring at a computer screens and I’ll hook the turntable directly to the 606 and start chopping, drum sequences get bounced to the 505 then back to a pad on the 606 and that will be a track.
bass-lines will get made on the 505 'cause I like using its octave pitch function then bounced to a pad on the 606 but sometimes I’ll use the 606's synth for bass, in that case, the pattern gets bounced to the 505 and I'll just thicken it up with subsonic (that is) if the bass uses 3 notes or less ...then bounced back to a 606 pad, anyway that's another track. I’ll manually chop the main phrase sample in the 606 but if I get lazy I’ll auto-chop the phrase in the 505 and bounce the pattern down to a 606 pad, third track. 4th track is for vocal samples or transitional sounds, you know, sounds to cover up the spaces between the verse/chorus, chorus/verse changes. Then its sequence, mix and out to Ardour. I try to keep everything in the 606 'cause its cut groups make the 8 note poly more forgiving when sequencing.

that's pretty much it.

I really wish I could experiment more with the P606, Kinetic2 and Project5
but I can't get them to work in wine.

I did set-up an old dell laptop with XPSP3 but I couldn't get the 606 to work as an interface, it just kept chocking and the P606 app wouldn't open.

i even stuck an extra drive in my dv7 laptop and dualboted win7 but the same-thing happened.

it maybe that my 606 is broken and will only work as in interface in Linux.

[mr.thraz]

Ever since I bought the MV, it changed my whole perspective on samplers. Nowadays, I use SPs like a DAW. 3 hours of sampling time is alot to play with, so I use the polyphony as tracks. 8 polyphony is 8 DAW tracks in my world now. I even record verses to a pad. I kick myself for buying so much shit when a single SP can do it all. Still, can't have enough SPs though

how did the MV lead to that change for you?

[死死死]

I started out the same way but now I usually just make the whole beat on either my 404 or 303, then master it etc. on Ableton.

I use the pattern sequencer more than the resampling method, but that changes depending on what I'm feeling at the time!

I've started putting full beats on my CF card now I've upgraded from 64MB as I wanna start playing live shows soon.

What do you find to be more time efficient?

I find myself able to make beats pretty fast on ableton, but I think it might be because I have not become fully accustomed to using the sp 404.

[letsruntrack]

i can make a beat in ableton faster, but the 404 is more fun and less, microwave feeling. also, i find with the 404 i have to be more creative. there's also something about having limited options that will make you get creative. i prefer both

[jpow88]

I agree that using a DAW like ableton is often faster for chopping samples and such, but theres something about using hardware which just seems irreplaceable to me

[DOE-fi]

i basically grab my samples n depending on the source material resample accos pads n mark out the parts i wanna turn into my melody, drums are all wax breaks played on my xl n then recorded onto a single pad on the 404

reaper for the mix down (if any)

[DOE-fi]

. I kick myself for buying so much shit when a single SP can do it all. P

straight up, iv only really made the sp my studio heart recently, iv come from mpc2000/1000/2500/500 n settled on an xl but they dont have that on the fly capabilities like the sp do

[last_try]

How I use ableton vs how I use my SP varies day to day, track to track.

I never get into a flow state with software the way I do with my 404. I can sit with the 404 with my headphones on and just zone out and make beats for like 6 hours (resample almost exclusively). I get into a flow state super fast with the 404 because it is so immediate and physical/auditory with no real visual aspect. I tend to be much more utilitarian about how I use software. I play around with my 404 constantly but I don't open up ableton to play. I only open that up when I have a specific task or idea that requires software. Like sidechaining. I'll sidechain a synth or sample to a ghost kick so it gets that rhythmic pulse, then bounce that out to the 404 to add everything else.

Sometimes I'll make a track on the 404 and be like "this is done." Other times what I end up with on the 404 is a rough demo that I'll need to refine or reconstruct in ableton or FL. Other times I'll throw a 404 skeleton beat into ableton or FL so I can layer synths or whatever on it. Other times i'll do the opposite and whip up a synth line or drum pattern in a DAW and then throw it into the 404 to chop and layer with other things.

If you're making everything in Ableton and like doing that but want to incorporate the 404, I would say bounce your ableton tracks out to loopable stems. Then everything is in the same tempo so you can throw all your stems into the 404, trigger away, throw effects on the fly, and record the output.

[satsum]

I usually start by adding one shots of keys or guitar/bass strings to the pads of my sp404sx then I'll add the drums and hi hats, snare, clap, etc. i recently started to use the pattern sequencer to make my drum breaks. then ill play around with the one shots and make a melody from them. then ill record into my interface and into my DAW. I use garageband by the way.