I FINALLY DID IT.

[nobdy]

a digital device does not have warm sound, especially a 404 which just sounds almost exactly like whatever is inputted without hardly any artifacts or "color"

hi
all the samplers are digital machines, stricly talking, i'm ok with that, however they colour in some way the samples you put in; for example an mpc2000xl has different colour thar sp303 and viceversa, or an sp1200 is different form asrx...it all dipends on A/D converters and on digital algorythms (basically the way internal software cut or not certain frequencies) and so is for the 404...
...i used to say the tascam recorder has a warm sound too, maybe is not technically the right expression, : ) but it's ok
another example is the yamaha dx7: very digital synth in any form, but it could do warm sounds too...(not analogue, eh, just warm)
cheers

Speaking of warmth... which is very subjective...
i think the tasacm and older recorders sound warm due to the lower fidelity, lacking clarity and definition. Warming something up could just be something as simple as adding noise in the background or using the flutter efx. The 404 compressor warms things up imo.

also i think another point is that new digital sampler/recorders might sound "colder" because the the new tech is doing a better job converting the sound waves. where as the in imperfections of older gear adds "warmth"

[ellaguru]

also i think another point is that new digital sampler/recorders might sound "colder" because the the new tech is doing a better job converting the sound waves. where as the in imperfections of older gear adds "warmth"

another thing is that todays samplers sound more closer to pc sound, because also the taste of new audience, so they sound more flat (in my point of view they lack of personality)

[nobdy]

also i think another point is that new digital sampler/recorders might sound "colder" because the the new tech is doing a better job converting the sound waves. where as the in imperfections of older gear adds "warmth"

another thing is that todays samplers sound more closer to pc sound, because also the taste of new audience, so they sound more flat (in my point of view they lack of personality)

I don’t think flatter sound is a negative thing. You now have the a good starting point to mix and sculpt your sound to your liking. But I think audience has grown to like the cleaner sound because of technological advances in audio technology.

[nobdy]

Also, I feel like nostalgia is associated with warmth. Film grain, crt distortion, and audio flutter can be associated to warmth because that’s what we grew up with.

[ellaguru]

also i think another point is that new digital sampler/recorders might sound "colder" because the the new tech is doing a better job converting the sound waves. where as the in imperfections of older gear adds "warmth"

another thing is that todays samplers sound more closer to pc sound, because also the taste of new audience, so they sound more flat (in my point of view they lack of personality)

I don’t think flatter sound is a negative thing. You now have the a good starting point to mix and sculpt your sound to your liking. But I think audience has grown to like the cleaner sound because of technological advances in audio technology.

Yes, if the flatter sound is negative or positive is just an opinion but the fact that also in great studio they disperately try to recreate warm reel to reel or recorders sound means to me that the new sounding machines by themselves (the ones produced after 2010 circa, to be clear) they lack of something

[Sharris]

Gleezopendoors probably bought the 404 for other reasons as well, not only to add warmth (at least I hope or you might be disappointed).
Maybe he didn't feel the need to list off everything....he's just excited for his new toy & wanted to share his excitement with the sp community

[gleezopendoors]

Thanks everyone for the tips.

[ghost bazz]

I think Ella nailed it... as far as my understanding. Different converting hardware within the gear affects the EQ slightly. I’ve always though of a warm sound as having a little bump on the low frequencies. Distortion and fuzz are defects in recording/sampling gear... unless u r intentionally dropping the bit rate or sample freq. I wouldn’t characterize that as adding warmth.

That being said... guess I see the technology point too. Think it’s pretty well summed up in the classic vinyl vs cd debate.

[ghost bazz]

Thanks everyone for the tips.

Yeah... congrats on making the jump to hardware & welcome to the community!

Getting into the arena and making some beats completely on ur 404 is probably the quickest path to being competent w ur new gear. Don’t trip about putting up “beginner” beats in there. No one passes judgement. It’s a very supportive group.

[thesisdrs]

Don’t trip about putting up “beginner” beats in there. No one passes judgement. It’s a very supportive group.

i don't know, man. I was told one time my beats were shit lol

Either way, work on your craft. SP forever!

[forest]

Mac Demarco made a bunch of albums using a Tascam tape recorder. Man, try to figure out his songs by ear, it's always a nightmare.

People started to say that he was a chorus genius and stuff like that, turned out that it was just the natural tape machine fluttering around and he using the pitch down on it (he did not use a chorus pedal on the first and second album at all) and this is the reason that figuring out his songs is so hard, his records subtle pitch shift a lot. I think that this could be warmness. To me, having a piece of gear that adds warms is just a short term for a thing that does unexpected things to your sounds and songs that you would never do for yourself. You can add some vinyl crackle on Ableton, but it will never be like sampling something and get these artifacts that make you say "holy shit, I love you piece of gear". This randomness sparks creativity, I think this is warm as people say XD.

If we go into analog vs digital, I think that analog does sine waves that cross the whole circuit thing, digital convert stuff into 0 and 1 and then use it, both use electrons in their process. Maybe analog sounds natural because sine waves are cool? Who knows lol.

But about what matters, have fun with your sp and drop your stuff here

[Kegeratorz]

Don’t trip about putting up “beginner” beats in there. No one passes judgement. It’s a very supportive group.

i don't know, man. I was told one time my beats were shit lol

Either way, work on your craft. SP forever!

probably meant "the" shit

[nobdy]

[thesisdrs]

Nope, just shit. It's all good though.
One day I should participate in some of these SP battles... been slaking off lately.

[Ill Green]

C'mon guys he loves the sampler, can't a nicka express his awoken enthusiasm without getting shot at

But now on the subject of analog and digital, samplers always had been up with technology of its time. An MPC60 in the '80s was considered hi-tech and claimed a clean sound. At the end of the day, a sampler is a recorder, so consider what you put in because thats what coming out. You want dusty beats then sample dusty records. You want warmth then you sample from a tube amp. Though the sampler's AD/DA converters play a role but its meaningless without a preamp and an amplifier to record it. Thats how you get warmth from samplers.