404 Live

Lindsay · Post by **Lindsay** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:38 pm

Hello,

Anyone here used the 404 for a continuous live mix of their own material?
Is this piece of equipment able to load banks and switch seamlessly between them?

Any experiences?

Cheers

fauna · Post by **fauna** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:33 pm

hey there. lots of people on here use the 404 in various live settings. i'd suggest using the search function for "live" to see the different ways.

or just dig around!

Lindsay · Post by **Lindsay** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 1:25 am

Thanks Fauna.

Lindsay · Post by **Lindsay** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:15 pm

Had a dig as suggested which brought up some interesting results, but does any one what to divulge their own techniques of using the 404 as their primary bit of kit for gigging?

axiom gates · Post by **axiom gates** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:16 pm

i would probably holla at juxt, vivi, or dj frantic. those r the resident experts on all things 404 related

Dj Frantic · Post by **Dj Frantic** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:17 pm

I dont play my 404 live very much. I have...but nothing crazy. Usually just live drumming. But ive seen people use it to play live and its prett dope. They usually rock two of them. Or a 404 and a looper or laptop. But if you properly prepare your set u can probably rock just one.

Dr. Tad Winslow · Post by **Dr. Tad Winslow** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:27 pm

Yeah I have like a 30 minute set all worked out with my homie. He raps while I play the beats on my 404. I just have all the loops and what not on different pads and trigger them in time. I then play either sample chops over it or one shot drums or fuck with the effects. We've played out a couple times and the reaction has been very positive. People are usually pretty impressed with us having a whole set worth of beats in such a small ass box. There's a lot of possibilites. When I play with it live I don't even fuck with the pattern sequencer or anything like that, just the sample pads. It's all about practice and just thinking about what you want to do, and figuring out how to achieve that.

Huph · Post by **Huph** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:01 am

My band bases sets around the 404. It's not too tricky.

I guess one piece of advice would be to look into getting your own DI box if you plan to play on stage a lot. Most venues have their own, but they come in handy to have around.

I'd also focus on getting your sets to sound good in mono. I've never played at a venue that had stereo capabilities for an instrument coming from the stage. You don't want to lose elements of your mix due to improper stereo imaging. I have one memory card at home for stereo sampling, and I keep a separate card that's full of mono samples that I use to practice and perform with.

Practice your your fingering with the pads. One silly design flaw of the 303/404 is that there are buttons that will completely kill all playback located near buttons you use on the fly when playing live. The [REC] button being so near the relatively small [REMAIN] pad can be a killer.

Other than that, it's an amazingly intuitive instrument.

Lindsay · Post by **Lindsay** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:44 pm

Great tips, thanks all.