Looper, Multitrack, or audio interface.

[Persian-hugs]

I want to have the ability to play my samples, but not record them in the sp404 but externally due to the, in my eyes, limiting factor of the 3 voice in stereo 6 voice in mono output. would a looper or multitrack be best to record without the sound cutting out and have a progression in making the song? i know i can do it in the sp but thats really hard to wrap my head around and the cutting out when resampling when adding fx is really frustrating me.

[Sharris]

A lot of things can help with that, there are tricks you can do inside the 404 (combining resample with the sequencer is 1 of them) & of course getting additional hardware.

A multi-track can help, looper, another sampler... I guess it depends on what workflow you would like the best, they all would have a different workflow.

An mpc goes great with a sp404. Really good workflow, a lot of options for combining the 2.

A multi-track goes great, you can bounce sounds back & forth.

Not sure what kind of money you want to spend........ or how long you've had the sp404....you gotta put work in with an sp, so it can take a little time to get good with it

[Danswift]

you gotta put work in with an sp, so it can take a little time to get good with it

This is very much the truth.

There are loads of tricks and techniques you can use to get around the limitations of the SP-404 but for me that's the beauty of these machines..their limitations.

Resampling and layering sounds really is the key here and with a little patience you'll more than likely get around the problems you're experiencing.

I personally use the SP to record all my music live with and direct to a tape or a MD player and nothing I do is sequenced except for the drums and bass parts, generally.

Maybe contemplate getting another sampler as Sharris has mentioned..It's a heck of a lot of fun and makes life considerably easier, obviously.

I like to combine the O.G. with the SX from time to time and it's a great little combo to have both at your disposal for a quick run and gun or bouncing ideas around between the samplers.

I do stuff this way cause I really don't like to be tied to a computer for recording purposes although i did use Ableton in the studio on the latest project I've just recently completed as the engineer knew the program inside out and was very sympathetic to the kind of results I wanted to achieve with these particular recordings which again, are live performance based.

I gotta say that the capabilities of Ableton impressed me very much though while recording in the studio, although im probably too lazy to learn it properly myself to be honest,not sure if you're using any computer based recording but it's another solution the O.P. could consider.

@ O.P.

And yep, multi track recorders, whether analogue or digital are always a good option and a worthwhile investment,too..

[mr.thraz]

I want to have the ability to play my samples, but not record them in the sp404 but externally due to the, in my eyes, limiting factor of the 3 voice in stereo 6 voice in mono output. would a looper or multitrack be best to record without the sound cutting out and have a progression in making the song? i know i can do it in the sp but thats really hard to wrap my head around and the cutting out when resampling when adding fx is really frustrating me.

what sp is: "3 voice in stereo 6 voice in mono output"?

303 505 606 is 8 and 16.

i thought the 404's and 555 was 6 and 12.

[Kegeratorz]

what sp is: "3 voice in stereo 6 voice in mono output"?

303 505 606 is 8 and 16.

i thought the 404's and 555 was 6 and 12.

I think it drops to half or less when resampling

[Kegeratorz]

I use a looper pedal, jam man express, already had as I use often to jam with guitar. Stereo and small. Not great but works for bouncing, especially when using the pattern sequencer.

[ghost bazz]

Lots of good points being made.

I would boil it down to 2 paths. Do u want to produce finished tracks... composition style, meticulously planned out & constructed along a midi timeline... or do u want a looser live-mixing deejay style approach? If u want to plan things out, finesse them to perfection, and then adjust them til they sound just right, I’d recommend a multi-track recording setup - hardware for me, but u could use an interface and Ableton or other software option as well. If u like jammed out organic compositions that are captured in the moment of creative inspiration and closer to one-take affairs, then a looper or second sampler makes more sense.

There r ways to achieve both results with either setup, and this is a simplified explanation, but I think this is a goood guide for how to proceed. Ultimately u will want multiple samplers AND a good recording setup, but as it’s been said, u can get really far down the path w just a single SP... and once u add a second piece of gear the possibilities get deep in a hurry.

I vote for figuring out ur recording setup. Get a cheap 8-track w an option to export as a digital file. Tascam DP-01 is good. DP-01 Fx is even better because u can use ur 404 as an external effects unit. These r cheap and they can export files as wav or aif and then connect to a computer via usb.

[mkour]

if you dont have an audio interface id say make that your first investment...

[THEGREAT]

Buy a cheap looper ..

dabnle with that .. or a 2 channel looper like the boss rc30 .. or maybe boss rc505 .. 4 track looper .

or you could get a multitrack to map out full sequences .

alternatively if youce got a computer . Record your main loop .. the layer / add new sequences in a DAW

[THEGREAT]

.. a basic looper is fun .. but you gotta figure your pattern length and only have that 1 loop to build on . Excellent for stacking layers ( make sure it has unlimited overdub capability )

ive found this method most experimental despite its limitations

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[mr.thraz]

what sp is: "3 voice in stereo 6 voice in mono output"?

303 505 606 is 8 and 16.

i thought the 404's and 555 was 6 and 12.

I think it drops to half or less when resampling

damn! i didn't realize. i just dump from sp to sp: but that makes when i make a bass on the 606.... i run out of poly quick. i took to making the bass on the 606 and dumping my pattern in the 505, then using the external seq sampling to get the patten back in the 606. glad to know nothing's broken but that is annoying

[Kegeratorz]

that is annoying

Very annoying!

[ellaguru]

DP-01 Fx is even better because u can use ur 404 as an external effects unit. These r cheap and they can export files as wav or aif and then connect to a computer via usb.

i got one of those back in 2008, i miss it, it sounded warm en plus. I always use it with external fx (while internal ones weren't that bad if i remember well)

[THEGREAT]

^ yea man . I second that .

[zindan]

i've never had a problem with the sp404 6 stereo 12 mono (12 different pads playing at once? wayyyyy more than i need for a simple boom bap beat)
and i've rarely had problems with the 4 stereo 8 mono of the 303