It's been a year since I last made a beat on the little Devil machine; The sp404a. I almost sold it. I almost quit. But I am back. And more focused. It's not about being perfect and making perfect beats every single time. It's about creating that which want's to be created.

I bought the SP 404 sx about eight years ago. Thought about switching from band environment to creating music and beats myself, with samplers, controllers etc (bought those too) - realised, maybe after three months or so, I'm not really cut for all that, among other things I really need the 'human factor' - someone creating with me, bringing his/hers specific influence into the mix, because that's what I was used to. All my life.

So I sold everything, half the price, maybe even less. And was mad for even thinking I could've pulled off something like that by myself, for it to sound good - but that's the thing right there. I had no patience man. Wanted it sound awesome right from the start (you know SP has specific work flow, hardly anyone can buy the damn machine without knowing too much about it besides the general specifications and make killer beats instantly).

So, a lot of things happened in the meantime, occasionally bumped into guys on jam sessions rocking the 404s, 555s, etc - kinda itching somewhere in the back of my head, I should've tried harder..
But, you know - life. There was always something else as a priority (money wise) so I just shrugged it off
Few years back picked up a good gig in China, made a lot of money, everything was payed for so I mostly spent on clothes and a few gadgets there, like phones, laptops and such. But you better believe it, the first thing I bought when I came back : SP 404 sx.
Then everything else.
I still crave for the human factor though, and playing in bands and having tons of obligations as it is doesn't really help much.
But this time I ain't giving up man already hooked on the thing beyond salvation.
When I found this forum, and the arena - that was it.
It's a perfect place to sharpen your skills, and to evolve - doesn't matter if you win or don't, doesn't matter even if you get no votes (at least to me it doesn't) - there's no better exercise imho than to have an assignment to use specific set of samples to create on the SP.
Because it might be something you wouldn't normally choose. And if you need it to be something else, you gotta work for it. Fkn sweat it out of the SP.

You ought to join us.
Feels like I'm inviting you to join a cult or something lol no no, for real, you ought to join the battles, that's my honest advice bro


Peace

Dope story!!

yeeeeahhh!

im trying to get back onto my 404 again too. i've been on an ableton kick again for a minute and i want to get back to something more limiting and simple.

for a period of about 3 years, i only made music with the 303 and a electric piano via the resampling method which is essentially just 2-tracking everything. the workflow was simple and it didnt really have the capabilities to make things "perfect" easily. since it was so easy to make something, it kind of forced me to keep producing music during a low point in my life. it was kind of nice to make music that way. accepting the imperfections cause fixing it was just more of a hassle hahaha.

using a DAW is awesome tho, but i end up getting caught up in trying to make everything perfect and having a hard time "finishing" the song meaning that there are always edits that can be made. now i have way too many plugins and gear now too that my head spins when deciding which instruments or vsts to use.

most of the time it's better done than perfect... and where less is more...

desktop daw programs are so overwhelming it's retarded
always annoying whenever you want to start something new and you're just staring at the empty shit like "ugh"

i don't really make the stuff i'm passionate about in daw anymore like i used to years ago (wish i still did, wish i had more inspiration, motivation, mainly the problem is my depression) but i have a trap beat template (only shit i still fuck around with in DAW lol) so i can always throw together trap bangers in 30 minutes of FL studio LMAO

If you’re feeling like you don’t get along with a piece of gear, if it’s not taking you where you want to go with it, I’ve learned one thing: sell it ONLY as a last resort. However, think about something else. Save, save, do a layaway, whatever, and scope the next synth or drum machine, or sampler. Learn that new gear. And eventually, the one you had problems with, you might dig out and start with a fresh prospective. You might even see how the new gear can work well with the old. Might smooth off some of the edges or epic fails.

It’s almost like a tag team of professional wrestling. A singles wrestler sucks & loses all the time, until paired up in a tag team with a wrestler that might bring something new to the table. After that, they both start winning again. I’m not saying your SP404A is like some wimpy wrestler or anything, but once you practice it backwards & forwards with other gear, maybe then it will start to make your production a bit better.

Giving up is giving up on your dreams. If you sell all your gear, and go spend it on booze, weed, smokes, etc, a year or two you’ll be bored, watching tv, and wishing you still had your gear. I’ve had to sell of plenty of gear over the years. And some is cheaper than I originally bought it for, others are so rare & pricy I can’t believe I was so stupid to sell it off.

Also, check all the pawn shops in your area. Many of them are going to have just junk. (Used kid Casio keyboards, etc). But every now & then, you’ll see something that might be something worth getting. It’s hit & miss. You just gotta look.