i tried using the search button and came up with bits and pieces but no real walkthroughs for stuff on the 404. i am kinda surprised because it seems like there are lots of issues with taking sounds and setting them as pads and where to put them on the memory card and all that. am i missing them on this site? is there someplace else that has some kind of walkthrough stuff like what im rambeling about? im not trying to come off like there isnt a lot of super helpful info on this site already. but im VERY new to my sampler and i was trying to put pieces from 3 or 4 different posts (opened in 3 of 4 different browser windows) to try and make sense of importing sounds with my memory card...

help?

Searching forums is a bitch, it never works...



You are asking how to import sounds right?


Simply drop the sounds as WAV's on your card (in no folder, just drag 'em onto the card) Then follow the manual on 'how to import files'.

Basically, importing sounds isn't that good on the SPs.

As you import sounds, just press the pad you want the first sound to be on and the other sounds will folow that pad.

So if you have sounds labeled 01, 02, 03, and so on on your card, import them to pad C1

and sound 01 will be on c1, sound 02 will be on c2 and so on

i had read that by putting c_01 as the file name that it woud place them on the c pad bank... i guess i didnt know you had to load them... i'll look tonight when i get home..

thanks a million you dont even know

no problem.


The sampler is hella' hard to learn. But once you got that shit down you can let the creativity flow

just for giggles is there another one that would do a lot of the same stuff but that is a lot more user friendly... im not going to buy another one and im making myself learn this one (and i AM learning stuff) but i am just courious... i saw an akai that was in a similar price range but it didnt sound like it did as much until you spend quite a bit more money.. im really new to all of this stuff and creating music in general, but im liking it and progress is progress at whatever stage youre at...

u dont really get any more simple than the sp404

Its not about really just the machine either, the person using has alot to do with it. Its like any instrument, it takes time to learn it and get good at playing it.

I must admit that before i got my sampler i thought that beat makers and dj's didnt have any musical talent. Then i got the thing and realised that its just a tool for expression just like a guitar or piano. And that to make decent music with the thing it takes alot of practice.

I still can make anything only using the 404 that i would say is good music, but i can see it on the horizon and listening to what other people have made with just this sampler shows what is possible.

Hey, welcome to the forums. You might want to look into the SP-505 or -606. They have nice big LCD displays and graphical user interfaces. You can store hundreds of samples on them, "auto-chop" you samples into smaller pieces, and edit the waveform, among many other things.

You can record multiple patterns and arrange them into songs, with each pattern at its own tempo or a single tempo for all patterns. They both have analog I/O, digital input and MIDI in and out. The 505 can map out a sample at different pitches accross its pads onboard, while the 606 can do that only in software (I think). They both have 16 pads, but only the 606's are velocity sensitive (meaning that the output volume of the sample gets louder the harder you hit the pad). Both have effects processors: 45 for the 606, and it can run two at a time; 26 for the 505, but only one at a time. You can imprt .wav and .aiff files on both machines, but on the 606 you can also export your samples into those formats. There's also the SP-808 and -808EX, which is similar to these two, but I don't have much knowldge on it. The main drawback is that it uses ZIP floppy disks for both RAM and storage, which makes it slower than the others.

EDIT: On the 404 you can not save your patterns as samples; you need to record them out onto some other device, such as your computer, a tape deck, MiniDisc, etc., and then back onto the SP.

EDIT 2: I forgot to mention that both the 606 and 808/EX have the D-Beam controller, which is a monophonic synthesizer that works sort of like a theramin. You wave your hand over the beam to create different tones and it can also control the sampler to some degree as well.

i REALLY appreciate all the info that has been given.. those machines mr xl mentioned look cool... i looked around a little before posting the 606 looks rad but its more than what i already paid and im not in the market yet for anything else..

i got home from work and got sounds loaded onto my machine which was a stair step for giants.. i could hear doors of creativity opening when the pads started lighting up... the sounds went on there a little weird but ill have stuff to work on while in the car on my way to lousiana tomorrow.. thanks again for the help and words of advice...

keep in mind im looking for budget and nothing to play a show with at this point. but i would like some kind of monitor/practice amp to have an option other than headphones.. is there such a thing? i read something about somone using a bass amp in the way that im talking about?

I use a small 15 watt bass amp. Guitar amps would work but they will change the sound cause of how they are set up for guitars, alot more highs and high mids generally.

Bass amps can be good too cause most have to inputs, so you can put in another instrument. I just my microkorg through it at the same time as the 404.

keyboard amps cover all ranges

so i went out to get some kind of speaker set up today and it didnt work out because somehow i ended up looking at turntables and mixer stuff (which i know even less about than i do my 404) and kind of forgot about the speakers... a guy at sam ash has me sold on some desk top mids and highs with a sub woofer that sits on the floor...

anyway..

i went to lunch with a friend from work and stopped by the thrift store right by work. i passes through the mess of electronics 3 times before making a final pass when a turntable caught my eye... it was at the bottom of a stack of dvd players sitting on the floor... it looked nicer than most of the crappy home stereo tables i see in there and the price was ten bucks so i picked it up..





i knew right away it was missing the cartrage and headshell but for another 40 bucks i got it set up... i figure 50 bucks in all isnt too bad for a turntable even though it isnt a super duper nice one (which i dont need anyway)



i actually made beats this weekend being in the car for 22 hours between friday morning and sunday evening... figuring stuff out mainly with drum loops and nothing so far putting samples together.. soon though..

ok so i just relabled 48 samples 1.aif 2.wav all the way to 48.aif or what have you... i labeled certain sounds to certain numbers so that they would come up on the correct pad... that didnt happen... in fact they dont seem to be going on in a real specific way... they do come up in order but it would look something like

14 15 16 17
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
18 19 20 21

im not sure how exact that is... could the problem be that i am mixing aif with wav? im getting my sounds from sampleswap.com and they seem to be a little strange and inconsistant as far as quality and label.. i was trying to set up a folder full of bass one of snare one of clay pot noises etc..

any ideas?

In the world of computers, your files would be alphabetized like so:

1.aif
14.aif
15.aif
2.aif
3.aif

etc...

Try labeling them like this:

01.aif
02.aif
03.aif
14.aif
20.aif

etc...

Also, the 404 loads the samples in order starting from the first pad in the bank. For instance, if you have five samples and start on pad bank C, pad 9, then your samples would be loaded as follows:

PAD BANK C
Pad 9 --> 01.aif
Pad 10 --> 02.aif
Pad 11 --> 03.aif
Pad 12 --> 04.aif

PAD BANK D
Pad 1 --> 05.aif

I'm sorry if this sound incomprehensible, as I can't articulate my thoughts to save my life, but this is the best I could do for now.

when i load the first section alone it works fine.. goes on in numerical order.

when i go back to load the other sections it goes on all weird..

if anyone cares to help a new guy my aim screen name is mcchriskills

and my msn should be [email protected]