Im impressed it can hold a 2GB card for sample memory, but I got some questions....

1. Can knob movements be recorded in the SP-404's sequencer?

2. Very similar question to question one, can knob movements be sequenced, as in the electribes motion sequence feature?

3.Out of the 2GB card how many banks/samples per bank can the 404 hold? I plan on using the 404 mainly for sequencing one-shot drum samples to create techno/electro patterns. I have huge sample libraries begging to be tweaked by the 404. Can I load different samples from the card to create a pattern, or do I have to put them in a bank first? If i have to put them in a bank, can a patttern load different samples from different banks or am I stuck with one bank per pattern?

Oooh, no, it's not that clever

1 - The pattern sequencer does not record any kind of automation. So that answers 2 too. The 404 WAY is to resample the hit to a new pad to capture your FX twiddles - or be brave and do it live! Then you can exchange the original sample with the new resample. You cannot resample an entire pattern playback tho- it won't record samples and play patterns at the same time.

3 - More than enough memory if you add a cf card. The samples import with data compression so take up 50% of whatever the original .wav or .aif did. There's 8 banks of 12 on the card + 2 banks of 12 built in. 120 samples enough for you? Internal memory is about 16MB. with the compression that's nearly equivalent to a 32MB 16/44 .wav file.
Only sticker is that the original files are on the card too. You can delete them after importing.

with pattern sequences, it helps if all the sounds you need are in the one bank of twelve pads. You can swap patterns between banks to do that. You can also use samples from different banks in a pattern because you don't have to record all the hits in one pass. Also nothing to stop you hitting any bank/pad freestyle over a pattern playback using other banks.

Funny machine this 404. lots of things you think it ought to do that it can't. Thing is it's such a fun machine you have to forgive all its sins.

if you got a huge drum library the trick is not to get a 2gb card, but a bunsh of 128mb, 256mb and 512 mb cards... the sp-404 can load the samples into a limited number of pads and banks.. if you have two cards you have 8 more banks..

then you can keep adding cards if you run out of space again.. that's in my opinion the best way to use many samples on your sp-404...

So knob movements can be recorded using resample, it's not just as easy as pressing record though? A goal of mine with the SP would to be lets say to create a 4 note arpeggio melody using an 808 tom. WOuld I have to load that Tom sample to 4 different pads at different pitches, or can I somehow have that tom only on one pad and create the arp melody by recording(or resampling) pitch knob movements? Same would go with a bassnote, can I record lets say a bassline from a one shot bass sample on one pad only? By creating the bassline from a C-note bass one shot from one pad that would leave me with 11 percussion one shots in the bank, see where I'm going with this?



Do the banks HAVE to be loaded internally to use them, or can they be loaded on the card, not just stored on the card to use them? Would I have to press STOP to load a different pattern/bank during a live performance? And thanks for the tip with the cards!

No. you put your compact flash card in your sp-404, record your samples(or import from your computer). Now your samples must be saved from bank c to bank j. Now if you change card all the banks from c to j vill be blank.. now you can record or import new samples.

now change back to card one and all the samples vil be just like last time you used that card. swap to card 2 and the samples from card nr.1 will not be on your samples. now the samples that you've recorded on card 2 vill be there.. pretty simple to change...




no you can play all the samples in what order you like.. you can f.eks. play one sample in bank c and one in bank d at the same time. you would have to press stop if you would like to change card though, but how often do you need more than 96 samples on one single song?

Just to be clear, Resample is a special case of record. You can generate a resample containing all kinds of performance tweaks, a complete audio take if you like - it just can't be of a pattern sequence. There's quite a few fx that can get new sounds from old, including a chromatic pitch shift. At extremes, some of the fx can do things you wouldn't expect from their names - it's lots of fun when you get into it.

And further to be clear, imported sample files go on the card via a computer card reader/writer. You then pick which bank and pad to import them to, but if you have multiple files, they'll start from the pad/bank you pick and then fill every subsequent pad and bank according to file name order. So if you sort the files by filename on the computer first, you'll see the order the 404 will take them in. You can change the filenames then to tweak the order to suit.

The internal banks are the first 2, then the next 8 are on the card. The 404 HAS to convert them to it's own sample format whether in internal or card banks. Once that's done, the original files on the card are redundant.

Yeh, it probably makes sense to have lots of small cards - getting hard to find places selling smaller than 512MB cards now tho - how many samples can you keep track of? The 404 won't display file names - you have to know what you got on there!

Don't go crazy trying to use the smallest samples just to save space, the 404 uses card space in 16KB blocks - an 8KB .wav will take 16KB of 404 memory, even tho it's only 4KB after compression!

yea...lots of small memory cf cards is ideal. i'd love to have loads of 128mb cards, but 256 is the lowest i can get in the local electronic shops!