hematurge wrote:Fauna, I'd like to see that list. I've only owned a 404 and 303. More insight from someone who's really used the boxes is definitely welcomed.
awright! check this shit out:
Sampler breakdown.
Lemme say first that there are cats on this forum who could rock any box, and I'm pretty sure they could blast out some bangers with sticks and stones.
Also, I wanna say that how I go about making beats may not be the same as other dudes, and that i KNOW there are classic beats / tapes made with each boxes below.
All that to say, it aint the box, its the cat using it. But I liken it to getting from MTL to California: I could walk - I mean, its possible, and I'd eventually get there, you know - but isn't it easier to drive? Or take a train? Or even fly? To me, this is how the tech can help bring out yr creativity... one of these boxes is a car, another is a train, another is a plane, and I'm sure one is a fuggin time machine.
You'll see "notable users" below...these are just dudes that I relate to, not the be-all-end-all list of users...but these are dudes that inspire me....
So, in my quest to find a box that really had the functionality I wanted, inside an interface I could relate to, here's my chart of samplers I've owned:
sp202:
Good: great fx, very simple design, good pads, cheap, portable, battery op, ext. source thru, black-and-orange!, bad-ass community support
Bad: no sequencer, very limited poly, outdated cards, no swing, no velo sensitivity, LED screen, limited banks/storage, rca outs, no real pitch func,
Notable Users: cLOUDDEAD, Oddnosdam, Dosh, Alias (as fx unit)
sp404:
Good: good fx, solid box, a sequencer, tons of storage, compact flash cards, great pads, portable, battery op, skinnable faceplate, the unbeatable mfx #23, tons of community info, lots of tricks,
Bad: one-track sequencer, no swing, no velo sensitivity, LED screen, rca ins / outs, no pitch function, will not remember bpm or fx settings, no pan func,
Notable Users: Joe Beats, DOOM, Beck,
Electribe ES-1:
Good: really intuitive interface, interesting fx, great pitch function, "accent" function to get around lack of velo-sens, scroll wheel, 20hz output, portable, limited but usable sequencer, swing (i think), crazy motion capture func, remembers bpm AND fx settings, great pan func
Bad: only 90 seconds (not scalable) of storage, no real community support, plastic box, outdated cards, LED screen, rca ins / outs, somewhat quiet recording in.
Notable Users: Alias, mouse on mars, Sixtoo
mpc1000 (with JJOS free and 128 ram upgrade):
Good: totally robust sequencer, velo sens, okay fx, wav-view screen, scroll wheel, good tuning, chromatic assignment of notes, compact flash cards, remembers bpm, sample-layering on pads, 1/4 jack Ins/OUTs, mute-group playback (awesome!), great pan func, portable (but heavy!), industry standard tool.
Bad: surprisingly shitty build (RAM pins, CF card pins), well-known and unresolved issues on some models, expensive 'upgrades', unnecessarily complex save / overwrite debacles, far too many sub-menus to scroll thru for basic functions, fairly bitchy community support, expensive,
Notable Users: Uh, everyone who fancies themselves a producer? For me, Thes-One, Alias, Jel, fbc-fabric and reindeer.
sp505:
Good: fast / intuitive workflow via interface, 4-track sequencer, scroll wheel, "accent" function to get around lack of velo-sens, limited but usable pan func, ok pitch func, great pads, wav-edit screen, portable, remembers bpm, tons of storage, great fx, great community support, ext-source thru, 'long'/lo-fi settings,
Bad: plastic box, limited (8 note) poly, slooooow processing times, outdated SM cards, rca ins / outs, does not remember fx settings, only partially usuable chromatic pitching,
Notable Users: kev brown, pete rock (apparently) and notable members of the sp-fam!
there's my very wordy response. I guess we could make this into a post in the "other gear" section, so peeps can cross ref the tools o' the trade, or whatever.
lemme know what you all think.
peace.
Good decision to go with the 1000 and not the cheapier 500, at least I guess so. Have fun with your new toy as soon as you get it!
)
Plus the loop capture in 555 and the way to resample the patterns. Plus the midi out ( easy external sequencing ). Plus the better price...
