so i have $800 and a lot of questions :)

[22tape]

hey guys. could you guys possibly fires some answers at me before i buy one of these bad boys? -- sp 404

1) It's not at all possible to use a 2gb card with the 404?

2) The 404 has a BPM Looper. in the manual it says the looper allows you to "grab a region on the fly and loop it". How does this differ from the LOOP CAPTURE of the 555?

3) how does the slicer function? Does it actually slice the sample, or is it a tempo synced gate fx?

4) the manual states the SP-404’s effects can be applied to multiple samples simultaneously or live input signals—how many samples is "multiple"?

5) Can live input also be heard simultaneously while recorded sequences are playing? (not while recording. while playing back )

6) Can you control the fx via MIDI?

7) So I have $800 to spend. From what i've read, i don't think i'll be needing the extra features of the 555. so i'm gonna buy a 404. with the other $400, would you get another 404, a KP3, or something else? a lot of this decision depends on my loop cature/bpm looper question. i should probably also mention that i'm not looking for standalone synths/fx...i'm talking about more live looping tools.

whew, i'll thank you guys a million times if you only answer half of these questions!




thanks!

[elhuana]

yo LA bad boy

1) at all. But you can always use two 1gb cards

2) Two different things. Loop Capture on 555 allows you to record your loops with overdubbing and when youre finished with recording you can also resample your loop to any pad you want ( correct me if im wrong ). So its kinda nice feature on 555. On 404 its only an effect which allows you to loop certain part of your playbacked sequence ( I dont use it often, maybe im not aware of some other cool capabilities of this fx )

3) Its rather the second one. When your sequence or sample is playing it cuts in in regular intervals ( mutes the sound ). Chopping/Slicing samples is different here. You use "mark" button to do this ( check the manual, it's really well clarified there, or just use seach function on forums )
4) You can apply one effect a time to all the samples you want.

5) Yes, if you push the "External Source" button.

6) Nope. ( or I dont know about such possibility )

7) If I had 800bucks I'd consider buying 555. It'll save you a lot of time when you want to copy your patterns/samples ( I do this really often on my 404 ) plus it has infamous Loop Capture ( it's really cool feature, check youtube ) plus the cool D-Beam (Aaaaah ).

That's my opinion hope it helped

[iG9]

If you get the 555 though you lose out on the vinyl sim which has a great compressor, and no battery power, so no making beats on the bus or in the woods. I'd get a 404 and a boss loop pedal.

[elhuana]

You're right IG9.
404 has some advantages over 555.
But personally I'd exchange 404's portability + vinyl sim compressor for dedicated pattern copy button

[PHeMoX]

7) If I had 800bucks I'd consider buying 555. It'll save you a lot of time when you want to copy your patterns/samples ( I do this really often on my 404 ) plus it has infamous Loop Capture ( it's really cool feature, check youtube ) plus the cool D-Beam (Aaaaah Smile ).

Yeah, and don't forget the Mic input with phantom power, quite useful as well.

[ColeRockLee]

Yeah if your aiming to do any kind of live looping I'd say go for the 555. The BPM Looper is more of a grain shifter/beat repeat/glitch style repeat fx like Instajungle or the like.

[iG9]

I feel you on the pattern copy. Stupid they don't update the 404's firmware to allow that. I'd love a 555 or 606 for the lab but I gotta have the battery power too. Get both!

[22tape]

yo LA bad boy

1) at all. But you can always use two 1gb cards

2) Two different things. Loop Capture on 555 allows you to record your loops with overdubbing and when youre finished with recording you can also resample your loop to any pad you want ( correct me if im wrong ). So its kinda nice feature on 555. On 404 its only an effect which allows you to loop certain part of your playbacked sequence ( I dont use it often, maybe im not aware of some other cool capabilities of this fx )

3) Its rather the second one. When your sequence or sample is playing it cuts in in regular intervals ( mutes the sound ). Chopping/Slicing samples is different here. You use "mark" button to do this ( check the manual, it's really well clarified there, or just use seach function on forums )
4) You can apply one effect a time to all the samples you want.

5) Yes, if you push the "External Source" button.

6) Nope. ( or I dont know about such possibility )

7) If I had 800bucks I'd consider buying 555. It'll save you a lot of time when you want to copy your patterns/samples ( I do this really often on my 404 ) plus it has infamous Loop Capture ( it's really cool feature, check youtube ) plus the cool D-Beam (Aaaaah ).

That's my opinion hope it helped

thanks! i appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!

[22tape]

thanks everyone!

i bought a 404 today!

yeh, there are a few things on the 555 that look pretty handy. but, i really won't be using/needing those extra options.

during the music making process i'll be using the 404 to capture samples from renoise. once the samples are on the 404, i'll be doing all sorts of mangling with the 404's fx and some other outboard fx. then import those back into the computer for arranging.

then for performing, i'll be using the 404 mostly as a portable 'hard drive' to play back full tracks or large chunks of audio-- so i don't have to have my laptop on stage.

plus, i had to sell my portable recorder not too long ago. i miss it. the 404 is small enough (and battery driven!)...so i can use it for those purposes too.

thanks for all the suggestions ya'll!