The One Box Question

[ColeRockLee]

Just curious what everyone thinks. If you could have any sampler but ONLY that sampler to make beats with what would it be? No laptops, keyboards, drum machines or anything aside from vinyl, dvds, etc. to sample from. Would it be an SP, an MPC, one of the Electribes? Huh, huh, huh? Sound off.

[Les Braun]

SP-404. But it's also the only sampler I've used, so I dunno...

[balazs]

right now I'm only using the zoom sampletrak and vinyl to make beats.

I'll probably be back on the sp404 one day

[HxC]

MV-8800 even though it ain't got a D-Beam

[Les Braun]

Can you use the MV without a computer?
I'm really interested in this question.

[hurlingdervish]

Can you use the MV without a computer?
I'm really interested in this question.

the thing basically is one

so yes.

if not my obvious support for the 555 and sp line i would say electribe or if you can afford it the machine drum uw (i think its uw) its expensive but such a beast.

[ellaguru]

the perfect sampler doesn't exists guys!
maybe it could only exists the perfect sampler for us.
it's up on us.
thanx

[Dr Van Nostrand]

404 if i had a way of being organized enough to keep my pads relatively free for the chop, and had a cd with the break library on it while i build up my collection of usable breaks and drums on vinyl, i always feel guilty when i hear that one song by damu where he's like "moves i never front with the breaks cause i bought em"......i would if i could!!!! hahaha

[kel]

if i couldn't have a laptop just to store my stuff it'd be an mpc. but if i could, 404 all the way.

[ColeRockLee]

Looks like we got some hardcore 404 support around. Not a surprise really. I myself don't know what I'd choose. I've owned an MS-1, an S20, SP-303, SP-404, and an ASR-X Pro. They all had things i liked but just as many, if not more things I really hated. Right now I don't even have a sampler. I had to sell my 404 last summer to fund moving out of a shitty trailer park. So now I'm just collecting information to help decide what box I wanna get come tax return season. Right now I'm favoring the SP-505, and the MicroSampler, but I'd grab a SampleTrak or 303 if a really good deal popped up. Thanks for the replies peeps, and by all means keep the discussion going.

[V-F!]

mpc 5000 I guess. So happy to have a DAW, it makes working with old ass samplers so much easier.

[PHeMoX]

The MV8800 would be my obvious choice. In fact, that's exactly what I am using and it's the only sampler I am using. No need for a PC, it's a complete all-in-one box. It's not the perfect sampler though, I can easily make a list with stuff I'd like to see improved upon.

mpc 5000 I guess.

Don't take this the wrong way, as there's no right or wrong to the question, but.... why? I'd prefer the MPC4000 over the MPC5000, even though the modern synth stuff is pretty cool.

Looks like we got some hardcore 404 support around. Not a surprise really.

Yeah, but it makes sense. Ultimately for a sampler to be useful, all it needs to do is be able to make beats. It might not be the most convenient way of making music, but for people with a specific need and budget it's obviously quite perfect.

In fact, I want one so I can make beats when on the move.

[SteveC]

I'd use what ever was available, sometimes the best ideas come from the limits you have placed upon you. Each sampler has its good and bad points.

Although I sold the elctribe but kept the SP - cos of the buttons, effects and mostly cos of the sample time.

The sampletrak is an awsome machine too - gotta love its ability to time stretch and to create scaled samples.

[Les Braun]

The MV sounds like a great tool.
What's so great about it? And what's the difference between the two MV's?

[PHeMoX]

[ Whoops, my reply got a bit long now. ]

The MV sounds like a great tool.
What's so great about it?

It's intuitive, it's work-flow is fast and a creative blast and it can do everything that I need it to do to make music from start to end -which ultimately means it's a pretty powerful all-in-one box.

Alright, in slightly more detail the things that make me love it:

*It's powerful sequencer that has two modes: linear sequencing Song mode and for pattern-style sequencing a Pattern mode. And it's FAST.

-Comfortably included are very useful things like for example Piano Roll edit, for deeper sequencer editing, very flexible non-destructive Quantize (a setting for each midi track is pure golden and you can use Input quantize or Midi track assigned Quantize; really useful stuff) and it's fast!

I often use the loop function of the sequencer so I can set it to loop for 2 bars, bang in the drums while switching tracks, selecting different instruments, doing a practice run and recording, all in one go without ever stopping the machine! Then I can move on to the next few bars or copy and paste what I just made a few times. Working with the sequencer is very easy.

*Has 2 samplers in one;
-Instrument side (midi drumkits, sample shots, etc.)
-Audio Phrases side (samples for the Audio tracks; vocal tracks, (timestretch-able- and bpm synchronizable-) loops, etc. )
(samples can be assigned to both sides simultaneously)

*MFX effects are very good, it has an onboard mixer and mastering suite, it has got CD burning on-board, basically making it a true all-in-one all the way. Make beats, burn 'em, play them in your car or stereo in no-time.

*it's never too complicated, no annoying menu structures that will get in the way of your work-flow. Having a VGA hooked up to the MV8800 makes this even better being able to navigate with a mouse.

My only gripe is that loading projects and loading instruments from the hard disk can take some time. But it's a small price to pay for such an awesome machine and as I came from the SP-606 before, I really don't care. I can bang out beats as fast as back when I fully understood the SP-606.

And what's the difference between the two MV's?

The short answer is that the MV8800 comes stock with the VGA expansion and mouse + mousepad included, has a good looking color screen and a faster hard disk for improved loading times, together with a bunch of OS related updated / features.

In more detail:

*There's a few MFX bass synth specific things that are different so you can export and trade / swap bass synth patches.

*400MB of stock sounds the MV8000 doesn't have (at least like 80% of them), of which over 50 new drumkits including a vintage collection. Usable sounds indeed.

*Sample editing or MFX stuff added: Auto-Zero Cross, Fade in/ Fade out, custom MFX settings can be saved/exported, make custom settings to the Lo-fi processor and save them as a preset MFX.

*Sequencer / playback: up to 500 patterns per pattern Mode, selectable projects it should load upon boot via F5 button, automatically boot in either Song mode or Pattern mode, Dedicated Song mode / Pattern mode buttons on the machine's front panel, Pattern Play mode now allows for playing of Audio Phrases on Pattern tracks in real-time, Pattern Track now allows for recording including input quantize, previously only step-recording was available on the Pattern Track (this is in Song mode sequencing).