Would love to be able to load samples to pads and not have to rename them and jump through the hoops. Might just have to sell the old 404 and get the newer one but would prefer not to right now.

Also if anyone has the utility they can send I have FTP or other methods. Screen shots would even be nice for a start- thanks.

most likely not. the utility loads .wav or .aiff files, and the original 404 uses its own compressed type. the storage and folder system is also different between the two machines. i have both so if i get time ill see if there is a work around/ use for it, though

thanks
any luck?

Also, if someone could send me the utility I would appreciate it.
O

PS- does the utility strictly wok one way to load samples to the card or does it have any other useful functions? For example can it edit pad assignments and such? Not such a big deal as SX has nice new labeled copy/move functions- just trying to temper my expectations before I get my SX next week.

From the images I've seen from it, it's really dead basic and can only be used to import and assign samples to pads using that program and a card reader.

It's still dope though, as it will save time to lay-out samples properly if you're using a premade drum kit/sample kit. Or if you've chopped up a longer sample into some smaller pieces.

Thanks- I am also wondering if it can load to an existing card, ie. add samples to a card that has existing samples/assignments. I keep imagining myself working with it and finding new questions.

This is a cool concept I get reminded of:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... increase-c

O

Ok, there has been much wondering about what the software coming with the SP-404SX can and can't do - let's get it straight.

It lets you select the drive the card is recognised as in your pc, the current bank you want to work on - and then you just click on the pad you want the new sound to be on, and load a sample using a standard windows open file dialog box. If that pad is already occupied, the old sample will get deleted and replaced by the new one you selected.
Also, you can delete samples from pads without replacing.
Finally, you can export all SP-404SX samples on the card to wave (File-> Convert All from SP-404 card).

That's all it can do.

Thanks for explaining it. Does it have any indication if the pad you are assigning already has a sample assigned? (ie- to avoid accidental overwrite for example)
O

yah full pads are red empty ones are white.

Surely so. I'll have to add, samples MUST be 16bit 44.1KHz, standard WAV or AIFF format. It won't read other bitdepths than 16bit, and in any case it will simply ignore the sample rate and just assume it's 44.1KHz. So if you have a sample recorded at 88.2KHz, the SP-404SX will then play it at half speed.

Awesome- the fact that the utility shows if a pad is occupied is great. I expect to save a lot of time once I get my SX. Thanks again for the clarification.
O

You can even play the sample by clicking on the pads. It won't read mark points though.

Nice! Thanks for adding that. That is actually very cool. Would be extra cool if it let you swap/move/copy the samples too, but I don't think I will be complaining! Are the files just .wav files on the card allowing you to browse to the card and select an existing sample to assign to another pad?