Midi Sequencer to control a SP-404SX

[bass.bert]

hi folks,
first of all, thanks for hooking me on this whole SP thing...

i bought a SP-404SX for live use mainly, to fire up some backing tracks in a band setting. as my main-job is being a bass-player, i want to control the SP by a foot. therefore i got a behringer fcb that can send pc, cc, and note messages via midi.

unfortunately i overread in the manual before buying the SP that you just have access to the sample pads via midi, not the pattern sequencer. it would be so easy to step on a button somewhere in a sequence, and the sampler reacts at the end of the sequence and changes to another pattern straight in time. when i playback my phrases as looped samples, i got to hit the button exact in time, which would be too risky and stressful live.

so i'm looking for a simple and not too expensive midi sequencer, to hook in between SP and foot-controller. i know there are software solutions, or synths/keys with build in sequencers, but i want an affordable hardware solution. i really like the SP-404SX's simplicity, huge sample capacity and the easy filling via cardreader from a pc. so an upgrade to i.e. a mpc would be no option...

the sequencer i'm looking for should just have a midi clock and it should behave like an SP in pattern mode when you reserve the next pattern by pushing a button once. of course, it should recieve midi messages, as my button would be my foot-controller. although it can be useful, i don't need separate tracks and stuff at the moment. a pattern in my case would be exact one midi note that triggers a pre-produced 16 bar loop.

so it would be nice, if anybody who uses a midi sequencer to act as a SPs brain, could share his experiences... thanks in advance!

[wax inspektor]

sorry no idea... but phuck.... bratwurst-bay made me laugh so hard...

The Yamaha QY series is quit popular around here, not sure if the sequencer can be controlled by midi though...


Just google the QY70 and maybe you'll find a manual...

[cartesia]

yeah a QY might suit you well, and keeps things nice and small... definitely worth checking out

[Jim Y]

You could use a drum machine. One like the good old alesis SR16 that lets you program the midi notes of it's pads (to suit the 404 pads) and send out over midi. Essentially you replace the machines own sounds with the 404.

Jim

[bass.bert]

...something went wrong with my account, so i had to register again. (???)
anyway, back on topic.

thanks for the suggestions, gonna check some manuals of these mini yamaha romplers. if they can do what i'm looking for, i got to grab an older one, the newer models still go for over 100€. don't wanna pay for awful sounding midi-libraries...

You could use a drum machine. One like the good old alesis SR16 that lets you program the midi notes of it's pads (to suit the 404 pads) and send out over midi. Essentially you replace the machines own sounds with the 404.

that's funny, because i borrowed one of these nice back-to-the-eighties-machines yesterday. it's a pretty good extension for a 404 as it has velocity sensitive pads and midi clock. but you can't switch patterns via midi. there is just the possibility to do some A/B variations within a pattern by footswitch (no midi). that would mean just two different patterns per song this way.

maybe a simple drum machine is all i need, are there any others with more midi options (changing patterns on the fly)?

[Jim Y]

Thing is, I don't think many sequencers and drum machines give you that much remote control. Usually only a basic foot switch is supported and for a sequencer, that means start/stop and possibly punch-in recording while a DM might let you switch between A or B patterns or fire off a "Fill" pattern with the switch. That's never going to be enough to jam a song with a bunch of looping samples.

The way the 404 behaves with looping pads is to treat each note-on message as a toggle. Start one and it loops until you play that same note again. If you also select Gate, you have to hold the note for the duration, but at least you can stop it quickly. So if you have a midi foot controller, you can do it if you're prepared to hold at least one pedal continually (unless you want silence), and the easiest choice would be an organ type pedal board - but they cost. It means no programming, pedals designed to "played" and a way to reach lots of 404 pads just by using the pedal boards octave transpose buttons and you probably only need a 13note model.

Jim

[cartesia]

I think your budget is pretty restrictive,

sequencers cost money too yknow!

[bass.bert]

I think your budget is pretty restrictive,
sequencers cost money too yknow!

i'm just slightly irritated by the price difference. the qy-10s are all about 30€ a qy-20 goes for around 130€ on ebay. that's probably 100€ for features i don't need. i mean if it is necessary to get this footcontroller thing working, i'm willing to spend more than 30€ for a sequencer of course...

i checked the qy-10 manual, and it seems that you can't change patterns by midi while playing anyway. just start/stop/continue...

The way the 404 behaves with looping pads is to treat each note-on message as a toggle. Start one and it loops until you play that same note again. If you also select Gate, you have to hold the note for the duration, but at least you can stop it quickly. So if you have a midi foot controller, you can do it if you're prepared to hold at least one pedal continually (unless you want silence), and the easiest choice would be an organ type pedal board - but they cost. It means no programming, pedals designed to "played" and a way to reach lots of 404 pads just by using the pedal boards octave transpose buttons and you probably only need a 13note model.

yeah, i think i could trigger loop-samples with the footcontroller i already have, in that way you describe. i just want to have an additional midi-clock signal to feed a drummers metronome. and more important, the possibility to hit the button somewhere in any bar of a pattern, and still have the sequencer to change after the actual pattern is played to end.

has anybody some experience with a Yamaha RY-30? midi capabilities, concerning my needs?