Hi there. When I play samples from my computer they are are quite a bit clearer that when I play them on the 404. I was talking to a friend and he said that you needed to EQ them on the sampler and resample them. This kind of works but the problem is I use allot of very precise loop timings (exported from logic at the exact same BPM) and I wont be able to ensure everything is in sync. Any help would be great!

Thanks,
Ham

use the mark button and your ear.

and try sampling into the outputs instead of importing them if thats what your doing, its so much easier and easily workable for whatever

It just seems like allot of work to re-sample everything I've got and to get it all perfectly synced. But I guess that's how it goes. How do you mean sampling into the outputs? Like connecting my computer output to the RCA inputs in on back of the sampler using a stereo mini jack/RCA lead?

exactly, and syncing shit up ain't to hard man, just figure it out, maybe you can't just set something to loop and not touch it again, its definitely workable though and if you're gonna restrict yourself to only working with preset loops straight off your computer.....well that would be a shame, i realize the 404 is great for people to use for triggerin loops and stuff in conjuction with other stuff goin on and not everyone is tryin to chop of vinyl and make some raw hip hop with it, but you gotta use this box to its fullest extent, alot of possible with it, just think outside the box about how to achieve what your tryin to do, use the sequencer to sync up stuff, record out and bounce it back in, resample stuff, instead of looping something that is like a "so many" bar loop, just start triggering them everytime you need to do or whatever, you got lots of options here man, don't restrict yourself

If want to add some highs, why not do it in the computer BEFORE you import them samples to the 404? Use a wave editor with batch processing, this way you can apply the same EQ setting on a whole list of samples at once. It won't touch the lenght of the samples either, so them loops will stay intact.

in my experience imported samples sound clearer than those recorded thru the inputs, but i guess it depends what your going for.
in the issue of resampling, the start point remains the same, so if you sequence the loops you dont have to worry about cutting the end point really

Imported samples shouldn't sound all that different in a 404, even the original that uses data compression (The SX plays true without compression). What certainly can be different is the sound of playback over a different system, but that's not the 404's fault - it would happen with anything.

That said, a 404 can crunch a bit if it's master volume is close to Max. It can also overload internally if a lot of maximum volume samples are playing at the same time. You could try setting the maximum volume of the samples first in your computer to around -3dB. Don't go for 0dB, it leaves no headroom.

Jim

Hey guys,

I've been doing a bit of playing around. It seems like I need to do more EQing on the comp before I import. I'm still not sure why it sounds clearer through my computer than it does playing on the 404 after import. I've got a pair of Sennheiser headphones which are pretty good monitors.

I will get more into sequencing and stuff but allot of stuff is pretty ambient. It's here if you wanna see an example: http://www.myspace.com/isleadore

Thanks for your help guys. Any more tips would be much appreciated.

Ham

You need to be careful if you're using the stock soundchip in a computer. I don't know what a Mac does, but a Windows PC can do things with the playback such as stereo widening, eq presets and bass enhancement. You need to check the computers audio/multimedia properties so that any of that stuff is off and the playback is set for basic stereo. The possibility of this kind of thing happening is one reason musicians prefer a separate studio quality soundcard - what goes in is what comes out.

Another thing to watch for with headphones is a fault in the jack or adapter you plug them into where the ground (the larger sleeve part of the plug) isn't connecting - you get sound in both cans but the left and right channels interact, and that radically changes the tone. This fault is very noticeable though as the volume is low and there's no bass or anything else panned to centre.

Jim