In my 404 I tweak my kicks and snares to perfection, but I don't like to sequence them there. When I record them into my MPC2500 they sound ugly as hell. Then I have to retweak them in the MPC.

Long story short they don't sound as good.

Anyone got any ideas, or should I try a midi cable between the two, let the mpc control the 404.

Several options, you could

1) try transfering samples using CF card - both the 404 and MPC2500 support it. On the 404, use the export function to get them onto the card in .wav format, and load them into the MPC. 95% chance that this will work just fine.
If it works, it's the perfect transfer method because it's lossless.

2) hook up the 404 to the MPC via MIDI like you already thought of, using the MPC to sequence the 404. This way you still have access to the 404's realtime fx, for instance. Works just fine.

3) find out what the hell goes wrong with you recording the 404 on the MPC. There shouldn't be a significant change in sound if you connected everything correctly. How exactly do you record? Is there a mixer or something inbetween which you could have set level wrong on so it distorts the sound, for example?

I say sequence the 404 from the mpc.. then u can use the MPC's pads, record more complex sequences.

im forever sampling between the 1k and 404, with no noticiable change in quality. maybe your recording them to loud, turn the gain down?? hmmmm

i have the same, 404 and mpc2500. i highly suggest getting a 32 or 64 mb card. you can sample into the 404 and just take the card out of it and stick in the 2500. with the quickness and no sound quality loss

some good suggestions in here. "ugly as hell" is hard to diagnose....are you maybe recording the 25k's output as well? getting a doubling up?

as others have said, recording btwn the 404 and an mpc should be relatively lossless...

I don't have the same problem when I record from anything else.

All I got is a single chord, RCA to 1/4". In the 404 I make kicks that got nice bass and a good punch. I seem to loose both when I record into the 2500.

I'll try different volume settings to see how it turns out.

Thanks for the advice so far.