If I want to sample a particular segment of a live song, is it possible to remove crowd noise/applause/cheering by using the isolator (on its own or combined with other effects) on the SP-404? If so, is this completely dependent on the nature of the segment in question?

For comprehension's sake: I do not currently own the SP-404 (subject to change within the next couple of months), I am certain that the SP-404 is the model I desire, and I am very fresh on the sampling scene, so... sorry in advance if your answer confuses me, haha. :)

Peace.

its probably gonna be impossible with the sp or anyother sampler. The isolator just isolates bass, mids, and treble. your best chance would probably be using the c-canceller, but chances are it wont help.

c-canceller?

That wouldn't work. The C-canceller cancels the stuff in the middle, only works with old old music where the instuments where panned left and right to make way for the voice in the middle.
I had a live bob marley record and got away pretty well with the isolator since the crowd claps are mostly very high noises. You will have some audio quality loss though.




AAANNNNND.... if you listen to rhinestone cowboy on the MV album you will notice that madlib just left the claps in the track and it worked out quite well.

theres lots of ways to work around it. If the claps are louder than the music you can compress it and it will bring the music out more. Various forms of filtering/isolation always help. But theres no real way to get those sounds out. The Center canceler may work if your very lucky. Alot of times they record the crow with a center mic and keep it mono and record all the music in stereo. It might also effect the bass and mabe drums or guitars if it was recorded like that. Again...experiment. You will learn alot in the process

and that for some reason reminds me, on the new dr no album he lets the metronome play for a minute. you know how high he had to be to do that shit?

Thank you very much for the replies! That suggestion to experiment was a good suggestion and I feel very motivated to explore my way to the places I want to go. I'm really excited. :)

I have another question: Is it possible to play patterns and samples while using a microphone in real time? Like, have a pattern looping; be hitting samples; singing through a mic'... all at the same time? If not, why? If possible, are there any specifics I should be aware of (would I be able to use effects on my voice while singing)?

yes, you can play patterns,. trigger samples and use the mic at the same time.
you could even run another Line In through the RCAs and have 2 lines in playing simultaneously
and yes, you can also apply an effect to the mic/line in in real time

BUT

will it blend?
http://sp-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=936

I'll let you know in five years when I've upgraded and I can't find a better use for it. :P

I have to run to a class right now, but I'm probably gonna think of another question or two, later. Again, much respect for giving me the 411, guys.

A'ight, finally. SATs suuuck.

Now, say I have a pattern that plays about... I dunno, five samples at once. If I erase a particular sample (for whatever reason) and then I play the pattern... what happens? Will the pattern not play? Will the pattern play but just go along as if the deleted sample was never a part of it? Or does something else happen?

Next, does anyone have a suggestion for what kind of flash card I should pick up? I'm looking for something affordable, and I should also mention that my biggest reason for getting one would be to have access the other four sound banks on the SP-404 (I don't really need five hours of sampling time, i.e. the 1 gig). So, I anticipate having a LOT of samples, but none of them are going to be very long, hence why I'd want a cheaper flash card so I could have plenty of variety with my music and not pay way out the ass (if it hasn't been made abundantly clear: I'm on a budget). So... yeah, in terms of what size; what brand... I'm in the dark, here.

Finally: how would I get WAV files that I've found and saved onto my SP-404? I know this requires utilizing the flash card, but how? Also, is it true that there's an "update" for the SP-404? Where would I download it, and why? What would I be missing out on if I didn't "update" my sampler?

As always, anything that anyone has to say is greatly appreciated. There's no rush to answer any of these questions since I've still got, like, a good month or two before I actually pick my 404 up, so whenever anyone could give some advice is very cool. Again, thank you so much all the help so far. You guys are wicked chill. :)

Peace.

^ For the first question, it still says "play pad #whatever"

so if you have that pad blank now, it plays the sound of nothing. but if you have a new sample on there, it plays the new sample.