what up sp forums...just copped a sp 404sx yesterday, figured id join the forums, run some questions by some of you more advanced/experienced 404sx users.

i love this machine. I got a mpc2000xl also, its FAR more fun to make beats with the sp 404sx. this machine is a blast to fucc with! i love loopin shyt up and fuccin with the effects. so simple yet so dope! the thing i love most about this machine is that it forces u to use your ears to make beats as opposed to chopping while looking directly at a wave form...

anyway i got a few question, if any of you are kind enough to help a dude out.

1. from what i see theres no way to speed up or slow down a sample. with the mpc u can simply "tune" samples, which speeds that sample up (which changes the pitch as well...as a turntable does). it blows my mind that this machine is so dope but lacks such a fundimental part of sampling...i guess its no big deal, i could just do it on my turntable or in my mpc before sampling into the sp...any suggestions?

2. i heard the subsonic effect is cool to resample different pitches and make basslines with. my question is, in the mpc, when u use the "16 levels" it tunes the sample into semitones (+/- 10= 1 semitone, +/- 120=an octave, etc....), meaning if u start with a c note, the very next pad will be c sharp, and so on... when u pitch the subsonic note, how does it pitch it? could it be out of tune if u dont turn the pitch knob enough? or is the next "click" sort to say the next semitone?

3. is the bpm/time pad the only way to change the bpm of your sample. cuz from what i see this is just timestretching basically. it makes sample sound terrible at times...although madlib has some dope stuff using this method. heard in most of the madvillain tracks. it almost makes samples sound shakey!

thanks for any help...dope forum!

hi
i don't have still the 404 but i try however to answer because i got an mpc 1000.
1) the pitch IS THE GREAT LACK of all sp machines (exept sp 202 and sp 808)...you cans only pitch with the pitch shifter effect...timestretching is cool but only with bpm "near" the "root bpm", other ways you can hear clicks (but some sp-ninjas got workarounds about it)
2) subsonic is very cool for bass. i don't know the "real pitch values" of it.
3) see point 1) + try to use vinyl compression + madlib uses sp-303 (a little different sound from 404) and also many compressors/limiters/fx in his own "secret" studio...

eh yo, welcome to the inner circle of the hidden room of the 4th level upper chamber s(p)ecret society. As you may have noticed in your first inquirery, indeed the sp 404 does not tune samples the same way as the mpc or any other normal sampler, yes use your mpc to do this, or use a program i invented to pitch the samples, the tuning algorythm is bad but its just an experiment and dont have much time to work on it right now, no one seemed interested in helping me find the correct math to make the program a success, i use it sometimes but its all out of tune and weird so if you like alien drop out algebra math harmonics check it out.


sub sonic is good, i think it tunes more psycho acousticly than chromaticly with semi tones like an SP. by psycho acoustic i mean it really depends on your ear to make it sound good, some kids think their bass lines are all that when really they are ugly horrible and out of tune. I dont think the subsonic actually tunes freque4ncies, it just uses the illusion pitch shifting technique built in. I will have to do more research to support my theory.




time strech is cool try adding echo or reverb after to make it sound cooler.

Thanks for the replies guys! Much appreciated!

2KXL and 404 is a dope combo

yeah i love the XL but in my opinion making beats on the 404 is way more fun...

one more quick question. im kinda low on money now, u guys think using audacity to record my patterns to create a song is fine? i realize theres no song mode or pattern sequencer in the 404sx. i use audacity to record my tracks i made in my mpc and it works fine (just two track it out)...u think this method will work good with the sp 404sx...audacity is a great tool for being free!

If it works for you then do it lol. I'm sure it's going to be the same hook up as recording the xl to the computer was.

I have a 303 and I've always wanted to buy an XL to keep it company haha. I think that would be like the most deadly combination. Warmth, effects, pitching, pattern sequencing, soft pads (although I don't really mind the 303's pads) ...watch outtttt lol.

^^^

yeah considering i just copped my 404 two days ago im yet to get the full potential out of my setup yet. but with the xl u get the dope drum editing with the attack, decay, tuning, easy chopping...and the effects and lo fi gritty sounds of the sp 404sx. also i like looping with the 404, i love this machine...its so dope!

the xl is hands down my fave machine to edit drums

yo mechalove, im feelin your tracks, the crooklyn track is especially dope...u use the 303 for all ur shyt?

Oh no, that was on FL before I got the 303. I just got it last november. Thanks though. I feel like what I'm cooking up now sounds more interesting than that stuff lol.

Yeah I know, it feels a little less like programming and more like playing. I only started using the 404 less than a year ago after about a decade of producing with E-mu and Akai machines. The exact reason I bought the SP was because beatmaking just wasn't fun anymore. I've actually pulled grey hairs that I'm 100% convinced are a result of stressing over how I can make my beats go harder. Great thing about the SP is although it's completely different to the machines you and I are used to, there is virtually no learning curve, a quick skim over the manual and after that it's instant creativity.

Originally I wanted to do an album entirely on the SP but recently I've been using it in conjunction with the S950 (sequenced by an MPC60II). I'm usually a modest guy but the music I'm making now blows everything else I've ever done out of the water. People always say "it's not the machine, it's the user", and I used to agree but I really think the SP's simplicity and charm inspire creativity. My latest beats, I can't imagine ever making them on an MPC standalone, or on a computer. I really can't wait for people to hear this, when it's ready it will posted on bandcamp, it will be a full length album, and it will be free.

So what I'm saying is, don't give up on that MP completely. The SP is a creativity powerhouse but it lacks a few technical features, add those features into the mix via your 2KXL and you WILL make fire!

^

Great post man. I didn't plan on throwing the mp out the window now. My plan was to do exactly what u said, use them together...the sp for that gritty sound and it's effects and the mpc for drums, sequencing, etc...

I agree about the learning curve as well. The sp is crazy fun to make beats with!

Im pretty sure you can use audacity to slow down/speed up samples. Other than that the sp404 is all about spontaneity (sp?). I sometimes get lost on the 404 for hours only to recover and find out nothing was recorded.

yeah audacity can speed up/slow down samples...ive just been using my mpxl to do that, then either use the 404 for effects or sample the newley, sped up sample into the 404 and make the beat all in the box!