That's exactly why you need to look into the stuff I mentioned and customise your SP-808 Effects setup! If you've not noticed yet, I'm sure you will soon enough, that the parameters that Roland have assigned to the knobs are a complete mess, and in some cases I'd go as far to say completely bloody retarded!Girru wrote:But, again, I'm not a details person, lolz. Part of the reason I hate using pooters - too many parameters! I feel lost.
Take the Reverb for example, they've assigned a bunch of parameters to the knobs for it and left out one of the most important parameters of all, that being the ability to dial-in the dry signal. They have it set up so that you're in a complete wash of reverb with no knob so dial-in the dry signal. I noticed this oversight before I realised you could do all that customisation stuff, and I very nearly went into a cursing session with myself ... what the fuck were they thinking etc.
Thankfully, you can completely wipe-out Roland's chosen Reverb parameters and make your own, and of course that includes the all-important Dry Effect Level parameter. The weird knob assignments from Roland don't stop with the Reverbs, either. Pretty much every effect has a knob assignement that is idiotic in my opinion, and they even feel random. For example on the Flangers and Phasers, they have randomly placed parameters that control the LFO with paramaters that do other things. Much better would have been to group the LFO controls of a Flanger or Phaser together, and group the other stuff together.
In short, if you don't take the time to create your ideal Effects System before you start working with it, it will slow you down dramatically in the long run, because there literally is not a single effect that has the knobs assigned in a sensible manner. It's so bad I suppose it might even be intentional to encourage you to make your own!
Another thing to bear in mind is the 'Effects Location' setting that lets you place the effects block in various positions throughout the system. And here's the thing, that was actually a very good decision because what they also did is make that setting a part OF your effect preset!
In other words, you can, if you wanted to, completely avoid ever having to look for that setting again. Let's say you'd created a custom Isolator and named it "Isolator". You could go further than that and create multiple versions of that same Isolator, where the only difference between them is the 'Effect Location' setting, for example:
- Master Isolator
- Send Isolator
- Insert Isolator
- Resampling Isolator
That way, when you want an isolator, you not only get your own custom isolator, but one that has ALSO been preset to the specific location you're planning to use. So just imagine how much menu diving and frustration you save looking for parameters when you have taken the time to create and name your own Lo-Fi processors, Compressors, EQ's and other 'Custom Crazy Stuff' etc!
That's what I like about it, I hate computers, I love knobs, and I love it even better when those knobs do exactly what I want them to do - and that's exactly what we have here! You will appreciate it too, so you really need to dig into that stuff and build yourself a bunch of Effects Systems that you can call-up at the touch of a button!
It's dead easy as well once you understand the way it's thought out! When you consider that the hands-on knob-controlled effects of the SP line are what attract a lot of people to SP, just imagine the joy of using one after you created an effect to your own spec!
Not buying the microKORG, at least I doubt it. I do think it's a fantastic synth though and to my ears it's easily among of the nicest I've heard. For now I think I'm going to buy a Roland A-49 to connect directly to the SP-808 via MIDI DIN, and have fun playing and sampling the built-in Analogue Modeling Monosynth which I hear is pretty damn epic!
I really cannot wait to get fully absorbed into sound design on this thing, it has it all, it has all the essentials and much more, but most essential of all is that the parameters are a sound designers wet dream. Even something as simple as being able to dial an Effect LFO to Zero is a BIG thing because on most synths and workstations they limit you to 0.01 minimum which is not good enough, it needs to be able to slow to zero, and on this beast, you can!
Regards the beat tape, bruh, not you as well
I literally have never completed a track in my life, never-mind a Hip-Hop track, and Hip-Hop is a new interest to me. I have to get my head around the machine before I can do anything. I have the effects system learnt now, so today I'm moving onto sampling, resampling, and testing out the various trigger types. Then I'll move on to the Multi-Track, the sequencer, the step modulators etc and then I'll finally be in a position to start making some noises with it!
At that point, my adventure in making complete tracks begins, but not until then. There's no point me trying to make a track on a machine until I know what to reach for, how, and when.
I think perhaps the joking around I do with Zindan has made people think I have some talent at this stuff. Well I don't, and convinced as Zindan is that I am LoopmantrA, I ain't no LoopmantrA, and I certainly do not have his beat-making skills - LMFAO!
It's funny cause all I have to do is end my post with "Peace!" and Zindan thinks I'm LoopmantrA. It's far too funny for words, and sometimes it's just far too tempting to play with his paranoia! Can you imagine if LoopmantrA suddenly got an SP-808 as well? Zindan would be completely and utterly conviced that I am LoopmantrA, and nothing you could tell him would ever convince him otherwise!
So nah, it's just a joke homies, I'm honestly completely clueless at this beat-making lark, you're just gonna have to take my word for it!
Peace!
