SP-FORUMS

So the other day I went the local store and spent a couple of hours playing with the SP-555 and SP-404 next to each other; those of you who have either owned both or are quite familiar with the units -- is it me, or are some of the effects not as well implemented in the SP-555?

For example - take the famous Vinyl Sim. The third knob should control flutter right? On the 404 you can do this to where you really notice the effect, even for short samples. On the 555, I found that while it was there, it was nowhere near the extent that the 404 could go.

Same with pitch shift - for some reason, this seemed to work better on the 404 than the 555.

Granted I wasn't able to compare the exact same samples in both machines, which would have been the ideal way to do it, but there were samples loaded that were relatively close that you could make a reasonable comparison...at least I think.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone noticed this as well?

tanaka wrote:Same with pitch shift - for some reason, this seemed to work better on the 404 than the 555.

i think the consensus here is that the pitch is actually a little nicer in the 555. but you're right about the Vinyl Sim, that seems to have been compromised somewhat in the 555.


there's a few people here rocking both boxes, maybe they could do a comparison of the effects on the same sample?

you know what - i have both 404 and 555, and i notice this too. The 404 fx sound more "effective" lol. I had the 404 a long time and maybe i just love it more than the 555, but yeah for some reason I think the 404 has an all around fuller sound.

hmmm... thats interesting... with the exception of the useless vinyl sim on the 555... alot of its effects seem to be significantly improved to me. Maybe its just a matter of preference. I especially like the new filter reverb and lofi compressor. I also noticed the pitch is alot cleaner than the 404. I dunno....it seems like the 555 sound better overall to me I own both by the way.

I can't speak for the 404 because I never owned one and have only seen others messing around with it, but the SP-555 effects vs. SP-606 effects is also quite a difference. Not always in the advantage of the SP-555, but things like the D-beam synth for example definitely sounds a lot better on the SP-555. The AMP simulations also tend to sound a tad better overall. The control of these things is less though, so overall I might prefer the SP-606 even if the effects are slightly less.

Certain effects clearly have simply changed and mostly newer means better though. There are effects that are really nearly the exact same and only sound slightly different because it's a different machine. The SP-555 tends to sound less compressed or something, i.e. sounds with high gain will sound better on it. Not sure if this is an intentional difference compared to the SP-606 or even if it's an imaginative difference... it does seem to sound different.

Either way both machines are pretty impressive when it comes to all their effects and even when sóme of the effects they have in common sound distinctively different, the difference overall tends to be quite minimal (except for the general difference of audio output of clean signals).

On a side note, I went to the guitar center the other day nad played with the 404 and 555. They tried to come shady and have it locked with the protect setting, but I quickly removed that and went to work, the 555 is a real upgrade from the 404 in my opinion. I like all the features and the possibilities and endless for live use as well as production. I also noticed that I really had to get used to the pads on the 404 coming from using only the 303. The pads felt better on the 555 than the 404 but this might just be my preference, I also noticed that the velocity curve on the pads seems to be a little steep which I'm sure can be adjusted but I just played it with fixed velocity. Finally the roll button is real helpful to quickly add variatons to your pattern sequences.

DR.Sample303 wrote:They tried to come shady and have it locked with the protect setting, but I quickly removed that and went to work

SP Ninja

Thanks all for the thoughts and input; yeah I definitely agree that the 555 has much more of a focus in terms of production-oriented workflow, there are several features and interface enhancements that speak to this.

That said, I have to admit that I'm constantly impressed by what people have been able to do with the 404 and 303 -- esp. those into the old-school vibe + beats like I am.

Another thing I found was the the 404 lends itself really well for standalone sound creation -- you can come up with some really wicked, Stones Throw-esque noises and stutters. On the 555, it feels like they made an effort to make it useful for more studio-oriented production ("cleaner" effects, higher perceived head-room, velocity-sensitive pads, etc.) which is great.

I'd like to get one or the other; the effects feel more effective in the 404, but I appreciate the flow/improvements in the 555.

Frantic - have you found yourself using the 555 more than the 404, or do you use both depending on the need?

i have both too like dj frantic, i use both all the time, in some long performance use a lot, in others not, but i play both

my set is:
sp-404
sp-555
v-synth xt or mc-808

in some performance:
mv-8000
mc-808
sp-404
sp-555

depending on the need
kiss, vivi.

Im doing most of my work on the 555 these days. But im sampling through the 404 into the 555 using the vinyl sim compressor. I do load up samples and keep the 404 in my backpack in case I want to get down away from home.

Yo Frantic! Could u make a simple comparison between the 404 and 555.. Im interested in the 555 and id like to hear how it sounds like.

as far as sampling goes, They sound the same. The only difference is really the FX as far as sounds. if u want to hear the difference of certain FX I can prolly do that...but not all of them

i would really like to hear how the amp sim effect on the 555 sounds

Im happy with it. I dont use it much but its fresh. I'll see if I can upload some samples of it when I get home.

dj frantic: that would be pretty sweet.
I have a 404 and take it with me almost everywhere. Since the 555 has a hi-z input, I thought it might be possible to lay down rough guitar ideas using various effects and the amp sim.