Insane midi jitter?

[rvosa]

Hi all,

newbie here to the forum and also to the SP404sx. I bought a second hand unit online from basically the Dutch eBay.

Anyway, so I'm trying to sequence it. I've prepared a bunch of loops in Ableton, so they're warped perfectly with each other and with 130BPM. Everything sounds tight on the computer. Having transferred them into the SP, they also loop perfectly: if I trigger them manually and let them loop, they stay in sync for as loop as needed. So, precisely the right length and if I punch the pads on time (a big IF) then all is well.

Now, I try to trigger them from a DAW (also Ableton). I have it set up to address the SP over midi channel 10. In this case, my loops are in bank B. I try different midi interfaces (a cheap and crappy USB one with one in/out, and a "pro" one with 4 ins and outs).

For each loop, the "loop" led is now turned off, and "gate" is turned on, so I trigger each loop with a note that continues for as long as I want the sound to go, e.g. one bar.

In either case, triggering the loops quickly gets comically bad. Triggering two loops still goes somewhat OK. Three loops is already a bit sketchy but with four or more there is just noticeable lag. I can hear the transients of different percussion parts clearly not hit at the same time. Some times they are so far out of sync that it sounds close to 1/32 in jitter.

To be clear what I mean here: this is NOT loops that are trimmed to lengths that aren't exactly 130BPM so they drift apart over time. This is the initial triggering that is not synchronized at all.

Is the SP404sx really this bad at responding to midi events? It sounds like it is unuseable in a midi setup with other gear unless you only do drone sounds and pads with it? Am I crazy?

[DanielH]

Triggering two loops still goes somewhat OK
use https://nicelocal.com/new-york-city/sho ... echnology/