For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
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By big_m Fri Aug 06, 2004 4:54 am
Ok i am looking at the sp 303 or the sp 505 to compelment my mpc 1k for effects and some gritty sound haha. but i dont know which one to get. the 505 says it has chopping similar to zoning is that true? how good is it to zone then if its true? no im not trying to get one cuz madlib uses a 303 and i dont want a bunch of hating on them i just need help on deciding which one will work best for me, and about the chopping on the 505. also if you can "zone" can you zoen it to the mpc pads? anyotehr hardware samplers in that range that have zoning or effects?
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By MattMatiks PG Fri Aug 06, 2004 5:48 am
I'm not feelin all the hatin on these two machines, but people are entitled to their opinions... I have a 505 and I've used the 303... I think the 505 is nicer simply for that Chop function... It's even easier to Chop on the 505 than on the MPC... It's FX are killer... All around a more solid choice IMHO...
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By big_m Fri Aug 06, 2004 4:10 pm
can you chop a sample into so many pieces and assign them to pads like zoning on the 2k? and can you assign tose "zones" to external keys or pads?

By Expert Witness Fri Aug 06, 2004 8:27 pm
big_m wrote:can you chop a sample into so many pieces and assign them to pads like zoning on the 2k? and can you assign tose "zones" to external keys or pads?


here's the way chopping works on the sp-505. you use the wheel to pick a resolution of 1 - 10. On 1, you will get large chops. On 10, tiny chops. So depending on what sample you are chopping and how you want it chopped, you pick the resolution that suits you. OR, you can manually set chop points on the actual WAV. There are 2 banks of 16 pads for chopping, so the most chops out of one sample you could get would be 32.
After you execute the chop, the 505 auditions them and you decide to keep them or not.
For me, this machine is the spot. Its intuitive and hands on just like the MPC and its also very fast.

By Expert Witness Fri Aug 06, 2004 8:31 pm
oh, forgot to mention this. after you decide if you want to keep the chops, you simply move them into your clipboard and reassign them to any pad you like. with a 128 mb card, you can have 16 banks of 16 pads in addition to internal banks, which I try to leave open since they can take memory away from your chop and pitch banks.
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By big_m Sat Aug 07, 2004 3:52 am
ok but cna you assing the chop sto external keys or mpc pads?
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By MattMatiks PG Sat Aug 07, 2004 3:57 am
Well you would just assign the chops to pads on the 505 and trigger them from your MPC... You would set it up soi that when you press a pad on the MPC it plays a sample within the 505...

Expert Witness gave a very accurate description of how chopping works on the 505... I think it's easier than the MPC and it keeps everything more organized since it already lays them out on the pads... Then I can just choose the sounds I want and copy them to the clipboard... The MPC is very similar, but I find that the 505 is more organized in that vein... Wouldn't you agree Expert Witness...
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By big_m Sat Aug 07, 2004 5:07 am
thanks alot to both of you guys..im really considering buying it now for effects and i hear its grimey as crap so thats really really good, and the chopping is great since the 1k doesnt have it. but im probably gonan invest some of my cash into one in like a moth or so. thanks again
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By big_m Sat Aug 07, 2004 5:10 am
and do either or you guys use the mpc as the main sequencer? and i hear the grimey lo fi sound is pretty good, how you like it?
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By MattMatiks PG Sat Aug 07, 2004 5:28 am
If you got the 1k I'd say to definitely cop it... The Lo-Fi effect is pretty nice... I mean with 1k you could just Bitcrush your sh*t on the computer or re-sample it in SoundForge or Audition... But still the 505 will keep you bein able to do all your sh*t on hardware which for some people is important (I incorporate software and hardware, but I use mostly Hardware)... The few beats I did with it I sequenced everything on the MPC but ran the samples through the 505
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By big_m Sat Aug 07, 2004 5:51 pm
yeah seems to be a tight combo. yeah i like software but im getting more and more into hardware and then finalizing everythignin the comp.
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By MattMatiks PG Sat Aug 07, 2004 7:59 pm
big_m wrote:yeah seems to be a tight combo. yeah i like software but im getting more and more into hardware and then finalizing everythignin the comp.


That's the way I do it... I mix and do some light mastering in the computer... But everything else is done on hardware....

By boywithpez007 Sat Aug 07, 2004 10:42 pm
what do tha 505's go for now?
Pez
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By big_m Sun Aug 08, 2004 3:45 pm
i think i saw them for like 400-500 us dollars new. but on eaby liek 200-300 us dollars.
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By MattMatiks PG Sun Aug 08, 2004 4:27 pm
That's about right... I bout mine new for around 500 I think like a year and half ago