For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
By coolcalmmaurice Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:23 pm
So I currently have a MPC 1000 and I’m looking into getting a SP 404 to use it with. I just don’t know which SP to get. I know the og SP uses the same memory card as the MPC so I feel like that would be convenient and also the fx’s on the og are supposedly better. But it seems like the more popular one is the SX, I’ve seen a lot of vids online and they all seem to be using the SX. I mainly want to use it for effects and eventually live sets. For those of you who have a MPC and SP, which SP do you recommend? Thanks for the help
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By Sharris Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:12 pm
I have the 404sx, MPC 500 & 2500 (used to have a 1000). I hear it doesn't have as grimey of a sound as the older sp's but if you plan to play live with it, I would go 404sx (it still has really good effects, plus if you have a computer you can pop the memory card into it or use usb). It's really fast & can hold as much memory as the memory card (I have a 16gb that works great & doesn't slow it down), with that big of a card you could fill the sp full of beats, I mean hours & hours & hours of memory.

I normally sample vinyl into the sx, add effects or eq or whatever, dump the samples/loops in an MPC, then chop & make the beat, then record my beat into the sx, while hittin mutes on the MPC & effects on the sx. MPC's & sp's go GREAT together.

I would put the og 404 at a close second, I heard the vinyl sim is better than the sx (but I don't use vinyl sim so I don't care). You might want to check how much memory it can hold tho (to see if it can hold enough beats for live play).

I'm considering getting a 303 or 505, but to go with what I have, I will never sell my sx, it goes everywhere with me (303, 505 & some of the other sp's do not take batteries). The 303 is slower than the sx & doesn't have a lot of memory, but not sure about the other sp's.....
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By richie Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:35 am
The SP404 OG has the Lo-Fi effect which I believe is not present in the SP404 SX. The OG uses Compact Flash cards with a limit of 1GB and the SX uses SD cards but I cannot remember the max memory size it can use right now.

The only thing I mainly used my SP404 with was the Lo-Fi effect and I also messed around with the compression and overdrive fx on it. My only complaint about the Lo-Fi one that a lot of people seem to be gassed on is that it makes the low end in my opinion sound like sh*t as it loses low end frequency when it is enabled. So I'd mainly use it for percussive based samples for the most part.
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By Sharris Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:50 pm
The 404sx has the same lofi button as the og 404, but I heard they sound a little different.

Check out the sp forum........you'll gain a lot of sp knowledge over there. There is a recent thread discussing the 404 & MPC 500, someone mentioned that you can use the same card in both machines (which applies to the 1000 as well)........I heard somewhere you would have to "hot swap" it in order to do so (swap the card while the machines are still on), but not 100% if that's true. I think this is the way you would get around formatting it, but not sure if you have to format the card in the 1000 or 404 or if it matters.

So, the OG 404 has a 1gb limit & the 404sx has a 32gb limit. If a bigger memory card could be used in the 404og or if you are ok with a 1gb limit I would say get the OG for sure. If you want to fill the 404 up with beats to play live & want a lot of memory I would go sx. For me 1gb filled up fast, but you can always buy more memory cards. I mean, I have over 20 memory cards for my sx alone (but I'm a sample & beat hoarder).
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By Headphones Sat Jun 30, 2018 3:17 pm
I own a SP505, but it’s inputs/outputs are kind of fried, so I’m going to have to either get it fixed, or more than likely replaced. I’m currently saving up for my first MPC 1000, so I just gotta use my others (ST224, SP202, S20) until then.

Each SP is a bit different from the others, but there’s a bit of love for the SP303/505. But you get more pads/screen, & a better sequencer from the 505. Most people want the 303 because Dilla or MF Doom made beats on it. Essentially they’re the same though.

I’ve never owned a 404 yet, but I am pretty sure that’s on my horizon. There’s different models of the 404, & the original had a rare memory card format. (Compatible with the SP555 I assume) The latest are the easy to find Simm cards.

The older the model of the SP, the less clean sounding it is, and also less features. But that forces you to be creative with what you sample/chop. But a MPC1000/SP404 should be able to work together like a tag team in a ring.

I’d just check your local pawn shops, and grab one if you spot it, provided it works for you. If you can’t find one, you can always try eBay.
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By ZeusTheElevated Wed Jul 04, 2018 9:01 pm
google/sp forums will have very in-depth responses. i'll go for the OG every single time tho - it's vinyl sim compressor is absolutely magical, and was for whatever reason left out of the sx's vinyl sim
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By Wal Martian Fri Jul 13, 2018 7:49 pm
The SP forums are a bit of a ghost town. I've also heard that effect 12 "Comp" is better sounding on the older SP's SP303>SP404>SP404SX. The SP404SX streams audio directly off the SD card, allowing for much longer sample time, very good for live shows. Using the original SP404 for live shows you need a laptop or ipod if you want to change the beat up and do a set longer than 10 minutes.