Forum for all other samplers & synths such as Maschine, MVs, Akai S & Z series, Roland, Korg, OP-1, analog synths etc.
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By edzer Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:59 am
for anyone interested in the SP remake, videos and updates can be seen on his instagram @lowhiss
already see he's added effects and several filter (lpf/hpf/bpf) options among other improvements I can't remember off the top of my head

man's doing god's work over there in France :worthy: :worthy:
By Cockdiesel Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:35 pm
Not sure how this new one will compare, but I knew something was bound to come. The sp stuff is wierd. You can still find them in the 2000 range. I did , held it for a few months and made 1800 on it.
It was cool and all but not worth even the 2200 or so I paid.... the ringing on the pitch algo and beefy bass were the highlights for me. If you want the sound just get an emax it was close enough. If you want a similar workflow the pioneer Toraiz is close and more modern.

Well we shall see how these projects turn out. I’ll prolly check out the sp-2400 but if it doesn’t add to my workflow I’ll flip it.
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By peterpiper Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:42 am
pretty normal for a person that have an SP to say that there 'will never be a device with that sound'. People also said that we never reach the moon. (well.....some people say we never did but thats another story :)) ;)
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By peterpiper Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:09 pm
I also don't think isla will do it but the one that LowHiss is building is very promising IMO. He actually have a device to show and listen to. He gives information on a regular base and is very transparent. He implements new features but at the same time keep the workflow close to the original SP. If you havn't, read this thread and watch the videos on instagram.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electro ... tures.html

peace
By golden-era Sun Mar 17, 2019 4:41 pm
I really don't see people continuing to spend $5k on an SP1200 if they did much research of its quirkiness and limitations. While it is a great machine, here are some inconveniences some might not realize. It doesn't take HD disks so good luck finding DD disks anywhere. There are work arounds but involves taping part of the open HD disk hole which cuts the memory in half! This is a big issue for most in my opinion. Not being able to hear what you are sampling, really limited sampling time, etc. The SP is definitely quirky and i think its a steep learning curve for many and there are a bunch of limitations. But let's be honest, many of the guys who made it famous moved on from it...Finesse, Pete Rock, BeatMinerz, RZA had one and got rid of it.

While a great machine i believe most people want it for 2 main things, swing of sequencer and the sound.

In my opinion, the swing could be copied and emulated in any 96 PPQ machine like an MPC, ASR, etc because note position comes down to mathematics. The SP1200 is 24 PPQ with steps/ticks of 01-24. I believe to achieve the same time in 96 PPQ time you simply multiple the applicable step in the SP by 4 to have the equivalent time in a 96 PPQ. If we tested it i would imagine it'll be spot on give any random jitter. Or simply change your DAW to 24 PPQ and its the same steps of 1-24 of an SP. I would imagine a user here with an SP and MPC could use simple math and match both sequences and they will be identical. I did this back in the day on my buddy's SP and it was spot on.

Secondly, on the sound front if you have an EPS-16 Plus and do the same speed up pitch down sampling trick it comes darn close IMHO to the SP sound. I think a big part is anti-aliasing of the EPS.

Just a few of my thoughts for those thinking of dropping $5 or $6k on one of these things.
By golden-era Sun Mar 17, 2019 10:04 pm
Lamp, you know how many times i have heard magical swing of MPCs and SP1200s, that is until i create the same swing on the ASR or EPS lol. 96 PPQ is 96 PPQ so if Premier has his kick hit at .82 damnit so can i lol.

In all seriousness, it is about knowing your gear. Sure some swing more naturally or easier than others but if you know your gear you can emulate any MPC60 or SP swing.
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By JUKE 179r Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:36 am
The very first time I saw an SP-1200 in action was with Mr. Mixx from Two Live Crew back in '91 in Phoenix for their album Sports Weekend concert.
A friend got mine got me in early before the concert so I got to watch the girls dance and watch Mr. Mixx doing a sound check of his gear. It was cool to meet him since I grew up listening to Two Live in the early 80's in Chicago. I watched him load samples and pitch them on the SP to get that Miami Bass Booooooooooooom!
I still remember that bass feeling to this day. I'll never for get that shit.
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By peterpiper Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:53 am
Damn. 2Live Crew. As Nasty...part1 was one of my first HipHop record. Loved it and I still like Mr.Mixx scratching.
@golden-era: you're right......theoretically :) I did set my DAW to 24PPQ once. It wasn't bad but it didn't match exactly. I guess it's not that simple cause it's not only swing settings that can be set in every soft or hardware. It's a combination of swing settings, jitter (the way how the components calculate) and not to forget the way the samples are trimmed. Without a graphic display you trim differently and on some machines start and endpoint settings act a bit strange. MPC2000 for example. Although it has a graphic display you won't hear what you see (especially the endpoint is way off).
S950? Yeah strange behavior when you set the start and end point at a lower pitch to get more exact and then play it at the 'normal' pitch. Envelope can act strange too cause when you start to raise the attack what should happen? And what happen instead? try it ;)
peace
By golden-era Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:41 pm
Piper,

I personally love the SP, but i think with the many conveniences of modern machines and DAWs, most people couldn't justify the $5K for an avg one and might be dissapointed.

The other thing which doesnt bother me is the SP pads are despised by alot of MPC users. Notes cannot share same channel or they cut each other off. As you are aware trimming samples is funky and no wave form and how about setting the sample length before you sample which cannot be stopped manually. Not like an MPC where you just hit end-stop after your sample plays.

I just dont think many beatmakers get how challenging an SP can be. Then most of those old classics of course were made with a S900 or 950 in tandem so you are looking at adding that.

To me if one of these clones achieve a very similar sound most will be better off. Supposedly that one by Low Hiss is coming along.

And it pains me to say it as im a golden era hip hop junkie!!

Ha i was just listening to some Cypress Hill and House of Pain and i swear most of those bangers were 1 bar loops..amazing!
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By peterpiper Tue Mar 19, 2019 12:51 am
golden-era wrote:Piper,

I personally love the SP, but i think with the many conveniences of modern machines and DAWs, most people couldn't justify the $5K for an avg one and might be dissapointed.

The other thing which doesnt bother me is the SP pads are despised by alot of MPC users. Notes cannot share same channel or they cut each other off. As you are aware trimming samples is funky and no wave form and how about setting the sample length before you sample which cannot be stopped manually. Not like an MPC where you just hit end-stop after your sample plays.



True. People should know what they buy. I guess some of them don't even know that there is no finetuning of samples on the SP so you have to finetune it BEFORE. :mrgreen:
I'm one of those that like limitations cause it help me to do concentrade more on the things in first place rather than 'fix it later'. Same goes for recordings. Choose a nice Mic placement and you won't have to 'fix it in the mix'.

peace

peace