Other sampler to pair with Digitakt

Hi everyone, I really like my Digitakt for drum sounds and short one shot samples but I’m beginning to feel its limitations when dealing with longer files (especially ambient-like backing tracks and vocal samples).
I would like to get another sampler to deal with this and to free some of the Digitakt tracks without having to program countless locks to fit everything in.
The other features I’m looking for are direct sampling from the machine (the less I need to use my PC the better), a decent workflow for sample chopping and MIDI to sequence it from the Digitakt. Battery/USB power would be a plus as I already have enough power supplies laying around.
What are my options?
I found a couple of used SP-404 I could get for around 300/350€ and an MPC500 about at the same price. There’s the Akai MPX16 but the reviews aren’t very good, and there’s the Microgranny that would add some interesting features but I’m not sure about its sound quality.

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I’m after the same thing, best I’ve found so far is the blackbox by 1010music.

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I believe you can load samples of any length into the Digitakt via USB/Transfer.

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  • Sp 404 seems a great companion for the DT:

Stereo, can play very long files from sd card, many effects, sampling and resampling abilities.

Only downside IMO is a bit pricey for what it is, probably mostly ‘cause there ain’t real competitors.

  • Microgranny it’s tempting too:

Stream from micro sd, granular abilities, good midi implementation and cheaper,
But it’s monophonic, definitely lofi (this could be a positive thing) and it has its quirks.

  • Blackbox it’s probably the best but I find its UI not inviting and I don’t like touch screens.

  • iPad it’s out for me because workflow, stability and touch screen.

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The sp404sx has ben a favorite of mine since I got it over 3 years ago. So many possibilities especially when paired with another sampler that has a good sequencer (I’ve made full songs using the 404 sequencer, but it’s limited, so I pair it with 1 of my MPC’s).

Chopping samples has to be done by ear & takes time. Personally I’m ok with it, but you mention you want a decent workflow for chopping, so that’s something to keep in mind. You can dump samples into it too with a computer easily.

The sp404sx would be a great Digitakt companion, A LOT of memory (as much as the memory card can hold, I have a few 32gb cards) & A LOT of effects.

1010 Blackbox seems it would fit your needs really well, but I have no experience with it.

If it was me I’d get an sp404sx or sp404 (a lot of other samplers in the sp series have something special about them too), but not everyone gels with them. Paired with a Digitakt tho, wooh!

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I got an SP303 from a nauts to pair with the DT, and it’s very cool. I was looking for a sampler to chop melodies and it’s a bit tricky because you have to do everything with ears, but it’s the music, you work with ears and not eyes. Also add some cool FX in realtime and direct sampling stereo.

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emu 6400

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Check out mpc1000. Its everything except the battery. I’m sure you can get one for close to your price range. It really is a great box.

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I agree, but would add to definitely do your research first as not all MPC1000s are built the same!

I love my mpc’s… Simple bread & butter samplers/sequencers (unquantized if you want, song mode, a ton of tracks, mute groups, undo, good chop features, pitch, some decent effects, filters, chromatic mode, can layer samples on 1 pad & even have a different sample play depending on velocity, ect, ect). IMO an MPC 1000 with a JJOS os is the best value MPC (depending on which JJOS you get). With JJOS (a few jjos os’s to pick from, each jjos adds a ton of features) the 1000 has basically the same features as the 2500 since JJOS is for both the 1000 & 2500 (except hardware features of course like # of midi ports, # of sliders, # of audio outs, ect).

I heard the blue 1000’s had pad issues, but the 2nd version in black doesnt.

I started with the 1000, then got the 2500 (& 500 for portable use)… I only got the 2500 for the extra midi & audio outs, but I decided to sell the 2500. I bought my MPC 1000 back from my brother (he’s a maschine boy now) & getting the digitakt to go with it.

Another nice thing since the 1000’s are a little old… Theyre not too hard to fix & you can buy parts for it fairly easy.

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I was looking at the Blackbox when I was on the fence about buying a Digitakt and while it looks like a very good machine I’d prefer something simpler (and cheaper).

The 404 is probably the thing closer to what I “need” but I’m still not really sold on it, I agree with it being a bit pricy for what it is.
Comunque ci tenevo a dirti che tuo avatar è spaziale

Like I said about the Blackbox I think the 1000 is a bit too much for what I would be using it for but a friend owns a 500 so I’ll try it to see if I like how MPCs work.

Thanks everyone for your answers!

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:smile: Grazie caro!

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If you are looking to add some character the microgranny 2 is quite fun. But monophonic and granular.

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Well I just bought a blackbox to pair with the DT. I’ll post some thoughts in this thread once it arrives and I’ve had a chance to play with them. 15% off on reverb at the moment so took the plunge. Might even post a video if I can be bothered :joy:

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Note on the sp404, it’s a great companion to the DT. But the silly midi mapping of the banks and the sample editing and lack of any way to chop loops other then resampling got frustrating for me. YMMV.
Legendary box though, but better used by itself I think, doesn’t integrate with other gear too well. Also no time stretch…

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mpc1000

I recently got the Blackbox, and I love it. It complements the DT well, in as much as being able to do all the things I wish the DT could do: stereo sampling (and monitoring), slicing at transients, super long sample playback and recording, quantized record start, polyphony, and a lot more. It’s easy to use as well.

And it just got an update - now supports multi samples, and does midi cc learn. There will probably be more updates in the future.

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Get Octatrack! (Someone had to do it …)

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I dug out and hooked up my old ESX for similar reasons. Mainly use it for percussion now…

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I have considered some of the ehx loopers for exactly this.

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