The tempo within the Rec/Resample menus is derived from the current Bank Tempo – even if you’re using a Project Tempo.
So, the options seem to be either to manage all ten Bank Tempos or correct the tempo each time you Sample/Resample. The first option works best for me.
I’ve let Roland know that this really limits how useful the Project Tempo is, and the person I spoke to agreed, but that was before the last update, so .
The other thing to watch out for is that the Ext. Input and Looper tempos default to 90 BPM each time the device is powered on. These tempos update, however, after entering the Rec/Reample menus. I’m fairly sure this has messed up the sync on effects when recording from the Ext. Input for me .
It was little things like this that drove me away from the 404 tbh, not being easily able to prevent monitoring of the live input while recording was the biggest killer in my instance.
The Octatrack is really the king of live performance samplers, you can freely sample live without any interruption and immediately play recordings back.
The 404 is a great little machine, but it’s not ideal for all workflows.
Thanks for chiming in. I’ve owned an OT twice now and while I love the sampling aspects of it, I could never justify keeping it around for that alone, given the expense. I’m not a fan of step sequencers so it felt like a waste. I was hoping the 404 could be a quick and dirty “grab this live idea and play it back seamlessly” kind of tool.
I’m already wishing there was a way to disable monitoring the live input, yeah…
So far I’m able to make the Looper do what I want by using it in conjunction with the export to pad feature which does not stop playback. So with some careful timing I can stop the Looper and start the pad seamlessly. Currently only doing this for free form ambient style kind of stuff. I imagine it will get tricky if things need to stay in sync.
Random post, but wouldn’t it be cool if Roland revamped the 404MK2 sequencer to be as awesome as the Boutique/Aira Compact sequencers? Step loop, probability, etc etc etc
ive been breaking away from my ep133 to reset some habits and routines that developed with my tunes. challenged myself to do a beat all on the 404 for the first time in a long time. and i gotta admit, i get where the haters are coming from. it was kinda hard at first! but i was reminded of what @DimensionsTomorrow said in the p6 thread
and it really resonates with the 404 workflow too. maybe this sounds like a cope but i do appreciate the different kind of creative thinking i need to employ while making a beat on here. i started off doing my typical routine i do on the ep133 but it was taking so much longer to accomplish the same goal that i ended up going much looser. played with structures i dont typically use, ran the digital piano through the amp sim, stopped all the loops while recording and counted in my head to time the next loop. i dunno feel like “real music stuff.” this beat kinda sucks too, but the most fun part was figuring out how to cover up the worst parts with the fx
i started as i always do, with a percussion loop. i used skipback to snag an 8 bar loop which became the base of the track.
i sampled a few chords off the op-1f and made the intro with those. i also live recorded a little intro melody from the op-1f. this left me with two 8 bar pads for the intro.
then i started over with just the perc loop and figured out a new chord pattern. i just resampled the perc loop while playing with the chords, i used ko-da-ma on just the chords to get some fluttery delay. then i resampled again to add the bass. then resampled again to record a melody from the op-1f. then i resampled again to add the drums. this left me with an 8 bar loop.
this is when i started getting tired of the slog and opted to do the rest much more loose and live. i let the “drop” loop a few times while i recorded a longer melody with my digital piano going through an amp sim. this melody lived alone on another pad.
then basically the rest of the bones came together. i put my three 8 bar pads in a mute group and resampled to record the intro 16 bars and then i let the 8 bar “drop” loop a few times while the amp’d piano melody played out. when i knew that melody was about to end i cut the loop and used a chord stab. i counted in my head for about 8 bars and then brought one of the older drop loops without the melody in it and i just noodled some of the digital piano live.
once the bones are done, i go through my typical process. another resampling passthrough of the whole beat to add the crashes/impacts and vocal samples. another resampling passthrough to add the punch in fx like tape delay, sx reverb, ko-da-ma, and the dj looper. i use all the fx i can access and apply/remove quickly during this stage so i only have to do one passthrough for a majority of the fx.
then i did my “mastering” resampling passthrough with cassette sim and 303 vinyl sim. one of my favorite transition fx is based on a loose theory, i dont totally understand how the Catch parameter works in the cassette sim, but from my anecdotal experience, it seems like it responds more to bass frequencies, so i will throw the catch parameter to like 50 and back down to 0 really fast right when the bass hits at the beginning of the bar to get those cool super warbly sounds. i find better results with the catch parameter when i do really quick movements. however it is totally not a science and seems to behave however it wants from time to time.
then i ran it all through LoFi for the final run. i never use this effect so it was mostly just a trial. its alright, ill keep experimenting with it.
this is wild and a great explanation. Definitely giving me some insight into some new techniques I should try. Appreciate you taking the time to explain it all!
Love this write up as my process is completely based on step sequencer, with just the mastering resample at the end. I’ll definitely try your workflow.
I can’t get external audio only when copying to a pad in loop mode. Routing in loop mode set to ExtIn but it copies like it’s in the mix option, loop and external inputs. I swore it worked before!
Resampling works perfect with the ExtIn setting FYI!
This sounds amazing man and thanks for the shout out. I’ve always liked your stuff on the 404mkii, the workflow seems to bring out good stuff from you!
You sure the Mix audio (i.e., the pads) isn’t also being captured in the loop? Or was it captured in the loop prior to adding/capturing the ExtIn? Whatever is in the loop is baked in there. There’s no differentiating between pad and extin once recorded.
I’ve had mine for months at this stage and I honestly couldn’t even tell you how the 404 samples/resamples by any other means. The only problem with skipback is that once you’ve had it you’ll then want it in every other piece of gear.
.
.
this is wild and a great explanation. Definitely giving me some insight into some new techniques I should try. Appreciate you taking the time to explain it all!