Dear Andreas,
a machine more, where is looking pretty sweet also for the price.
Zoom Sampletrak ST-224 Sampler.
All the best,
waldemaR
So this is how this is going to end:
Iāve set my sight on an SP404SX now. Apparently, theyāre quite popular, demand in Sweden makes me wait for a couple of weeks. Thatās fine.
Iāll use this as my main sampler to capture loops, sequences, one shots - everything. Iāll use the SP to further build on these sounds, with fx & resample, layered loops and other things and to freely jam out improvised rough version of songs with these samples.
Eventually, the result of this will end up in the Rytm, where Iām building all my songs these days anyway. So the final result is created in the Rytm, for reasons anyone loving the Rytm will know and understand.
If this works, the Octatrack is out. At least for now. Iāll miss it a great deal, but the Rytm has almost replaced all of its duties for me, except for the actual sampling, and then only as the vessel from which samples eventually will travel to the Rytm.
And for that, I think Iām better served with the SP. The battery power feature helps - Iāve got my gear spread out, just being able to pick up and plug in the SP and sample away, makes it attractive.
But since the Octatrack might be more important to me than I realize, having owned it for awhile now, maybe itās so locked tight in my process I donāt clearly see all its contributions. So Iām keeping it over a transitional period, to make sure Iām not trading away something as essential as the Octa without really knowing that I donāt need it anymore.
Iām still gonna recommend and praise it to death, though. Just because I might not be using it in the future, doesnāt mean I donāt think itās awesome.
And I am gonna miss recorder triggers.
andreasroman:
Good to see some AR love. 
I am myself a big fan of this machine and donāt really get all the bashing and frustration. Anywayā¦
Your workflow is interesting sampling and putting back in AR gives definitively a different flavor.
Nevertheless using a hardware sampler first seems really convoluted IMHO.
Are you sure that you donāt want to try ableton live? they have a looper and it is really use friendly. With a good controller your would have as much fun and work really faster with tons of additional feature!
Push/launchpad/monome look very good on a table 
I enjoy the immediacy of using a hardware sampler for this purpose. But with that said, I have zero experience in software or hybrid options and am certainly open to suggestions. Since the samples must travel through a computer to get to the Rytm, sampling them directly into said computer does make sense.
But again, I have no knowledge or skill in this area, so wouldnāt know where to start
Both the SX and the 303 shine when sequenced by an external sequencer. The SX sequencer is unusable for me. No micro adjustments and no velocity.
Control your 404 via the OT and run it into your THRU machine. Youāll see 
apps on the OT also yield great results.
Donāt underestimate the grittiness of the 404SX either. Itās gritty, and has real magic. It is also a VERY good sampler to sample into via the RCA inputs.
The 303 is also magic but has much less room for samples and the CF card thing pisses me off
Yes. Thereās the balance of vintage gearās inheret quality and their inability to easily slide into a more modern workflow. I own an ES-1 and while I love it for its sound, its limited memory and SmartMedia format causes just enough problems for me that I hesitate to use it from time to time. I tend to use it stand alone for ideas and fun, but not in more demanding contexts.
I think the SX sequencer will work just fine for me, from what Iāve seen on videos. I donāt require much from a sequencer, actually ease of input and jamming friendly is my top reqs. Iāve never understood why Tempest owners have so many gripes with its sequencer. Push record, bang away, boom it sounds great. The rest is candy.
I intend to stay as much as I can within the Rytm, though. Eight tracks in one box is enough, and when itās not, it challenges me to think about if my song is overproduced or perhaps just two songs trying to fit into one. But knowing a handy extra backup is available is never wrong, of course.
Given my idea of how to use the SP404SX - carry it around to sample synths, loops, whatnot (battery power is crucial here!), resample them until theyāre groovy enough, move them to the ARytm - would you say that the SP404SX is a good choice? Given your experience of samplers, I canāt think of a better person to ask, for sure.
The reason I donāt want to keep using the Octa for this - and ok, I love the Octa for other reasons, not just those below:
- not as portable (though I could live with that if that was the only case),
- internal fx get a bit tiresome after awhile (you tend to recognize them, theyāre like a bunch of one trick ponys),
- something (donāt know what) happens with the sound when itās recorded by the Octa, something which I donāt quite like
- while sequencer is great, Iām much of a play by ear and improvise away guy, and pads invite more to just PLAY the instrument - for rough sketching, this suits me better
Actually, to break it down:
I sample stuff.
Sampled stuff goes into Analog Rytm.
Song is built in Analog Rytm.
Currently, my sampler of choice for this is Octatrack. For this purpose, itās a bit tedious. I intend to replace it with SP404SX, since for my purpose, this seems a better match - convenience and sound being the primary reasons.
So thatās it, essentially.
Well if you want a portable sampler for sampling through the inputs then yes the 404sx is a great choice.
The FX are totally usable in its internal resampling process, which is really easy. The EQs give a really nice saturation. The sequencer can only play back so many voices and the default sampling mode is always in stereo, so disable it whenever you can if only capturing a mono sound as itās fiddly to resample a stereo sound to mono! Thatās good advice right thereā¦
Lofi can be selected on the fly for any sample in addition to any of the DSP FX. it has seriously more mojo as a sampler than the OT - the inputs just give this very nice modern mojo, itās hard to describe but itās reminiscent in a small way to the S770 which is also clean but magical, youāll see.
All the best! I think youāll really like it. BUT I cannot say how good it is to use the 404sx in parallel to the AR - the sound of them is very complimentary and itās nice to have a sample or two not running through the ARās filters and circuitry.
Thanks! Very much appreciate it! Iāve now gone ahead and bought one. Should arrive just in time for my birthday, actually 
Iāve considered it, but a lot of its user slam it for the poor fx and those tubes, though everyone loves the workflow.
Iām not a heavy effect user, though, I like to keep it pretty dry, and the tubes never caught my interest anyway.
However, the raw sound quality of the new Electribes are just plain good. And if you got that, a groovy sequencer and some trimming fx when itās needed, Iām wondering what else you need in a piece of gear to build something great.[/quote]
Replace those stock tubes with decent vintage ones or replicas and its a whole different ball game, i could not listen to the stock ones afterwards
they are so bad.
I think the new Electribe has a pattern change issue, but might be fixed with the sampler ?
I just wanna get a sd/cf card reader working with my SP808, that to me
will be a killa, ease of use, roland sound mojo and then easy file access
yippy!
Hmm, wonder how the 404 stacks up against the SP808?
I used to own a S750 and that did sound incredible (possibly the best iāve heard/used) and the 808 is similar though I dont think Roland kept the high end ad/da that were on the flagship big dollar S 750/770s
Thereās no comparison sound wise between the 750 and the 808. The 750 is all over it in magic hi quality sheen and punch. Iāve got the 808 and I love itās muffled 303 era mojo. I love itās dual FX. Makes snares sound immense. Terrible sequencer lol but great for one shots etc ay?
yes never use the seq,
but as stated there is a lot of 750/770 heritage in the 808 sound,
just not those high end bits that add to the detail of the sound
Burr Brown PCM64 DAC
Analog Devices AD821 summing
were expensive and only put in pro gear then
which of course the sp wasnt
Yes, even the quality of the inputs are vastly reduced. Iām a big 770/750 fan - thereās no real comparison in audio quality.
The 808 is a very usable sound, however, and I still have one so there you go.
Have you looked into the Korg microSampler? Not as portable as the 303-404 but it has velocity sensitive keys and chromatic sample playback (set by user defined key range per sample) and last but not least env. Release (not attack though). You can play chords and bass progressions at the same time when samples are arranged right on the keyboard with chromatic sample range. Only con is the limited memory compared to the 404.
Yes, I have. Itās tempting and interestingly unique, but I need the space. I use a lot of long loops and want access to a bunch at the same time, Octatrack style.
An updated version of the MicroSampler would be interesting, though.
On an additional note, Iāve had my SP404SX for about a day now, and first impressions are that it sounds great - as in really great - and that itās easy to work with. The sequencer really is as awful as they all said it would be, even with my standards. The fx and the smoothness of the sound really adds something, though.
While I was intending to use the SP as a sampler and resampler, where final results would end up in the Analog Rytm. Iām not so sure anymore. Itās interesting as a live instrument and like Kotare suggested earlier, I can really see the benefit of sequencing this from the Octatrack.
But sampling loops is a bit tedious, compared to using recorder trigs on the Octatrack. Accuracy and timing requires more work, and any source that doesnāt being its loops with a decent amount of audio requires additional work as well.
Again, Iāve used recorder trigs exclusively for over a year. Itās an amazing feature on the Octatrack and it doesnāt feel like the 404 will replace the Octa, as I considered that it might before I got it. Weāll see. For now, Iām thoroughly enjoying this new sampler and will put it to the test with my Tanzbaer during the weekend.
Iām glad youāre enjoying it. For long loops Iād really recommend importing them via SD card from a computer though
ah, come onā¦
the sequencer isnāt that bad. But thereās a program for it, check sp-forums.com
But itās no OT. Actually, I really feel that the OT is super sp-505 in a lot of ways. Really, if you wanted to record loops and whatnot, I would have recommended the rc-505. Thatās most likely my next purchase.
You can record perfect loops in the sp by setting the bpm but only in whole numbers (i.e. no 123.3).
I have the sp-404 and think itās great for improving timing, sequencing loops, adding effects and resampling to the Nth degree but could never see it doing what an OT does.
I also have the microsampler and love it but donāt think itās what you want. Itās really a jack of all trades but it has so many hang-ups as well.
And a shame about the new ES2 really, it seems like the most misguided sampler in years.
I could. But that would be losing part of the point of getting the SP in the first place.
The original point, that is. Now that I have it, Iāll tinker with it and likely redefine my purpose for it.