Figuring out why I hardly use my SP303

[@vongogh4247]

When I think of the 303 I think of vinyl sim, awesome sound, simplicity, and ext source re-sample. If none of these things are of need to you, then the 303 won't really be for you, and there's nothing wrong with that. You're right, it's for sure a 1 beat at a time box, and some people don't have the patience for it. It's like somebody coming from a DAW to an SX and thinking, what the heck do I do with this thing? Using the pattern sequencer frees up any pad limitations, but I like to re-sample on it also. The re-sample any pads + the ext source + effects all to one pad is the most gangster feature (to quote dibia$e). If you're playing any keys, it's just a Godsend. You don't have to sample each note one by one unto each pad and try to play the pads with the same expression and chord progressions as you did on the keyboard, you just resample with ext-source and it all goes to 1 pad and it just always sounds great. I feel like I have to work a lot less on getting my stuff to sound good on the 303, it just sounds good naturally. I use long mode a lot, it's really a sweet spot on some sources. Re-sample with vinyl sim and you don't have to use much, it just glues it all together. An OG 404 is my main go to also. I do like all the pads, and you have more freedom and space to just go places without being restricted to this one song you have to finish before you can try something new. I love the battery feature, I know you can add a battery pack with the 303, but it just feels like you shouldn't be taking the 303 out of studio into the wildlife, the 404 feels more rugged. I do love the vinyl sim, so the OG is for me. If you already have a 202, and you don't like the vinyl sim, there's not much reason to force yourself into using a 303. You can get awesome Lo-Fi sounds out of the 202 and get the pitch and times stretch and then you get all the features of the SX on top of that. There's no need to make things more complicated, that's just an awesome combo right there. I will say that the 404's all do have an internal hum & I don't like their sound as much as the 303, but I feel the pro's outweigh the cons. There's just something classic about the 303 and maybe slight nostalgia from all-time greats using the machine (dilla, madlib, doom, etc), but it's def not for everybody. I feel the 404 is going to be better for what most people are doing.

[@spvidz]

Yo man cheers for your thoughts. I completely agree about the hum, it was something I was thinking about but forgot to mention. When you crank the compression on the SX you do get a lot of hum - some people love it others maybe not so much so that is where the 303 can really hold its own! I understand what you are saying about the 202/SX combo yeah but I'm always up for trying different combos and workflows. Like my last beat tape was P0-33 -> 202 -> 404sx and I got some really nice lofi tones out of that! Cheers for commenting

[@bliss3174]

404og underrated I feel like, not as much as the 202 though I might have to cop that

[@searlwet]

first hardware informational that actually has a dirty track. love this i hope its available somehwere. thanks!

[@spvidz]

Thanks for watching man! my online music game is weak to be honest lol

[@Dewane1511]

They need to remake the 303 . Just give it the same things as the 404a but leave all the things that people love about the effects the look and give it a small scree to seen the wave when sampling. Make it faster and give it more banks .Make the pads velocity sensitive... I still want one thoe!

[@costisbeats9824]

Look into the sp505! It has a screen and an mpc style sequencer and tons banks. You can find em for pretty cheap as well sometimes. The only downside I’d say is that chopping on it can be pretty slow, and the vinyl sim isn’t quite as good sounding as the 303.

[@spvidz]

I also feel the same about the 202. Wish that thing had 32gb SD! 🤤

[@deafbyhiphop]

Im still shocked no one has modded the 303 to have more features and stuff. Like open it up and take the components out and just create like a seperate operating system where you can have more features like more sample time better sequencing more etc but keeping the exact same sound

[@BrancoArgenta]

And add multitrack audio over USB!

[@dr.slippers4975]

I use the 303 as sort of a “middle man” between my synth and ableton. I find it’s awesome for fx obviously but sometimes I also like to record stuff I play on my synth and use the pads to play it out onto ableton. Same with drums, usually resampled thru some fix too. Tape delay is highly underrated. I do use it to make beats on from time to time but I def like to chop up loops I play on keys then play that into an audio track in ableton.

[@spvidz]

Nice use for it! I have messed a bit with the 303 over the past few weeks but I dunno what it is, I just cant get that butter out of it that everyone swears by. Very close to letting it go having looked at the sale price of them at the moment!

[@dr.slippers4975]

The way I use it I love it it’s simple and adds a lot to my keys and drums. I have the vulfcompressor vst which is based off the 303’s vinyl sim and it does a way better job basically what you wished you would get out of the 303 so for me it’s a great edition to my Set up but not exactly a replacement for a daw. Although again I have fun making beats with just that and my synth sometime

[@adamcrafts3032]

I use my 303 paired with a Digitakt, lovely combo for making full tracks

[@spvidz]

Nice man I looked at getting a Digi a while back but talked myself out of it in the end and got the 2000xl

[@panskibinski]

oh so i am not the only one thinking about it !

[@mikegraham92]

Yes deadly combo

[@williamhatcher4471]

I just got one this month. For now, I've primarily been using it for the vinyl sim. Next step is to bounce samples into it from my mpc, get them eq'd, isolated and lofi'd, then sequence the samples via midi from the mpc. To perform, I'll run drums from mpc into my sx, which has got one shots, fx, talkovers, and finally through the 303 for that ext/pad recording.

[@spvidz]

Sounds fun man yeah these units are great if you've got a companion machine by the sounds of it - a lot of people here are saying they use them in conjunction with something else so going to have to try that! Thanks for sharing!

[@lindasson]

Great video bro!! As you know I just bought my 303 last week, and I'm in love with it lol! I'm learning as I go and I'm trying to pair it up with my 404A and get the best of both worlds!!🙏🏾✊🏾

[@spvidz]

yeah man thats fair, I'm just going to have to force it into my workflow somwhere and get more use out of it. Glad to hear you are digging it man, I think my next step is hooking it up to my SX yeah!

[@Kaosinlondon79]

Hi does the pitch work on your sp303? like sp202 I am having issues slowing or speeding up the samples.

[@VeggieLard]

I’m by no means an authority of 303 work flow, but i can share my process. I pretty much use the internal banks for drums and make sure to keep everything truncated, so i can fit other random things like vinyl crackle and hiss and stuff on loop (keeping a pad with hiss was a tip from you 👍). With that there, I’ll sample into bank C 1-4, process those using resample with the lower 5-8. Once im happy ill delete anything i dont want and start figuring out my drum patterns live, resampling just the drums with a metronome and (on bank D). Then i resample the chops with variations to fill the other half of bank D. After that i go to bank C and use that for what ever ear candy i feel the beat needs. At this point, i have gate turned off and loop on for mostly everything and i just change banks back and forth to tale stuff in and out. I think 5 is the limit on simultaneous pads playing. Pattern sequencer is cool too, but i had issues with the timing at the end of a measure. Tried endless measures and it was a REAL pain if i messed something up and had to go back to erase it then try again. Took forever, but its an option. Sorry if that rambles too much, but wanted to try my best to be specific. Trading samples between pads is a god send with only 8 available, too. Thanks for showing the 303 some love, hope to see more ✌️

[@spvidz]

Awesome man thanks for that workflow. I have the same issue with the pattern seq on the SX - got told it was my timing but I never have the issue on the MPC and thats without quantisation sometimes! Interesting to hear your process though man I'll be sure to take some of it on board!

[@dannyvw6247]

I actually use my 303 on a daily as its apart of my setup :) I actually don't use my 404sx as much only as a way to transfer my 303 beats into the SD card, even then I sample directly into my 303 then into the 404. I say its perfect if you combine the SP303 along with the 404sx, and bouce tracks back and forth. Live shows you can use your 404sx for beats and 303 for special FX :D

[@spvidz]

Nice man yeah it seems like most people that own them have another (faster) unit i.e the SX/A. I will try a bit of beat making with the two and see what happens. Glad I made this video because its actually got my hyped on the 303 reading all the comments!

[@Kaosinlondon79]

Hi does the pitch on sp303 work same like the sp202? I am having trouble speeding and slowing down a sampled Beat.

[@dannyvw6247]

@@Kaosinlondon79 the sp202 pitch effect is actually totally different, way more smoother

[@Kaosinlondon79]

@dannyvw6247 but you can't adjust the speed on the sample like with sp202 such a shame I will put mine up for sale for that reason.

[@JasonAOsborne]

Love the simplistic look of the 303 but I think in the age we live in and the integrated technology we have now, it seems almost counter-productive to purchase a 303. I feel like if it weren’t for Dilla, Madlib n DOOM, the 303 wouldn’t be as popular as it is.. Been contemplating the 404sx for a while now though, can you time stretch on the sx?

[@spvidz]

The time stretch on the sx isnt very good unfortunately. A lot of people get the 202 to do the work as it’s really good on the 202 and means you can stay DAWless. I find using ableton a lot easier then sample from my computer to the sx with the sample repitched etc

[@JasonAOsborne]

Appreciate you getting back at me man. Lot of good information there bro, thank you. I’m currently rocking the MPC studio with the software that comes with it and I treat it like a standalone and just forget about the laptop screen but I’m itching to use a genuine standalone at some point, challenge myself ya know. I do love having the mass amounts of storage space on my laptop if I need it though, that’s a massive pro with the hardware/software integrated pieces these days✌🏼

[@spvidz]

Definitely get that man yeah stand-alone workflows are a lot of fun - you gotta be creative with how you do stuff and its the only way to get authentic rawness in your beats imo.

[@Brother_TD]

@@spvidzrecommend anything other than the 202 for the pitchbend?

[@DJDigitalJosh]

I have the 202 for sampling at standard grade then pitch down shifting magic also for lofi 1 & 2 character, 505 "I vibe with its lofi, reverb, & eq fx, og 404 for vinyl sim flutter & sample from 404 to 202 then back to 404 with lofi for some reason it sounds nice that way, I have the 606 for pad choke groups 2 fx & master effects, & lastly the 404sx for easy computer transfer, instant lofi, & its function keys make it the best for me, I also have a korg kp3+ & zoom st-224 for interesting fx. An mpc one or force instead of the 606 is what I'm trying to do, but buyers keep backing out.

[@spvidz]

Damn man thats quite a collection! I need to start chaining mine together more as well, want to try the 202, 303 and SX together to see what fx i can get...need to order some more RCA cables!

[@furlong5439]

But this box is just so pretty!

[@spvidz]

I actually finished editing and thought that I should have mentioned about that haha! Completely agree. I think its possibly the coolest looking of the range :)

[@furlong5439]

@@spvidz it's also the one i need haha i have the 202 and 404 :P

[@spvidz]

Nice man - got a lot of love for the 202!

[@lifeonastring]

Panda Bear made "Person Pitch" with 2 dr sample, i'd like try one of these!

[@spvidz]

Thats pretty cool to have two, bet you can get some really gritty vibes!

[@lifeonastring]

@@spvidz Indeed, Man!

[@johnp3298]

Dope cut!

[@spvidz]

Thanks for watching man!

[@PHeMoX]

The _real_ reason you're not using it much might have more to do in how it can be a perfect companion sampler and FX box and less so its own stand-alone device. I mean, it has been surpassed left and right when it comes to stand-alone samplers. I'm not even sure the brand new SP-404 MKII is an incredible deal for just stand-alone usage as a single device. It's not more feature complete than an MPC One, which really isn't all that much more expensive for how much more it can do. As an FX box and sampler companion though, the SP series are amazing. As studio centre pieces, less so. They're not obsolete, but especially the SP-303 is kind of old when it comes to the harder limitations it's got. I also don't think all that many people use a single SP as their main setup. It can be done of course, but I know more people who would combine like an SP-303, SP-404SX and a SP-555, which kind of makes more sense. Or an MPC2000XL and SP-404.

[@jimmyhoffa2530]

the og 404 and 404sx are the same except that the og 404 kept the original vinyl sim from the 303 while the SX vinyl sim is different and lacks the compression. I've owned the og 404 and 404a which is the same as sx except it can link up with the Tr-8s. I ended up selling all my sp's because even though they are cool, everyone and their mother have used them to death. So it leaves little room for doing anything new with them. Plus they are just hard to work with after you've used MPC live, maschine or Push 2. Just my opinion.

[@spvidz]

There are other differences as well, less storage and a different format and also you can't copy and paste patterns on the sequencer which apparently is a killer. But yeah they are not easy to use but people enjoy the limitations myself included! Can fully understand your points thought a lot of people own these units now and its not easy to do anything unique on them! Thanks for the info man!

[@tahajiyeedwards1444]

The pattern sequencer IS better..the 303 just generally loops smoother, and the sequencer has a more natural swing...in spite of the issues that make it harder to use..I find it easier to make a beat that actually SOUNDS GOOD..on the 303..and that last element...being able to for instance..play and record a bassline, or lead synth melody..live scratches..even vocal adlibs..while re-sampling to a pad..is SOOOO useful...I find myself always keeping my 303 immediately handy..and is usually my start point...just the opposite experience, and I am also an mpc500/404sx/st224/korg es1 owner....303 is my fave

[@spvidz]

Yeah the resampling with external source is definitely something I need to experiment more with. Will have to try the pattern seq properly too. Really can’t get along with the SX pattern seq. always get gaps at the end of my loop even with quantise on

[@ruffiankick]

1 main reason why you should use it more is the External Source Resample trick. Throw that with the sp404SX + Sp202/Roland MS-1 (sample rate & pitch) and you got yourself a workstation 🔥🔥

[@spvidz]

Definitely need to explore that man yeah, sounds like a lot of fun playing with that! Thanks for the tips will try them soon

[@ruffiankick]

@@spvidzhell yea, I feel like you'll love this lil workflow trick forsure. Keep doing your vidz Broo. Respect from Cali 👊🏿

[@spvidz]

peace man, would love to be out there in the sun! 😎

[@cisegreeny5096]

Yup this is my set up 202 + 303 + 404SX..🎰

[@spvidz]

Solid!

[@eylvy]

any sp sounds different than the other. i think the 303 also has better pads than the 404. also looks better imo :)

[@spvidz]

Definitely true that that pads feel a lot nicer. They have a softer feel to them which makes them easier to play and yeah the 303 looks kinda iconic too!

[@panskibinski]

I have sold 404sx and moved to Digitakt. I personally did not like the pitch shift and overall effects of 404. I am now thinking about some combo like digitakt + one of sp for lo-fi hiphop and lo-fi house music. But i'm an not sure if i should go with 202 or 303..or maybe totaly drop idea of using two sampler at a time

[@spvidz]

You will get more for your money with a 303 as there are a lot more fx but saying that - the ones on the 303 are also pretty similar to the sx. The 202 pitch and filter one are great but with the pitch you are limited by the memory because you have to sample into the unit to use it!

[@panskibinski]

@@spvidz true but on the other hand I will probably not use any part of the 303 sequencer which bothers me a little. It is hard to say if it's just 'gear fever' or this second sampler is THAT Grail that will change my music for ever;)

[@panskibinski]

@@spvidz is there a chance for a video with SP 303 pitch effect ( comparison 202,303,404 would be great ! ) ? i can't find any video about it in the internet

[@TheGauchoAmigo]

Have you checked the dibiase masterclass on KZbin? Hé uses the sp404 + 404sx in his workflow , you could do the same with 303+404sx

[@spvidz]

Yo man yeah I've watched bits but was quite a lengthy one, i'll have another peep, cheers!

[@MattGreerMusic]

This. I'm a firm believer in saying that to get the most out of a SP, you need more than one of them to bounce things back and forth between. OR you can have your main beat going on one and sample in layers that you play in real time at the same tempo to the other. The 555 kind of gets around that with the looper but it's still nice to have two. And if you do have two, why not have two different ones so you can have more effects at your disposal.

[@spvidz]

@@MattGreerMusic yeah mam for sure. The way forward with the 303 is having the sx as the master recording device - I will most likely always have the SX at the end of the chain because of its basically unlimited recording time. I will have to throw the 303 in the chain at some point instead of the 202 and see what I can cook up!

[@obdeisibcirrus993]

@@MattGreerMusic yeah dude I’m so glad I got an Sp555 it’s perfect for me. Haven’t mastered the loop capture yet. And don’t know how to work with the sequencer but I love all the effects. It’s just an awesome sampler overall.

[@killerofthesacreddeer]

Yo. I’m a working dad on a budget. Feel free to donate that 303 over here. I’d easily get use out of it SOOOOO MUCH. For real B.

[@spvidz]

lol I'll be keeping it for now sorry man, still wanna try some more stuff with it before I decide on its future!

[@dylanmakesbeats]

Another great video. Madlib produced most of madvillainy on the 303 and J Dilla produced most of donuts on the 303 too!

[@spvidz]

Cheers man - Indeed yeah no idea how he put Donuts together on this thing, genius!

[@Dewane1511]

@@spvidz All he had in the hospital is a small vinyl player a laptop( with an earlier version of Ableton live ) and an sp- 303 . Its doable just would take a lot of patience.

[@porterogden6065]

madlib made madvilliany just on that.

[@spvidz]

Yeah man crazy stuff, same with Dilla and Donuts as well I think! Next level!

[@rnwilliams44]

I REALLY want to get a sp-303... I have a 202 and a 404sx, but I just want to complete the series lol. I know I seen a few in Japan, but I dunno if they'll ship to Canada during the Lockdown... I hope so

[@spvidz]

Nice man yeah they are very collectable. I think mine came from Japan as well!

[@rnwilliams44]

@@spvidz nice nice. I'm crossing my fingers that mine gets shipped from japan sooner than later once I buy it in a couple weeks

[@jonastreadwell7182]

I mean hey if you don't want it, I'll gladly have it, lol

[@spvidz]

Lol was waiting for this comment 😁

[@adriannunez8868]

Second this lmao it’ll match with my MPC 1000 perfectly

[@ronia8094]

The 303 was my first SP, I was using it with the electribe 2 sampler. Surprisingly the midi sync worked well enough I was sequencing drums on the 303 and doing everything else with the korg, arranging in reaper/ableton but you hit the nail- certain processes are so long and it’s so limiting that it’s hard to find a solid workflow especially when the 404 can hold its own especially when resampling. I’ve only been using the 303 for effects recently- I actually just picked up maschine mk3 in the hopes to get back in the groove in some way and I’m selling the 303. It’s just not worth it when I can just throw vulf compressor wherever it needs to be lol- tl;dr- started on the 303, felt too limited, snag vulf compressor if you want that sound

[@spvidz]

Yeah man feel you on this one, I can compress almost just as well with the ableton compressor (I know SP heads might gasp at that!) but its all about what works for yourself when you're making beats. I have had the same thought process with mine and been close to selling it. Maybe I'll use it in a tape first just so I get some use out of it!

[@AmazonCrime]

The fact that the SP 404 SX can't resample with FX on brought me to the conclusion that he needed à little brother to play with. Would you go with the 555, the 202 or the 303 if you were in my situation? I'm thinking about gettting the 202 because of its pitch shifting feature... but maybe I'm fetichising something that's overrated. IDK. Whatchu think?

[@spvidz]

You can resample with the MFX on man, thats kinda the whole point of that feature. I would say the 202 is a very good option. The repitching is very good and so is filter 1 for adding grit. Not to mention you get those different sampling rates too!

[@namaste303]

No “join” button on the mobile app

[@spvidz]

hmm thanks youtube lol - I do have a link in the description now too. Thanks man!

[@drake1011]

you want to sell it? I'm looking to buy one

[@spvidz]

Won’t be selling sorry man. Classic bit of gear now so I’m going to hold on to it!

[@luvyuubeats]

What Sp unit is the best to pair with the sp404sx as a duo? I’ve been wanting to get another sp unit but idk what one to get :/

[@spvidz]

Any really! Once you have the storage and speed of the SX the other units are great for processing samples. I think the 202 is good because it will give you the pitch bend and the different sample rates which is awesome for getting gritty lofi sounds - thats why a lot of people go for it, but yeah its personal taste really. The 303, 202 or even another SX would all be very useful in a workflow!

[@whoamiwhoami3769]

Hi, I am just curious, if an artist is making beats based off sampling for the most of the time and already has both logic and ableton, is this machine necessary? I wonder what is the "key/real important reason" why an artist that samples music really needs this one.

[@spvidz]

depends if you want to work with hardware or software. Some people like the feel of pads to play. I personally dont mind either way - playing pads or using a mouse. You may be able to get a more natural feel with a controller, especially with drums but yeah, really depends how you want to make music. The same results can be produced in a range of different ways

[@lukas_jay243]

Because you love your 404 more 😂

[@spvidz]

SX out-performs it massively!

[@MrTreyDark]

Idk fam.. The Madvillainy album was created on the sp303.. for me- that says everything..

[@spvidz]

Indeed...and donuts by dilla. They’ve unlocked the cheat codes! Like I said these are just my opinions Its obvious people can make beats with this machine it’s just not that fun for me because of the things I mentioned. Must have to be hella patient!

[@marcelfrehse]

thank you for this great video, the 303 was on my wishlist. i use the sp202 and the dr202 together, like brothers in arms. now: there is still one question for me : when you say that the sp303 is hardly being used from you due to the mentioned points, then why do you use the 202 ? I mean the making of beats is even harder there, even with less functions. Is it because of the sound? I mean the pitcher and filter there is legendary. regarding the workflow: i love it to create a full beat for one pad, sampling this to standard or lo-fi1 mode. then adding a padsound for the next pad, and another and another. sometimes i also mix some external synth sounds into the production. for example like this : kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXTbnahtr7GcetU

[@spvidz]

Yeah man the 202 is worth the effort because you get something different from it - the sample rates, the pitch shift (which is the best in the range!) and you get the sampling quality options as well - because IMO you don't get anything different from the SX when you use the 303 thats why I don't use it that much because its a lot slower etc. Sorry I've only just seen your comment it was filtered in spam because of the link

[@cloodnein8265]

second half of video is black screen

[@spvidz]

damn yeah there was no more content - somethings gone wrong when exporting!

[@VeggieLard]

Theres a song at the end, it started playing towards the end of writing my novel 😂. But yeah, that might be the issue.

[@spvidz]

@@VeggieLard haha! Yeah I must have left it over to the right when I was editing and just gone a head and exported it. Was in a bit of a rush yesterday and didn’t check the edit properly. Tut tut

[@Dewane1511]

First !

[@spvidz]

Congrats man! :)

[@davidarmendariz2462]

I had my 303 for 20years never understood on how to make a beat...the more they tried to teach me the more confusing it became...I didn't like it ...so smashed it...that was the only good sample sound it gave me...the sound when I smashed it...

[@spvidz]

😆😭

[@PHeMoX]

@david armendariz: You smashed a device people are willing to pay over $500 for these days??? Lol, joke's on you my man.

[@jonasan2417]

A lot of the problems have to do with how you make music. I play instruments and learned how to use the pattern sequencer from day 1 so with a metronome the 303 is very versatile as a tool to build tracks. When sampling only it can be tedious and even more so when using pattern mode. Pattern mode is king though. Lots of people only think the SPs can be used in the resample method which is lame because with a little reading of the manual you can become a power user of the unit. a mix of both is usually the best imo. Buying these to use as a effects boxes only is for clowns imo. Just use the damn sampler or dont, too many people making stuff in their DAWS that arent very inspiring to dump it to an SP and record a video twisting a few knobs. extremely bad taste the whole point was to make beats on it and fight the machine