Gear Chat // Toraiz SP16 - 3 Month review

My verdict on the Pioneer Toraiz SP16 after having it for 3 months

[@RickyTinez]

absolutely LOVED this chat. Thanks for the info on the SP-16. i've never been on the edge of a piece of gear this long haha sub'd!

[@ThesisOfSyn]

Oh my god, I didn’t get a notification to say you had commented! Love you Channel! Thanks so much for the comment and sub!!

[@tunesonglabel]

lol I've been "fiending" for this gear for a long time. Some day, yay.

[@uhuhtapes]

Luckily you still havent driven the prices up Ricky 😁🙏🏻

[@PylonRecordsdotcom]

Sound Quality on Sp-16 dwarfs any of the modern MPC, its not even question. If sound matters to you then you better off just using the MPC in controller mode and let your audio interface be the master converter, feel like akai is playing the plastic/software game with us and just pushing the garbage plugins. Love all your videos. Thank You.

[@ZETONEproductions]

Boom you nailed, also had exaktly same history regarding my SP 16.. also kept it although its limitations.. because of the sick and fast sequencer and sound quality.. thx

[@ThesisOfSyn]

So sick init

[@eyesintheskies]

Really appreciate your down to earth honest opinion. No messing around ,genuine & straight to the point. 👌 On the verge of pulling the trigger, have the elektron rytm for complex flexing. Just want an easy to use no messing sampler. Not bothered about the effects have enough pedals and with all those outs I’m set. Ease of use, playability and those awesome Dave smith filters think she could be the one! Do you still use it today 2 years down the line?

[@nervenet00]

I also have the MPC Live and the SP-16 and I love both. The Pioneer really becomes cool paired with it's brother the Pioneer AS-1. This little synth is a beast ! Fun as a the son of a 303 and a Prophet :-)

[@fractalimmersion]

Ummm I have never seen this guy but I love him so much! Keeping it real. Hell yeah bruv

[@coreybeats3335]

Had mine for over three years, and I’m keeping mine , great video

[@trevormalcolm4328]

All valid points, as a MPC One user I still miss my old MPC 1000 . Limited compared to the One but it did everything that I needed, nowadays we all want all the bells and whistles even if we only use a fraction of our tools!

[@TOMCARLE_DJ]

Tracks mutes: Pioneer dropped the ball on the Sp16 vs the djs1000 when it comes to the mutes per pattern. wish they would’ve fixed..

[@goodboid]

I have a dozen drum machines and samplers, including the Force and a couple of Elektron boxes. But the SP16 is the most immediate and fun in use and sees the most use.

[@tylergates4075]

Same!

[@shaft9000]

Today I just snagged one for $800+tx&shipping, so saying thanks for helping to push me over :) I'm an old-skool '90s San Frandisco raver. The sound of this unit (on YT) is the most impressive out of anything that exists for currently under a grand. The other top priority is I like to work quickly when making tracks, and the UI looks about clean as can be. I've already sold my Octatrack and ESX-1. Keeping a Spectralis2 for the deeper studio madness, while the SP-16 fills the good old 'basic MPC 60/3000' for a no nonsense live performance sampler+MIDI. It also doesn't hurt that 'the analog filter unit comes with / INSIDE the MPC' here. And I could be trippin' a bit, but somehow this also seems somewhat closer in concept to what the original/mythical DSI/Linn BoomChik "was going to be" (at least, in terms of what I need) than what the Tempest turned out to be....Cheers :)

[@BillyBatsonMarvel]

The SP16’s twin brother the DJS1000 is a Beast...

[@uhuhtapes]

Love this. Especially at -0.55 speed, for those Tom Hardy vibes 😁🙏🏻

[@aloahe4807]

i totally agree.. many people understand it as an mpc or standalone ni machine .. and its not. its a custom drum maschine. its also more fun (for me) as the workflow of an mpc is. I like it as an alternative to a tr8s with Pads :D - the 8 outputs and live sampling are really great.

[@__teles__]

SP-16 is a drum sampler and with parameter locks its extremely creative. It also does loops really well but it needs to be paired with something. MPC seems overkill but the MPC will not replace the SP-16.

[@johncaccioppo1142]

As long as we're in the general neighborhood, what do you think of the Squid for melodic composition? I got a steal on one and I can't imagine ever getting rid of it, even though I've barely scratched the surface.

[@claimshelp]

Love your review. You’re funny my guy

[@firesailstudios1003]

Not sure why the sp-16 can’t just handle 8 midi notes, per midi track and be able to record quantized or unquantized. That would make it pretty undeniable. Cheers!

[@BecomingProductions]

Seems like a solid sampler if you can accept its limitations. I was half thinking of getting one but Im probably just being greedy. I have enough already, just that filter and drive make me think this would be tasty.

[@ThesisOfSyn]

The drive is excellent and the filter is great however when it’s engaged, in true lpf manner, it fills the sound when fully open.

[@BecomingProductions]

@@ThesisOfSyn It does sound lovely alright. I'm thinking something like an Elektron Analog Heat might do the job better for my setup as its a similar filthy dirty drive and I can use it with any of my current samplers. It has an envelope follower too so can do some funky modulation with it.

[@ThesisOfSyn]

Yes the analog heat would be far more useful! You can only have the filter on out 1/2 on the SP which makes it useless if you are using separate outs. Currently I’ve got kicks and snares on 1/2 and percussion on 3/4 which means the filter doesn’t touch the percussion. The Heat is ana amazing box!

[@BecomingProductions]

@@ThesisOfSyn I can imagine its a tad limited with routing etc. Still though every time I hear a demo of that drive circuit on the SP16 is does sound fat as hell. Think I may have to bite the bullet and go for an Analog Heat. I've a Deluge in the post on its way to me so it should pair up nicely with that too.

[@AcidAlex]

I actually bought an SP-16 a few days ago after watching your last video and it’s definitely a fun and fast workflow. What’s the box to the right of the SP-16? I didn’t see that in your last video

[@ThesisOfSyn]

Ah the box on the top row is the moog Minitaur but underneath that it’s a mackie mix12fx desktop mixer. I’ve been using it to run mess around with gain distortion. I used to use it with the mpc to run the individual outs through it for a live set.

[@AcidAlex]

@@ThesisOfSyn I’m looking for a mixer actually. Would you recommend it? My set up is Akai Force, SP-16 (your fault!), Bass Station 2, Electribe, and TD-3. I just want a mixer that has one send/return so I can send audio from the rest of my gear to the Akai Force for sampling and/or tracking. Do you think this might fit the bill or do you have another recommendations? Needs to be fairly small as small is limited on my desk. PS. I’ve never tried to make jungle music but you made it look like fun. I might have a go!

[@ThesisOfSyn]

Well the has fx send but no dedicated return however if you are just using to send them to get samples it should be ok. It’s got built in fx which are actually ok but they are bypassed if you plug the fx send. It’s a great little mixer man with some solid gain. I’m trying my hardest to keep it after not doing live stuff anymore. That might be the next video tbf.

[@AcidAlex]

@@ThesisOfSyn thanks :-) yes would be a good video

[@csremote]

is it correct that you can only use one (or since the update 2) effect per sample?

[@lucasoni1990]

Hi I'm a singer songwriter and looking to get into putting some basic ideas down at home, what daw do you recommend or device? I've got a presonus interface so far. Until I find a producer. Thanks

[@dustinmoore9398]

I lucked out and got one for $500.00 off of ebay because the guy didn't know how to update the firmware 😀

[@andrewverran6998]

Hi m8, can the Toraiz SP16's sequencer be Slaved to the MIDI CLOCK from Ableton , ? Either via the Sp16 MIDI over USB or SP16 Midi In 5 Pin DIN input? Cheers m8.

[@Dougie-]

It can, but it's infamous for being unstable when used as a slave.

[@andrewverran6998]

@@Dougie- thanks for the reply, I wonder whether a Midronome or Multiclock would make any difference ?

[@fa6io1312]

Should i buy a Sp 16 as a beginner?

[@chrisaurelius007]

Could you please give me a quick rundown on how you route the SP-16 into ableton? Do you need a cable going from the master out into your interface input line to get sound out? Or just the usb cable.? No videos on this.

[@ThesisOfSyn]

Sure. So yes I use the line outs from the Sp16 going into the line inputs of my audio interface. As far as USB audio I have not seen any information on this and not thought of even looking into it. I’m not sure it is possible mainly due to the nature of the machine being aimed more towards an addition to a DJ setup

[@dustinmoore9398]

I know you can upload the stems into your DAW. I do it with the sp-16 to Fl studio using the usb so I'm sure you can do it with ableton as well

[@fahadha]

I've been using a digitakt for drums and need to shift over to an sp-16 I got second hand. hard to put the digitakt away though! have gotten very used to it over the last couple of years, it was my first real machine and i do all my sequencing with it.

[@ThesisOfSyn]

I gotta be honest I do miss the sound of the digitakt. The overdrive on it was so good for drums as was the compressor

[@tunesonglabel]

that's cool man ... good review.

[@substance90]

7:24 not a chance. Pioneer already said on their forums that there aren't any updates coming. Ever. It's not discontinued, just "finished". :(

[@axidhaus]

Pioneer is a bunch knobs

[@Calamindir]

Still using it?

[@modaroho]

i would love for you to compare the roland 707 which is the most similar to the toraiz sp-16 im torn between the two

[@trevormalcolm4328]

Great machine but totally different beast. Fantastic sounds, 808, 727, 909 etc.... plus loads more drum kits. Classic Roland sounds junos, Jupiter’s etc... but if you’re sample based forget it, you can sample into it but it’s a nightmare (the screen is way too small for waveform editing) and loading via SD card is just a faff! Sold my and got a MPC one

[@topofthemornintoya]

Gunna cop! Thanks

[@dzaxys4643]

On the cusp of sp16 / or one of electron machines octatrack /rythem / or even MPC just don't want to buy something and have to change straight away but need to be jamable

[@kisho2679]

can it sync over Ableton-Link?

[@garyusinger]

I am doing a live performance with recording audience responses on my MPC Live and then chopping them up on the MPC and playing them back along with my DJ set. Is this possible on the Toraiz SP16?

[@axidhaus]

No Toraiz has fully been abandoned by pioneer

[@pepuletrz]

i love the kit i made banging on stuff and sampling them..that washing machine bass..wow..or the garage door..yummy.

[@joncass9833]

make a tune using the Flip sampler app yh

[@PaulRichards78]

I was drawn to the Toraiz 16 for its trig like possibilities like Elektron You’ve said the sequencer is great So what DO you use for melodic sampling then if you don’t use this ?

[@ThesisOfSyn]

I use the mpc live, there is just so much more you can do with it to create smoother edits

[@PaulRichards78]

@@ThesisOfSyn Ok thanks Can MPC Live do everything that the Toraiz can do Im just looking for a great all round sampler

[@stevewoywitka3258]

1:39 thanks I was wondering about that

[@1980VINZ]

Nice efficient video, thank you 👍

[@difflocktwo]

Good description; efficient.

[@sodiumlights]

ace video/opinion. I`d disagree with you on the fx though, as I really do think they are fantastic (excluding the duff `verb). I`ve an MPClive as well, but it's just not much fun using it unlike the sp-16 which is fast, fluid and a buzz. One thing which I`ve never seen brought up about the sequencer steps are just how smooth they are, low profile, rounded edges, unlike Rolands tr-gear.

[@ThesisOfSyn]

This is a great shout! As a piece of gear it’s built beautifully. And maybe I was a bit hard on the effects

[@devondetroit2529]

How many outputs does it have?

[@GeekGearSynths]

8 outputs (4 stereo pairs)

[@juups4857]

Ahaha thanks for this video, funny as!

[@jean-baptiste9230]

Love it no bs!

[@gaarakabuto1]

I have used older MPCs, I have used SPs, I have used some Ensoniq stuff, I've used elektron rytm and i have used Toraiz SP-16. Honestly the best gear i ever touched was the MV-8800.It was hell to get down and work on it because it would drain you, your energy and you will to make music with how complex it could be unnecessarily.But everything in it,it had all it takes to make a song without the will to stand up from its screen, the only gear i ever felt to use with the MV was the S-50 for the sound of drums. Toraiz SP-16 is fine,but it has the price of equipment that you will use much more.

[@MisfitOTheology]

Each scene can set the bpm. It is possible.

[@aikighost]

You should look into koala sampler on the iPad, basically an sp404 on the iPad but better and easier to use.

[@andreash3906]

€1000 for a new SP16 vs €750 for an MPC One+.... Hmmmmmmll

[@axidhaus]

MPC

[@alexsingt...9436]

Dont´t tell me no melodic parts possible . . . it´s a hook machine for anybody !!!

[@jodde73]

”Can’t really chain patterns”?????

[@j.gonsalves]

Does it have an arpeggiator?