MPC and SP404sx workflows explained

[@strongocho]

How did you not mention the most slept on feature of this combo?!? A lot of people do not realize that the SP404sx is velocity sensitive, it is just the pads themselves that are not. If you hook it up via MIDI to the MPC, you can take advantage of the velocity on the MPC pads and the amazing sequencer in tandem with the essentially unlimited memory and amazing effects of the SX. This workflow makes your 404 essentially an “expansion pack” for your MPC. That is how I use it. I also use the first method you mentioned where you chop and prepare samples on the 404 then sample them into the MPC, I agree that the workflow of chopping samples is so amazing on the 404 compared to pretty much any sampler.

[@spvidz]

Midi feels like a whole topic in itself and I’m planning a whole video for that but yeah should have given it a mention here. Thanks for the info ma man!

[@Blastnthru2u]

I totally agree with chopping on the SX. It is most satisfying.

[@sharkfortytwo]

using my mpc2000xl with my sp-202 recently... here's my workflow: sample from vinyl into mpc2000xl, cut up sample using zones or just record in each sound manually onto a pad program a drum sequence on the mpc2000xl, record onto a pad on the 202 loop the drums and play around with cuts until i find a few butter notes, record each one onto the remaining 6 pads add some foley or rap vocals on last pad perform sequence live into daw

[@spvidz]

Nice man! I really wanna do some stuff with the MPC and 202. Such a grimy combo!

[@EverettVinzant]

I am doing what you showed as the second recommendation. MPC1000 on the left, SP-555 on the right. I use the 555 for effects and loops. I went digital coax out to a $30 box from Amazon, to RCA’s on the input of the 555. Going back the other way I’ll be going RCA’s to a Direct Interface, to 1/4” audio inputs on the MPC.

[@vongogh4247]

You can also MIDI up the SP to the MPC. Then you're able to use the MPC sequencer along with any sounds you have in your MPC and also program and sequence whatever sounds you would like off your SP at the same time. You also gain the ability to use velocity on your SP sounds cause you're triggering them with the MPC pads. I also think you can apply an effect to the sounds off the SP if you want too. If you look in the right spots on the internet, you could probably find a MPC program file with the SP pads already mapped out in order. Somebody had a saved program for the Sp-303 to be MIDI'd to the 2000XL that I picked up and it was a huge time saver.

[@spvidz]

Completely forgot about midi! Thanks for the info!

[@snoopyoverthehills]

yeah i just wanted to suggest that!

[@aberrant_convolution]

Great vid! I don't have any MPC products and am perpetually intrigued by them even though I really don't need anything extra at the moment as I'm more of an experimental musician with a set up that is a rather difficult to explain but it essentially all revolves around having multiple instruments wired through tons of guitar pedals in different ways all leading into a cheap digital tascam 8 track. Your videos have been immensely helpful in wrapping my mind around the different ways I can use the SP, and this vid has prompted even more things I will be exploring over the next few days by trying a few different routing options I haven't tried before, so I hope it's helpful to know that you've created a such a valuable resource with this channel for some of us that may not be your target market in helping create our art. Cheers to you, my friend!

[@spvidz]

Really glad to hear the videos help out! Sounds like an interesting set up! The MPC is a beast I should really spend more time on it and streamline my workflow!

[@cutseencinematics]

I don't own either of these, probably never going to (used to own an MV8000 and had a few MPC's over the years...but just wanted to say that your video was still very captivating. You have a great style, pace and the shots are well considered and well lit. 10/10 for a music tech channel!

[@spvidz]

Much appreciated man! Glad I can provide some light entertainment for the samplers out there like yourself 👊

[@iamsick678]

As a collector of all the sp units,and other samplers (the toriaz sp-16 is my current non "sp" favorite) and groove box's, I'm extremely interested in various workflow methods.even with a small collection, the routing capabilities become endless. As always your channel is a great source for inspiration.

[@spvidz]

Cheers for watching man, that box looks fun! Can you live record into the step sequencer without it being quantised? I always worry they will be too rigid when looking at samplers that have them

[@zachbrookshire9488]

This is so sick! Thanks for this video, I’m about to buy a mpc 2000xl and I already have had my 404sx for a bit so this got me pumped!!

[@spvidz]

Nice man, its a killer combo! I'm going to do some experimenting either tomorrow or next week

[@seydevilchick8]

Great combo...they are a match made in heaven...

[@spvidz]

Definitely!

[@blowedoutkidtetsuo2thowed746]

Hope that I can make it to heaven to witness these two match up.... LOL I just got a 404sx and an MPC X; time to watch this video about ten times in a loop while I experiment with this combo.

[@Blastnthru2u]

I saw this and coincidentally I’ve had my eye on a used MPC one. I did some trading and as of yesterday I now own my first MPC. It’s the next step in my quest to produce as standalone as possible

[@spvidz]

The MPC one look like a very good machine for the price! Sure you will have a lot of fun with that :)

[@ceciliafbrown373]

Your tutorial came just at the right time. I'm just about to buy an MPC Live 2 to use with my SP's. Thanks!

[@spvidz]

been very tempted by a live 2 for a while now. Probably will be my next purchase when I can afford one!

[@krammulla2620]

Great vid as usual. I’ve been messing around lately with sampling loops from MPC to SP, processing them then using a midi program on the MPC to trigger the loops on the SP to get them all in time.

[@spvidz]

Dope! I completely forgot about midi as I don’t really use it. I have a cable somewhere so should explore it a bit 👍

[@broganibeatz8480]

Great video! I personally like the MPC --> SP combo, making the beat on the MPC and recording it onto the SP to add vinyl sim, chorus, etc.

[@spvidz]

Nice man, need to try out that combo a little more myself!

[@surfinbearbeats]

Oh mate I'm super happy to see this video, I've got an mpc 1000 and I ordered a 404 sx a week ago cabt wait to put them together

[@spvidz]

its a great combo man i'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it!

[@Caramel-dope]

I`v had good fun triggering samples in the SP404SX from the MV8000 using midi. Which means I can separate each sample on different tracks and use 'mute track' function to solo or mute anything on the fly . PLUS program SP drums with velocity

[@spvidz]

That sounds like a nice workflow. I need to try the midi with my MPC and sx for sure!

[@Ross_Antonich]

Great videos man as always!! Awesome thoughts and ideas.....your videos always make me happy and make me think!! I’ve been re-watching your videos about tape and cassettes! my current workflow is: -I’ll make the whole beat in my MPC2000XL -mix in the MPC2000XL -send beat through my SP303 for effects, compression, etc -then send back to my MPC2000XL for mastering -then to my portastudio to either tape or CD..... I have DAWs and a computer but sometimes I’ll work super DAWless with the portastudios - The portastudios are kind of annoying and “extra” sometimes.....I was gifted them from a friend and have been trying to incorporate them

[@spvidz]

nice workflow man. When you say you send the beat back to the MPC, is that just one file at that point or do you record in all the individual parts again?

[@Ross_Antonich]

@@spvidz good question! It depends, I do both! Sometimes I’ll send the beat back to the MPC as one full piece, sometimes I’ll send all the parts back individually and put it back together from there. It just depends on how everything sounds. Sometimes the 303 compression needs to be terribly mixed again which is fine, and mastering on the MPC also usually highlights the part of beat that also need to be mixed again. I used to not care about any of these things, but recently I’ve been thinking about how I can take my beats to the next level by having a better mix!

[@jaixiviii]

I have Uno Synth Pro (TRS2RCA) out to SP-404A. SP-404A (RCA2TRS) out to MPC Live in. Record everything to MPC Live audio and mix with Vintage mode (MPC60, SP1200, MPC3000). Not the same as actual hardware but it does work well whether its single track or full beat. Thanks for sharing!

[@spvidz]

Nice! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@aus10srad]

Such a powerful duo 💪

[@spvidz]

100%

[@RaducuGabriel-dl1hj]

Hello, I got also an XL. So an XL and an SP 404 mk2. I also got 2 1/4 inch jack mono cables. Is there a possible way to hook them up? I was thinking of passing the samples through XL just for some "pitch mojo"/grit that it has, then to SP for some chorus, cassette texture to the CARD, then I will import on my DAW.

[@riddim7774]

Recently got a mpc one to pair with my Sp404, loving it. I'm an mpc noob so I don't know how chopping is on 2000xl, but it's defo way faster chopping on the mpc one than the Sp404. When you make loops on the mpc then bounce the individual tracks/samples back into the Sp it makes the sp sequencer so much more quicker and manageable. The sp feels more natural and expressive and immediate as an instrument for me, but as I said I'm a noob to mpcs. The sound on your last vid was deadly man, even on my shitty phone. I've been trying make my stuff sound good on a phone. Any tips? I don't have a computer, just phone, sp, mpc and dj mixer. Your mpc looks immaculate, nice purchase! Peace!

[@riddim7774]

So SD card is the only way I can put my stuff on the phone. ✌️

[@spvidz]

Yeah this was more about the legacy models. Taking individual chops or samples is way faster on the sx imo but the MPC is good for doing multiple chops in one go with ‘zones’. For phones I have no idea man. I do all my audio and video editing with headphones so it’s just luck it’s working nicely on phones too haha

[@fade2blak91]

Bro i need to talk to you 😂 so I have an mpc one now and im about to bite the bullet on a 404a in a few wks. So i want to try what you mentioned making my full beat in mpc and bouncing my seq. How do you have your cables connected to do this and does the mpc then record the fx you add with the sp? im basically wanting to make whole beat in the mpc and record the fx/vox from the sp over my beat and be able to export it all from my mpc. i need to know how and what all cables are needed to accomplish this if its even possible 🤷🏾‍♂️. I also have a turn table i want to include in there

[@dbeez8317]

Great video i got an mpc1000 and 404 dream combo man

[@spvidz]

Nice, the 1000 does look fun and its a nice portable size as well

[@gus_bro]

I use my 404MK2 to make the beat because it’s faster. Then I use the MPC 4000 like a mastering unit because it has that Z8 sampler.

[@spvidz]

Nice workflow. Its always fun combining different bits of hardware

[@mrp2787]

I like to make lots of sounds resampling with effects on my sp404 and ill mess with some drums. Then resample all my stuff into mpc1000 and make the beat (sp404 polyphony is fkd) then ill either resample the whole beat back into the sp404 or resample my sequences as loops on the 404 and just have fun with the effects n jam abit real fun

[@MakingMadBeats]

MPC 1000 user here with a the 1000 fully maxed out and I use JJOS2XL. I' m thinking about adding an SP 404 to run my MPC into it for the FX and then resample back into the MPC. So, I' m not sure If I should try to get a used or discounted 404-A or wait for the new 404 MK? You can find some used 404-A' s for around 300€ right now and one shop sells a new 404-A for 339€. On the other hand the 404 MK2 got so many great new features (lazy chop, mute groups, envelopes) that I could imagine doing whole beats on it instead of the MPC 1000. I tried Koala sampler on my smartphone and really like the workflow which is mimicing the 404 in many ways. What would you recommend? THX for your great vidz 🙏 P.S.: Can the new SP 404-A and the new MK2 export stems to SD card?

[@Shiniobi]

Thank you mate. Thank you

[@spvidz]

No problem 👍

[@davidscott2095]

Thank you for the video. Quick question: I am real close to purchasing an Akai 2000XL. I love the warm sound that comes from this machine. I also considered the Akai MPC One, which would be substantially cheaper, wherein I could purchase the One and an SP404 for the same price as the 2000XL. However, I was told that I should stick with the newer MPC's, because getting the 2000XL to cooperate with a DAW is a real pain. I also heard another KZbinr, who owns every MPC made and all the vintage equipment drum sampler's, DJ Rock-Cee, say the same thing. Can you share any thoughts with me, before I make a substantial investment? I am a newbie and am trying to make the best informed decision possible. Thank you kindly. Blessings!

[@spvidz]

Its hard to compete with the newer MPC models. They have far more tech in them aimed at the full beat making process in a digital way. The XL is a lot slower and takes more time to work with and there isnt much stuff on the net about how to use them (I'm working on it!). Importing samples etc is slower too where as it would be a breeze with a newer model (via usb or SD I think). However like you mention you do get the old warm sound out of them so that is a big plus point. I personally would love a newer MPC and its next on my list

[@davidscott2095]

@@spvidz Thank you for your input. It seems like it's what everyone keeps telling me, that I should stick with the newer MPC's.

[@culturemax234]

🖤

[@jeffreywilliams5871]

just bought a mpc2000XL and my uncle told me I gotta pair it with an sx400, then I see this video

[@spvidz]

The mpcs and sps work great together 🤝

[@jeffreywilliams5871]

@@spvidz It looks like Tash Sultana used to use a SPS for her live performances too, as a solo artist its really hard to find something that allows you to live perform each instrument in a song. You should do a video on her use of it

[@Caribe_]

Best combo

[@spvidz]

Definitely! I will be doing a tape with the MPC and an SP device soon hopefully!

[@strongocho]

Nah, the best combo is a MPC 2000 and ASR10 rack. That is the beast mode setup.

[@AnisetteVol2]

... and out come the dogs

[@wakurilow5253]

MIDI

[@spvidz]

Going to do a separate video for that, but yeah should have included it here completely forgot!