The SP-404 MKII is an Ambient Secret Weapon [ Sampling workflow ]

[@OoraMusic]

This channel is supported by my Patreons, become a member here : www.patreon.com/ooramusic

[@GrootsieTheDog]

I'm already hooked too. Some things to think about what the sp: 1. you don't have to have all your synths set up at once. Have a two synth set up and switch them out with others as needed. 2. Your efx take on a whole new dimension - chopping samples with efx creates very unique sounds and character. You also don't need all your efx in the audio signal. Again, choose what you need. 3. Resample, resample resample - You can create just a few samples, take it to the park or lake, etc, and resample over and over with additional efx...addictive. 4. Instant sound production- when sequencing youre creating a player piano. It's usually just one stage of many stages until you start recording and mixing, etc. The process of sampling with the SP in and if itself is a finished product. Its more immediate - like painting than the often tedious sound production. 5. It's an instrument! It oddly feels more of an instrument than a does a groovebox. Each pad is like a key on some newly invented instrument (with chopping especially) that youve created. 😊😊😊

[@OoraMusic]

man , you said it even before the video. I agree on all of that!

[@remyvegamedia]

Last point was the game changer. When I started treating my SPs like instruments I started getting SO MUCH mileage from them.

[@GrootsieTheDog]

@@OoraMusicHow are you not getting any noise when you turn the SP all the way up and have Ext Input on? The SP is notoriously noisy. Even if I have nothing cming into the SP, I will get some petty noticable noise when master volume is turned all the way up. Do you have noise reduction dB setting turned on? 🤔

[@JamesBermingham]

You could always have some synths connected to a small mixing desk, and have the master outputs of the desk going to the SP 404mkII

[@ccmp23]

Watching this makes me feel some anxiety for the option paralysis we have in 2023 (first world problems!)... but think about the SP404mk2, Octatrack, MPC, Push 3, Force, Maschine, etc, etc, there are a whole host of amazing devices that you could focus on ANY ONE of them and spend the rest of your life making limitless music. I watch this video and think you could happily make album after album with the SP404. We're so lucky.

[@OoraMusic]

I think is a big issue for creatives. Mastering one thing vs being a master of none. I am jealous of the people that stick with one tool and push its limits.

[@DJCJ999]

.. truly a golden age!

[@heiner_kruse]

@@OoraMusictrue. But it’s also good to just have the music goal in mind and be able to do things with whatever machine. I loved samplers and made all my music with Logic and Emu Samplers …. but then they weren’t supported any more and broke…. ever since then I haven found a replacement that was as good …. so I found other ways…..the 404 is great though

[@fabimawn]

I thought about different samplers for over a year and decided on the SP with it being able to be powered by internal batteries and laying nicely on your legs when you for example go to the beach or woods to create a beat. I am currently working on a humongous rhythm game project and I've purposefully limited myself to this device. It's getting more and more fun (apart from a few bugs), and you start to have a bond with your gear. I'd suggest to go to a music store, try a device to see if you like it, if you don't or don't feel a bond within an hour, just don't buy it even though it sounds cool in YT video's or people do crazy stuff with it, if you have tons of musical ideas in your head already within that hour and the price is right... just go with it and don't even think about the rest you could also buy. Enjoy the device for what it is, respect what it can't do and try to do with it what it wasn't designed for, and you might not need a new sampler in 20 years or ever again :) You can always use a DAW if you just want all the features

[@GrootsieTheDog]

​@OoraMusicive I've found compartmentalizing is key! For me personally, breaking it up between two options - sequencing and synth sound design as one method with Maschine MK3 for one particular workflow, and sampling with the SP as an entirely separate workflow. This keeps things interesting for me, I create different music with each method, and the two methods inspire each other and produce unexpected ideas when working with the other(sequencing off grid for example) - I also avoid artistic angst by knowing that I am not limited. But combining the two workflows is not for me. It gets too cumbersome and complicated as I lose focus. Simplicity, minimalism, everything self contained in a small make program file, bank, etc....I prefer that...even external efx is too chaotic for me! Lol 🤪

[@comteaureldelabuironniere3729]

I think it would be very interesting to see a re-sampling of an entire performance, then rearranged in your daw. As much for SP404 users as for other samplers / Groove boxes users 🙌🏻

[@OoraMusic]

good idea

[@TilliKommunikation]

I really love this video because I am a complete beginner on the 404 and this is the best tutorial I have seen so far.

[@OoraMusic]

thank you! I am a beginner too with it, let's learn together!

[@TilliKommunikation]

@@OoraMusic I'm in!

[@Sammy-B]

Great video. I love to see the non-beats people making use of the sampler. I was briefly falling out of love with the 404. It can act very strange sometimes. Good to re-kindle my affair with the SP404 mkII. Keep it up.

[@cr8on-b3rman]

Stumbled upon this while looking for inspiration for my 404…and then realized you were one of the “modular in the roof” performers from way back! Thanks for getting me into this world.

[@ALTARBEATZ]

Yeahh love the OG style of working with samples on the SP 404 MKII.. You told it well. "In the beginning I thought wat the hell is this instrument".. Great video!

[@HIFI1965]

@OoraMusic - I am a long time Patreon, and have always admired your work. Thank you.

[@OoraMusic]

Much appreciated!

[@emptyvesselnz]

I'm really intrigued that, given the SP and the Octatrack are really designed to achieve very similar things, that you get the SP and start triggering/playing the samples yourself. It really shows the ways that different interfaces (especially in hardware I think) can affect how we approach an instrument and interact with it. It's easy enough to perform manually with the Octatrack that way, which I definitely do for certain music, but I don't think the OT really invites you to do that where clearly the SP does. Matt/EZBOT uses his OT at the end of the chain as a master mixer, sampler, looper, multi-fx box fed by a Digitakt/'tone/Syntakt trio. I love using my OT as the source and performing the music on it and lately I've really been considering how nice a 2nd OT would be to use more in the way you're using the SP and ezbot is using his OT. An inspiring video as always, thanks :)

[@OoraMusic]

you are right, different instruments can lead to similar outcomes but involving different workflows. the sp is definitely more a playful instrument, while octa feels more like “precise”tools. ofc love them both :)

[@JamesBermingham]

Cool video. My SP 404mkII is in the post. So I'm bing watching type vids as I wait for its arrival. Thank you

[@OoraMusic]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@vinylarchaeologist]

The image quality of your videos has really matured. Most excellent ❤

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you so much 😀

[@theimperfectionist1990]

It's an incredible machine and the centerpiece of my setup. I record my ambient samples on logic and import into it, then i start to heavily modify them with the many control and effect of the SP404MKII. Moreover, I also pass the elektron model:samples as well as an old smarphone with some free software in its audio input. The SP404MKII is a true gamechanger

[@OoraMusic]

I agree, is an incredible tool

[@oscarjmg]

Great video Oora, just a recomendation, and it is to move the mic from the desk, as every time you touch the pad it sounds really loud.

[@OoraMusic]

yeah, i realized that too late lol

[@postlex]

Very cool - thanks!

[@GeorgeLocke]

Brendan Murray had a drone workflow centered on SP samplers, mic'ing the room to meld the sounds together

[@OoraMusic]

sounds cool! didn't find anything on the web about that tho

[@GeorgeLocke]

@@OoraMusic there seems to be some young whipper snapper who has poisoned the search space...

[@saardean4481]

Beautiful video and channel! I wish the Sp 404 had more Line outputs (more like the Tr8s). Would open so many possibilities to make a "1 Device portable setup with different pedals on the outputs"

[@OoraMusic]

that would be amazing yes

[@avengingsylph]

You mean my SP404 MK2 can also do that!? I severely underrated this instrument...Happy I bought one. I have been underusing it.

[@OoraMusic]

And I need still to unfold all the features! is super good

[@wesrosner]

Great teacher, love this style of music. Subscribed my friend

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks for the sub!

[@Dolle_Man]

[@vvcv__00]

You should try and give the Make Noise Morphagene a test run with you SP. Also, it seems like your getting into the 'sample' a lot, you should check out how powerful the 'Burst' mode is on your Microcosm.... it is so great to use as a transition tool, a sample & hold type of technique, and the list can go on and on! Listening to a bit of your stuff gives me the impression that Burst would work as a nice little technique for you.

[@OoraMusic]

will try the burst today! I like morphagen but struggling with the noise floor and the workflow is a little more complex than the sp.

[@user-kh2du7zc8w]

That music my Christian de Jon Rolly working on for hip country rock r n b

[@BrancoArgenta]

Un Altro paio di updates e diventa una bestia feroce

[@OoraMusic]

mi bastano i volumi dei pad midizzabili :)

[@Jegkedermigmega]

I think it's due time for an update on your learnings and how your workflow have either been finetuned or completely changed when using this device :) I like the idea that we're learning together with you, so to speak. Especially since it's such an odd device, that really - unlike most grooveboxes - don't have a set path to work the device.

[@erikberglund6959]

Beautiful❤

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you! 😊

[@unsaame9505]

Nice demo, thanks! I wish they used endless encoders though, such as the ones on the Midi Fighter Twister... Also, I can't find any example of mapping bank volumes to a MIDI controller (pad volumes may never be a possibility due to the number of available ones throughout all the banks), which is a shame... Nevertheless, I do like the immediacy of sampling into the SP 404 MKII. They also made editing samples way easier than it used to be! I think my ideal all-round sampler would be a mish-mash of this and the Octatrack somehow... So many samplers around, but none really offers what I'm after (tried the MPC Live II, I never "gelled" with the workflow).

[@treesurgeon2441]

I'll have to figure out how to do this kind of stuff on the Polyend Tracker.

[@OoraMusic]

wish I had one to try!

[@AntonyNorthcutt]

My SP is currently up for sale, maybe this session will change my mind :)

[@OoraMusic]

:)

[@manuelsirotti9340]

Nice video. I think the same is a very interesting machine for ambient and experimental music too. I was wondering, can you assign different effects for each pad and then modulate the effects assigned to the different pads? Thank you ! Ps Ulla Strauss ?

[@OoraMusic]

You have 2 fx bus and you can send different pad to them, the modulation is made one at the time tho. Ulla , previously known as Ulla Strauss is the artist I was referring yes.

[@Spacechord]

Anche io lo preso e ho fatto i tuoi stessi ragionamenti 😂❤

[@OoraMusic]

:)

[@dorseia1600]

Beautiful video and sounds as always! I too have been looking into the 404 the past few days, what perfect timing! Question, can you slowly fade in/out loops? I imagine this would be an important feature.

[@jaixiviii]

You can. Resampling is the key. You can take a recorded audio and when you resample, you add whatever you want to the copy as many times as you have open pads/banks. I prefer to create my tracks in the SP and then blend or crossfade the tracks with Ditto x4 looper.

[@OoraMusic]

yes. you can press the encoder and a pad, that will cue the pad without playing it. then you fade in or out the volume. is not the easiest, take some practice and hope this can be make better in a future firmware

[@dorseia1600]

Ok thank you!

[@cristiannaldi826]

ciao, sono molto indeciso tra sp 404 e torso s4, non li ho mai provati ma dai video che ho visto sembra che l'sp 404 sia più versatile ma più difficile da usare, mentre il torso sembra più semplice ma più "limitato", cosa ne pensi? grazie mille

[@OoraMusic]

animali molto differenti. 404 molto semplice da usare, carichi i sample e li lanci, s4 piu creativo e sperimentale. dipende molto dal tuo workflow

[@daneguitarist1]

TE gear looks ridiculous near that sick ass perkons and sp404mk2 god damn this is a sick vibe! the sp rules

[@DanielStepp]

Thanks for sharing your sampler workflow using the SP-404! Can I ask why you made the decision to go with this machine over something like the 1010 Blackbox? I’m trying to find a good performance sampler for ambient sets

[@OoraMusic]

I like how simple the sp404 is and also it has a big artist legacy!

[@DanielStepp]

@@OoraMusic Thanks! Big fan of your channel

[@Rilkir]

Have you tried sequencing your SP404Mk2 with the OXI One? Would this work, any pros and cons?

[@jimnoonan6426]

Great job ❤. Do u have link or spelling of artists u mentioned. Strauss and yukes to hear their music too. Thx.

[@OoraMusic]

This is Ulla : open.spotify.com/artist/0ijZlfRS4zxGYWMxf8rvRN?si=3BF9eLQuSbunseGXfrLxTg This Yukes : www.youtube.com/@yukesmusic

[@aquietgarden]

I'm looking forward to this one. I've been seriously considering getting the SP404 MkII, specifically for ambient performance, live and recorded. There's something about it. Until then, I am learning the ropes using Koala Sampler on my iPhone and iPad.

[@bangmateo7481]

Too small and gimmicky for me.

[@OoraMusic]

hopefully this shed some light. more videos coming son

[@hablalabiblia]

Which headphones?

[@AppAxis]

So single notes make better drones? If so, then does that rule apply to “pads”? What is the difference between a drone and a pad? #AmbientNoob

[@OoraMusic]

not sure if i understand well. but maybe you referring when i was trying to harmonize with the nightsky. i wanted a droning sound that would work woth all the chords, so i realized that harmonizing the sound wasn’t working. i usually lay down a drone or texture ,usually is a si gle mote that fit the scale.

[@BigCityRips]

Frustrating, this was going to be my exact use for my sp404 but the delays in shipping made me reconsider and move on with a Digitakt

[@OoraMusic]

which is a capable machine too, but way different workflow

[@heiner_kruse]

and mono as far as I’ve heard

[@daneguitarist1]

so guitarists spend sooo many hours in "how to make a guitar sound" and i constantly hear people sampling guitar that doesnt have.... all the good stuff am i wrong? love the channel, but why that guitar sample why not like... a blues sample, that has comp and a hint of drive or something that doesnt sound like a DI

[@xrkalitza38]

Please dont do it, i have a family to feed😢

[@jonnyhead]

Ok so just throw everything else out 😂

[@OoraMusic]

ahahah I ll think about it