Roland SP555 vs Korg ESX1

navitus · Post by **navitus** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 9:44 pm

Whats up. I'm looking for a groovebox to play along and sync with my TB303. Ideally i want a sampler/sequencer which allow me to sequence one shot samples and also trigger loops. The Sp555 can do this, but apparently the loops don't stay in sync for too long unless they are also triggered by a sampler.
The ESX has 16 parts but only 2 parts for loops. It also has more real time control options.

whats a better buy. This is for serious FUN mostly as i produce in software.
any other machine i could look into. The common ones in the market have their own synth engine which i'm not too interested in.
Cheers
F

furrybum · Post by **furrybum** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 9:57 pm

The Korg is great i think. Really easy to program but the memory sucks if you use loops.

Not used a 555 but used to have an SP505. This was trickier to work with but ou could run samples from a memory card. Maybe the 555 is the same.

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:31 am

definitely I'd go with this.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/msg/923776980.html

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:33 am

as you can see for the price of an sp555 you could get an mpc and kaosspad which is a very disgusting, treacherous, sticky, filthy combo indeed

musicmachine · Post by **musicmachine** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:31 am

navitus wrote:Whats up. I'm looking for a groovebox to play along and sync with my TB303. Ideally i want a sampler/sequencer which allow me to sequence one shot samples and also trigger loops. The Sp555 can do this, but apparently the loops don't stay in sync for too long unless they are also triggered by a sampler.
The ESX has 16 parts but only 2 parts for loops. It also has more real time control options.

whats a better buy. This is for serious FUN mostly as i produce in software.
any other machine i could look into. The common ones in the market have their own synth engine which i'm not too interested in.
Cheers
F

The SP-555 only has a one track sequencer compared to the esxs' 16 but you can overdub as many times as you like and your phrase can be from 1-99 bars in length. I haven't used it much as i slave mine to my RS7000 so can't comment on the timing.

Yeah the esx has many more realtime controls, the SP-555 is more suited to adding sounds and triggering samples than being a fully fledged sequencer imo. The fx are great and the sampling is implemented really well.

The timing of the autostart function is not always perfect so it can take a few goes sometimes to get the timing of the phrase right but the SP555 cleverly trims the loop end point and it usually loops seamlessly when copied to a pad.

I had a esx previously which is a better sequencer but the fx and sampling on the SP-555 are much better and the compact flash and usb streamlines sampling from multiple sources. The creative sampling is great on the SP555 due mainly to the fx and the way the sampling is implemented, it's designed for realtime usage. You say you mainly use software so the Sp555 would be ideal as you already have a sequencer. It also works as an audio interface so everthing is integrated. It only runs at 44.1khz though.

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 4:08 am

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=lLtDAl633GQ

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 4:13 am

some looping here.

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=1X4ryGe3g ... re=channel

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 4:18 am

another thing I like about this combo is that you never know what is going to inspire you creatively, this isn't me in these clips but I often use this set up, there is alot of flexibility to be had. as both the kp3 and the mpc 500 are beast on their own and you can even sequence the kp3 with the 500 if you like, options are endless.

navitus · Post by **navitus** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 8:08 am

Cool videos, but i'm not interested in playing the pads myself, as in no real time drumming.

I want a box which can sequence beats and the the sequencer can start/sync the patterns on the TB303.

I have a KP3 already. I can use the sampler in the KP3 for triggering loops.

I need fx control and be able to mute sequencer tracks.
Maybe an ESX-1/SP-555/KP3 combo later on, but start with an ESX1.

.............but wait.

Live with a trigger finger and control surface is the ULTIMATE MOST FLEXIBLE groovebox ever!!!

Can't Live send midi sync signal to a TB303 (with a midi to sync convertor)
I read somewhere that the MIDI sync sent by Live isnt very accurate and external gear often loses sync. true ??

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:10 am

navitus wrote:Cool videos, but i'm not interested in playing the pads myself, as in no real time drumming.

I want a box which can sequence beats and the the sequencer can start/sync the patterns on the TB303.

I have a KP3 already. I can use the sampler in the KP3 for triggering loops.

I need fx control and be able to mute sequencer tracks.
Maybe an ESX-1/SP-555/KP3 combo later on, but start with an ESX1.

.............but wait.

Live with a trigger finger and control surface is the ULTIMATE MOST FLEXIBLE groovebox ever!!!

Can't Live send midi sync signal to a TB303 (with a midi to sync convertor)
I read somewhere that the MIDI sync sent by Live isnt very accurate and external gear often loses sync. true ??

the thing is, and i'm sure someone else will confirm this for you but, the mpc is exactly the machine that would fufill you're request, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the mpc, but it is the closest hardware to Live, and you won't have any of the midi issues that live has, and you'll be able to do your muting and even the mpc can sequence it's own muting, before you spend money you really should check it out. the requirments you've listed are almost the mpcs intended purpose.

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:13 am

muting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4YZd5Zptp4

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:18 am

here is a better clip, diff mpc but the same feature applys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TwRhohpVoE

starving student · Post by **starving student** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:22 am

like the vid says, a very useful feature

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PON0wqxCovw

navitus · Post by **navitus** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:07 pm

Hey Starving Student,
first of all, thank u so much for ur detailed responses and all the links u shared. The akai MPC's hadn't crossed my mind and yes they great machines.
My only problem is that i mentioned i wanted a groovebox to have lots of fun with and i dont see any real time controllers on the MPC 500, only 2 sliders.
I'm after something with knobs which i can tweak and direct access to FX parameters.

I'm really impressed by the guys who use a couple of grooveboxes and play a whole live set.

I'm after that vibe.
what do u suggest keeping all this in mind ?

Thanks dude.

ps: may u not starve for long, on campus employment ??? work study ?

navitus · Post by **navitus** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:17 pm

...also i'm not into the whole finger drumming thing, though i must say its a great skill and i've seen some vids where the guys were playing pads as if they were playing a real kit. Awesome talent to have.

I'm into tweaking knobs, mute/unmute, fx control kinda things.

Roland SP555 vs Korg ESX1

Roland SP555 vs Korg ESX1

Re: Roland SP555 vs Korg ESX1