Pioneer Toraiz SP-16

I don’t think you can

thanks

What’s the advantage of this over the live? I know all the plus points of the live but where does this beat the live?

Would this be a better machine for live performance and jamming?

Feature wise, the MPC Live wipes the floor with the SP-16 or DJS, hands down.

I don’t think it’s the features that make the Pioneer sample/sequencers so fun. It’s just how they’re laid out. It’s a different beat making experience.

Everything’s kind of right there in front of you and it’s easy to do what you want to do. I don’t know. Hard to explain.

One thing that comes to mind though, is the Pioneer lone has step sequencer buttons on the outside of the machine. Not inside the software. That’s a big plus. Like an Elektron.

6 Likes

I had a live and sold it recently, its an awesome machine full of features but I found it similar to using ableton and my controller. The processes and music created where very similar. If I was to ditch the computer it would be the machine for me.

I have always be interested with the sp though because I dj and it looks like it could be useful in dj sets for adding my own productions. The live was ok for this but the clip launching aspect felt like the area it didn’t excel in.

everything right there without the menu diving and the step sequencer buttons definitely are big plus

1 Like

hi i’m thinking of picking one up too, tried the force and live, both very good bits of kit in their field, no two ways about it but too menu intrusive for me.

The SP looks fast and quick to lay down ideas, Im no music producer so wont bitch it hasnt go this and that. I just want something i can thro samples at to loop and enjoy bashing it out.

My only worry reading all this is the 256 Mem situation. I tho the live was badwith only 2g

So am i right in saying you can have 16 samples all different, from loops to one hits in a 1 scene. No i move to scene 2. Do i have to have them same 16 samples in scene 1 because of the memory or can i have completely all new 16 samples so to speak on each pad?

Also if i record in a sample albeit the 32 sec or whatever it it. Is that just limited to 1 per 16 pads or could you (not that you prob want too) have tech all 16 pads of recorded in samples or would this max the memory out ?

Thanks in advance. Its fantastic kit just worried where i been used to throwing all at it i may max it out very quickly

Mark

Hey, welcome to Elektronauts :blush:

Each scene has its own sixteen samples. And you got sixteen scenes per project. You can record your own stuff onto all
sixteen slots if you want, or mix and match betweeb midi, audio in, loops, one shots and whatnot.

Since the Toraiz don’t play long stems, in practice, the 256MB limit isn’t a big deal since this isn’t an instrument that’s designed for ten minute recordings of slow, evolving pads (for example). It runs circles around the Akais and Elektrons when it comes to workflow and to some extent, output quality and the shaping of such. 2fx slots per track and a master effect with Pioneer quality essentially puts you in a recording studio, as far as quality goes.

In features and complexity of song structure, the Toraiz is last in line, tho.

But ask yourself this - all them ideas on polyrythms, different time signatures, random sequence plays, conditionals and stuff - when did they last define the raw quality of your favourite tracks?

I’m revisiting some of my old stuff now and finding what I’m most pleased with, are just those which had a good beat, a catchy lead and a bass that followed.

3 Likes

Thank you CircuitGhost for very fast reply

You’ve made my mind up I’m getting it lool

Your right, i don’t care for all the elaborate effects and suchlike, what i care about is getting ideas down quickly and just having fun. Swapping out pre made loops and one shots along with cutting them up is enough to make any beginner a decent beat.

Now i know your not limited to just 16 pads a song its even better. Most loops are no longer than 10 seconds if that so should all gel with this well.

Can i just ask another one, if i drop a couple of pre made samples in to a pad. from loopmasters or anyone one else. say im working at 120bpm track but the actual sample inserted was made in like 130 or suchlike, would the toraiz try to bring the sample in line with what i am doing or would i have to find a sample in the correct tempo to match.

If it was/were able to match what i was doing, would the sample in theory either speed up or slow down ie sound like a chipmunk as its trying to blend it in

Thank you again

THIS !

@Markcornishboy45 its simply the ease of use , The sound quality is superb .When you pay the prices we do for gear, it should be fun and not a graduate level course in basic engineering .And yes as I have said before there are sooo many other units that beat the pants off the SP16 feature wise but none as enjoyable for me .I also owned the MPC LIVE and currently Maschine MK3 (about to sell it)

1 Like

I’ve only played it in shop I’ve not bought one yet that’s why I’m asking

1 Like

Based on Circuitghost I’ve ordered this morning from djkit can’t wait to get it

2 Likes

Yep, it has a (great!) time stretch algoritm. One of the best I’ve heard, actually.

Your description of what you’re going to use the Toraiz for, I’d say fits it perfectly. I know a lot of people out there say that it’s too expensive, and yes, if you compare feature by feature, sure. But I’m not hearing anyone say that the SSL SiX is too expensive, and above all things, the SSL SiX brings an outstanding quality to your sound. Yet it’s quite expensive if you’re comparing it to a Tascam Model 12.

I don’t see why that’s not worth a few extra dollars for a sampler, too. I’m usually bothered much more about getting coherence and that glue into my tracks when I’m within a box or two, and the Toraiz just fixes that. You can get there with Elektron boxes too, but it’s like that song from George Harrison - “It’s gonna take time, whole lot of precious time”.

I kind of like that this makes my songs sound better than perhaps they deserve, so that I can focus on the song writing, at the expensive of maybe not being Aphex Twin or Devine all the time. Though with resampling, I’m not sure there’s not anything you can’t do, really. Which the Toraiz has, as well.

2 Likes

Ha, just found out this thing quantizes live playing, not just recording. Suddenly, I can play my synths live through this thing and it sounds like I actually got some sense of timing.

And it has parameter locks for midi cc to and the touch strip can be assigned to midi cc as well. This thing is making me look way better than I deserve.

2 Likes

Whoa, quantized playing of the pads out to midi gear? That’s nuts.

Let me ask you this… are there any workarounds of having a sample play longer than 4 bars? Something like having a long looping sample (every 10 bars, for example) that gets triggered once and just sustains over multiple cycles of the sequencer? Because that is something I could work with.

1 Like

Yep, I’m doing this now, and the way I approach it is that I trigger the loop on step one, bar one. Then, I jump to a new pattern before the current one repeats itself, but on that pattern, I have no triggers on the track that plays the loop. It then keeps on playing, and if you set it to time stretch and loop, it’ll keep looping on its own, no matter the sequence length in general.

I used this trick on the Octatrack from time to time, and it works here, too.

2 Likes

But if you want to stay on the same pattern, could you just “mute” the note on the track (i.e. turn it off as soon as the note event plays) and have it still sustain?

I’ve also found a way around the lack of polyrythms, which is perhaps what I miss the most here. It’s not great, but it works for me (and generates other interesting results instead).

Since you can set the Toraiz to switch pattern on the step, not necessarily after a complete bar or pattern, you can very quickly jump between different patterns within one scene, much like Elektron’s sequencers allow you on their flagship machines. With loops running across this, triggered only from one pattern, they can run independently between pattern switching while each pattern can be its own micro-cosmos of step length and as a consequence, create the idea of polyrythms.

It won’t be the equivalent of multiple tracks running their own step length lives to the beat, but this approach does create other results, thanks to the implemention which is very quick and performance-oriented. This, together with the assignable touch bar, really offers a lot as far as making tracks that don’t sound necessarily disco banger four by four-ish, if you want to get away from this.

2 Likes

Yep, that also works. In fact, you can assign
pads quantize to a relative low number, so you can probably do this live then.

1 Like

Haha, it’s funny I had mine up for sale for weeks here, no interest, ended up selling it on the bay, now I do kind of miss it, and you’re not helping :rofl:

Joking aside though, you made some very valid points, it is probably one of those machines which will become sought after exactly because it isn’t trying to be a all in one thing like the new MPCs. Its the antithesis of that.

3 Likes