Pioneer Toraiz SP-16

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#1269

I’ve had my SP-16 for about 6 weeks now and I’m still working out how to get the best from it in terms of workflow etc. I wondered if anyone has any thoughts about improving sample management or “curating” samples. Basically, I bought a 64GB USB flash drive so I could fill it with sample packs from Noiiz. It’s great to have loads of loops but I’m finding that browsing all that stuff is actually a bit cumbersome in terms of navigating loads of nested folders etc, and this is particularly true with one-shots. That clicky encoder is going to get worn out!

I’ve experimented a bit with sample chains yesterday (using OctaChainer) and it’s very easy to make them but the SP-16 doesn’t necessarily play well. I tried making chains of 64 kicks, 64 hats, 64 snares etc (64 being the largest slice count) and the SP-16 found some of them too long and they took ages to slice and then navigate the slices so that wasn’t so great. I also figured that it would be easy to make “kit” chains from 16 one-shots and I have loads of kits available from the Samples from Mars “Essential Wavs” pack from Black Friday. Of course, I could also make my own kits but it feels like it would be an awful lot of time spent curating samples on the computer, whereas the SP-16 was intended to get me away from the computer!

I’m sure there isn’t an easy answer regarding curating one-shot drums, but it seems like having literally thousands of one-shots just becomes overload and then browsing them is a chore. Anyway I’d welcome any other ideas that I might not have thought of.

p.s. I bought that Ikea laptop stand for £6.50 including postage and it’s an absolute winner, fits the SP-16 like a glove! I reckon it would alternatively just about fit 2x Digi widthways so that’s an option for Digi users.

#1271

So, I ran into something similar on both the SP-16 and MPC One. A lot of it is my own issue, I’m not a serious musician at all, I just like playing around a bit and usually just wind up creating glorified loops over an hour or two session having limited time. I’ve built up a huge sample library over 20 years of collecting/hoarding and when I got these devices I put in 128GB storage in each and brought over a ton of every imaginable sound.

That was a pretty bad idea, because I just sit there endlessly going through sounds and not really doing much from very basics. 5-10 minutes of going through for each drum sample turns out to be not so fun. Now, I’m doing things differently and it’s working better for me.

Method One – Use the computer:

I create a project folder on the computer and audition samples there. It’s just way faster at least for me. Also, I try not to wait until I’m ready to work on something to do it, rather when I have a few minutes here or there I browse for samples, so things are more or less ready to go when I am.

On Windows, I open my project folder on the left, sample folder on the right and I have an app called ‘QuickLook’ where I can just hit the spacebar to preview samples. If I like it, just drag/drop to the project folder. That’s the fastest way, however, I also like browsing/previewing in Wavelab, because I can also do any quick initial edits/trimming if needed and save a new version into my project folder with a shortcut. This also saves me time from doing those edits on in the sampler. I don’t have to fully load the sample to preview it. Again, just click the spacebar to preview and edit/save if I want to use it. I imagine you can do similar in many other editors or DAW’s.

Once I have my project folder it’s just straight and to the point on the SP-16 of actually making something out of it.

Method Two – use the sampler to… sample:

I tend to forget these boxes aren’t just sample/loop loaders and can actually sample and quite well too (especially the MPC). I might not sample everything by getting the drums and basics from my library, but bass, pads, vocal snippets, etc – I’ll sample those. At least for me, I’m finding that sampling things myself is more fun than just browsing through my library. I’ll use one or two of my hardware devices, vinyl, VST’s on the computer or sample from sources online. The trick though is to not fall into the habit of doing the same thing of endlessly browsing the sources. If I want a pad, I go right to something I know that I can quickly get a pad from. Whatever it is, I find that sampling it with the device just gives something a little extra. I can also use my outboard gear to process on the way in. Perhaps partially placebo effect, but I enjoy the process regardless.

Anyway, it’s working better for me, makes it more fun and hopefully that gives you some ideas. I guess the real key is really trying to limit yourself somewhat to avoid the endless browsing and committing quicker.

4 Likes
#1272

I’m also just a hobbyist (and that’s probably being generous) so I’m not doing this on a schedule or for my living or anything.

Good advice about browsing and then adding to a folder for later use, that’s basically what I was thinking. I don’t particularly want to pay for extra software that I don’t really need like Wavelab so I’m trying to utilise what I already have like Ableton Live Intro. It previews files very quickly (no delay from mouse click to playback) and you can drag them straight out into a folder in Finder (the file explorer on OSX) so that may be the easiest option. I like the idea of curating a not-too-big folder of samples in one sitting and then trying to make a track, or at least a start of a track, with just those samples on the SP-16. Browsing 500 kick drums is just as numbing as browsing endless VST synth presets for me, it just dulls my senses.

I was playing around with the stem export features today on the SP-16 and they seem to work very well. You can choose to “wrap” the FX tails etc and render from the master, individual tracks etc so you have good option to export stems, drop into a DAW and then arrange/edit/mix from there.

Thanks for the suggestions!

1 Like
#1273

I never do massive sample dumps except a few go to packs of basics. Otherwise Im crate digging and or sampling my other gear per song.

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#1274

Those Ikea stands work perfectly, thanks for the recommendations!

I have a new jam up if anybody cares:

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#1275

Which ikea stands

1 Like
#1276

This one

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#1277

Good stuff - SP just sounds so good

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#1278

Anyone use the SP 16 and digitakt together?

#1279

For the briefest of moments I had both. For me though the SP-16 replaced the DT. I would have happily kept both but we had an unexpected vet bill.

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#1280

when you got them both how did you use the Digitakt and did you think the combo worked well or did you think the Digitakt was redundant because you had the SP 16 ? I just bought a Toriaz SP16.

#1281

The few times I used them together, for my purposes, I felt like that was way more sample tracks than I needed. The last time I used the DT with the SP-16 I was using the DT to make loops/samples to feed the SP-16.

The DT would have been mostly redundant for me ultimately. Though Elektron gear tends to lead me down different kinds of paths than other gear so the plan had been to keep it around for a while before selling to see what it would be like with both around the studio .

For making finished studio tracks (starting on hardware, finishing in the DAW) using both boxes would have been overkill, for me, in a single song. For my live setup I only need one sampler, DJ mixer and CDJs. The SP-16 is part of the Pioneer DJ Link ecosystem so it just makes way more sense than the DT for my needs.

I also have an M:S as well lol so I was well sorted for samplers at that point.

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#1282

Thanks! Maybe a sell my DT and buy a synth or Digitone.

1 Like
#1283

any tips where I can get one in Europe right now?
(excl UK, because taxes)

checking it for quite some time already, and right when I was finally ready to get one, it seems I just missed it …

last one I’ve seen was in musicstore.com, but its gone now as well… some of these shops say that more are on the way, but I’m not sure this is the case, considering how dead is the product overall

so sad, really hope to get one

#1284

You can get a used one in mint condition on Reverb.com for some 650 Euros in continental Europe, like I did a month or so ago. :slight_smile:

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#1285

Bunch of used ones on Ebay Kleinanzeigen (Germany).

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#1286

I tried that, the seller had a REALLY good price and he was from a small town less than 100 km from my place in Czechia, but he never replied to my repeated messages (in German) and the site is in German only, so I got an impression they dont sell stuff outside Deutschland, maybe for legal reasons… Im guessing tho and I would like to know how it is.

#1287

These are all private sellers, so every listing is independent of another. I saw 7-8 listings across Germany for the SP16, all used and around 700-750€…which is a little more than I would hope to pay used but still totally worth it for what the device is

Re shipping to the Czech Republic, I can imagine that’s not a huge problem for most as long as you offer to pay by PayPal and pay up front. You should always check the listings, usually people will say whether they are willing to ship or not (“Versand möglich” = shipping possible, “Nur Abholung” = only pickup in person).

Do make sure that you protect yourself against any kind of fraud though (at least as much as possible). Pay by PayPal with a credit card in the back end of it and don’t use family and friends so you can take advantage of PayPal protection.

EDIT: this one is from a reputed seller, it’s a returned item (so B-Stock/Open Box) but otherwise new. It’s in stock and according to their site ships within 1-2 days.

MusicStore also apparently has them in stock, they claim shipping within 1-2 days as well.

And these guys (Pro Lighting) also have it in stock, new for 899€, which is the best of these three deals.
https://www.prolighting.de/pioneer-dj-toraiz-sp-16-professioneller-sampler.html

2 Likes
#1288

Well this guy I was talking to was selling the SP-16 for little 590 Euros, however including a protective bag AND a God damn deck saver. I messaged him a couple of times and I offered visiting him next weekend in person and paying him cash if he wanted to,… Next week the ad was still on, no reply, and so I bought one in mint condition from Spain on Reverb - without the accessories and with some 30 E extra for shipping. But so far Im having good fun with the thing and…
…I would like to say BIG THANKS to MATTPOSITIVE for his post with the link to the manual addendum about firmware updates - I was not aware of this and Im pretty hyped now. :star_struck: :smirk_cat: :ghost: :boom:

EDIT:
see for yourselves what a deal you can get there or anywhere if youre lucky and patient
Pioneer toraiz sp-16 in Sachsen - Bernsdorf | Weitere Audio & Hifi Komponenten gebraucht kaufen | eBay Kleinanzeigen (ebay-kleinanzeigen.de)

1 Like
#1289

It is sold, but thats a new seller…
Everyone should be very careful to buy something they can not pick up personally. I discovered many fraud sellers in the last month at eBay Kleinanzeigen, it is getting worse with assholes trying to rip you off. People with brand new accounts, selling cool stuff for an insane price are the ones to watch out for.

GlaD you got a new one, its well worth that money, I paid the full full price when it still was above 1000 Euro. HAVE FUN!! :partying_face: :grinning:

1 Like