No worries! It creates a default file name if you don’t want to bother with that. I just copy and pasted the whole folder off the SP-16 onto my computer to empty internal memory. I haven’t tried moving it back on and loading a project but it should work. I also made a huge mess I didn’t want to deal with LOL
Another potential tip for anyone…
Something I’ve found useful is to keep my sample library on a 60 gig USB drive and leave the SP-16 blank (except for samples recorded directly into it). If you load a sample from the USB stick and save the project it replicates the folder structure and saves just that sample to the SP-16. That way I’ve only got samples that are currently active in a project on internal memory.
Wow, I was away for a while and suddenly this discussion is on fire!
Have I missed a new firmware update or is the SP-16 still just keeping on being awesome?
If I remember correctly, if you’ve activated the quantize pattern change, it applies that logic to the looping as well. When I did live looping with the Toraiz, I always seemed to get it right and I can’t beat match, DJ or any of that funk if my life depended on it.
One thing I really liked about the Toraiz was its many “You probably want this feature to do that, so we’ll automate most of it for you and just get on with it”.
So many kits have between their sweet spots, so many stupid spots - as in, “You never know, there might be a fool out there somewhere who wants to do it like this, so let’s give them the option”
If anyone wants a case for their SP-16 this seller is knocking the UDG creator case out for £28 on eBay (and they accepted £24 best offer). They’re usually £69.99. I just bought two (fits the TR-8S/MC-707 too) and they’re great! Enough space for the SP-16, power supply, decksaver, and about 10 or more audio/midi cables.
Yeah, it’s interesting that a dev not known for production kits, just enter the scene and say, “Look what we did.” It’s one of the few kits that gets all fundamentals right. It didn’t build on all of them, but each starting point was like, “Yep, that’s how it’s done.”
And they got pretty far. The 1.6 version of Toraiz is a solid piece of kit.
I’m like, “Why did I sell it again?” Gonna have to revisit my notes on that one.
hehe but on a serious note, I have definitely buried any hopes for a new firmware update some months ago after I crept through the facebook account of one of the Toraiz / Pioneer DJ insider engineer… Reading the Google translated posts from Japanese, going from 2016-ish to present time was almost sad to me… From big announcements about the first music machines with integrated online sample library, big featurings and features to lonely kitten videos with 2 likes and no comments… On a personal level, I dont understand this story. Something must have gone totally wrong at some point for some reason. I cant believe it was just a strategic/financial/marketing/whatever decision, but I am usually pretty naive as far as business stuff goes. I personally am convinced they were one or two steps away from future legend status.
but what mainly bugs me is this pic from William from 6 years ago
I really think it came down to marketing position.
Our crowd wasn’t expecting Pioneer to come out with a proper production sampler, so it took quite some time before people took it seriously. A few enthusiasts won’t shift enough product.
And many in the DJ crowd, they probably went “But why would I want this?”
I’m sure the Dave Smith collab was to lend cred to a product that was always going to struggle in a market where devs like Elektron and their friends define what’s cool. But it wasn’t enough to convince enough of us that not only did Pioneer mean business when they build a sampler, they actually also built a really good product.
But enough of us didn’t bite. Because it wasn’t a clear enough proposition.
And that’s the end of it.
I don’t know if this is true. But I’d bet that it is.
I got one early and liked aspects of it. I probably got a bit involved in the forums trying to get Pioneer to pay attention to the ‘almost great’ sentiment. That soured me toward the brand and by extension, the device. Then when they brought out the squid rather than update the SP16 sequencer I concluded Pioneer were wankers. That made for a huge footprint for sequencing / sampling. I would like another crack at sp16 now that all that nonsense is in the past, just need black tape for the logo a la Scotland 78 world cup squad.
All making a lot of sense @circuitghost, however, Pioneer has been undergoing a couple of changes from changing their brand name to AlphaTheta to being sold to Noritsu, and so on.
Toraiz was meant to become their music production brand, which now appears to be a dead department. Not sure if there is anyone with better insights, but I would wonder if those people in charge of the SP-16 development are still working for Toraiz/Pioneer/AlphaTheat/Noritsu . . .
Then, yeah, the SP-16 appears to be too “uncool” to create sufficient sales, justifying further development. A chain of failures from releasing a half-baked product, bad timing, and structural changes inside the company.
Over here in China, you can see the full bandwidth of gear in use from Elektron to the most obscure modular devices, GAS is as present as anywhere else, just not for the Toraiz line of products. I haven’t seen any SP-16 in action since its release, except for a very early and influential adaptor (a gear maniac), who immediately sold it, stating that it would be absolutely useless and crap.
My understanding is that the Toraiz team didn’t get the support internally that management had originally meant to dedicated towards it — wouldn’t be surprised if the somewhat botched release & unfinished state of affairs with both products, SP16 and AS1, contributed towards that.
I also read somewhere that the relationship with Dave Smith wasn’t exactly all peaches and cream and that DS wasn’t all too happy with how things went.
I might be completely wrong though, all heresy
We have an ex Toraiz engineer among our ranks I believe, will have to go through this thread and find him/her & tag them… maybe they can give us a little more insight on why and how things went down.
That’s a good way to make something annoying for “some” a good use for you…
We can also extend that only your very favorites samples end up on the internal storage of your SP16… (suddenly it can become interesting)
And i do think to have some kind of file strategy with a sampler is a great way to enjoy it more. i talked about that in what i’m writing and also the fact that to get the GEAR OF OUR DREAM would be to pay someone to design it on OUR expectation/features request… (and THAT would coast probably 3 or X times the original price maybe more and a computer would still be the best candidate depending on our expectation level)
FACT: limiting is good for creativity – (but) that imply you find your own way on a particular piece of gear without complaining too long (or worst end up with selling, testing, selling) – we need to do music that’s our primary goal we are not beta testers.
(…) at least after having passed the phase of disappointment of not having everything we want, we should having a phase of study and mind thinking to get the most out of the device as it is
and not as we would hope it to be.
But sometimes selling is legit i must admit and also, our free time is very subjective to us so trying in the 30 days warranty return is not usually doable. (thanks to place like here and nauts to help btw)
On a side note, I’m seeing so many SP-16s on sale for very good prices that if space and money weren’t such big problems right now I’d probably get another one just as a backup.
(what could it be?)