Damn, okay, I gotta admit I’m sold. I need another sampler about as much as I need a hole in the head but I think I’m leaning more towards the Lofi12 over the SP-404 MKII after reading this. I already decided to get the SP over the Octatrack because I already have a performance mixer/looper covered with the RC-505 MKII. With the Lofi12, the time limitations kinda suck, but I gotta admit, the workflow sounds delightful. I was also recently surprised with a gift of an awe-inspiring, super powerful throwback rack-mounted sampler that I’m planning to use to help me build a massive sample library to use for the rest of my career. So I no longer need the storage capacity that the SP provides. Just thinking out loud here but the Lofi12 might be the last sampler I buy (yeah right). I want to see more videos of people doing cool things with it. This thread needs more links, @Dr.K, you do anything with the Lofi12 lately?
@sclr, can you link us to some examples of how you get down with the Lofi12? @Leptic?
No, it sits right here on my desk but i haven’t got the time to get into it lately. I wasn’t too productive in the last weeks but when i made music i chose something else to play with.
I will get into it again because i really like the Lofi-12. Though it doesn’t do a lot of things that my other sampling devices can’t. It’s just a specific workflow that might catch you or not.
One thing that stands out for me is that you can record playing with the 2 effect parameters into the sequence. If that is needed for the beat is questionable though. But i got some cool sounds out of that.
Haha thank you! That was shortly after i found out about the fx recording. I just recorded a bassline and some drums on the other tracks and had a blast with overdoing everything. And it still came out quite cool.
But i have to say the handling of some functions is a bit quirky or/and needs some time to get used to. The SP-404 mkII can do some stuff a bit better i think. And it has pads, the Lofi-12 only has these crappy plastic buttons. But it has its place too.
the main tips i can give, which there are already videos for and even other samplers cover these tips, is:
sample or resample yourself playing a chord or riff or passage even if its small and chop that. you can even ad lib a bit after you play your main sample and then when you go to chop you will have a lot of variation(i hope this makes sense)
when using the chop feature for something 4/4 its best to use either divisions of 8 or 16. basically i dial in the chop amount(its a setting on a knob) until the break or whatever sample i have is either divided across 8 of the keys or 16 of the keys.
@sclr, okay, thanks for responding. I wasn’t really looking for tips, just like some demo songs folks have made using the device, as I have yet to decide whether or not to purchase one. This is still cool information nonetheless.
The crappy buttons vs actual finger drumming pads faceoff is actually something I need to consider. Thank you @Dr.K.
To be fair, there is enough ammo out there to push me to purchase it. Kable has some cool tracks with it, @captain8 always eats, and that weird but cool school teacher dude in a bowtie that low headroom linked had a sick beat going on it. I can tell it’s got some knock to it and I love the tilt effect. Seems like a real standout with all the randomizing features and resampling. I think I’m already in. Just fishing for more dope Lofi12 tracks/videos because the 404 MKII is also super sexy and way prettier.
Well, it’s not an unfair assessment by any means but yeah, consider the price difference and the (MANY) things that the Lofi12 can do that the MS can’t. 404 is sexier but there are still things that(even after the latest 404 update) Lofi12 can do that the 404 cannot. And the workflow looks much more immediate, especially considering it’s so much cheaper.
The only Roland device I have is the TR-6S, and while I like it a lot, it plus the documentation is wonky enough that I would think twice about getting another device from them. And don’t get me started on Roland Cloud. That said, if someone were to offer me an MC-101 for $250, I wouldn’t object.
I think a pairing of two that make up for each other’s shortcomings makes a lot of sense. In my case I love the Octatrack but I felt like I really needed another polyphonic sampler instrument to complement it, I was considering something like the SP404 but I’ve ended up using a DAW + controllers for the task. BTW I highly recommend the TAL DAC plugin for adding some wonderful lo-fi sampler character to sounds, absolutely love it.
See I have a love hate relationship with Roland/Boss products. I love the old 202/303/404 line. Especially the rare 606 and the new one looks rad. I love the RC-505 MKII. I hated the MV-1 Verselab with a passion. I never want to see that thing again. And Zenbeats can go to hell. But the MV-8000 was so far ahead of it’s time.
@GurtTractor, thanks for the plugin recommendation. Now that I’m invested in the RC-505 MKII, I fear I may never get the Octatrack which I have always wanted desperately.
But i got some cool sounds out of that.