KP3 - Sample length limitation for one shot samples?

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CFC
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 7:49 pm

KP3 - Sample length limitation for one shot samples?

Post by CFC »

I was wondering if there is a limitation on how long a uploaded one shot sample can be. I can't find anything about it in the manual.
Any suggestions?
xmlguy
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Post by xmlguy »

The KP3 sample length is reported in musical beats, which can be converted to seconds if you know the beats per minute of the music.

For example, at 120 BPM, each beat is half a second, and at that BPM the KP3 allows a maximum of 16 beats to be recorded, which ends up being a maximum of 8 seconds of sample time. Slower music (lower BPM) will have a bit longer sample time, but don't think you can increase the sample time much more than this by setting a lower BPM than the music actually uses, because setting a low BPM will also reduce the max beats from 16 to 8.

So if you want to play long tracks of audio, like full tracks or long loops, then the KP3 is definitely not for you. I'd recommend the SP-404 for that purpose, but any number of loopers/samples are better for long loops or tracks.
CFC
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 7:49 pm

Post by CFC »

Thx for the answer!
I was just wondering because I have some pretty long movie quote samples and I wanted to import them as one shot samples.
But chopping up the sample and loading the individual samples on different banks is also an option.
xmlguy
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Post by xmlguy »

You're welcome! For movie quotes I would definitely use my SP404 because it has 12 pads and 10 banks, but more importantly, it can play directly from compact flash without a separate load process. So you can just plop in different CF cards for each song or set and you can start triggering one shots immediately. I regularly see SP404s for under $200-250. The SP404SX is more expensive because it's newer, and you can buy a hell of a lot of CF cards for the difference. SDHC is nice, but you don't get 32 times more functionality going from 1GB CF to 32GB SDHC, and you still only get the same number of banks/pads. 1GB CF is enough for 8+ hours of samples, and who needs 256 hours - 10 straight days of sample time?

But it the KP3 was all I had and I couldn't afford more gear, then using it as best you can is a reasonable option. It will be a bit more work with only 4 pads and having to load other ones from SD during songs if you need more. The KP3 is much better for looping music than the SP404, so I'm not putting it down, as I'm just describing the weaknesses vs. the strengths.
CFC
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 7:49 pm

Post by CFC »

Of course...a more proffesional hardware sampler would be more effective.
Normally I use my MC-909, the Triton Extreme, or the Kontakt 4 software as sample devices but as for jamming on the go (I travel pretty much) I don't want to carry my bigger gear around all the time.
The Kpro & the KP3 are pretty small and comfortable to transport so I wan't to use the KP3 as some kind of portable sampler.
In that case the Kaoss Pad 3 is perfect ;)
xmlguy
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Post by xmlguy »

SP404 runs on AA batteries and is compact. I can fit my KPro, KP3, SP404, Kaossilator, miniKP, and DSi+DS-10 in a small bag. That's a lot of music potential in a bag.
CFC
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 7:49 pm

Post by CFC »

lol yes! I was thinking about getting the Nintendo Synth too! This little piece of software seems pretty proffesional for a DS Cartridge.
Has the DSi better Audiooutput than the DS?
xmlguy
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Post by xmlguy »

Yes, the DSi has significantly better audio than the DS/DS Lite, particularly the bass performance. There's a lot of cool music apps for the iPod Touch. Since the iPod Touch 8GB sells for under $200, the cheap apps give it a lot of possibility. The AKAI SynthStation app and keyboard looks very promising.
CFC
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 7:49 pm

Post by CFC »

I heard the 3DS will be backward compatible to old cartridges. So I think I will wait for this one and buy the Korg DS synth along with it.
Next Korg Synth in 3D please! lol
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