Zoom ST-224 (The Dirt Machine Reborn)

First of all, I would like to apologize about the "clicky" sounds (camera/microphone placement, folks). I would also like to announce that I purchased an Akai MPC500 off of Ebay, only to put it up for auction within a matter of days. It wasn't that it was too complicated, I had a couple beats within hours of opening the box. I just didn't like the fact that such an expensive ($400 w/128 MB upgrade) device couldn't automatically calculate tempo. I actually found a spot in the manual that read, "if you don't know the tempo..." What the french, toast!!! You're supposed to know the freakin' tempo, Akai "Professional"!!! I realize it''s only the 500, but seriously, folks!!! Don't get me wrong, there are many good MPC500 videos on here, but at the end of the day, I'm an instrumentalist (guitar, bass, keys, etc...), and I can't be forkin' over all that money for something that expensive that can't do the simple things that my cheap ($75) gear can (I also hate the save/load process on the MPC500). Thank you.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Zoom
• ST-224
• Sampletrak
• sampler
• beats
• loops

[danno615]

@three77sparks hi i put one on layaway thinking it was a effects pedal for a guitar obiously its not, but since i am committed to it now is there a way i can play a drum track through my amp and play along with it or should i just re-sell it? it seems like a cool instrument but i just do not know anything about it i am getting it for 80 bucks i hope thats a decent price for a pawn shop thanks either way DW

[Three77Sparks]

@danno615 Yes, you can use it as a drum machine. However, there are some limitations. You can assign a different pattern to each pad in "pattern play" mode, but you have to switch patterns on the spot. You can either sample individual drum sounds to each pad, creating a "kit" and program a beat live...or...you could sample a drum beat (or anything else for that matter) and play over it. Remember, most of the effects are tempo-synced, so you could run your guitar through it at the same time.

[DJOnesNzeroS]

Sweet beat was tapp'n on my Galaxy Tab to the beat. Thanks 4 the share

[UrbanCrunkMovement]

Finding tempo is easy, you tap a button then adjust it. If you were a DJ you would only use Traktor because beatmatching would be to hard for you.

[armybert]

give it a try, they are very fun!

[beatsbydab]

i used to have 1 but there is 1 complaint the midi clock sync cant align with my cubase so you cant lyer record sounds on rhythem

[Three77Sparks]

I've owned the Korg ES-1. THE GOOD: Better MIDI than Zoom. Nice pattern-based sequencer. Records knob movements. Drum roll button. THE BAD: Rigid 16th note quantization (as opposed to Zoom, with nearly "free time" recording). The worst reverb effect ever (Zoom's slightly better). Only one level of recording quality (32KHz, as opposed to Zoom, with three (32KHz, 16KHz, 8KHz). Korg would be easier to program drums for live use, but Zoom can handle non-drum sounds (scale feature) and loops better.

[wolveshawksandkites]

Nice. Thanks for the info. Samplers are currently my addiction and I'm trying to decide between this and a Korg ES-1 (I've also got a Yamaha SU700 right now...ha).

I've used a Boss RC20XL live a lot, but am hoping to make some more complex accompaniment via a sampler/sequencer.

[Three77Sparks]

Yes ($100-$150). I bought a second one for $50 off eBay once, but they seem to be going up a little bit. I too am more of a traditional musician (bass first, guitar second).

[wolveshawksandkites]

What's a reasonable price for one of these--$100?