Roland SP-404 mkII

the resample crashes are gone but.... now i had 2 random reboots while performing patterns (luckily i was just rehearsing at home...), something that never occurred before... i think this is worse because resampling you do when preparing your productions\liveset, but this new bug affects live performance! i'm not able to reproduce it tho, and it was just twice in two weeks of heavy use... still a bit scared tho...

oh and the sound gen envelopes are still stuck doing nothing at all... anyway i explored the microscope editing features, they are really really solid!

The sound generator envelopes only impact the first cycle of the waveform... I suspect that this is by design.

I only noticed it because I recorded into Ableton live a bunch and was able to see what it was doing... despite thinking it is rather silly

NearTao wrote:The sound generator envelopes only impact the first cycle of the waveform... I suspect that this is by design.

I only noticed it because I recorded into Ableton live a bunch and was able to see what it was doing... despite thinking it is rather silly

this is interesting! did not notice! have to make a few tests!

I barely make beats with my SP-404 these days; my MPC X has me locked in too deep to give it enough attention...

I'm thinking of getting an SP to pair with my MPC 1000 (JJOS2XL) so I can get a lot more out of my very basic setup I use for live gigs.
Plan is to keep the MPC as the sequencer & main brain of the operation, & swap the larger more RAM heavy samples over to an SP, with the MPC covering the small sized hits like drums & bass. MPC would trigger all the SP's samples via MIDI. So basically I wouldn't really want to mess with the SP that much in a live situation outside of the FX.
I'm almost certain this is entirely possible & not particularly complex to implement, & from what I can gather from info online, the MPC & SP combo seems like a solid choice - the MPC has the killer workflow that I'm well used to, & the SP has more memory capacity than I could possibly max out plus all the dope FX & hands on improv functions that make it great for live use.
Clearly the SP404 mk2 is the best option, just wondering if there's anything to be said for the older models?
Price Vs function etc..? Honestly there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in price these days so probably best to go for the MK2 imagine?
Any tips welcome & appreciated, thanks!!

*Not sure if this is the right spot for this post, but I'm sure mods can move if there's a better thread

It will be super easy to pair the MPC and the SP404 mk2... the MPC has enough outputs, and with the pair of stereo inputs, you can setup the SP as a fx loop no problem.

A few things to note...
* the SP404 mk2 has a sample limit of ~16 minutes (you can get ~32 if you load two mono tracks...) probably fine for you... but worth noting
* you won't be able to play more than one SP404 mk2 note chromatically at a time... for one shots (and loops) it's fine...
* if you're going to be using loops... the way they work can be a bit wonky... but there are modes and tricks to get them to work better/sync up with external
* you can trigger SP404 mk2 patterns from the MPC... so you *could* use both pattern sequencer (which then allows SP404 mk2 chromatic play)
* the looper on the SP404 mk2 is workable... you might be able to do some fun things with it
* you can use the SP404 mk2 as a pseudo mixer to also pull audio in from over USB-C and the guitar/mic port (allows you to use a phone etc...)

Overall, I'd say the two pair quite well... the SP404 mk2 is a bit of a Swiss army knife style device... and can likely find something interesting to do in just about any studio. That said, it's not the best at any particular thing... so comparing it directly to other gear it can seem bad. Biggest complaint most people have is the number of chorded shortcuts to work your way around. You don't need to know all of them... and honestly for me... I'd rather the functionality be there than have to wait for an updated device.

Posted in video form as well... .

Finally... feel free to download my free guide or quick start for the SP... should give you a leg up.

Thank you Mr Tao! You're doing a great public service, much respect!
I subscribed to your channel a month or so back but hadn't seen that particular video, so thanks for the link, very helpful!
Yep I think the Mk2 seems like the best choice for me, mainly just to take some RAM pressure of the 1K & for the effects capabilities, and of course the price being affordable is a major plus!

Now I'm eyeballing this new Roland P-6 as well, purely for it's wild granular mode.. SP first though
just when I thought I had a solid plan & budget in mind

Oh I just made the video, today, based on your post

It's currently unlisted, but will probably "officially" drop next week based on my backlog for daily videos.

After watching the video I'm pretty confident it's a good choice & it'll do everything I need it to do, thanks again!
No chromatic / multisample trickery involved in my current live projects, so that's not an issue for me, & the 16min stereo sample limit should be no problem at all either.
I didn't realise the video was in direct response to my enquiry, that's amazing & I'm so very grateful you took the time to respond in depth, you're a legend & thank you once again!!

I have uploaded version 0.36 of the guide. Go check it out at https://neartao.wordpress.com/2024/11/0 ... ide-v0-36/

I am not convinced of what benefit you get adding sp404mk2 to MPC1K. It's redundant.

There's other modules you can use for FX. I use Ensoniq DP4. Basically can use my MPC1000 with same FX as the ensoniq ASR-10.

Rather than Roland SP404 i would keep all your samples inside the MPC1000. 128 mb is plenty of ram. MPC1000 gives you plenty of storage.

Best addition to MPC1000 is outboard FX or an outboard filter. Maybe run each out to a mixer and use the mixer to mix the FX into each track and as extra EQ.

Maybe you missed or misread my original post, my main motivation for getting an SP is the extra sample time, good FX are just an added bonus.
I'm doing 2 hour live shows with a singer ( 2 x 1hr sets) & the 1K has served me well up to this point, but now the 128mb RAM limitations are preventing me from making & adding new beats to the sets, as I'm just about maxed out. Letting an SP take the pressure off by hosting most of the longer stereo samples, with the MPC sequencing via midi, that's my main plan. And of course, the dope FX on the SP's are added incentive too also!
Looks like I may be getting a used SX or A rather than the mk2 now though due to budget issues, but either of those models should be fine for what I need it to do!

Sense-A wrote:I am not convinced of what benefit you get adding sp404mk2 to MPC1K. It's redundant.

There's other modules you can use for FX. I use Ensoniq DP4. Basically can use my MPC1000 with same FX as the ensoniq ASR-10.

Rather than Roland SP404 i would keep all your samples inside the MPC1000. 128 mb is plenty of ram. MPC1000 gives you plenty of storage.

Best addition to MPC1000 is outboard FX or an outboard filter. Maybe run each out to a mixer and use the mixer to mix the FX into each track and as extra EQ.

i use this same workflow, i have my laptop plugged into my mk2 via usb c for midi and audio from my daw.

i then apply FX using my mk2, trigger pads via midi from my 2500 and for more control i sample into 2500.

why would i do this?

the pads are better on my 2500, the sequencer is better, if its nice outside i put batteries in my mk2 and sample from my phone via usb-c.

has any real musician ever used an sp 404?

SpectacularCommodity1776 wrote:has any real musician ever used an sp 404?

why does that matter?

wonder what Roland have up they sleve from 404 day 2025