Forum for all other samplers & synths such as Maschine, MVs, Akai S & Z series, Roland, Korg, OP-1, analog synths etc.
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By NearTao Wed Mar 08, 2023 12:42 pm
Ill-Green wrote:At least the good news is Mk2 is in stock everywhere.

I been rocking the PO33KO. Got the MPC case for it and it's a lot better to use now. MK2 was too big to hide at work, but with this little guy, I can hide in my shirt pocket.


"It's a pocket calculator"
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By Ill-Green Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:17 am
NearTao wrote:
"It's a pocket calculator"

Crazy what they say right.

I'm just seeing these kind of comments the past month. Some complex compositions can be made on it.
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By NearTao Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:09 pm
Ill-Green wrote:
SP404MKII OS 3.0 HAS NOW DROPPED!!!

https://www.roland.com/global/support/b ... eb5cfc116/


Saw this last night... going to have to fire up the editor to work on the Guide and get some more videos out for the update. Looks like it fixes a few pet peeves, and adds some new cool features that I definitely wasn't expecting. With the continued updates for DJ mode going to have to take a harder look at it...
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By Ill-Green Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:03 pm
:shock: wow they did a lot this time around and is steady and bold to challenge the MPC line. The copy feature is off the charts! You can now copy patterns but instead of copying and deleting samples afterwards. Right at the copy menu, you can select which samples will be copied over to the next pattern at the get go. So if your pattern is drums, bass, guitar and synth, just simply hit the samples you don't want in the new copy and the SP will omit those samples but will keep the timing and measures. That there will save me heaps of time.
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By inflict3 Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:02 am
Ill-Green wrote:At least the good news is Mk2 is in stock everywhere.

I been rocking the PO33KO. Got the MPC case for it and its a lot better to use now. MK2 was too big to hide at work, but with this little guy, I can hide in my shirt pocket.


I been rocking the po33ko as well, got the sp1200 case on mines.. :worthy: :smoker: shits a ton of fun!
By jpeg Wed Mar 22, 2023 2:11 pm
the mk2 looks great; but i still prefer the look of the sx; which i have and hardly use but will defo pick up an mk2 at some point; lets see what turns up during namm first.

i would love korg to come with a new electribe where they combine the synth and sampler into one machine and then update the screen, that would be great.

also it would of been nice if some of the zen core sounds was included in the sp404; like maybe 30 of each sound catergory
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By Ill-Green Fri Apr 07, 2023 2:16 am
jpeg wrote:is it really tho

YES! If Akai wasn't so focused on making the MPC the next Ableton, the MK2 is the direction it should have been going and perhaps on a new level of sampling machines by now. The SP really becoming a next level sampler sticking to its roots and this is just the 404, which is the smallest of Roland's line, I can only imagine what they will do to rival the MPC-X.
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By NearTao Fri Apr 07, 2023 5:13 pm
Feel free to take any and all of my opinions with a grain of salt... but for me at least the SP404 mk2 might be in the same ballpark as the MPC, but it's not in the same league, and that's okay. Plus, for plenty of workflows the SP404 mk2 is quite good, and it can trump the MPC in specific use cases. The SP404 mk2 for example is great at fast sampling, it is incredibly portable, and the USB C audio integration is so dang simple and works so amazingly well that I probably put the USB integration at the top of my feature list for the MPC.

Where the MPC line shines is in sample manipulation and sequencing... this has been true from the start, and the line has progressed more or less steadily to present day. The current product line just continues to drive this point home with added plugin effects, instruments, and a very generous and consistent firmware update policy spread across the entire current product line. Sure, any of us can point to specific features and things that bug us, work weird, or don't find specific processes and workflows, but for me, the MPC is an absolute workhorse for getting tracks from start to finish, and over the last couple of years it's really blossomed into an excellent sound design tool. But to unlock any of the advantages and benefits here, you've got to put the time in. You can sample and flip content quite fast, but often the MPC drags you a bit "under the hood" as it were when you want to do something specific.

Where the SP line shines is in the speed of sampling and the immediacy of its effects... this has also been true from the start, and the line from my point of view hasn't deviated from this tradition. The SP404 mk2 has certainly added a lot of features that blur the line... and it is dipping its' toes into more sample mangling and sequencing, but I do feel like it is a bit disingenuous to say that the mk2 is going after the MPC line, there's a baby step there for certain, allowing for testing the waters, but the SP404 mk2 doesn't even really compare favorably against the MPC 500 if you are looking for an MPC style workflow. The SP404 mk2 is incredibly fast at taking an idea and flipping it, especially if you fit into it's idea of "how to do it", as long as you like the effects being relegated to 3-6 knobs, and learning them... you can really do a lot of damage. That said, the sequencer is still only functional, effect automation is okay, the midi implementation even with Type B being added is kind of a pain, and Pad Mutes just irritate me how it is implemented. All this could be me and my MPC workflow baggage, but there's just enough inconsistencies in implementation that I can see the light, but I don't know if Roland will get there or not.

All that said, I think the two really compliment each other very well. The MPC continues to be great for sequencing and sound design, and the SP continues to be great for very fast and efficient sampling and dropping in effects. Do they overlap a bit? Certainly... but I guess I have room for both of them in my studio, and am happy to keep it that way :D
By ShengTao Fri Apr 14, 2023 1:23 pm
MPC-Tutor wrote:Oops, look what I accidentally bought

Image


Sp-404 mk2 Bible forthcoming?? (I hope so)
"The New Testament"