Roland SP404A

Soooo, a new sampler from Roland…
Looks geared up for integrated use with the TR8 but anyways.


Hope that ‘Sounds By Loopmasters’ legending is a sticker that can be removed equally as fast as the sounds themselves…

Its not really new. It’s the same as the sp404s, just with new samples and new black look.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not interested but it has some extra integration tricks with the TR8.
It is new if no one owns it yet :wink:

No vinyl sim compressor = Roland is clueless

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It doesn’t. The TR-8 got an update to send midi out for both the SP404s and SP404a. That’s it. The SP404A has no special firmware for the TR-8 or does special things. It’s in fact the exact same sampler with same firmware just with new color.
:slight_smile:

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Fair enough, either way it’s no mpc killer :grinning:

Are you serious?
Just a new color?
Why the heck have they released this thing then?
This is a new low, even for Roland :unamused:

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Yep, it’s just a cosmetic update to make it match the Aira stuff more closely, the SP404-SX is functionally exactly the same and works the same way with the TR-8 trigger stuff.

Still surprised they haven’t made a proper Aira sampler yet.

Get it together Roland

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:joy::joy::joy:

AIRA black-and-green color scheme to match existing AIRA hardware

killer feature

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That OTmk2 is looking pretty good NOW, right?! HMMMMM?!

Maybe as they were finalizing that rumored new machine with vintage sampler emulations they were intimidated by the flurry of awesome new samplers and said “eff it, slap some of that nasty green paint on all those 404s we have left over and call it a day.”

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A complete waste of time and effort Roland. Why not give the SP404 a wee upgrade that is actually worthwhile?! You can’t sample whilst other samples are playing back which is a huge workflow killer. Apart from this glaring oversight it’s a great box, or at least the SP404 and SP404SX are cause they ain’t ugly…

Will Roland ‘do an elektron’ and release a firmware upgrade to the SP404A that also updates the SX (a la OT Mk II and Mk I)?

I’ve just succumbed to picking up an SX on eBay … good price and though I’ve too many machines already that might do similar things, I intend to use it as a battery powered stereo quasi OP-1 tape with 12 tracks and a nice range of effects. Quite like what I’ve seen of the workflow for tapping out grooves and how it might play well with midi from my midified elektrons … neither the OT nor DT quite offer that tape-like flow.

Already thinking of putting DIY 3.5 mm stereo IO sockets into it. Wonder how much free space there is inside the case for anything else …

I love my sx, I have gear that can do 10 times more than the sx…yet the sx is the most used piece of gear in my studio. It’s in the signal chain no matter what I use.

Check out the sp forum, a lot of great info & good people (www.sp-forums.com). & if you want to learn your sp inside & out, join the battles. I’ve had my sx for 3 years, entered my first sp battle like 3 - 4 months ago & my sp skills have drastically increased.

Explore the effects! You can only apply 1 effect at a time, but it is worth it to resample over & over with effects. It really can be used as a sound design unit.

Also amazing beats can be made with the sequencer (tip: turn gate & loop off the last sample in a sequence for smooth transition from sequence to sequence). I like combining resample mode WITH the sequencer (make loops in resample mode, put them in the sequencer, add 1 shots, ect).

Any questions hit me up. The sx isn’t for everyone, but even if you don’t like making beats on it, it has several other uses.

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Cheers! Looking forward to playing with it. Used to have a 606 but it’s awkward shape didn’t hum for me. Though it was a good box all the same. Like the 404’s focus. Should be here in a week :grinning:

Nice, you have sp experience :slightly_smiling_face:
The sx is def focused, that’s a good way to describe it!

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That’s an excellent way to describe it (I have an sp555) :slight_smile:

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See, this is good stuff. I was looking at getting a portable sampler for doing work on the go; at least I know I don’t have to shell out £400 for a SP404A when a 2nd hand SX will do.