I’m looking for a straight-forward but capable sampler for under £400 that will allow me to lay down some beats and sample some keys and guitar. I want something opinionated and fun.
I’m interested in both the SP404MK2 and the KOII - they have different strengths (and are often even used together). I’m interested in the thoughts and opinions of this motley crew for my use case.
Getting ahead of the obvious:
I have experience with MPC and they are powerful machines but I want something a bit more ‘to the point’ - I have Ableton for more full-featured composition and production. There’s a non-0 chance I’ll own one again one day but it’s not something I’m considering right now (also out of budget).
A Digitakt II would be great but I’m keeping my budget to £400 so it’s not in the running this time round. A more traditional boom-bap machine is more my flavour here.
I have to say it, even though it might hurt someone’s feelings. The 404 is not fun. It is a mess, the UX that is, it tries to be too many things and you just don’t want to use it in the end. Try the KO instead.
KOII is great, I also have a Push 3 standalone, and I often get great track ideas from the limitations and playability of the KO. You can get them super reasonable second hand too, I really like them for the park or to chuck in the bag on holiday and not be so worried with more expensive gear. You might also want to look at the ableton move too, which I think should be in your budget, if you’re an ableton user.
I hadn’t considered the Move, I only know it in passing so will look a bit more into it as it could be a contender and I do mostly use Ableton these days.
Have you considered an MPC1000? It seems like you’re familiar with the MPC workflow and just want something more unencumbered than a modern MPC. I think it can reasonably be within your budget and maybe with the jjos already installed. It’s going to be more to the point than the 404 and not so delicate that you have to be light handed with it.
I’m sure it’s crossed your mind but still something to consider. There are people who swear by it. Not me mind you, I’ll stick with the modern MPC for now, but it seems like for you it’s a great fit, at least at this time for what you’re looking to do.
Otherwise ko2 if you’re gentle? Or sp404 mkii if you need a multieffects looper?
if you want to sample keys and guitar, go for the 404. that way you dont need to consider storage space when recording. ep133 is best for sequencing one shots and polyphonic sample playback
the 404 is easy, its really not such a Big Bad as the world likes to paint it as
Zero experience with the KOII and a 404 fanboy here so take my opinion lightly!
404MKII is the simplest sampler going if you ignore all the extra features and just sample. Also has skipback and a more than capable looper that can be controlled by a foot switch.
I know people complain about the UI but they are probably overthinking it. Press Rec, select the pad you want to record to, pres rec again to start. Holy shit that’s complicated!
I mainly use my to record guitar and it’s great! Even has a dedicated jack with a few decent ish amp sims built in.
It did cross my mind to buy an older MPC but then I wasn’t sure if I was trying to create artificial limits for myself - does it give me the same kind of fun factor something like a KOII or SP could give me would be my main question?
This was one of my main conerns with a KOII - it started to give me flashbacks of managing the RAM on an OT. As much as I don’t need endless space I also don’t want to have to think about it, ya know.
I think that you’re trying to make music making enjoyable and whether you have fun with a device or not is super subjective and doesn’t necessarily have to do with how new it is or how complex the feature set.
There’s always going to be a honeymoon period in which you say “oo look at all the new” and then proceed to impress upon yourself the features and capabilities of something which you don’t have previous exposure to.
Then a point comes where you’re either using it, or you aren’t.
Nothing worse really than feeling obligated to use something because you spent a bunch of money on it and not because you connect with the object itself and the workflow.
A feeling of money well spent is sort of the ultimate test of whether or not a purchase was really worthwhile after the honeymoon period ends, and there may be no way to truly determine that without trying something for yourself.
If you’re truly on the fence and think you’d be happy with either of them, flip a coin. If you need to be academically stimulated, make a list.
Fair points. And it is a hard measure because it’s also subjective. I really enjoy making music on a Digitakt for example, it’s just fun for me - the UI gets out of the way quickly and I don’t find I have to read manuals too often - it excels in being ‘just enough’. That one is off the cards for now though
To some extent I am seeking a similar experience, something that is limited, but in a way that affords creativity without me constantly saying “I wish it did x”, something that works for a specific usecase without trying to be everything at once.
But you are right in that I’m sure there is no ‘wrong answer’.
I’m completely content with the 404MKII for over 3 years! Use it almost daily and that said, I only use the basic features! Looper, sample, resample and pattern sequencer.
It’s just such a capable little box that never gets in my way and brings a smile to my face! Now if I could stop getting in my way, I’d be on to something!
Since you are already into Ableton, I would also suggest the Move. Being able to seamlessly transfer your Move set over and finish it in Ableton is nice. Now that they’ve added a few firmware updates, and added things like sample slicing, it’s a nice little machine. The UI is also quick once you get going on it as well.
But really, you can’t go wrong with any of these machines. They are fun pairing them up and using them together so you might as well collect them all!!!
I own both and own/have owned many other modern and older samplers. I have fun on the KO II as a drum machine with minimal sampling. About the same as the P-6. Although the P-6 feels a bit more Elektron ish than the KO II. The SP-404 MkII is so much fun and you can go as simple or deep as your hearts desire. Resampling is one it’s shining glories for me, but also just tracking takes and almost treating it like a clip launcher has really helped me with song writing. If I had to get rid of all my sub $500 samplers except for one, I’d keep the 404. Maschine+ with the 404 is my favorite combo.
Had the SP404 for a 30-day test drive. Awful learning curve, complicated button combinations, and menu diving. Could not gel with it at all. After trying many times to give it a chance, I ended up returning it after 4 days.
Based on this alone and choosing from the 3 choices, I would definitely go with the SPmk2, I would also stretch the budget (or eventually) to add some sort of midi pedal to make judicious use of the looper.
Other strengths for me as a fellow Ableton user - the VST Sp404 app for easy file transfer, switching my interface over to the SP in Ableton to sample directly using USB, using the SP’s effects.
Having the SP as a general FX pedal, the Skipback when you’re noodling on keys/guitar/daw, could load up your songs onto the SP and jam with the DJ mode.
The initial learning curve is just that. It’s a weird beast compared to other more straightforward devices but @NearTao alone has like 79,000 beginner videos and covers every single aspect.
You could be looping your guitar, resampling it with the FX, loading/sampling drum samples and breaks to make a beat to jam to on your first night no problem with a little study while you wait for it to be delivered.
I would just get a second hand mpc one. Should be way less than 400 pounds. Ah, you wanted something different. Then I suggest KOII as I disliked SP404 a lot. It’s funny reading how others dislike it hard but others love it Have couple of friends with similar opinions too, so divisive little box.
Have couple of friends with similar opinions too, so divisive little box.