Thanks! That makes sense. I would only sequence it from the Syntakt into the 404 so that sounds good to me.
Of course, if there’s a way to have the 404 run its own pattern sequences and have them switch in sync with the Song Mode of the Syntakt, that would be even better since that wouldn’t require me to dedicate a midi track on the Syntakt just to trigger samples. Do you know if that’s possible?
I assume so if the Syntakt/song mode can send programme changes?? (Sorry I don’t know for certain) but if it can it should work
Here is an example (full credit to @NearTao from these parts for the vid, and other great SP content)
I don’t have a Syntakt, but yeah, if it can send program change messages then should work…
In the manual at https://cdn.www.elektron.se/media/downloads/syntakt/Syntakt-User-Manual_ENG_OS1.0_220424.pdf section 11.3 SYN PAGE (page 55) appears to indicate that the Syntakt can send program changes… so if that’s the case, it ought to work.
Thanks to both of you! I finally started to read the SP-404 MKII manual and must say it’s not very instructive about these types of things, but your video was very helpful @NearTao. 
I’ve written up a guide on my website as well for the SP 404 mk2… it’s not complete, but somewhere around 200 pages of information and breaking down features and such… it might help provide some more details.
@djst Hey man, Im in the same dilemma as you and currently looking to get the DT or the SP. What’s your current thoughts on them? You seem to dig deep into the research 
Despite my best efforts, I don’t know if I’m qualified to provide very well-structured thoughts about it because I haven’t had enough time to play around with the SP.
That said, I think it comes down to a key question: what will you be using the sampler for?
If, say, you’re a 90% synth person and you just want samples to fill in some gaps in a production, then I’d say that the SP is more bang for your buck because it offers so much more in the sampling territory: nearly 40 effects, stereo, almost infinite sample capacity, a quick and direct sampling workflow. Say for example that you have the output of a Syntakt routed to the input of the SP, then you can use the SP to play one shots with all sorts of crazy effects (printed on the samples themselves via resampling) and leverage the excellent sequencer of the Syntakt itself to control the SP.
But if you’re eg looking to make standalone music in one single box, then, at least in my opinion, the SP is not a great choice because 1) the sequencer workflow is mediocre at best, and 2) the sample-then-resample workflow takes some getting used to. The Digitakt lets you manipulate samples more dynamically and you have reverb and delay send effects and can modify a sample on a per-step basis in the sequencer. It’s easy to make a full track on a Digitakt, and it’s hard to do that on the SP - if you ask me.
The SP wants you to commit to each step along the way. I think some people may love that. I don’t. I like to keep my doors open and be able to go back. Let’s say I did a hi hat pattern. Later on I want to dial down the reverb on it just a little bit, or mix it down somewhat. On the Digitakt, that’s easy peasy. On the SP? I’d have to maybe go back, redo the hi hat roll, or even resample new hi hat sounds because the path towards the perfect, dynamic hi hat pattern involved several steps of resampling.
The Digitakt offers more of a production environment (8 tracks that can all be EQ:ed and manipulated independently) and it sort of treats samples as oscillators in a synth. Meaning you have proper envelopes for amp and filter. The effects are very sparse (basically filter, EQ band filters, bit crusher, overdrive, delay and reverb) but can be modified on a per-step basis. You also have two LFOs per track.
In terms of taking a sample and turning it into something completely different, I’d say that the Digitakt and the SP delivers but in very different ways. The key strength of the SP is the number of great-sounding effects, whereas the key strength of the Digitakt is the way it manipulates samples dynamically.
The biggest cons of the Digitakt? Three things for me:
Those are some of my raw thoughts. I’m still holding on to my SP and I feel I haven’t explored it deeply enough by far. But one thing is clear for me: if I could only have one single device in total, and it was between the Digitakt and the SP, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to pick the Digitakt. But if the choice is to pick a sampler that complements a really good synth+sequencer setup (like the Syntakt), then the choice is less obvious and I’d still lean towards the SP. But in that setup, I’d never use the SP in standalone so the portability factor is less valuable.
If you want a really good sampler and be fully standalone in one single box and be essentially limitless, then there’s only one choice: the MPC. 
But to me, that’s too much of a DAW, especially given inMusic’s new direction with paid plugins etc so it’s no longer an interesting option for me personally. But just thought it would be worth mentioning it in this context because I’ve made at least an album worth of music on my MPC.
Hope this helps somewhat.
If I get an SP404mk2 to compliment my A4mk2 and I’m sequencing the SP from the A4 (from the FX track let’s say, which has 4 notes of midi to output);
Can I I set multiple notes on the first trig to trigger 2 loops and a one shot (drum break loop + perc loop + kick) then on trig 5, 9 and 13 I’d put a note to trigger that same kick one shot again?
Will this work flawlessly or will buying the SP cause more problems then it fixes?
That should work just fine. The limit on the Elektron sequencer (if the A4 is the same as the Syntakt in that regard) is that you can only trigger 4 midi notes per step. But on the SP side, since it has much more generous polyphony, you can then trigger a large number of other samples on top of that. I guess in theory the polyohony is something like 16 or 32 samples on the SP? So at some points things might get cut off and I don’t know what takes priority when that happens. But I’ve been successful with multiple samples playing from different trigs on the Syntakt.
Another question is, how fun is it to dial in the right midi note from the Elektron sequencer to the SP, especially when dialing in more than one note? If you ask me, this could be more straightforward. But at least it works. 
What about each bank of the SP’s samples being on different midi channels? Wouldn’t I have to manually menu dive on the A4 and change the channel the track is sending midi on? which I’d have to do a lot as there’s only 16 sample slots per bank, am I missing something?
Right, pretty tedious holding down notes and moving octaves but at least I’m done once it’s set up ha!
Thanks for the very helpful reply, I’m skeptical about Roland’s MIDI therefore I’m still tempted by an OT/DT but I’d prefer an SP, so I’m very curious to hear your answer to the question above!
EDIT: ohh they updated the SP404mk2 with midi mode B which is a note per slot on channel 1! https://reddit.com/r/sp404mk2/s/QvbqcMTjVY
SOLVED it seems 
Apparently the SP got an update with MIDI mode B that makes it so all slots are triggered with notes on channel 1 I think!
https://reddit.com/r/sp404mk2/s/QvbqcMTjVY
The SP just became an expansion pack for my A4 giving it samples
Yeah, midi mode B is the way to do it. That puts sample banks A to E on channel 1, so 5x16 samples all accessibe from one midi track. This also means you can remote control effect bus 1 from the same channel using midi cc.
If the use case is to just trigger one shots like this, the SP is probably ideal. If you actually want to shape samples using envelopes and LFOs (and not just effects), then the DT would be a more suitable sampler.
Sorry if I’ve missed something but I agree and could get away with a second hand SX/A!
I’ll play some old soviet propaganda on a tape when moving from E to F (while I switch channels), pretty sure that’s what everyone does lel.
I’ll have to look into if I can send all those CCs from my FX track (where my MIDI will be) that’s a great idea.
My use case is to trigger drum breaks, long vocal phrases and some one shots so, as much as I know I’d love the DT there’s not enough space.