Roland SP-404 Mk2 (Part 1)

I have to admit, the video made by Loopop interested me for the MKII. My main use with the MKII will be sampling/resampling. That combined with the portability(size and weight), the possibility to connect it direct to my iPad via USB-C convinced me to give it a fair chance.
I was very lucky that I could buy a returned MKII last week, with a nice price reduction too.
This evening I will have time to turn it on the first time, looking forward to it.

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for me its that I always wanted to play with one but couldnt really see the need when I always had other units that can do everything it does. then the mk2 hype popped up and crashed the prices on the SX a bit so I started shopping around but didnt end up getting one. got one as a gift and im over the moon with it. but to answer the question

without a shadow of a doubt. they could probably put a new volume knob cap on it and everyone would buy it. id definitely get a mk2 404 but not until I can walk into a shop and buy one.

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Thatā€™s awesome! Super excited for you ā€” but also sad given Iā€™m still waiting for my preorder. Shipping is so random right now!

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Did you guys get any SD card in the box?

Thanks, very kind of you!

I realize I was very lucky to get one. Also bought a (used) M8 tracker last week. So I guess the lottery at the end of this month will not be a problem to win :slight_smile:

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No, a SD-card is not provided.

Thanks. I didnā€™t either and suddenly thought Iā€™d read somewhere that it came with a 1GB card.

Yeah even a simplified view thatā€™s more useful than this number, like progress bar, would do :blush:

For me it was the much improved chopping functionality (basically non-existent on previous 404s). Iā€™m happy the screen is what it is, any more ā€œscreenā€ and it would have been a negative for me - I love the build-by-ear workflow of the SP404s and I feel the current design allows for added functionality without actually getting too much in the way of such workflow.

The other thing was price: used 404OG or SX were selling for upward of 450ā‚¬ on the used market here and the A was selling for equal to or more(!) than new units hereā€¦nuts. The Mk2 has corrected these used prices (more like 250ā‚¬ used for an OG or SX atm) and with all the updates, the mk2 at 469ā‚¬ is at a really fantastic price point.

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For me, Iā€™ve wanted an SP for years, but was always put off by no chromatic mode. Now it has itā€¦ simple as that. Now they just need to ad a proper ADSR, an LFO per sample and/or and a filter with an envelope :joy::rofl::joy: I can dream

Edit: oh and implement chromatic properly so you can record a chromatic sequence!

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Does anyone know if you can select an effect by pressing the MFX button + a pad to select different effects without having to scroll through them? (like it is on the SX/A)

Yep!

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You can.

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Just sampled my first kit.

FWIW, the Volca Drum is great to pair with the SP as you basically have a limitless supply of drum sounds because you can just keep hitting the randomize button. Everything from traditional drum machines to super spaced out stuff. Itā€™s super quick to put something together.

I encountered one strange bug (?) where the SP refused to record one drum sound in wait mode, no matter what I had the noise gate set at. The sound was really nothing too off-the-wall, so I have no idea why the SP hated it. No big deal, but a head scratcher.

One question for everyone.

Are you typically normalizing your samples? I started out normalizing, but felt the non-normalized stuff actually sounded a bit nicer to me (lower noise floor, less squashed), so I went back and redid everything. I guess I might have to normalize later if other stuff I sample ends up seeming noticeably louder, but Iā€™ll wait and see.

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Great idea to pair with the Volca Drum!

I ran into a similar predicament the other day sampling the Microgranny into the SP Mk2. I tried both normalized and non-normalized sampling and decided to go with the latter because the Microgranny is obviously very noisy as it is. I guess it depends on what youā€™re sampling.

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Another great pairing with the MK2 (if you like glitchier percussion sounds) - the IOS app Fractal Bits. Just keep hitting the random button to generate 12 different drum sounds instantlyā€¦use skipback to capture the audio as one file, then just chop into a new kitā€¦

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I have only bothered with normalize when a sample isnā€™t loud enough, then itā€™s too loud and I lower its volume to taste.

Recording level is a bit of a mystery so I look at the ext in button, that it doesnā€™t stick to orange but flickers green/orange, seems decent to me. Anyone knows better? This hasnā€™t bothered me so far, just curious.

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Made some headway today, but still pondering what my main workflow is going to be.

Resample is clearly the main draw for most people.

Pattern chaining was my workflow for building songs on the Digitakt though, so I donā€™t want to dismiss that completely until I give it a fair shake. :thinking:

I did confirm that itā€™s super easy to bounce stuff back and forth with Loopy Pro though, so Iā€™m also not dismissing making that part of the workflow. Doing free flow stuff in resample, turning those into perfect 2-4-8 bar loops in Loopy Pro, and then sampling it back into the SP as a one shot to put into a pattern for chaining and building on top of that.

Early days, so still experimenting. For now, Iā€™m just going to go listen to Donuts and Madvillany again to listen for some hints from the masters.

I will say this. Sampling is a breeze with this thing, and it sounds great.

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Yesā€¦ going on from our discussion on the 404/BB threadā€¦ I am really enjoying using Loopy Pro with the SP. Iā€™m finding it so much easier for hosting MIDI and AUs than AUM. So straightforward to get stuff going for sampling into the SP. Like it a lot, even if I never use any other parts of it.

The iPad is so good for sampling fodder for the SP.

What is everyone using for SP sample fodder on their iPads/phones?

At the moment I am enjoying:

Streaming music: Qobuz

Hosts/Utilities: Loopy Pro, Sample Crate (for my sample library), BM3, Koala

Synths: Model D, DRC, Mood, Zeeon, Troublemaker, ID700, Shaper, iVCS3, Decent Sampler, Model 15, Ripplemaker, Playbeat, Pattering 2

MIDI: FugueMachine, Cykle, Rozeta, Poly 2, Riffer

FX: All the Eventide stuff

Still learning them all!

EDIT: Is there a like a 16 pad chromatic thing in Loopy Pro where I can load a one-shot and play it chromatically? If there is I may not even need to use BM3 or Koala again, as thatā€™s all I use them for. Although saying that, all the envelopes and modulation in BM3 for single shots is pretty insane.

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Last thing from me for today, but holy crap the amp sims are greatā€¦.WAY better than I expected, and Iā€™m a bit of cork sniffer (I
own some pretty nice stuff). I only tried it with my tele, but tomorrow Iā€™ll break out the bass and the strat. For anyone on the fence, especially if you play guitar, this thing is tremendous value.

I was originally thinking I wish there was a tuner on board, but it doesnā€™t really matter because you can connect your iPhone through USB. I want to try using it as an input for looping with Loopy Pro tomorrow as well, which basically means that itā€™s like having a Boss RC looper again, which I sorely missed.

I really hope they add more reverb algorithms. Iā€™d love a spring reverb and a plate. Spring for guitar and a big plate for synths. The reverbs onboard now arenā€™t bad, but they donā€™t go huge. The Korg NTS-1 is definitely better when it comes to big reverbs for synths.

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