I feel quite positive about the 404 mk2 but write that as someone that isn’t using it nearly enough!
I found it more intuitive than, say, Koala. I was pretty new to the 404 workflow and Koala never really sucked me in but the 404 did. Being able to power via USB C (depending on iPad) and have the audio flow through too is probably the best implementation of a simplified workflow I’ve had with hardware (harking back to my “I hate cables” chat I regularly make elsewhere on the forum).
£430 is obviously not an insignificant sum to most but in our world, it’s not a particularly expensive outlay for a piece of hardware. And I think that adds to the whole charm of the thing. Yes, it’s a plasticy box with inferior build quality to, say, the mid/top tier Elektrons but that kind of makes it easier to be less precious with it and to take it out and about.
Starting to slaver so will wrap up with a simple comment on skip back. What a feature. Can you imagine a world where the Octatrack had something like this? Ooft!
True mate! Love the sp404mk2. The skipback and usb c alone made the whole difference for me. I also share the koala app vs sp404 experience. There’s a difference when you can bang someone out or just show a finger over a glass window…
This thing is made for taking it wherever you go and I love that!
This is what made me love the SX so much and why I tried for so long to make it work. The MKII is everything I wanted the SX to be. So much so that I haven’t touched my MPC Live since I got the MKII.
Coming from the precision of the elektron workflow, the 404 really is a wonderful and complimentary piece of gear. I’ve struggled to catch on with just about all of the the other sub $1,000 samplers. I have a Novation Circuit Rhythm which is much better for step sequencing but the sound quality and effects don’t touch the 404. The 404 has just enough sample editing (and the great screen) to edge out the Rhythm in terms of “ease of sampling” as well. The OPZ is super fun but the sampling aspect leaves much to be desired. I’ve had the blackbox, model samples, volca sample, & digitakt in the past as well and they all of major strengths in their own right, but the 404 specially does the tactile sampling-resampling-time stretch-effects box thing better than all of those machines.
Sold my MPC Live a few months back. Because of the SP. Also sold my DT. I only have an OT as my other sampler and that’s because of the sequencing. MPC FX don’t come close to the SP… actually I disliked the majority of them…
Quick question regarding TR Step Recording - Once I’ve started recording a pattern using the step sequencer and then leave the step recorder to edit pad settings, I can’t figure out how to get back into the step sequencer. I have to stop playback and restart the sequencer.
Has anybody else run into this? Have you figured how to get back into the sequencer without stopping playback?
To be fair, one can make a whole song on anything.
The MPC is a lovely box. However, it did way more than I needed, and I never truly liked the touch screen. The SP can move with me and now do all the stuff I need to record live instruments. I can now basically multitrack with it even though there are no tracks.
SP to-me is quick and simple, capture a groove on guitar, drop some drums and entertain me for the night. Smile from ear to ear with the head nodding! In the end, that’s all I am looking to do.
may only thoughts to make bouncing stems or sub mixes stems easier is to have a shortcut shift+reverse+bank to mute a whole bank. then you could essentially solo (by muting all other banks) the bank to record your sub mix. if you are like me, then bank a = drums, bank b = mid/range instruments, bank c = bass / lowend, bank d = fx and bank e = vocal / samples .
Some findings from someone digging around the update.
" So, I was rooting around in the latest firmware release (2.0.1) and notice a few interesting strings.
The bin files are beyond my reverse engineering capabilities, so it’s entirely possible that these are just leftover/included bits and pieces that have no function, but they might also be hints as to undocumented features, the code lineage of some of the features and even a possible easter egg.
Is there a shortcut for clearing the current data in the Skip Back memory?
I have Skip Back set to Sub Pad, my first thought was that I could press Del + Sub Pad to clear it, but that did not work. I had to load the Skip Back sample and delete it.
