Enter skip back, then go out again, accepting to loose data. It is then “primed” for the next sound you’ll play, whether it is turning on external in or hitting a pad.
Not elegant, but it works.
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Yeah, looking for that hotkey/key combo, so as to not have to enter Skip Back.
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Never thought about it but it would be a nice feature.
It’d be nice for quick resampling.
I mean, it’s really not an issue to have to scrub through 25 - 40 seconds of audio, but it seems like it could be an easy thing to implement.
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I’ve been thinking tying a SP404 Mk2 for my sampling duties. I 100% realize the Octa is an insanely deep and capable device, but sometimes it gives me choice paralysis. I want something I can use in my band, needs to be a somewhat simple workflow as I’m also playing drums and messing with my AR MKII. The Octa is a bit fiddly sometimes, at least for me. Looking to make kinda dusty hiphop beats, chopped up vocal samples, ambient background noise stuff.
The two machines are perfect together via midi… I have all samples on the sp - on the MPC I have a midi track for each of the 10 banks controlling the sp + a track for controlling the chromatic track channel 16. Making it really easy if I want to use a kick from bank 1 and let’s say a snare from bank 10. Midi channel 1-5 also controles the effects for bus 1,2,3,4 and 5 (ext sources) via midi CC. Because I can save midi CC on the MPC, the effects can be saved for next time i work on the beat, which the SP can’t do itself!!! I can even change the effects of each bus during the song…
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Are you supposed to do a factory reset after a firmware update? If so, why? The firmware page seems to refer to this, and so does Roland’s video manual. What gives? The firmware seems to work without this additional step…
is there something im missing or cant the mk2 do clock over USB? ive got the MPC and the SP set up together and im just trying to send clock through to the ipad via USB but it seems it can only do either the TRS midi outs or USB. not both
Edit:using a midi monitor it appears that clock is running to the iPad but as soon as I press play on the master (mpc) it stops and says invalid. if I pause for a minute it starts running again
I’ve been rocking with the MPC One for a while, but I finally got Ableton a month ago and thanks to my learning on the MPC it makes so much sense to me, and I’ve been quite productive with it. Consequently, my MPC One has been neglected, and I’m considering selling it to buy the MK2.
In theory I’d use the MK2 as an effects box as part of my beatmaking process in Ableton. I’d also like to use it for live performance by playing my finished tracks and using the DJFX on them live. Of course if I jive with the general beatmaking workflow on the SP that’s a plus.
Any thoughts? Should I do it? Should I not do it? 
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I think that the MPC is a little redundant if you are using Ableton. The SP pretty much holds its own when compared to other hardware. It is fast, super fun and very stable.
For some reason a car analogy comes to mind. Ableton is like a BMW, MPC is like a Toyota Prius and the SP is like a motorcycle. Why would you drive the Prius if you have a BMW? But going for a rip on the motorcycle is always going to be so much fun!
I’d consider myself a bit of a collector when it comes to gear. Personally, I don’t see the newer MPCs to be classic pieces. For me, Akai releases things to fast and I find it hard to trust the longevity of their products. The SP feels a little more timeless. I don’t see Roland putting out another one for a very long time.
Just my 2 cents.
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What genres do y’all make with the SP 404?
Mostly Latin Witch House
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I gotta say hearing your progress on the mpc/ableton during the beatbattles is really inspiring man!
Completely understand your plan to switch from mpc to sp, here’s some of my thoughts:
- learning different machines/daw is a great way to devellop the way you approach/think about music production. In that sense, checking out some different machines is a great way to learn.
- Another approach (which is what I’ve been doing/trying for some years now) is searching for the ‘perfect’ setup that works for you. If this is your goal, there’s actually a lot of benefit in not trying/buying new stuff, but sticking to what you have. The ideal workflow/setup is not reached by buying stuff until it clicks, but by learning to use what you have(together).
Not saying you shouldn’t sell your mpc if youre not using it anymore, but maybe try to combine mpc/ableton for a while before deciding?
The sp might be the perfect machine for you, but consider: while it is very inspiring and does great things, it is a very different beast than the mpc, and theres a lot of things the sp can not do, which might surprise you coming from mpc/daw. It’s archaic in a lot of ways.
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I’m trying a mix of lo fi and industrial. Trying is the keyword here.
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I have both the Mpc and the Sp MKii and somehow I do things with one that I don’t do with the other.
For example, the Mpc is great at sound mangling, the possibilities are never ending yet I do all my sampling and mangling on the sp, just to resample the kits I created on the Mpc and finish things there.
In a way the Sp makes me more creative while the Mpc more conservative but productive.
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MK2 > 404, someone had to say it. The 404 is great, it’s like a portable studio!
read the manual but still not clear to me.
the SP can receive midi clock as it’s master synced tempo.
when you enter DJ mode does the ext sync still stand and the unit will auto adjust your prepared audio files and instantly match them to the tempo?
I’m still in search of companion for Digitakt, researching SP404 mk2 right now. For the whole of this year i will be composing, preparing, practicing live set for next summer. So far i’m doing Digitakt + iPad combo and it works somewhat fine, but it’s not 100% stable, nothing set breaking, but it feels a bit wonky. To replace an iPad i’m looking for something that can do this: minimum 4 tracks with polyphony that can be sequenced on Digitakt, but most importantly when i move from track to other track different samples should play, I’ve looked trough a lot of videos but no one uses it like that, is this possible?
The Mk2 has 160 sample slots(10 banks of 16) that can be sequenced by any of the DTs midi tracks. Each bank on the Mk2 has its own corresponding midi channel, so I’m sure it can easily handle what you’re trying to do, although I don’t fully understand your question.I picked up the Mk2 to pair with my DT after going the iPad route as well. In my opinion this pair feels like a dream team super sampler that is fluid and fun but also deep and capable…
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apparently mk2 can import midi. Anyone had a play with that?