Really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing.
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@peaceful thank you for your reply!
yeah, I think its not possible to use the output 34 to use as a cue output. would be a very nice feature to run a dj software (or in my case loopy pro/aum) alongside with the SP 404ā¦ @roland if you are listening 
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I digged around a little bit because I frequently run into the āfile not supportedā issue. Strange thing is that I can preview, but cannot load some samples to pads.
Doesnāt seem to be a naming issueā¦ any ideas?
I was initially thinking of this just as a sampler but now thinking I could run it as a live fx box. Can you trigger samples whilst also adding fx to audio inputs?
Yes.
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OK I did talk about this before but even though I watched some vids Iām too stupid to understand.
Say I have a loop in Ableton which is 4 bars, how do I record it into the sp 404 so its 4 bars long and loops without any issues?.
Another thing Iām confused about is if I make a beat on the SP and is 4 bars long. Can I record while Iām playing whilst the loop is playing. Also if so, can I make the pad I record on record for like 4 bars or do I need to trim it?.
Please if anyone can help that be appreciated.
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The short answer is yes.
I donāt have my 404 on front of me, but Iāll try to help you a bit.
You want to record your 4 bar loop in Ableton, and you can do two things. Either bounce the loop to .wav and put it on the SD card, then import it as a sample. Then you make a pattern record with the same bpm in the project tempo, and set the length to 4 bars. Then hit the remain button to make it tr rec mode, and put the imported sample on the first beat.
Or you can record in via ext input, and have the 404 set to ā wait to recordā and then play in the sample. You may have to trip the tail though. Or you can put the sample in a mute group so it cuts itself off when another sample fires.
As far as 4 bar loop is concerned, once you make a 4 bar loop, you can resample it with another pad or you can have the sample play in headphones so you can monitor the sample but not record it when you record. Itās in one of the DJ settings in the manual called cueing.
But in all honesty, you should get comfortable with trimming samples. Itās the main function of the 404. And itās designed exactly for that. You press the start/stop button on the pad you have selected and adjust the endpoints to your liking. Once you do it once, you will see EVERYTHING fall into place.
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Thanks for the reply, what I mean is I created a loop in Ableton and was hoping to use the SP404 as a sound card and bounce the track from Ableton to a pad on the SP 404. Now I know that is possible but what I wanted to know is how do I set the recorded pad with the loop so its 4 bar and looping seamlessly.
Hit pattern select.
Select a pad to record on.
Match the bpm and use the third knob on the right to make the pattern 4 bars.
Press record.
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Nice:)
OK say if I have drum 4 bar loop on 1 pad and play it. Can I then record what I playing on my guitar jamming to the beat on another pad. Then do the pattern select and set the loop for the pad. Or do I set this beforehand?.
Apologies for the hassle.
Or you can do what I said before, but you do the same thing but hit the remain button to go into tr rec mode then
Hit rec.
and place the imported sample on the first pad of the 4 bar sequence.
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No hassleā¦ this is how I pay it forward from others helping me.
I would use resampling for that.
If you want to join the drum loop and your guitar into a new sample, then you stay out of pattern select mode
Press resample,
Press rec, choose a pad to record on, then it will blink waiting to press the pad with the drum loop on it to start to record. Press shift and pad 10 to set a count in.
If you want to isolate your guitar for FX processing, then you have to mute the drum loop pad, but have it play in DJ cue mode in your headphones while you play the guitar.
The pad will be green that is muted.
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Brill, canāt wait till my SP comes now. Going to use it as a looper so hopefully I can get it working.
I thought you had one already.
I would wait till you get it, and download the pdf of the manual. Once you actually have it in front of you, and you do it once, it will all make sense. Itās really intuitive, especially if you donāt have an MPC.
Roland in general, but the SP404 especially has a certain workflow, and as long as you do what the 404 want you to do, then itās real fast and easy.
Itās best to have it in front of you and to just go for it, and it will make sense. To try to get a jump start now without the context of it in front of you will just mess you up.
All the functions tie into each other too. Itās all built towards one thing. Just wait and youāll be fine.
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I donāt think I saw this mentioned, but if you match the bank bpm to your Ableton loop (shift + pad 11), you can press the Start/End button while recording the sample to enable āend snapā, which will trim the sample to a regular bar interval according to the bank tempo if you end the sample recording slightly after where you want the end to be
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Thanks, no had a sp 404sx and sp 555 a few years ago. Been eying up the new one, but its different and I was hoping it be as easier to just do live looping like the sp 555
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The 404mk2 does not have a loop sampling function like the SP-555. 
SP-555 is still great.
I think the skip back function can mimic this functionality. But you have to record it to a pad to save it.
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Oh, youāre good money then.
End snap is the way to go.
And also, the skip back function might come close to that, though itās more a work around than a dedicated function.
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Skip back is clutch!
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