Should you buy an SP-404 in 2024? (a humble opinion)
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- Опубліковано 10 бер 2024
- I'm offering my opinion on the sp-404 (not the mk2). Is it still worth it in 2024. I think for the right price it can be a great addition to any producer's setup. The machine is very portable and a great sketchpad to store samples and new ideas in. Although creating on it solely can be a chore it can be incredibly useful in a signal chain or as a layering device. Herse some more info and as always thank you for checking out our videos. We love making them.
Fun links
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djtechtools.com/2022/08/11/st...
The Roland SP-404A is a versatile and portable linear wave sampler that’s well-suited for live performances and music production. Here are some reasons to consider purchasing it in 2024:
Live Performance Integration: It’s designed to work seamlessly with the Roland AIRA TR-8 Rhythm Performer, offering a powerful combination of sampling and percussive synthesis1.
Portability: With its built-in microphone and battery power option, you can sample sounds anytime, anywhere1.
Quality Effects: The SP-404A comes with 29 onboard DSP effects, providing a wide range of sound manipulation options1.
Ease of Use: The sampler maintains the fast, hands-on approach of the SP-series, making it intuitive for both beginners and professionals1.
Expanded Sounds: It includes a new library of sounds curated by Loopmasters, giving you a broad palette to start with1.
These features make the SP-404A a strong contender for musicians and producers looking to add a reliable sampler to their setup in 2024. Whether used standalone or controlled by other gear, it offers a blend of performance and creativity.
My sp404mk2 is a glorified fx box now, I don't fully regret buying it cuz I love the compressor and other stuff like warm saturator. I don't like it because sequencing is such a PIA vs my MPC. Can't imagine one without sample waveforms and less features.
Yeah I think in its inception it was more designed for one shot samples and as a performance tool. Still really good for those things but the mk 2 beats it as a sampler I think.
Good demo; thx for posting this.
No problem! Thanks for checking it out !
BRAVO!!!!!
I got a 404A just before Christmas. I was looking to ditch the laptop from gigs altogether so I use it primarily for backing tracks and a few one-shots while I get on with live sequencing and playing/tweaking the other parts. As I'm getting more comfortable with the workflow I can see it becoming a much more integrated instrument in the set but even if it just remains as it is now, having such a reliable, great sounding and portable unit keeping the backbone going is worth 200GBP all day, every day.
Yeah I use mine for live beat sets. it really helps that I can basically capture stuff I've been working on with different hardware. Definitely worth it! Thanks for checking out the video !
They can be kinda slow and inefficient, but still capable of some dope stuff especially when you utilize the built in effects. I picked up the 404OG a few months back and I really enjoy having it even if I'm using another sampler like the MPC500 to make my actual track and just using the 404OG for the vinyl sim. If you can get one for around $200 then it's a great addition.
I totally agree. It’s basically how I use mine all of the time. I’ve always thought these machines were worth a ton just based on what they could add to a beat even if it isn’t all done in one spot. I’ve heard you can run them as actual fx busses for your daw with certain interfaces. I’ve yet to successfully do it though lol.
@re-sampled I do that as well. If you have an interface with more than 2 outputs then you can route your DAWs audio to those outputs into the SP and back into the inputs on the interface.
I dig my sp303... but the sp404 mk2 is good fun too...
Koala helps a lot with the sp303... using it with a daw always failed because of the latency... damn interface...😢
Nice and good...
Treal!!!
Thank you !!
had an MK2 for about almost 2 yrs now and couldnt be happier w it, just as an FX bx it adds a unique but recognizable flavor to ur beats... where else do u get a stutter sound like the DJFXlooper?
also i was makin beats on it exclusively for half a yr and i got a say, once u get a hold of the workflow hit becomes super fun and u can make some really different sounding beats
good points. I really like how there is a step sequencer on the mk2
The 404mk2 is the heart of my setup these days. The pattern mode and resampling makes it easy to build songs out of layers. Like one layer could be a drum loop made on the syntakt, with another layer a bassline from a soft synth, with another being a pattern sequenced on another groovebox. Then they all can live in the sp404 and easily fit together so long as you keep the bpm consistent, and keep track of the key/scale for melodics.
The main thing I like about the og 404 is the aesthetic, including the size and layout (except the screen) and the looooong battery life. The mk2 gobbles rechargeables unfortunately. A brick with a ripcord fixes that, but feels a tad less portable, especially when the old 404 apparently can get you through a half a day supposedly.
Yeah the older sp's do last a lot longer on batteries in my experience. I also think they are a little bit more burly when it comes to drops and stuff.
I own the mk2 for a few days now and im blown away byt he machine to be honest, It was a race between a mpc or this but MPC prices are just insane and i like the DAWless of the mk2.
which mpc? because i am between the sp404 and the mpc one. also if you dont mind me asking how much did you pay for it?
Both machines are great. I find I use the sp 404 a little bit more due to its portability and ability to sample right from usb c. I did own an mpc live then an mpc one and found the touch screen kind of laggy. If I was going to buy only one it would be the sp 404 mk2 honestly.
@@re-sampled yeah I am leaning towards the 404 because as @TheChameleon2008 said I like the dawless ui. The Mpc one is like a daw in a box with some pads which I think you can replicate with 100 dollars by getting an mpk mk3 and the mpc beats software which is free
Honestly I’m a fan of Sales’s so I would do the sp. I’m currently kind of obsessed with the octatrack though
@@stoidis22 yea, i was looking at the MPC one indeed and if i want a DAW then i can indeed use the MPC software with my MPD218 controller so for me it came down to price and the least amount of programming. Played almost a week with the 404 and damn this thing is sweet and reminds me of a pocket operator on steroids.
It's important to understand exactly what the 404 is aimed at . If you are looking for a sampler that you can fit into a hardware sequence set up my advice is to give it a wide berth. Midi is very restricted. But as a stand along groove box that you can take anywhere and make chops and beats quickly it's untouchable
I have the Same potknobs on my mk2😅❤
do the djtech tools joints fit the mk2 i havent even tried yet
so i have a Question, i wanna Put an EP 133 on the Computer to Use on Fl Studio. After research i found out i need also and Interface. Then i saw this, it has more storge and you have more possibilities, and i can set via USB on computer. Is this a better deal? or i got totally wrong? thanks :) for the Roland SP-404MKII
That would be a good combo. The Sp-404mk2 can be used as an interface. that would allow you to get sounds into fl studio or you could use the sp-404mk2 to re-sample your ep133.
Hahaha, you already had me at the word "Whack"!
tying to bring it back !
I would like to have a sampler, but the ones I’ve owned before, I couldn’t even begin to figure them out. Are there any now which aren’t user-hostile? Last time was over ten years ago.
This is a great question. What kind of stuff are you looking to do sample wise? If you’re looking to get started without a huge expense there is koala. If you’re looking for hardware specific I think the sp series especially the new 404 are pretty straight forward.
KO II
@@re-sampledI appreciate your taking the time/effort to reply. Wanted to say this is a good demo/overview. It’s informational and quite potentially useful for me. Just wanted to establish that I’m going about this starting on the right foot and that I’m in totally good faith. It’s astonishingly easy to offend ppl now, and being mistaken for being a drag or a troll is cringy and embarrassing, lol.
What I’ve noted about samplers, very generally speaking, is they seem to try to turn anything I’m trying to do into hip hop, lol. That, “Dance”, “Jungle” (or whatever disco is called this year) isn’t my scene. To many, it is, but that’s on me. I don’t have the hip hop receptors going on within the amoeba-filled travesty residing behind my eyebrows within which I can find the sort of foothold required to have the capability to dig jiggity, funky music with lyrics about robbing convenience stores and killing police, etc. Again, in saying that, it doesn’t mean that it’s hip hoppers’ fault that I’m Helen Keller in regard to comprehending those styles; I’m the one who owns that. That isn’t hip hoppers’ bad, that’s my Ray Charles, not theirs.
I’m aesthetically drawn to hardware over plugins. I like the fun, toylike aspect of a cool to look at, fun to manipulate piece of actual gear. I’ll break out my Boss BR or/and my Yamaha 4-track cassette over my PC and DAWs, If I’m feeling childish and immature and would rather “play with toys” that day.
I come from 1977ish New Wave, and I would do just anything-goes, experimental type stuff with something like this. I can sense that if I were to “fight” this thing and get it to overcome it’s pronounced genre-specific tendencies (since these really are pretty much “hard-wired” to do disco-duck rap music), I could do electronic industrial music with it, along more the line of Throbbing Gristle and No Wave…unless you’re 700 years old like me, Wiki may be your friend if those references don’t “ring a bell”, lol.
@@gwugluud I appreciate you checking out the video. I do agree with you that a lot of samplers are geared towards more groove-based styles of music. There are a couple really awesome choices that fit in a more synthwave based setup. Personally, one of my favorites is the Elektron digitakt. It is more of a sound design sampler in my opinion. It can still do all the chopping and all of that stuff but i mostly use mine for programming drums and sampling my synths for sound design. If your familiar with the old amiga computers, there were software's called trackers. There is a company called polyend that makes the Polyend tracker which is a hardware and more modern version of the old amiga tracker. Both these machines offer a lot of tweaking options and are exceptional at creating insane modulations and fx on anything you sampled. The learning curves are a little steeper than the mpc and the SP 404 however if you're traditionally a hardware guy there will be a moment when everything clicks and you're having a great time twisting knobs especially with the digitakt. Also, No bad questions and no thin skins around here so fire away with more questions Im happy to help out !!
If you record the record in a slower speed, does it make a superior recording for your samples?
Honestly if you want to shoot for a lower pitch with this particular machine I would say yes. Normally on something like an mpc you would play the record in faster, then pitch it down to achieve a little grit. The older sp 404s have kind of a wonky pitch shift in my opinion. Thanks for checking it out.
@@re-sampled Good info. Thanks! I was asking for my MPC, so I appreciate the extra tip.
This an ILL channel. 💯
Big thank you for checking us out !
@@re-sampled and these beats are some slappers!
Never owned an A, but I'm an SX vet lol. I remember when the A got announced years ago, I was so pissed off. Matrix color scheme and a loop master SD card couldn't get me to upgrade 😂.
But in Hindsight, it ain't bad for what it is now. Lol.
Glad the SP-404mk2 made it's way into my hands tho
@@ruffiankickloops Yo that means a lot your stuff slaps too!
I do like the paintjob on the a little bit more. I think they could've changed the pad color to green or something. Sp MK2 is definitely where its at right now, although I've kinda gotten lost in the Octatrack lately.
more monotone speech in my direction about analog machines please
no yea
I got a weird one coming up next. I really appreciate you checking out the videos. Thank you!
5:07 "MK1 Sps"???
yeah i call the sx and the a the "mk 1" and the oldest one with the compact flash the "og"
i was just talking avout this with the ai and wham it's in my algorithim. 😓
I can relate, but the algorithm always picks up the dumbest things I'm talking about so now my feed is 40 percent drum machines and 60 percent cat videos. Cheers thanks for checking it out!
if you can get a 404 for under $300 USD + koala on your phone? damn near better than the MK2
Agree, sometimes I don’t have an interface on me to get the samples into koala. When you do though koala is pretty much king.
@@re-sampledpeople forget koala is just an app you need to have the $1000 iPad first lol
No swapable SD card, not built for rugged live performance, Roland has better sound character and closer to a true instrument than the iPad.
@@knowEgo Fair, although it does run really well on older iPad. I have it running on a 2018 iPad that's pretty cheap now and I haven't had any issues.
I'm running Koala on 90$ tablet from AliExpress... It's going good even fully FX in all the tracks .. but it every app or draw will crash pushing it to the limits..even on hi Res computer... Even MPC one have limitations.... So speaking of Koala is very light designed.... Anyway I'm getting Sp404mk2 as I do not like tapping and sliding the screen...😊