Hey all! I've been getting into sampling and beatmaking (specially lo-fi) and cause I don't have much money to spent on 404, should I grab SP-202 (with 4mb memory card) on 140euros. Some people suggest saving money, but I think I would get off cheap and do the thing I want with SP-202.


Also, could I use a DAW with the SP-202, like record stuff to DAW on my SP202?.

Thanks for answering!

You’re limited on pads, memory & effects. Also, no sequencer, so it’s rather limited. And that 4mb you mentioned, is Smart Media 5.5 volt cards, which are very rare & expensive on eBay. (If you can even FIND any). Even if you bought a 202 with a card included, all that really does is open banks C & D, depending on the lengths/quality of the sample. Meaning if you prefer to sample in stereo at its highest rate, you won’t get much sample time compared to running the samples in low-fi mono.

This is why you may see why people are steering you into the 404’s lane. You get a pattern sequencer, Fx, more than 8 pads to sample with, etc. (Not to mention much easier/more memory cards to use with it)

Do you need it to make beats? It will do the job, but keep in mind that you will be forced to work within these limits. But you can get a 202 now, and save up for a 404 for later. I don’t even own a 404 myself, but I do ok with my ST224, 202, 505, and I even got a S20. I also own the DR202 drum machine which compliments the SP202. It gives me a sequencer that I can trigger any of my 8 pads from, it has a great collection of drum sounds built in, and a bass channel, so I have BassLines to the beats.

Keep saving if you need a 404, but if you just want to step up, sample loops, vocals, or any record or cd you want to capture, the 202 can do it.

Oh yeah, the question about your DAW. You failed to mention what exactly you’re using as your DAW. Mac/PC? Ableton? Cakewalk? Cubase? Fruity? Reason? Does your DAW have a sound card that you plug at least 2 channels in? If you have that covered, you can plug the 202, and likely bounce tracks back & forth, and probably have the DAW make beats/loops with your 202.

First, for 140-150€ (argus @180€ but it's too much) you can find an OG 404 if it's really what you want: n e g o c i a t e (because, argus gets high because people don't).
If you have a soundcard (price higher = quality higher), you can do whatever you want between laptop and 202 but for exemple you can't put some effect on hi-fi sample i think (fam, correct me if it's wrong, i don't remember exactly).
Like Headphones said, it's pretty limited and nothing compare to 404 (poly, number of effects, resampling, sequencer).
Oh and the drumflow is different on 404 and 202 because the pads don't have the same reactivity (more shifted on 404 i think, more regular on 202).
If i must choose one, i'd choose 404 because it's all in the box. 202 has his unique style, sounds, and amazing filters tho.
To me, 202 is the old schoolness, 404 is the newschoolness (you can do old school beat with 404 and new with 202 tho).

yo .. OP . get a 505 .. then move to the 404 when you got the paper for it . you should be able to get a 505 for reasonable money

I can definitely vouch on the 505. Same FX as the 303, has a screen like the 606/808, but most features are right in front of you. It doesn’t have a ton of hidden features, so menu diving hardly comes up(but sometimes will when going through your banks of samples or the FX you want to select). It isn’t exactly DAW friendly like the 555/606, but just like the 202 you asked about, plug it in your soundcard, fire up your favorite DAW program, and you should be good.

My 505 is currently on the fritz, but I’m planning to get it repaired soon.

Another(but a tad different) sampler to look at is the Zoom ST-224 sampler. It has ok fx, a basic sequencer, runs off of smart media cards, and can get as clean of dirty as you desire. I forgot what I paid for mine, but if you find one for a good deal, grab it.