Hi, I never posted here before but thought I liked to share some screens from YT of a SP-404 MK2 faceplate. Could this really be happening?

It looks fucked up.

Just thinking out loud don't take it personal. But imagine all those kids that bought a SP404A at the whopping price it is now to get hit with this truck.

Plus its ugly if its true.

I'd rather settle for a new SP in the series than the tired 404. How many times they need to change it?

Agree, and I am one of those kids that bought the 404A  at even bigger price (EU)
This is a screenshot from you tube channel that makes custom faceplates, maybe they leaked it by accident since they took down the video. The colors definitely don’t do it justice.
404s muscle memory doesn’t apply to this one but I guess one can get used to it.

Dude, it looks just like any other 404 faceplate layout, nothing new about it. By "MKII" they're probably just referring to the second generation of 404 which is the SX. This just looks like some custom faceplate job from someone customising (presumably by using "MKII") an SP-404SX.

Not sure what makes you think it's anything other than that. I'm about to buy a new SP-404A for under £400 even though there's probably a replacement on the way. I'm guessing that even when a new SP model arrives, it won't be as loved or hands-on as the 404 anyway, and it'll have quite a challenge to gain the sort of legendary status the 404 has.

I personally have a love/hate relationship with the 404, but I'm happy to admit it's a legendary device, and for that reason, buying a brand new SP-404A right now while you still can is probably a lot smarter move than you might think. Careful where you buy though, prices vary quite a bit!

Look very carefully at the faceplate. It has 20 pads; 16 for beat smashing and the other row of 4 looks like for on-the-fly mutes or mute groups. Plus it has a 2 channel mixer or something that you can control. And the Ping Pong button is new, most likely for crazy delays and tremolos or even ducking.

It might look the same but there are noticeable differences. Personally, I want to see it in its official form.

I sent Roland a mock up of an SP-333 back in 2018. It was basically an SP-404A photoshopped. Instead of its vertical design, I made it horizontal and placed the Digitakt screen on its left side, pads on the right side with the effect knobs above. The only word I got from them was "why is it horizontal?" They never spoke again even after I explained why. Its dope that way.

Ah right, I keep forgetting the 404 has 12 and not 16 trigger pads (don't have one at the moment). Definitely a different plate then, but if you look at the bottom right corner you can see it curled up, which suggests to me this is a stick-on and that the bottom part is not stuck to any plate at all.

If that really is the new format that that would be fantastic cause it would suggest an upgrade rather than a total replacement. Personally though, I get the feeling it's just a hoax, maybe someone on here playing a prank

It looks like a stick-on representing a 404 user's wishful thinking

Thumbs-up to them for the effort, although one big give-away I think is that the design, although quite colourful, is far too illegible for a company like Roland to pass. Compare trying to read that front panel to reading an SP-404A panel for example ... ouch!

Yes its a little bit different design and it definitely makes sense to make an updated 404 given the popularity of this machine and sales it probably generated.
I can tell you for sure that the video I saw and took screenshots of is a real video and it was early in the morning and also couldn't believe what I saw.
Asked on their comment section is this a new SP and after few minutes or hours the video was deleted.
I don't want to name the company that makes these vinyl faceplates cause I don't want them to get them in trouble for the video but you probably know who they are. My guess is there is a new model coming soon and these guys had the layout of the faceplate upfront but not the actual machine cause its being manufactured.
I wanted to keep silent but just couldn't hold the excitement and wanted to share it with who else than die-hard SP users.
100% not a prank from my side.
How about that secondary function CHOP button

Wedley, dude, I think you did it
My suspicion radar firmly suspects it was Wedley who dunnit!

Of course I did it, its totally fake and we also totally use inches as measurement in Europe

That's quite an interesting pic since it shows metal under the stick-on, and even if you had cut it on a home CNC machine, it would still need bending very neatly to look like that.

Must admit you got me curious now whereas I wasn't before!

Wish I saved that video but I do have this...sorry Styleflip

Looks like there's an SP-404 MKII on the way then

Either that or you're quite a skilled and persistent hoaxer. There's something has me concerned about that new plate, though. It's a change that suggests something I really didn't want to happen to the 404. If you look closely at the cutout where the display and effect buttons go, you'll notice it's a lot wider now. Due to being that wide, there would be no room to print the list of effects on the front plate like they did on the originals.

That concerns me a bit because it suggests they have no need to print the list of effects on the front panel, which sadly in turn suggests that they've done away with that much loved display and replaced it with something menu driven, one of those little OLED displays most likely. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see any other reason why that same cutout would be made wider, leaving no room for the effect list.

It's not impossible that this is a hoax, but I guess we'll find out soon enough

Dude I wish it was a hoax more than anyone because I recently bought the 404A...soon will see if Styleflip is having a bit of fun.
Maybe they will put a screen like MC-101s on it and have the FX list displayed like that but menu diving is inevitable then as you said...hence the EFX setting pad. Will see man.

I wouldn't feel bad about buying the SP-404A even if they are about to release a MKII. At the very least, it could easily prove to be an investment. Let's face it, if it's true then I'm guessing they've already alienated a bunch of die-hards by using a different display type. You then have to take into account that the much loved Vinyl Sim might have been tampered with and not give the same sort of effect that it currently does. Either (or even worse both) of those things will effect how the MKII is received by the die hards.

Don't be surprised if the MKII causes the SP-404A to become even more popular.

I actually bought the SP404A when they first appeared. They were for $499 USD at the time but with the coupon I had and the shipping, I paid $481 USD in total. It was suppose to be my street-trooper but the Volca Sample has been holding me down since. I have yet to sell it and don't plan to. I do like the black and green look.

Ha! I knew had to be styleflip. They used a similar pattern on other devices, plus they do get exclusives on Roland gear.

Looking at the screen, it could be in the lines of the MC707, 101 and MV-1. It is wider than a normal 404 too. Also, what could be the 3rd Sample Edit button be? The other two are Start/End edit and Time/BPM edit for past SPs.