You misunderstood, I said I pretended it was fake to get back at the trolls

Shouldn’t people be wondering about what kinda motherboard this thing has? I thought the point of hardware was fun + unique sound/process. If it has the same motherboard as a 404a, what’s the point?

Regards the motherboard, a whole bunch of downgrades await purchasers of the MKII:

- RCA, the format used on all cassette decks and turntables - removed.
- MIDI DIN, the official format for MIDI connection - removed.
- SD CARD, the world's most popular storage format - removed.

This means we can look forward to needing cables we would otherwise not have needed. It also means we can look forward to needing MIDI adapters we would otherwise not have needed. It also means we can look forward to buying a new motherboard every time the soldered-in storage chip fails, because we'll no longer be able to swap-out the SD CARD the current model relies on.

Motherboard aside, there's two things that really concern me about the specs (the way they're written and described).

First off are the effects. It might have more effects than the current model, but we need to remember that every single effect on the current model is an "Input Effect", meaning you can use it live on the input. The current model therefore has "29 Input Effects".

Now take a look at the specs of the MKII, and what do you see?

Exactly, the new unit has only "16 Input Effects" meaning that only 16 of those effects can be selected for use live on the input, which means it has 13 less "Input Effects" than the current model. So as well as a whole bunch of downgrades on physical connection, it looks like we can expect a downgrade on the use of effects as well.

Secondly, why do people keep going-on about finally being able to pitch a sample as on the 202?

As far as I can tell there is no such feature. In fact the terminology used on the panel has me concerned that "Chromatic" will basically copy the sample across the pads, and pitch-shift each of them accordingly so that you can play it chromatically. That is not the same as changing pitch by speeding-up and slowing-down the sample. Another reason I suspect this is because the "Pitch" function is on the same button as "Speed".

I hope I'm wrong about that, because if I'm right about the effects and it still has no way to pitch a sample by speeding it up and slowing it down, I would rather go for the SP-404A than that thing. Way too many poorly thought-out downgrades from the looks of it, but like I said, I hope I'm wrong. Was just watching a bunch of YouTube videos about the leak and no one, not even in the comments, seem to be noticing these things.

Trust me, Roland are absolute bastards when it comes to crippling gear, and this is a Roland device after all, so I don't think people should rule these suspicions out lightly. We'll see I guess, I'd love to be wrong, but something about the way those specs are written tells me I'm not.

damn, maybe you're right...if it's so, this means a similar stuff as for the sp505, not that bad per se (depending on the sample) but not real pitch at all...

eh....

I might be missing something here, but there's a 'chromatic' button that is likely for chromatic pitch shifting across pads (you're surely right about that). In any case, this chromatic pitch shifting could well change the speed as it pitches the sample (this is a far more basic way of doing things than stretching the sample, and it wouldn't surprise me if Roland did this rather than incorporating more complex time-stretching algorithms). This is the way chromatic pitch shifting works on a lot of classic samplers and a few more modern ones like the OP-1.

Then there's the designated button for 'pitch/speed', which either allows you to change the pitch and speed at the same time (like on the 202), or allows you to change the pitch and the speed independently. Either way, the user has control over both, meaning it's likely it will allow us to achieve what the 202 does but with greater control. Basically, I don't see this as a downgrade at all - seems like there are far more options for pitching, and I'd take chromatic sampling alone over any of the pitching options on the 404 any day.



I might be in the minority, but I'd throw away at least half of the SP-404SX effects: C. canceller, subsonic, radio tuning, then you have fuzz, overdrive and distortion, the three of which feel similar enough to feel like they were just padding the effects list out. For all we know, the new screen might mean there are more parameters per effect that mean there was less room for redundancy in the FX list (e.g. hitting 'shift' might let you access a 2nd row of parameters to change, say, reverb dampness). These are just wild guesses, but I'm at least happy for there to be some new effects in the mix rather than the same old 404 effects (meaning the 404 will still have its place)

Yeah, I was expecting a official video by now. So far it’s just 3 vids about the leak. Yet, nothing as far as it in action/what it can do. I don’t see the point in taking pre-orders right away before you’ve even seen/heard it, but only the lucky few got their orders in. When will they get it? Who knows? What about everyone else who wasn’t on SamAsh for the brief window it was leaked? Because I know plenty of us here want one!

I knew there would be compromises and missing features. So no more RCA ins/outs just means get a couple pairs of 1/4” cable to RCAs. Hosa sells them for $15 or whatever. So it’s not a total deal breaker for me. The loss of the memory card, seems like a bad idea, but they’re assuming we all want to put the mk2 to a DAW and drag/drop our samples in with no need for a memory card we might accidentally lose for whatever reason. Not saying anyone of you has lost a memory card from your 404, but now as long as you have a computer, you can quickly build up a library of samples to archive on your laptop/desktop, and dl to the mk2. I have no issue with this method, but it will unfortunately motivate me to get a laptop. Probably something I should go do anyway, but I’ve tried to avoid that.

Ok, the effects. Some might be missing. Very possible when Roland releases a new SP, you can’t expect everything you got from previous SPs I guess. Just hope the new ones are worth using.

Other than that, Roland needs to let the cat outta the bag already.

Seems annoying, but it looks like you'll be able to plug a USB-C SD card adapter into the back for transferring files to and from the machine. A bit annoying, but maybe a necessary sacrifice to fit the preamp and additional outputs in. Have never used anything other than the 1GB card that came with the machine, but understand the limited internal storage might be a bad for people who trigger much longer tracks

Well, like I said I really hope I'm wrong about that stuff, and without wanting to crush any of our dreams with even more bad news, I gotta say I find it pretty disturbing there's still no sight of "Pan", not on a button, not on a knob, not even on a shortcut!

This likely means one of two things:

1 - It's hidden in a menu and therefore not a hands-on implementation.
2 - We still cannot pan samples.

I have a theory that if true sucks, but whatever, that’s life.

So the leak came from an American seller, with the product coming from an Asian (Japanese) company.

In America our dates are written month day year but in Japan (and most of the world tbh) dates are written day month year. The leak was on October 1st. What if the actual release is January 10th. I think that would coincide with a January music trade show NAMM as well.

Paging everyone who thinks there isn't SD card functionality.

Found in the Sam Ash additional info screenshot.

It kind of implies that the SD card is for 'external storage', so I assumed that means via a USB-C adapter for import/export of samples onto the internal storage only. That's supported by the lack of a label for an SD card on the machine.

Incidentally I also just noticed that it says there are 37 effects, so no worries about a reduction in the effects, too.

And who the hell wants that?
Who wants a dongle instead of having the slot on the machine where it belongs?

Speak for yourself, bro, there are only 16 available on the input whereas the current model has 29. That's bad news, especially for those who used the 404 as an effects processor!

It’s hilarious that this fool who couldn’t rock a 404a is now the spokesperson for all artists that use sp’s. Some real poser shit but whatever.

They should of just made a new devices like an sp-444 instead of trying to rehash the 404. It’s too clouted. But I’m sure it was only made as an easier cash grab instead of doing actual RnD on a new device.

The updates look dope if it was 2015, but they are late to the game. Might be useful for cats that don’t have lots of other options, but I’m sure it’s redundant and boring for many others. It’s not that big of an upgrade from its predecessor and not unique enough for it to merit its own spot in my studio.

But congrats to people coppin it though. It’s def even more capable now.