SP-404 MK2?

[ellaguru]

guys let us know how this machine is when possible;)

Still watching videos but just gonna write you a reply, be about 20 minutes or so bro

)
ok

[ellaguru]

i ve found this review by loopop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXc48ApD-Kg
edit
chromatic there;)
edit 2
-damn it has ADSR and loop point too (with start point,end point)...
-indipendent Roll per pads...wow...
-it has pitch original and pitch+stretch (bpm sync) as for mc909...wow2

[SP-USER]

i ve found this review by loopop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXc48ApD-Kg
edit
chromatic there;)
edit 2
-damn it has ADSR and loop point too (with start point,end point)...
-indipendent Roll per pads...wow...
-it has pitch original and pitch+stretch (bpm sync) as for mc909...wow2

Yup, there's no worries on the pitch thing, at least not as far as I can tell, it all looks pretty damn awesome bro! It definitely has the ability to adjust pitch by speeding-up and slowing-down the sample, so rest assured on that one. It believe I even saw it has a "Fine Tune" mode for pitching your samples in exactly the same way, so very cool! One thing that has me curious though is the DJ mode. I saw Loopop demo it very basically, but while doing so he failed to say whether you can resample whatever you do in that mode. Not a deal-breaker for me either way, I love the machine regardless, and the DJ mode is really just 'icing on the cake' for me, but nevertheless I would love to know if you can resample whatever you do in DJ mode. I suppose it does, otherwise there wouldn't be much point in having it on there in the first place, but not sure.

Anyway, you wanted the link but I see you've seen the Loopop review, but seriously, pretty much all the reviews out there talk about the pitch anyway. I was surprised by Jade Wii's review though, she wasn't as thorough as I hoped she would be, and she doesn't seem to be aware that when you're editing the effects, you can press the encoder to get another set of three knob paramaters for the effects. Could be just down to being more of an overview video I suppose.

After watching a whole bunch of videos, one thing I was especially pleased to notice is that the EQ for example, has LOW GAIN - MID GAIN - HIGH GAIN on one page for the three knobs, and LOW FREQ - MID FREQ - HIGH FREQ on the second page accessed by pressing the encoder. This is big news because it means the MKII is perfectly capable as a mastering tool as well now. There literally is nothing stopping people using the MKII to go from idea to completed, professionally mastered track all directly on the device if that's what they want (and I do, so pleased about that).

The Loopop review was the first one I saw and I'm pretty sure he demonstrated the pitch feature. They all do apart from one if I recall, but I know for sure this one does cause I just watched it (don't worry, you don't need to keep taking your hands off the pad while adjusting the knob like he does (fuck knows why he did that), but it is demostrated in this video and you can also see what I was talking about with the extra knob settings page for the effects (in this case EQ).

Nonjuror Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8LSik0qiEM

A tad off topic but, I love Ichii The Killer!!

It’s kinda a fucked up movie. There’s rapes, blood spurts, hot grease boiling the skin of a Yakuza boss dangling from hooks & chains, and needles being put through faces!

Entertainment the whole family can enjoy!! Lol

Ok, I’m obviously joking. Ichii ain’t for the squeamish. But the story sucks you in.

- TEMPORARY DIVERSION FOR HEADPHONES -

I'm not surprised you love Ichi the Killer, Takashi Miike has to be one of the greatest underground cinema producers out of Japan. I love how he couldn't give a flying fuck about 'political correctness', and how he gets a kick out film-making based on controvesial subject matter. Off the top of my head, in the space of just three years alone he put out three very messed-up films:

1999 - Audition (Psychotic Illness and Paedophilia)
2001 - Ichi the Killer (Debauchery and Sadomasochism)
2001 - Visitor Q (Incest and Necrophilia)

Show people a list like that and they'd likely think you're talking about a dangerous madman, not realising just how well-written and mind-fuckingly quirky his story-telling of such taboo subjects is until they actually watch one and realise what a genius the guy is (you never forget a Takashi Miike film). I read somewhere that when he makes his films he knows very well they're going to be censored like crazy, but lets rip anyway knowing the true fans will eventually find the fully uncensored version he wanted them to see (or in other words it's a giant wrecking-ball in the face for the politically correct censorship-happpy crowd), so you have to admire the guy!

It's amazing how many people think they've seen the fully uncensored versions of his films when actually they've only seen a censored version and don't realise it. Pretty messed-up like you said, but at the same time damn good (and often daring) film-making, and I don't know if you're aware of it, but an Anime of "Ichi the Killer" was released shortly after the movie (just as kinky although differs in storyline). Anyway bro, you'll probably like the other two listed above if you love Ichi the Killer, they're just as messed up in their own unique ways (Especially Visitor Q). I've collected taboo and odd-ball films for years, and Takashi Miike is definitely among my favourite film makers.

- END OF TEMPORARY DIVERSION FOR HEADPHONES -

Anyway, I'm off to watch more videos, still haven't seen 'em all, today is a wonderful day
BTW, I just noticed Jade Wii has started uploading a bunch of tutorial videos for it.

[ellaguru]

After watching a whole bunch of videos, one thing I was especially pleased to notice is that the EQ for example, has LOW GAIN - MID GAIN - HIGH GAIN on one page for the three knobs, and LOW FREQ - MID FREQ - HIGH FREQ on the second page accessed by pressing the encoder. This is big news because it means the MKII is perfectly capable as a mastering tool as well now. There literally is nothing stopping people using the MKII to go from idea to completed, professionally mastered track all directly on the device if that's what they want (and I do, so pleased about that).

this is nice news for sure, but the eq is an effect or is an effective parameter of the 404?

Nonjuror Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8LSik0qiEM

cheers, i 'll take a look right now

[SP-USER]

this is nice news for sure, but the eq is an effect or is an effective parameter of the 404?

It's an effect but I'm not sure what you mean by "An Effective Parameter" unless perhaps you mean where it can be used? You can use it anywhere within the machine, and you even get to set-up effects busses like on a real mixer. You can stack effects (so that should include the EQ) and you can resample even with stacked effects routed in serial or parallel mode, it's pretty damn cool bro!

Another cool thing I noticed is that they've given you a proper SD Card Browser for locating the samples. Yesssssssss!!! That might not sound like a big deal, but believe me it is, it's a VERY big deal and here is why. Let's say you did some field recording to grab some street-life ambience on, say, a Tascam DR-40X. It records to an SD CARD, but like all digital field recorders it drops its recorded wav files into a specific folder. So let's imagine you take that SD card out of the DR-40X and want to load the sample directly into the SP-404MKII. Well the good news is it looks as if you can, because Roland haven't 'fixed' a specific directory that imported samples need to be stored in. Instead, they've given you a full-on SD Card browser which is just fantastic. Having the browser means it doesn't matter what device you use to share samples on the card, or what directory it puts them in, cause you can always navigate the the directory directly on the MKII itself and load them directly into a pad (or at least it certainly looks that way).

Love that, and thumbs up to them for not locking samples into a fixed directory!

BTW, Accurate Beats made an enjoyable review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2XstUXm-pY

[ellaguru]

It's an effect but I'm not sure what you mean by "An Effective Parameter" unless perhaps you mean where it can be used? You can use it anywhere within the machine, and you even get to set-up effects busses like on a real mixer. You can stack effects (so that should include the EQ) and you can resample even with stacked effects routed in serial or parallel mode, it's pretty damn cool bro!

i meant: is a part of the 404 or is it just an effect (as for every sp)?
(anyway with the effect busses it has not to be a real problem)

[SP-USER]

Oh I think I know what you mean, like is the EQ a part of the Mixer functionality itself or just an effect? If so, not as far as I can tell, it's just an effect but as you say (or I think you're saying), the Bus functionality would give you that functionality anyway.

Regards the effects though, I notice it has a Wah, and I really hope it has touch-wah functionality and not just Auto-Wah. I hate Auto-Wah and think Touch-Wah is much more useful and enjoyable, especially for getting that funky vibe!

[Jaytreaze]

@spuser , in regards to whether DJ mode can be resampled, I have a feeling it wont. simply because its DJ mode, its a performance mode, you sync, you queue, and you play as a deck would (hence the deck simulation). BUT what would be a cool use is blending and mixing songs together for a project in one go into a DAW using this feature, get some interesting transitions, then just splice it up in your DAW where you feel is fit and there you go, you got a project with nice transitions track by track ready for the go.

[Danswift]

I see a million dreams ..bit crushed.. within six months ..

Nice specs on the new machine..looks good,it's been way too long coming.

Not caught up in the hype for this at all though-but understand everyone else's enthusiasm.I'm not exactly in need of a new SP anyway ,got the 808 EX ,404 OG ,SX and a 303 at my disposal ..still think the MPC One for just a little extra bux would be the sampler I'd go for personally between the two .

[Jaytreaze]

@danswift this definitely feels like more of an option to bring new users into the beat community and culture through a machine that seems really useful as opposed to a piece of equipment to be added to a more long term sp user’s set up. I can’t see someone sell their 303 for the MK2 perks and have the 303 vinyl sim in it too etc etc. It’s like an opportunity for everyone who missed out on the SPs in the past to get in on it with extra perks since I feel like more experienced beat makers kind of have everything they need that the MK2 boasts? (And I’m not calling myself long term experienced or anything of that nature, I’m in this weird purgatory where I feel really settled with an SX but in the bigger picture im still VERY fresh in all this haha) Idk having said that though I’d still love to mess about with this machine FOR SURE, nothing sways me AWAY from getting this machine haha

[Ill Green]

This is definitely the people's SP. 303 vinyl sim to cut throat on the ebay scalpers selling old 303s for the same price or 2 times more.

The Pitch/Speed is like the DJS-1000 where you can switch between pitched or timestretch on the go.

On a vid by Sara ill, she was resampling the Skipback Sampling performance she did. I found that awesome because sometimes the best shit is when you doodling and not recording, but the minute you start recording, you couldn't do that ill shit prior.

And there is an SD slot!

[SP-USER]

@spuser , in regards to whether DJ mode can be resampled, I have a feeling it wont. simply because its DJ mode, its a performance mode, you sync, you queue, and you play as a deck would (hence the deck simulation). BUT what would be a cool use is blending and mixing songs together for a project in one go into a DAW using this feature, get some interesting transitions, then just splice it up in your DAW where you feel is fit and there you go, you got a project with nice transitions track by track ready for the go.

Yeah but I have zero interest in involving a computer in any way, so it makes no difference to me really. That's why the SD Card and even the built-in SD Card browser both came as a VERY welcome surprise! My MKII will never, ever, be connected to a computing device of any kind. I decided to go completely stand-alone quite some time ago and I'm sticking to that decision. I think this MKII is bloody perfect, I really do. Well ok not "perfect", but you know what I mean, near as damn it. You know how vocal I am, so considering the ONLY concern I have right now is hoping that it has Touch-Wah, I have to say I'm very excited by what Roland have done here, I really am!

I'm not even sure Danswift is correct on this one, in fact I reckon that since himself and PHeMoX are considering the MPC ONE instead, I think they'd best test both units in the flesh (or rather plastic) before making that decision. The MPC ONE is awesome, the auto-sampler alone makes it worth the money, but if you look carefully, the MKII also has an Auto-Sampler of sorts and it looks as if you can play whatever you captured both polyphonically and chromatically via a MIDI keyboard. The MKII also uses the hands-on SP workflow that both these guys are used to using, so if anything, I think chosing the MPC ONE over the MKII would be the move that could end in tears. Important to remember that the MPC ONE is only semi-tactile and quite involved, whereas the MKII is fully tactile and hands-on.

I was going to go for the MPC ONE in Keyboard form via that new MPC KEY61 model they leaked. It's cool, powerful, and it'll sell like hot cakes, but no way will people get stuff done with it as quickliy as they would with the SP-404MKII. That's why I'm still here, it's why I hung around, because much as I hated the limitations of the older model, it did at least confirm to me that with the right sort of update, it would be the ultimate music making machine. That's another reason I was so bloody vocal about it not having these abilities.

Stupidly I haven't actually ordered one yet, but will probably get that done today otherwise I can see me having to wait until 2022 for stock levels to meet demand. I should really watch more videos I suppose, but honestly, I've seen with my own eyes that it does what I want it to do, so at this point I think any further hesitation would just be unfounded paranoia on my part.

But yeah, love it, she's definitely gonna be my music-making partner in crime, and I reckon I'll be knocking out grimy, ultra-controversial, underground werid stuff like there's no tomorrow once I get the hang of it! And, hopefully not too many years later, get some proper-fancy Vinyl and Cassette releases out there. Not gonna lie, SP-404MKII strikes me as being the ultimate music making tool, it's definitely my dream tool and as Ill Green just pointed out, definitely "The People's SP".

[Danswift]

Well ,as I've previously mentioned i already have the SP-808 EX,SP-404 OG,404 SX and the SP-303, plus the old school and mighty Ensoniq E.P.S. sampling synth is also at my disposal here along with an MPC 2000,Akai S-900 and the S-950 so I'm not exactly crying out for another sampler right now although the MPC One appeals to me for the main reason that it'd actually be a very cool addition to combine with the SP's ..also been seriously mulling over the idea of pulling the trigger on the MPC X ..I've had a few plays with one recently and wow! ..now that's a sampler which is a total game changer in my opinion.

Dope to see this 404 MK 2 come to fruition though and as I also previously mentioned can totally understand everyone else's enthusiasm for it ..I'll definitely try one out at some point for sure but I'm not in any hurry to rush out there and grab one ,my G.A.S. is bad enough already as it is hehe.

[abuse_it.s_ok]

DAMN this thing is gonna make me rob someone of 500euro!!! my palms itch

is like someone from the forums is the executive producer of this 4042
like maybe the only thing missing is a step seq and an internal synth....
would be cool to get any of those
even get an envelope! be nice to sync it with gate tho
even pattern edit, mute groups! damn!
seems to me like retail mpcs gonna get cheaper.... people gonna sell that daw inabox to snatch one of those

[SP-USER]

even get an envelope! be nice to sync it with gate tho

It does, it's basically an amp envelope that triggers every time the sample does