Tech

Roland’s SP-404 MKII sampler has powerful new sequencing effects and features


When I practice with Roland’s SP-404 MKII back in October, I said it was “becoming” my favorite sampler. Fast forward a few months and it’s firmly in place. Of course, no device is perfect and there is always room for improvement. So Roland is rolling out a firmware update 2.0, which only cements the 404’s place at the top of my list.

Probably the biggest addition is a TYPE CHILD (as in TR-808) step sequencer. While the SP series has always appealed to more people who want the loose feel of a live instrument, being able to punch a basic four-kick on the floor that’s pocket-friendly has always been a treat. That’s especially true if your sense of rhythm is just that, but it also makes 404s more useful for always-on genres like house and techno. And in some ways, it’s actually more versatile than your average TYPE CHILD sequence since patterns can be up to 64 bars (or 1,024 steps) long.

In addition to being able to program the beat by manually punching in individual steps, you can now also record to samples in chroma mode: upload a sample of a note and play just one tune in. a sample. Previously, this had to be done through resampling, i.e. creating a whole new sample of the tune you played.

Roland SP-404MKII

Terrence O’Brien / Engadget

But wait a minute! Timbre sample playback now has three different modes – old monophonic, legato (great for sliding bass lines), and polyphonic – so you can turn a single piano note into a chord . And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s getting better still. Roland has greatly improved the time dilation algorithm. Honestly, it was useless before. Now, in addition to the default “vinyl” pitch shift mode (which just plays back everything faster or slower), there are two Variation modes (these change the pitch without changing the length). playback): Backup, for things with separate attacks like drums and guitars; and Ensemble for sustained sound like strings and synth accompaniment. The back pad still sounds a bit rough, although it handles the drums well enough. But Ensemble goes beyond what was before the 404 and is key to making the new polyphonic sample playback mode usable.

Now if all of this was due to Roland’s addition, that would be a pretty big deal. But the company also includes four new bus effects: SX Reverb, SX Delay, Cloud Delay, and Backspin. Plus, there’s now a Harmonizer on the input FX menu and The second version of reverse playback is borrowed to form SP-303 for those who really want to participate lo-fi’s legacy of scope. And on top of that, the Skip Back feature can recall audio from up to 40 seconds in the past whose previous iteration had a maximum duration of 25 seconds.

In short, Roland has taken what was already a pretty cool musical device and made it even more appealing. Now if only they weren’t completely out of stock everywhere.

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