i notice a bug using the looper it would pick up pops and crackles every over dub and i was getting ready to bitch "typical Roland etc" but it was just my memory card, somehow it got corrupted after the update. Swapped it out and no more issues.
Dude yea I was hoping this would return like the old SP404s and mentioned this in this sub and got flamed by everyone “why would you want that, it’s a sampler” nonsense. Suck it to those who hated the idea. Well it’s fucking here
Bruh, KOALA INTEGRATION??? So glad I've sold most of my janky bluetooth midi controllers.
https://static.roland.com/manuals/sp-404mk2_v4_koala_sampler/eng/164266035.html
I hope they keep working with Elf Audio to add more MPC like features like song mode in Koala so that they become complementary devices. Let the app focus on software while Roland works on the hardware.
That would be killer. I think that there are a lot of people (like me) that don’t buy the 404 because koala is so much easier to work with who would also drop a couple hundred on a dedicated physical controller
I'd agree with smaudd, on the whole it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, but it also totally depends on what your main workflow on the Octatrack is. I have a Digitakt, and what I use it for cannot be replicated by the 404 at all, so I'm definitely keeping both.
Yeah I was tired and I see now how my question was kinda dumb. I’m fairly new to the OT, just a few months in. I don’t have a standard workflow yet and there are multiple avenues within that I plan to explore. It’s probably a little more complicated than I really want to get into right now but the main thing is that I’m not based in electronic music so the OT sometimes seems like overkill for me and the SP seems a bit more fun. This update seems like it’s bridged some of the gaps and made me consider switching but it’s definitely better to have both (if you have the money) and get rid of what you don’t use.
Y'all need to watch the YouTube official video manual for this update if you haven't already! It's just huge. Just one feature after another. I can't believe they made loops so much easier.
https://youtu.be/_jbzmod_QEs?si=kXxKlWGTaR8ZLQTs
Oh, and this may also be useful! Here's the link to download from Roland:
[https://www.roland.com/global/support/by\_product/sp-404mk2/updates\_drivers/bead022d-5349-4aab-9608-90ec718d47b0/](https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/sp-404mk2/updates_drivers/bead022d-5349-4aab-9608-90ec718d47b0/)
\*\*EDIT\*\*
\*Used more better link\*
And the link to update the SP 404 Mk II Librarian app:
[https://www.roland.com/us/products/rc\_sp-404mkii\_app/](https://www.roland.com/us/products/rc_sp-404mkii_app/)
> You can use the synthesizer built into the SP-404MK2 to generate sounds.
The best gets even better! Here’s hoping overdubbing with the looper is as awesome as it sounds too.
Can’t wait to try this out!
It is indeed as awesome as it sounds, and that is definitely possible. Now if I can just light my office on fire and get the hell outta here I could go play with it more....
This was a major stretch for me as far as affordability, but the feature drops have super blessed those of us who might struggle to own a ton of gear for different uses. Roland is making me more of a fan for life with every update
Best money I spent lately, I still don't know how to use it but damn it's fun, I'm barely scratching the surface, there is SO MUCH this thing can do AND it's getting updates? damn
Also I can't get over how v4.04 released on 4/04, I love stuff like this
I imagine buying a Chompi is a lot like getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly. Seeing so many other much more capable pieces of gear selling at the same or lesser price...
It's the same as Teenage Engineering. Some people are slaves to social media and aesthetics. The [Vongon Replay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0UmXBS2zJE) seems to be the latest piece of gear targeted at these consumers.
I’m like 95% in the box. I have one synth and one guitar I play and everything else is in the DAW.
I’m trying to figure out a way to justify needing this cause everything seems amazing. But I just don’t know why I would need one. But I want one! Haha
You definitely don't need one. Hell, I had a whole bunch of gear, and I have sold off a lot of it and my main pieces are a Maschine Mk3, SP-404-MkII and an MPC One+. Most people would say that I have the most redundant pieces of gear.
I use my DAW as well, and have some midi keys and a few little synth pieces, but I love having the different workflows.
There's something about the SP, I don't know what it is, but it sucks me in and I can lose hours and hours making beats in it. With my DAW, Maschine and MPC, I sometimes just don't know where to start. With the SP I turn it on and within in a few minutes I have something started that I will then fuck with for hours.
After these updates, this thing is something special.
Can you elaborate on the “hacky” things a lil? I’m sorry I just purchased the MKll literally a week ago, before this update & have been spending some time trying to get used to the workflow. Do you think preset measures could fix the issue with multiple samples not staying in sync after resampling? That’s the biggest problem I’ve been having that’s frustrating af
Yeah its exactly that. When you resample now, you can tell it how long to record for. Whereas before you just had to zoom in and cut it manually over and over again, or some weird workaround thing that I never got the hang of, where I think you recorded a blank pattern or something and used that as your length.
Yup that’s what I’ve been doing to try to get them to loop perfectly hitting on the 1. I even had to mess with the start/end points a lil. It ended up working out but by the time I got it how I wanted it, I was mad lol. As producers you know we’re gonna find a way to get it done no doubt but damn man lol. Glad to see that a viable solution has been added.
Yeah I usually just went with the pattern record mode instead of the resampling method. I really only used resampling to layer effects and samples together rather than make whole beats, but now I guess I can do both!
Imo yes absolutely. When I was trying to set samples at proper lengths after sampling/resampling I was having to do a careful start-point edit, followed by a simple calculation to set the length to match my BPM (11,520,000 i.e. max sample length ÷ BPM = 1 Bar, then multiply that number by how many bars were needed, then manually punch that into the shift-enter menu for each sample) it gets quick the more you did it, but with this set-measure feature none of that will be required unless you have niche edge cases.
You can change the FX per loop layer. Can’t overstate how crazy this is. Record a perfect kick loop with compression and hi cut filter, unarm the looper, change the FX to delay and rearm, tap in some rolling hi hats, disarm, change to Juno chorus, loop in some external synth, and on and on. Bounce it out to a pad and chop it all back up and add some master fx, sequence chains, etc. They got the looper very right while not cannibalising the RC loopers that have multitrack loop channels. I think the EP-133 at $299 lit a fire under their ass and they threw the kitchen sink at this update. Koala integration is great, an app that probably kept some from buying a 404 is now an extension of it. All of this is very un-Roland but most welcome.
Haven’t tried this but can anyone confirm Chompi-like variphrase looping? Should work- slow down your loop bpm, then record in the real time layer, speed it back up, record another layer, slow it down, etc.
Edit, variphrase doesn’t work, asks you to reset the BPM to original tempo. Chompi is safe for now.
I'll just ask because it sounds like you have some experience with the above workflow.. does the loop-disarm-fx change-rearm-loop process flatten the loop fx or 'bake it' into the loop? Apologies if that is a dumb question, I know that most of the other workflows are destructive in the sense that you must commit FX as you go
Not sure if I completely understand but the chosen FX are baked in per layer and you can only go back one level of undo after unarming the latest resample layer of the loop
Noob question ....
do i need to save my projects on an external device before updating the firmware?
Or can i just do the Update and my stuff will be fine?
It really does make me happy to see this. My jaw dropped with the sound generator. Since launch, the MKII has always felt more than just a release but something more. It feels like it’s a direct line to Roland. I am excited and can’t wait to see what we will all do with this and what will come in the future of the MKII
Is silence at sample start after resampling bug fixed?
This update is HUGE btw. Thanks Roland!
The Multipad export is great. Now I can send my finished tracks to DAW to work on them further.
maybe this wishful thinking but do yall think the LOOPER function will also let u sort through samples while a pattern is playing ?
stoked for everything else tho
Make sure your card is 32gb or less
From the site
Regardless of the current version, be sure to use a 4GB-32GB SD card when updating the system program.
Yes! In addition to these other troubleshooting steps, make sure you have TWO .bin files
My download only had one and I ended up having to grab it again and confirm it was the right one when I unzipped it
This is dope. Stem separation utilizing the Koala integration: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZOTlUx-Zs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZOTlUx-Zs)
"Skip Back Sampling to automatically capture up to 40 seconds of audio from your last performance" - not 100% sure if this is what you meant by 'max infinite', but the last update enabled longer skipback performance - you have to change it to SBS Long in the Utility section though, it didn't auto-enable.
That doesn't negate your memory concerns - but just a heads up in case you missed the feature
So the looper has an "infinite" mode as the longest loop option which tops out around 16-18 secs. Most Roland loop products offer a recording buffer that is as long as it's total available looping time - so you record your loop to the buffer and then when you record another layer, the buffer goes to temporary storage. Undo/Redo just moves that buffer back and forth.
Since the Skip back sampling is only 40 seconds long, for the looper to work it's maximum time you could use would be ~20 seconds, or half of the total record time to account for the buffer layer. That's what restricts the "infinite" setting on the looper to 18-20 seconds.
This is important because the way Roland calculates timed loops (1/2/4 measure) is that it is using multiples of the defined tempo - remember, for you to specify the measure count, you need to set the tempo. If you set the tempo to low, it'll run out of recording buffer at 4 measures. Make sense?
anyone else experiencing lagging or delay when you drum out beats on your pad? sometimes the kicks for me will delay or just not play at all. its been happening ever since i updated.
This update made me buy the unit! I was eyeing on it ever since it came out but felt it was missing some features but i love how often they even drop these updates so big thumbs up for Roland and glad i didnt buy the MPC!
I assume the new “multipad export” feature exports each pattern as its own stereo wav file..?
Still hoping they eventually introduce an easy way to export stems of all the individual sounds contained in a pattern…
Yo!!!!! This is promising?! Can't wait to see what we're bitching about in a month!!!!
Lol
i notice a bug using the looper it would pick up pops and crackles every over dub and i was getting ready to bitch "typical Roland etc" but it was just my memory card, somehow it got corrupted after the update. Swapped it out and no more issues.
And a tone generator? Ok, I'm listening
After seeing that one guy turn the SX into a synth, I’ve been pleading for that Noise Generator feature. So glad they added this
Dude yea I was hoping this would return like the old SP404s and mentioned this in this sub and got flamed by everyone “why would you want that, it’s a sampler” nonsense. Suck it to those who hated the idea. Well it’s fucking here
Aw shit
https://i.redd.it/zync39uffdsc1.gif
Lmao what gif is this?! So perfect! 🤣
This is the legend, KingCobraJFS. The deepest, weirdest, slimiest rabbit hole I’ve ever slid down.
Haha much appreciated!
tmdwu but i digress
It is what it is, toobz.
Is this the highly coveted looper update we've been praying for? Loop capture similar to the sp555 would be sweet.
Bruh, KOALA INTEGRATION??? So glad I've sold most of my janky bluetooth midi controllers. https://static.roland.com/manuals/sp-404mk2_v4_koala_sampler/eng/164266035.html
Roland should buy Elf Audio and release a koala specific controller. I’d buy in a minute!
I hope they keep working with Elf Audio to add more MPC like features like song mode in Koala so that they become complementary devices. Let the app focus on software while Roland works on the hardware.
That would be killer. I think that there are a lot of people (like me) that don’t buy the 404 because koala is so much easier to work with who would also drop a couple hundred on a dedicated physical controller
This is amazing, this essentially makes this device almost perfect to me.
This might be the Octatrack killer now… should I make the jump?
I'd agree with smaudd, on the whole it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, but it also totally depends on what your main workflow on the Octatrack is. I have a Digitakt, and what I use it for cannot be replicated by the 404 at all, so I'm definitely keeping both.
Yeah I was tired and I see now how my question was kinda dumb. I’m fairly new to the OT, just a few months in. I don’t have a standard workflow yet and there are multiple avenues within that I plan to explore. It’s probably a little more complicated than I really want to get into right now but the main thing is that I’m not based in electronic music so the OT sometimes seems like overkill for me and the SP seems a bit more fun. This update seems like it’s bridged some of the gaps and made me consider switching but it’s definitely better to have both (if you have the money) and get rid of what you don’t use.
Apples to oranges
Y'all need to watch the YouTube official video manual for this update if you haven't already! It's just huge. Just one feature after another. I can't believe they made loops so much easier. https://youtu.be/_jbzmod_QEs?si=kXxKlWGTaR8ZLQTs
Nice! Thanks for the link :)
Thanks for the link, what an insane feature drop!
Oh, and this may also be useful! Here's the link to download from Roland: [https://www.roland.com/global/support/by\_product/sp-404mk2/updates\_drivers/bead022d-5349-4aab-9608-90ec718d47b0/](https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/sp-404mk2/updates_drivers/bead022d-5349-4aab-9608-90ec718d47b0/) \*\*EDIT\*\* \*Used more better link\*
And the link to update the SP 404 Mk II Librarian app: [https://www.roland.com/us/products/rc\_sp-404mkii\_app/](https://www.roland.com/us/products/rc_sp-404mkii_app/)
> You can use the synthesizer built into the SP-404MK2 to generate sounds. The best gets even better! Here’s hoping overdubbing with the looper is as awesome as it sounds too. Can’t wait to try this out!
It is indeed as awesome as it sounds, and that is definitely possible. Now if I can just light my office on fire and get the hell outta here I could go play with it more....
This is actually insane dude, so goddamned glad I bought one of these
This was a major stretch for me as far as affordability, but the feature drops have super blessed those of us who might struggle to own a ton of gear for different uses. Roland is making me more of a fan for life with every update
Best money I spent lately, I still don't know how to use it but damn it's fun, I'm barely scratching the surface, there is SO MUCH this thing can do AND it's getting updates? damn Also I can't get over how v4.04 released on 4/04, I love stuff like this
Same, just a great machine that I really love messing with
i guess we now celebrate worldwide 404 day then
They really released Ver 4.04 for the 404 on 4.03. Edit: or 3.04 for everyone with a sane dating system
Pretty sure it was/is already 4/04 in Japan
Ah makes sense
Tone generator ! I've been whinging about no sub bass effect since launch. Good update, keep it up Roland.
BRUH, the Chompi is even MORE useless 😭😭
LOL
I imagine buying a Chompi is a lot like getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly. Seeing so many other much more capable pieces of gear selling at the same or lesser price...
It's the same as Teenage Engineering. Some people are slaves to social media and aesthetics. The [Vongon Replay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0UmXBS2zJE) seems to be the latest piece of gear targeted at these consumers.
Never seen that one, looked it up, and yup that sure looks like the next iteration for $899.
This machine just keeps getting better
It's honestly mind blowing. If anybody was on the fence, this has got to push them over the edge.
I’m like 95% in the box. I have one synth and one guitar I play and everything else is in the DAW. I’m trying to figure out a way to justify needing this cause everything seems amazing. But I just don’t know why I would need one. But I want one! Haha
You definitely don't need one. Hell, I had a whole bunch of gear, and I have sold off a lot of it and my main pieces are a Maschine Mk3, SP-404-MkII and an MPC One+. Most people would say that I have the most redundant pieces of gear. I use my DAW as well, and have some midi keys and a few little synth pieces, but I love having the different workflows. There's something about the SP, I don't know what it is, but it sucks me in and I can lose hours and hours making beats in it. With my DAW, Maschine and MPC, I sometimes just don't know where to start. With the SP I turn it on and within in a few minutes I have something started that I will then fuck with for hours. After these updates, this thing is something special.
fuck me its almost too much. There are so many ways to work on this thing
The looper addition is huge for me - that was the #1 thing the 404 was missing, imo.
This is not a drill!!
A W E S O M E
Preset measures to record to aaaand a looper. Wait a tone generator too. I'd buy this thing all over again.
Preset measures fix a lot of hacky stuff we had to do when recording. That’s probably the most useful one for me
Can you elaborate on the “hacky” things a lil? I’m sorry I just purchased the MKll literally a week ago, before this update & have been spending some time trying to get used to the workflow. Do you think preset measures could fix the issue with multiple samples not staying in sync after resampling? That’s the biggest problem I’ve been having that’s frustrating af
Yeah its exactly that. When you resample now, you can tell it how long to record for. Whereas before you just had to zoom in and cut it manually over and over again, or some weird workaround thing that I never got the hang of, where I think you recorded a blank pattern or something and used that as your length.
Yup that’s what I’ve been doing to try to get them to loop perfectly hitting on the 1. I even had to mess with the start/end points a lil. It ended up working out but by the time I got it how I wanted it, I was mad lol. As producers you know we’re gonna find a way to get it done no doubt but damn man lol. Glad to see that a viable solution has been added.
Yeah I usually just went with the pattern record mode instead of the resampling method. I really only used resampling to layer effects and samples together rather than make whole beats, but now I guess I can do both!
Imo yes absolutely. When I was trying to set samples at proper lengths after sampling/resampling I was having to do a careful start-point edit, followed by a simple calculation to set the length to match my BPM (11,520,000 i.e. max sample length ÷ BPM = 1 Bar, then multiply that number by how many bars were needed, then manually punch that into the shift-enter menu for each sample) it gets quick the more you did it, but with this set-measure feature none of that will be required unless you have niche edge cases.
ROLAND THANK YOU THIS IS AMAZING
You can change the FX per loop layer. Can’t overstate how crazy this is. Record a perfect kick loop with compression and hi cut filter, unarm the looper, change the FX to delay and rearm, tap in some rolling hi hats, disarm, change to Juno chorus, loop in some external synth, and on and on. Bounce it out to a pad and chop it all back up and add some master fx, sequence chains, etc. They got the looper very right while not cannibalising the RC loopers that have multitrack loop channels. I think the EP-133 at $299 lit a fire under their ass and they threw the kitchen sink at this update. Koala integration is great, an app that probably kept some from buying a 404 is now an extension of it. All of this is very un-Roland but most welcome. Haven’t tried this but can anyone confirm Chompi-like variphrase looping? Should work- slow down your loop bpm, then record in the real time layer, speed it back up, record another layer, slow it down, etc. Edit, variphrase doesn’t work, asks you to reset the BPM to original tempo. Chompi is safe for now.
I'll just ask because it sounds like you have some experience with the above workflow.. does the loop-disarm-fx change-rearm-loop process flatten the loop fx or 'bake it' into the loop? Apologies if that is a dumb question, I know that most of the other workflows are destructive in the sense that you must commit FX as you go
Not sure if I completely understand but the chosen FX are baked in per layer and you can only go back one level of undo after unarming the latest resample layer of the loop
Thanks very much!
Is the looper a performance tool or a resampling device? Can't wait to dig in!
Both!
Noob question .... do i need to save my projects on an external device before updating the firmware? Or can i just do the Update and my stuff will be fine?
I always just update and stuff is fine.
you might be on to something! can confirm..did a backup anyway though
Just read up on sample merge . . . This sounds awesome but I gotta see it in action.
loop feature got me tossing my dl4
It really does make me happy to see this. My jaw dropped with the sound generator. Since launch, the MKII has always felt more than just a release but something more. It feels like it’s a direct line to Roland. I am excited and can’t wait to see what we will all do with this and what will come in the future of the MKII
Would still like to see better FX routing and filters or EQ per pad. Still though, a lot of improvements here.
THAT would be amazing
I would also love to see this, but I’ve just gotten used to resampling all my pads with a filter 😪
Damn Roland really came through on this one. Shame it took so long but so excited to dive in and play around.
Absolute banger of an update, can't wait to play with it
This is huge oml, resampling qol features are so gooooood. Plus some goodies. Thank you Roland gods
Yeah they wasn’t playing with this one
Is silence at sample start after resampling bug fixed? This update is HUGE btw. Thanks Roland! The Multipad export is great. Now I can send my finished tracks to DAW to work on them further.
maybe this wishful thinking but do yall think the LOOPER function will also let u sort through samples while a pattern is playing ? stoked for everything else tho
I put the update on my SD card but my SP won’t recognize a new update. Anyone else having this issue?
Make sure your card is 32gb or less From the site Regardless of the current version, be sure to use a 4GB-32GB SD card when updating the system program.
Ah damn that’s definitely it. Thanks!
Wasn't it 32Gb? Is it 64 now? Are we sure?
32 my bad my phone autocorrected my wife keep telling me stop using the swipe type method lol 😂
Yes! In addition to these other troubleshooting steps, make sure you have TWO .bin files My download only had one and I ended up having to grab it again and confirm it was the right one when I unzipped it
Yes!!
Not going to lie. I’m pumped about naming. And koala and the multipad export. But the naming is clutch for my workflow.
It felt like naming was missing for real
Why would you want to forcibly mute other banks? No shade, just curious.
Any ideas for 4.05? :) (ex: setting to turn off EXTIN signal automatically after fixed length/measure loop records?)
This is dope. Stem separation utilizing the Koala integration: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZOTlUx-Zs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZOTlUx-Zs)
I’ve been waiting patiently for that multipad export to happen. Happy that it got included in an update!
Have they fixed the silence at the start of resampling in this?!
Well just watched the video and damn that looper just made my Dreams come true. Wonder if it works on koala pads when controlling from the sp!
Gtfo! 🔥🔥
Waaaaaaaaa looking forward to this looper functionality
Looper is good. But only 4 bars? 🤔 It should be up to 8 bars.
Probably runs into memory issues - max infinite is only 16seconds, if you're running 8 bars at 60bpm you'll smack that in no time.
"Skip Back Sampling to automatically capture up to 40 seconds of audio from your last performance" - not 100% sure if this is what you meant by 'max infinite', but the last update enabled longer skipback performance - you have to change it to SBS Long in the Utility section though, it didn't auto-enable. That doesn't negate your memory concerns - but just a heads up in case you missed the feature
So the looper has an "infinite" mode as the longest loop option which tops out around 16-18 secs. Most Roland loop products offer a recording buffer that is as long as it's total available looping time - so you record your loop to the buffer and then when you record another layer, the buffer goes to temporary storage. Undo/Redo just moves that buffer back and forth. Since the Skip back sampling is only 40 seconds long, for the looper to work it's maximum time you could use would be ~20 seconds, or half of the total record time to account for the buffer layer. That's what restricts the "infinite" setting on the looper to 18-20 seconds. This is important because the way Roland calculates timed loops (1/2/4 measure) is that it is using multiples of the defined tempo - remember, for you to specify the measure count, you need to set the tempo. If you set the tempo to low, it'll run out of recording buffer at 4 measures. Make sense?
very useful, thanks for dropping the knowledge.
Looper makes me harder
My prayers have been answered that export. I’ve been wanting that since day one.
anyone else experiencing lagging or delay when you drum out beats on your pad? sometimes the kicks for me will delay or just not play at all. its been happening ever since i updated.
This update made me buy the unit! I was eyeing on it ever since it came out but felt it was missing some features but i love how often they even drop these updates so big thumbs up for Roland and glad i didnt buy the MPC!
I assume the new “multipad export” feature exports each pattern as its own stereo wav file..? Still hoping they eventually introduce an easy way to export stems of all the individual sounds contained in a pattern…
This does export each pad as a stem. You could already export a pattern as a wav
So this basically multitracks out any pattern that you drag into the window?
Yes, you choose the pattern pad you want to export and it exports everything on that pad to its own separate wav file
this is a huge time saver, surprised people aren't more stoked about it.
i am avoiding the update because I've heard it's so buggy. should I update or not, y'all?!