SP-404 mkii

Does this deserve it's own thread? I'm getting hella gassy watching videos of it.

I don't need it and, maybe it's better suited for hip hop beats? 

What's yalls opinions on this? Price seems respectable at about 675 Canadian dollars.

Yeah that fit perfect for the traditional beat making. 

My Octatracks kills it 

I've got a Yak Bak Classic.

No step sequencing has killed it for me.

I've had the sp-555 (which is somewhat a cousin of the 404) for years and the fx are unique. But that's about it, other than that I grew to hate it and it's only used as an fx machine for a long time.

They've improved on some of it's biggest cons like the awful way of editing the samples using the 'mark' button. Also the lack of chromatic playback, slicing as well as that you couldn't use more than one effect at the time.

I do feel however they really complicated things with the fx routing. Also a second page of effects parameters I consider unnecessary, the simplicity of really not needing more than 3 paramters at a time was part of the charm. Last but not least the shitty sequencer looks like it's barely improved. Yes it's indeed fine for hiphop beats and anything >100 bpm. And did they FINALLY add panning per sample? Couldn't see that in the video.

Concluding: I currently have the circuit rhythm and its for me the perfect balance between versatility, simplicity & character for a smaller pricetag. A brilliant distortion, decent delay/verbs, good filters and pitch shifters is all I need I figured. For the sp-line, I understand that it acquired a certain status soundwise due to it's unique character. But other than that I find it a very overpriced machine.

I just love that new display. zooming into it and doing that wave form work on a piece of hardware looks fun. if it had a better sequencer i guess it'd be better.

They should just make a small box with audio in, out, 3 knobs, and the vinyl sim effect from the sp303, and nothing else.

I like the old way of editing by ear and then fine tuning the edit points a lot, actually.  Totally different results than I would get otherwise.

303 has the same polyphony as the Octatrack, and they used to be a lot cheaper than an Octatrack before the lo-fi-beats crowd started overpaying for them.

  On 10/19/2021 at 12:17 AM, TubularCorporation said:

I've got a Yak Bak Classic.

Same here, with the compact flash cards, lol

Raising the dead here. Anyone using this these days after all the updates? I find the pattern sequencer actually useful instead of utter crap. And I've fallen in love with skipback and now wish it was on everything. 

One of my fav ever set ups was the mpc 100, kaoss pad and the sp303

this has really interested me for a while

  On 9/23/2024 at 6:52 PM, Crazing said:

One of my fav ever set ups was the mpc 100, kaoss pad and the sp303

this has really interested me for a while

Yeah, the music I'm still proudest of was made with the 404sx and a few random cheap synths. During the time I thought the workflow was a pain in the ass, having to make sure the destructive editing of the 404 wasn't messing everything up, but then also comign up with happy accidents out of that. Looking back with rose-colored glasses, it seems like the all the brain-wracking hours fiddling over stuff was actually just as happy as it was frustrating. I kind of miss it. 

I grabbed one of these recently, and it's a pain in the arse as a standalone thing, but it's a great tool in a larger setup.  Having access to up to 16 minutes of stereo playback per pad, plus all the decent effects which can do a lot if used sparingly, it's a drone and texture machine.

feels exactly like the vibe of the sp303 way back but more complex options which is quite confusing tbh

fun nonetheless...having usb c connection for sampling from a phone is great plus its also a looper and an audio interface

now looking at some kind of cheap synth to go with it...maybe the elektron cycles

  On 12/11/2024 at 6:07 PM, Crazing said:

feels exactly like the vibe of the sp303 way back but more complex options which is quite confusing tbh

fun nonetheless...having usb c connection for sampling from a phone is great plus its also a looper and an audio interface

now looking at some kind of cheap synth to go with it...maybe the elektron cycles

If you can push up a bit and go for a second hand Digitone 1, that's be a cracking setup.  You can stick the 404 in 'midi mode B' and then trigger all the pads on the 404 with midi notes, while also having a four track 8 voice FM synth with a great sequencer.

the minifreak or hydrasynth explorer look pretty sweet and half the price