I like that jam! And thanks for the write up, appreciate it.
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Calling it a super charged OP-1 is the best description of it. Where Elektron, MPC, and any other DAW or groovebox is based around MIDI and being able to endlessly tweak your MIDI notes the SP (and OP-1) is about recording audio and being committed to your takes. It’s definitely a slower process but it’s a different process and for me personally it can be more productive because I don’t get stuck in a cycle of tweaking (well, at least until I get the stems into a DAW lol).
For what the sequencer is, though, I personally think it’s quite good. It’s obviously very basic but the idea is to sequence a rough loop before you end up committing the phrases to audio. Which is also cool because you can have that baseline drum loop that you can record multiple times with different effects and stutters and different parts and turn a simple drum loop into multiple different recordings.
But yeah, this device has an SP workflow… not an MPC workflow. It’s about recording to audio not recording MIDI. And I think the big draw to me is the sound quality. It just has so much character, especially compared to the MPC Live.
I love my OP-1, been an OPuser for almost a decade but I’d recommend an SP-404MKII + iPhone Synths over it if someone wanted something similar.
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For me, the whole appeal of the Mk2 is that it doesn’t have the more rigid grid style sequencing but that you can still easily organize parts that you have played into it and transform those parts via the effects. I think for anyone who has worked extensively with Tascam portastudios and misses the immediacy of working on those machines but can’t be f*&cked to deal with the many accompanying headaches this is the perfect solution. Especially if you are intending to combine it with a more advanced, controlled, sequencer/sampler.
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Here is a review/loose thoughts after a week with the MK2:
TLDR: Some of the workflow can be a bit clunky at times, but this baby isn’t going anywhere.
Roland packed a lot of new features into a 404 body without having to do a complete redesign. They added a screen and some buttons to aid in that. To be honest, it probably should have gone through a redesign, but then it wouldn’t be a MK2, it would be a 444, or some other number Roland came up with.
The workflow was a little awkward at first, but it is not like other samplers. I have been playing with the sequencer a bit, and it is a shame that you have to back out of it for certain things, but you get used to that, and doing more prep work upfront alleviates a lot of these issues. And you can still edit a samples start and end point, pitch, etc. while the sequencer is running.
I think the Chromatic mode needs a function similar to the chop screen, where you can just assign all the notes to pads. I would love to be able to open the chromatic screen, and then assign all of those samples with their pitch changes to an open bank. That would alleviate any workarounds or extra work in that area for me.
It’s an SP, so the FX are fun, and having multiple FX on the bus is a time saver, and the ability to save bus presets is great as well. Also, Remain+MFX is great combo to know, as it keeps the MFX parameters up on the screen, so it’s good to know if you are going to be tweaking on and off for a while.
The build quality is nice and feels durable. The pads are very nice, and a big upgrade for me compared to older 404’s.
I agree that the machine needs to remember your last folder when importing samples, and also, just keep the screen open after import. Make it so that you have to quit the import to leave. Too much time wasted going back into import menu>import from SD card>sample>find your folder, etc., everytime you want to import a sample.
Sound quality seems good to me. The new 48k converters sound nice.
16GB is a lot of internal memory, especially since it only has 16 projects. I was going to drop a bunch of samples into it, but I just put them all on an SD card. When a sample is loaded onto a pad from the SD card, it is now there living in the machine on that pad, and you don’t need the SD card anymore. And the best thing is, that when you fill up all 16 projects, you can back them up and then wipe the machine and start over. I like what Roland has done here.
There are a few button combos that don’t make much sense, and I keep forgetting, but I am sure over time I will remember.
A lot of my personal complaints and suggestions for fixes could be fixed in a firmware update. I think we will see some, as Roland has been good about firmware updates for their current lineup of grooveboxes and drum machines.
I can definitely see this machine giving people a little bit of a learning curve, especially if they’ve never used any of the other SP’s before. Other samplers will be faster and more efficient, especially with some of these new features. But not many of them will run off batteries, have such a fun selection of FX, and are the size of a small paperback book. I am really diggin’ it, and I think if people put the time in to learn the workflow, they will as well. Of course, not every machine is for everyone, so if it doesn’t work for you, then it doesn’t work, and that is ok. While I will be using it standalone for a while, especially to learn the ins and outs of the machine, I can also see it being a great companion to another sampler.
For me, there weren’t really any surprises with this one. There are tons of videos out, and by the time it arrived, I had a good idea of what was going on with it. I dig it. So far, I think Roland has done a good job with this one.
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Can class compliant USB audio be run into this while also having audio in from another source? Not necessarily at the same time, but without having to adjust settings?
I would buy that dark eneloop pro and a recommended charger according Panasonic for this usecase.
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Just a fyi on the enoloop. IKEA batteries are basically just rebranded enoloops. I’ve heard they come from the same factory and you can see the various models at IKEA match the specs of the enoloops… both are made in Japan
Edit: here’s an article about it
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I contacted the shop I ordered from as well. They said that the second batch hit their distribution center on November 27, and units were slowly making their way to individual stores to ship out, but it’s still not clear if I made that batch or not. They have no idea when the next batch after that will arrive, so I’m still in limbo as well.
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The OP-1 tape is much more fun. It would be nice if the SP sampler could easily loop and cut to the BPM grid.
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That makes Panda a sad bear. I ordered from found sound, and was in the first batch.
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This might actually just be for new orders. It’s possible existing orders might come sooner.
THX a lot for that hint! 
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anyone else ordered from Perfect Circuit? I don’t think they’ve shipped any yet
the wait is gruesome
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it seriously blows my mind to read these comments by some of you who are disappointed in it. Slaps the flavor out of my mouth every time I pick it up for 5 minutes.
I think I like the 4 projects I made on it as testing grounds to learn how it works more than anything I’ve ever made. Feels like I am 16 again and picking up a guitar for the first time, it’s intoxicatingly cool.
Maybe it really depends on your style, but if you like crazy shit then this is the number.
Here is my GOAT tier list:
7. OP-1
6. Digitakt
5. Ableton
4. a Morin Khuur
3. Paganini’s cursed violin
2. The sound of the ocean at daybreak.
- This box
Maybe I need to post some tracks soon and have my delusions shattered when you all say they sound like trash, otherwise I am convinced this is a magical device.
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Please post some!
For anyone interested, I’ve ordered these batteries and charger. Shame they don’t do a 6 or 8 slot charger. But this should do for now.
Panasonic Eneloop Pro AA 2500mAh Eneloop NiMH Ready to Use Rechargeable Battery BK 3HCDE/4BE (4 Eneloop Pro Batteries) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JWC40JY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FR2QD37T3YVKN37FFAF3
eneloop K-KJ55HCD40U BQ-CC55 Charger with UK 3-Pin Plug and 4 AA x 2500 mAh Rechargeable Batteries https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D8SZVM1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MG4H883PP6EDF20W7EJ3
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This is possibly a bit off topic, but like you, I have an MPC. It’s my primary music making device and I was/am curious about the SP-404 as a kind of portable, “in-bed” noodling device for coming up with new ideas and creating some cool sounds, textures, song ideas etc. That’s the attraction for me with the SP-404. I’d still be making my full songs on the MPC One.
So I started to look up the Pocket Operator PO-33/133. Curious if anyone here has been using those and what you think of them as an option to the SP-404 MKII for someone looking for a sketch pad kind of device? Clearly it’s going to be much less limited (4 notes polyphony, full mono, 8-bit lofi sound, 16 pattern lengths, super lofi effects, etc), but as far as portability and immediacy goes, it looks hard to beat and real fun to use. It’s small enough to be thrown into a backpack without even thinking about it. In comparison, the SP-404 seems awfully chunky for something to be carried around and I have a hard time seeing myself carrying it with me anywhere else than around the house.
You can sequence using another piece of gear. A big part of what makes the SP the SP. The way you make beats on it emote. Because of the way we perceive early or late notes as emotional. Swing gives you a sense of humanistic energy.
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The manual and spec sheet specifically says to use Ni-MH batteries.