Roland SP-404

Beats on the run? Rock this silver bullet in your gun.

You think your laptop is your best friend when you’re away from home? Well, think again, ’cause the SP-404 is a battery powered, on-the-go sampling and sequencing powerhouse. More compact than a laptop, and way more capable than its predecessor, the SP-303, the SP-404 chops, screams, and grooves wherever you’re at—in your bathroom, bedroom, car, or girlfriend’s sister’s spot. The 404 is also an impressive tool for gigging DJs who want to lace their sets with effects or loop up some breaks for twice the fun.

From The Top
On the outside, the SP-404 rocks a new, Terminator-esque, silver finish. To complement its good looks, it’s also well-connected, sporting RCA stereo in, RCA stereo out, headphone out, mic in, and MIDI in. Further elevating its game, the 404 rocks 12 trigger pads (four more than the SP-303), an extra Sub Pad for more “grimy” action, and a built-in mic. Memory storage is available via CompactFlash cards, supporting both WAV and AIFF formats. Stacked with 29 DSP effects including reverb, flanger, subsonic, wah, and an onboard pattern sequencer with quantize functionality, the SP-404 is almost like a cross between an Ensoniq ASR-10 and an E-mu SP1200—but it’s a fraction of the size and price. Another new addition is the SP’s pulsating blue illuminated center light... Is this thing alive? Yes.

Samplicious
The SP-404 records at CD-quality, but also offers a Lo-Fi sampling option for all you Lo-Fi crunch junkies. You can also sample via the built-in microphone, which sounds pretty good in use. Just point and record and you have the beginnings of your next track. As for sample time, the SP-404 can hold five minutes in its internal memory, and surpasses a ridiculous four hours (386 minutes to be exact) with a 1 GB CompactFlash card.

Sample for hours and mark your start point and end point with the push of the start/end button. Truncate with the del and cancel buttons pressed simultaneously and you’re ready to trigger your hotness. If you’re unhappy with your pad placements you can change between pads by pressing the del and rec button simultaneously. If you want to tweak your samples some more, use the resample button.



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