Thoughts on Roland SP-404SX?

Hey guys - anybody have one of these? Comparison with OP-1 sampling features?


Thanks!

Way less features than Op1 overall. Better fx. Way longer sampling time. No pitching of sample across chromatic (outside of long workarounds using the fx). Very different box to Op1. Worth having tho. Very quick/instinctive and capable of very cool sounds.

i got both and there is no competion between them, imo. If you have 2 make a choice (i would have, but had the 404sx)buy the op1 first and as soon as u get enough $ go and buy the 404sx 'cause you really want to have one the sampletime just wow and loading time and it gives this special kind of shape to the sound wait why am i still writing this …leaving conversation 2 enjoy quality time with my beloved one :smiley:

I’d miss the Vinyl FX that they discarded between SP-303/404 og and SP-404SX though.

Used to love and abuse of this one :smiley:

I used to do all my productions with a SP-404SX and a microkorg. OP-1 is so much better for making tracks. The SP-404SX has some nice effects though.

My favorite thing to use it for is playing back long samples in conjunction with my other gear, or sampling loops of different lengths and playing them together so they constantly evolve. Haven’t used mine much in recent years but I still can’t bring myself to sell it… lots of fond memories with that thing.

Great feedback guys - thanks.

Maybe in the current trend of stand alone samplers Roland might update the sp404 ? There was a.rumour last year about a new Roland sampler

Maybe in the current trend of stand alone samplers Roland might update the sp404 ? There was a.rumour last year about a new Roland sampler

There’s so many great things Roland ‘could’ make… A new sampler/groovebox/synth would be killer if it advanced on SP/V-synth heritage. God knows what’s next with that company tho, maybe they’ll surprise us…

I had the SP-404. Good FX, but lousy interface. There are lots of secondary functions via key combinations, too many, and most of them NOT printed on the surface. The pitch/timestretch effect sounds awful.

I had the SP-404. Good FX, but lousy interface. There are lots of secondary functions via key combinations, too many, and most of them NOT printed on the surface. The pitch/timestretch effect sounds awful.

Haha, I really like the 404 Pitch/Chormatic/Timestrech fx :wink: Having the 3 pitch + wet/dry + feedback parameter knobs to mess with in one fx slot can lead to cool things, works in realtime too for external audio…

I returned the 404sx in 2 days. The workflow is just unpleasant.

Yeah I can understand that. I’d find it total ballache to build a full track inside an SP. But for basic sampling/triggering/resampling/sound mangling/looping and fx its a fun/cool box.

Yeah I can understand that. I'd find it total ballache to build a full track inside an SP. But for basic sampling/triggering/resampling/sound mangling/looping and fx its a fun/cool box.

Yeah, but the asking price is far too dear for that purpose.

Yeah I can understand that. I'd find it total ballache to build a full track inside an SP. But for basic sampling/triggering/resampling/sound mangling/looping and fx its a fun/cool box.

Yeah, but the asking price is far too dear for that purpose.

Dunno man, yeah it feels like it should be cheaper now but a strymon pedal’ll cost you about the same and I get as much or more use out of my 404 and 555 as fx for my synths as my strymon boxes. + they’re samplers :wink:

I have the 303 and use the fx in all my tracks! So warm! :slight_smile:

Love it. Check out sp-404 freaks on fb it is a good group
edit: I have one, my gf has two, my bandmate has one and a 303
suffice to say they are one of my favorite instruments for sure

I used to play my whole livesets from the sp404sx. I would produce 4-track loop beats with mpc/ableton and import them on the SP and tweak them live. One beat = 4 pads = 1 drum loop, 1 bass loop, 1 melodic sample loop, 1 additional layered loop(acap, percussions,adlib, etc).

Le Filou - BALADE | SP404sx (live) - YouTube

Now with the OP-1, I do very similar things but I only use… the OP-1 :slight_smile:


Wicked, @lefilou!

(Reading this thread with interest as I’ve always had a secret GAS thing about those SP’s)

I’ve got one. Mostly just to be used for one shot trigger samples. Can run stuff through it for some nice effects. No complaints but it’s sequencer is pretty basic and truncating samples is a chore! If you can get your hands on an MPC 1K off of ebay for a similar price, i’d definitely get one of those.


I love my MPC

I used to get very nice sounds out of the SP404.


I remember a stupid DJ sentence that had been sampled : before deleting it I had played with it… pitch down, resample, distorsion, resample, compressor, resample… In the end, I had a wild bass !!
Yes, editing was a bit of a chore but for the FX only it was worth it… I used (one of) the FX on an LP playing, or simply on my voice through a e835 directly plugged in the input. A pity you couldn’t chain them however.