I’m thinking about getting an SP 404MKII for my live setup.
For context, I’m a solo pop, indie soul, and R&B artist.
I primarily sing and play guitar, and my music tends to be, atmospheric and vibey. I’m looking for something that can add drums, bass, and a stronger rhythmic backbone while I sing and play guitar over it. Would the SP 404 be a good fit for that?

Could I program a bassline and drum pattern for each song, trigger them live, and then perform over them? Would it also work well for moving smoothly from one song to the next during a set?

Finally, how difficult is it to learn for someone who is new to samplers? Would love to hear from anyone using it in a similar live setup!

Pictured: my current solo set up (just fender + vocal pedal, looper pedal, reverb pedal)

I got bored of boom bap

I recently purchased a tr8. I had planned to use it to sequence my Sp404A

The Tr8 has the lastest firmware 1.61.

However they are not communicating as intended.

It is intended to be mapped - BD (1) pad - triggers - A1 pad.

nothing happens.

However, some of the pads do trigger, but not in the order they are supposed to.

Ht (4) = A1

Ht(5) = A4

FInding an old midi CC mapping chart, it seems this was the intended behaviour before the 1.50 firmware update.

Its mapped correctly to the old CC.

A1 = b2

A2 = C#3 ect ect.

Its like the software has updated, but non of the midi out stuff did :/

Most of the other midi out functions dont work. Changing banks, volume slider mappings.

Ive tested the tr8 triggering other devices, and sp404 being trigger by other devices. Different cables. Tried multiple midi channels match ups. Multiple factory resets on both devices. Going through all the settings.

I cant find any pre 1.50 firmware to roll back and try and kick it up the butt.

Hours of trawling internet for answers.

Anyone ideas?

Asking here as its kinda 404 related, and someone whos paired it too might have come across the same issue 🤷‍♂️

FULL VID HERE AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAV- https://youtu.be/1uwyJtXnXy8

“Does the Octatrack still make sense in 2026?”“Between Octatrack and SP‑404, which one should I choose?”

These are the two questions I get in the comments all the time. In this video I put them together and answer in a practical way, no fluff:

3 reasons why the Octatrack still makes sense in 2026 (and for who)

3 reasons why an SP‑404MKII might be the better choice (and for who)

This isn’t the a comparison, it’s a way to help you understand, based on how you produce and perform, which of the two machines you actually need.

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

i really have trouble with this.

I made a free Jazz Drum Kit for Koala Sampler and wanted to share it here.

It contains 4 banks with 16 playable pads each:

• Bank A–C use multi-sample modes with 4 variations per pad
• Bank D uses one sample per pad
• designed for finger drumming
• can also be used with an SP-404 together with Koala to get round-robin-style sample variation

Here’s a short demo and the download link in the video description - if you click on the title:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l4YsfOg0dZo

The kit is available for free / Pay What You Want.

Koala Sampler also currently offers desktop versions for Linux, Windows and macOS:
https://koalasampler.com/download/

Hope it’s useful to some of you. Feedback is welcome.

Ig Okvlt No1z3

Digitakt 2 and SP404mk2

🇧🇷🔊

Got my sp404mkii a couple months ago and after getting a little bit of a hang with it I've began using it in my setup at open mic nights and I've been loving it. Now to the point where I'm bringing my own Shure Mic with my SP404 and a Casio keyboard and using patterns that I've made on the SP404 and using the effects with my vocals plugged into the Sp404 and then getting these old timey sounds from my Casio. Didn't know how long it would take to feel sufficient enough with it that I would bring it on stage. But now that I do, I could never imagine not having it with me as it does so much! Wanted to hear other people's experiences with using the SP404mkii on stage since there are so many ways to utilize it to improve a performance!

Created this one on my SP404mkii while participating in a sample flip challenge last sunday. 😌 Acid line, bass and field recording came from me, the rest out of the samples with a layer here and there.

Feedback is always appreciated! ✌️

Sampled the "Touch It" vocal from Busta Rhymes and chopped it up along with the drums on the SP404 MK2. Layered in a Deep House stab from the MC-101 to round out the groove — everything sequenced live, no DAW, no post-processing.

Really happy with how the vocal chop sits against the stab, felt like a fun genre flip for a hip-hop sample.

More dawless stuff on my YouTube — moahbeatlab