Roland SP-404


The Roland SP-404 Sampling Workstation is a discontinued sampler made by Roland Corporation. Released in 2005. It is part of the SP family and successor to Boss Corporation’s SP-505 sampler left off. The sampler was succeeded by the SP-555 in 2008, but was later given its own upgrade as the Roland SP-404SX Linear Wave Sampler in 2009. Another upgrade, the Roland SP-404A Linear Wave Sampler was released in 2017.

Features

Having the traditional features of the Roland Grooveboxes, the 404 has the ability to record audio directly via line/mic, or import/export industry-standard WAV and AIF files via CompactFlash card. An onboard pattern sequencer allows up to 8,000 notes to be recorded in real time. Pattern data can be quantized and up to 24 patterns, each 1–99 measures long, can be stored in the internal memory. Using a 1GB CompactFlash card, sampling times can be as long as approximately 772 minutes in Lo-Fi mode, or up to 386 minutes long in Standard mode. However, the 404 lacks the D-Beam feature of the previous SP-808 and SP-606 installments. Although the first bank comes with preset samples that are protected, these samples can be removed by holding "cancel" as you turn it on.

In popular culture

A number of musicians have used either the SP-303 and/or the SP-404 as part of their production and performance.
These include Jel, Odd Nosdam, Alias, J Dilla, Madlib, Joji, MF Doom, Jneiro Jarel, Milo, Flying Lotus, James Blake, Samiyam, Ras G, Teebs, Grimes, Pictureplane, Four Tet, Beck Hansen, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, Radiohead, Animal Collective, Spindrift, Toro y Moi, Broadcast, John Maus, Ellie Goulding, El Guincho, Illmind, Dibia$e, Jack Medleys Secure Men, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Oneohtrix Point Never, Matt Mondanile of Ducktails, Devo, Mad Professor, 100 Options, NOCASINO, and many others.
Jan Linton was hired by Roland in 2005 to produce a promotional European sound card for the SP404.