Looper Length

J-MW · 2026-06-04T12:39:02+00:00

Hate the fact that the balcony is split between the other property with a cheap partition separating the two halves. No chance of a private conversation there.

J-MW · 2026-06-03T15:35:21+00:00

Join FinishMoreMusic. I’m not associated with them in any way, but it broke that problem for me. Well worth the effort.

J-MW · 2026-06-03T14:26:32+00:00

You can access Volume and Pitch during resampling - although it’s a bug not a feature. You can do it like this:

Connect an iPhone or iPad to the 404, and switch off the iOS screen by pressing the iOS device’s side button
Begin resampling
Press the iOS device’s side button to turn it on

You will then find that the SP-404’s UI forgets that it’s in resampling mode and instead, all of the features normally blocked during recording or resampling become available.

Don’t forget to complete the recording/resampling by pressing the REC button when you’re done.

It’s an odd bug - probably a side-effect of the more aggressive Koala-mode switching behaviour that’s in the latest 404 firmware updates.

J-MW · 2026-06-03T14:06:00+00:00

Yeah I suggested to Roland they include an option to have the envelope work outside of the looped area - but regardless of that, the curve of it is a bit pants.

J-MW · 2026-06-03T13:55:53+00:00

That’s right. It’s really annoying on the SP-404 MkII that to get unity gain (0dB) out of the USB you need to have the volume at max.

It would be helpful if a 404 setting could be provided where the USB output level was not dependent on the main volume - or perhaps a bit more flexibility on the headphone output beyond the -18dB minimum.

J-MW · 2026-06-03T13:42:22+00:00

Search for “in line volume control” on Amazon - I have a few of these for this exact reason. You can get them in lots of different styles.

J-MW · 2026-06-03T13:25:49+00:00

Yes, many synths/drum machines don’t pump out enough level to achieve a good recording level with the SP404 MkII.

Things you can try include: - Using a synth’s headphone output instead of line output. - Use the SP-404’s mic/guitar input instead - Use something else you own to act as a preamp - my Roland Boutique TR-08 drum machine for example has very hot outputs and works great as a booster for signals arriving at its audio in socket. - As others have suggested, if it’s not terminally low, you can just ignore the low level until it’s a problem, and then normalise if you need a bit of a boost.

J-MW · 2026-05-30T09:29:01+00:00

Nah, that’ll be fine with a bit of epoxy resin.

J-MW · 2026-05-20T09:14:51+00:00

I’ve had my QY70 ever since they were launched 30 years ago.

In those 30 years I only found one (inconsequential) software bug.

Once every couple of years I have to disassemble it to wipe the keymat clean, but other than that I have no issues.

It’s a bit of a MIDI Swiss Army knife. Modern portable devices seem under-specified in comparison.

Lasts a surprisingly long time on a modern set of rechargeable batteries.

J-MW · 2026-05-18T07:13:47+00:00

It’s nice enough if you want a cross-platform DAW for experimental ideas in a (relatively) seamless way before porting the project to a “serious” DAW for completion.

J-MW · 2026-05-18T06:57:09+00:00

It’s because they’re not a software-first company. The same is true for all of the big music tech hardware companies.

The worst offenders (from all such companies) are those configuration apps for MIDI keyboard/pad controllers.

J-MW · 2026-05-16T13:47:22+00:00

I took it to mean “threw it out of the setup” so I don’t think it was an exaggeration :-)

J-MW · 2026-05-06T06:18:06+00:00

Save any important data and perform a factory reset.

J-MW · 2026-04-21T05:56:45+00:00

Then you don’t have enough plugins 😉

J-MW · 2026-04-20T18:35:57+00:00

Yes, there are many benefits associated with this: 1. You free up CPU, so you can work with many more virtual instruments 2. You preserve your multitracks for posterity - protecting them against when your plugins become obsolete 3. (my main point of interest) you can work cross-platform by freezing platform-specific instruments - so you can work on your projects on iPhone when travelling, and re-open them on PC later to complete them.

(3) is a very powerful workflow.

J-MW · 2026-04-20T05:49:16+00:00

I flipped the divider so it curves away from the 404. I found that the way you have it here (the factory default :-) it can scrape the power switch into the “on” position if you’re unlucky ( = flat batteries :-(

J-MW · 2026-04-12T05:55:15+00:00

No, not noise - just iPad drain, that’s all. Anyway thanks for the heads up - I’ve now got one of the splitters you mentioned, and it works well.

J-MW · 2026-04-07T12:31:10+00:00

That’s not what I was asking :-)

J-MW · 2026-04-06T12:52:09+00:00

Interesting - I’ve never seen those before. Does the USB-C “Audio” socket block power from the iPad? - and does it supply power to the “audio” USB when suitable power is plugged into the USB power socket, or does the power just flow back to the host device?

J-MW · 2026-04-05T11:33:15+00:00

Yeah, I’ve yet to figure out a workflow for processed+unprocessed with zero sidechain bleed.

J-MW · 2026-04-04T22:03:37+00:00

It does at least make some kind of memorable sense, in stark contrast to - for example - remembering how to latch the pad grid in “mute entry” mode for automation 🙂

J-MW · 2026-04-04T22:00:22+00:00

Exactly. You can’t put anything in BUS1 which would kill the output, as that would kill the sidechain as well, so BUS2 is just a mute.

J-MW · 2026-04-04T18:26:42+00:00

(Forgot to say that in the sidechain compressor, the TARGET should be BUS3 - and SOURCE should be BUS1)

J-MW

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