ROLAND SP-44MKII Linear Wave Sampler (SP-44MK2)

Arrived in about 10 days to the UAE. It's the most affordable option here even with tax and customs fee. The product is genuine and in perfect condition. However it does come with a US style power plug, which is to be expected.

I'm a guy in my 50's who used to play in bands and mess around with synths and samplers back in the early 1990's. Recently, I got the itch to make music again. So I picked up a few micro synths and stand-alone groove boxes to try out. The Microfreak was cool, but very limited. The Digitakt is amazing! But it's more about sequencing than rhythms and sampling. Then I discovered the SP-404MKII. To me, this is the sweet spot in terms of price, functionality, ease-of-use, and cool factor. It is simply amazing! The pads to tap out your own beats feel great. The ability to use stereo samples with longer runtimes and sampling external mics or importing samples from other devices, gives you tons of flexibility. And when you're sitting there with your headphones, tinkering away, it just feels good. Grooving with some beats, you can throw entire DJ sets together, if you wanted to. There's a great number of factory samples that come built in. If you don't have any of your own samples on hand, I recommend subscribing to Roland's "Ultimate" program. They give you a month free trial. During that time, you can download all the sample packs they offer for this device absolutely free, then cancel the subscription before they charge you, and you get to keep all the samples. The other thing I'll mention, is that the SP-404 is built to be customized. You'll notice in my photo, I have a retro-looking skin on it, that I purchased from a third party, as well as some aluminum replacement knobs. The aesthetic really gives off an old-skool hip-hop vibe that I love. It sounds amazing, has a series of flexible inputs/outputs as well as midi control options. I've hooked it up to work in tandem with my Digitakt and they are the ultimate DAWless power-couple! Effects for days, smooth transitions between pre-built patterns and live performance, a DJ mode to show off for an audience, and a newly added built-in synth engine as of the most recent patch. This thing is a powerhouse if you take the time to learn how it operates. There's a great community for it, so you can find lots of tutorial videos online. Cannot recommend this unit enough for those looking to chop samples, build loops and patterns, or compose entire songs in any electronic genre.

A lot of fun to use in so many ways. Creativity abounds with this device in front of you.

me gusta mucho las posibilidades que ofrece, samplear tan sencillo y los efectos para voz e instrumentos externos me encantan. es algo complicado al empezar, aún con el manual, pero una vez qué le comienzas a agarrar práctica las horas vuelan. personalmente el poder componer o grabar ideas sin necesidad de un daw me gusta bastante, te hace tener que confiar más en lo que escuchas y te gusta, que en lo que vez en un monitor, y eso lo hace más divertido e intuitivo. no creo qué sustituya el usar un daw, al menos no por ahora.

Se puede hacer de todo con el, buenos materiales de construccion, se nota robusto. Tiene su cueva de aprendizaje. Pero no es para mi, prefiero algo con sequienciador y synthes.