5 Ways to Perform Live Sets with the SP404 MKII//A Portable But Powerful One Piece Dawless Setup

[@sunwarper]

If you’re looking to make the most of the SP404 and get your head around its workflow, this quick start guide can help: www.sunwarper.com/product-page/sp404-mk2-beatmaking-live-sets-cheat-sheet Check out my latest SP live set workflow updated and expanded for 2024 with how to prepare tracks, detailed walkthrough of FX and more performance methods: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIPFcnagetGXp9k Thanks for watching: this was filmed pre 3.0 update so I wanted to share a few new features that greatly help with SP workflow and live performance: 1. Bounce patterns to samples - this will help greatly if you want to separate your track stems from songs made in the SP 2. Changing the default mfx settings - you can now save the settings you’d like each effect to start with when turning on the SP. When I was practicing this live set, I had to adjust every effect parameter to what I needed each time I turned on the SP 💀 I've just gotten the update, so I'll add more as I work with it Let me know in the comments your favorite additions from 3.0 //My music 🎧 Bandcamp: sunwarper.bandcamp.com/ Sample Packs: soundsbysunwarper.bandcamp.com Streaming: fanlink.to/iByE

[@97ezap]

DJ mode has been my go to for live beat sets and now that you can do live chopping with the latest update I’m all in. Been looking into connecting my OP-Z to the MKII and sending midi to control the SP.

[@sunwarper]

Yeah dj mode is crazy powerful after that 3.0 update!

[@vitaminpisation]

thank you so much! you basically made me decide on getting the SP for live performances and go dawless

[@sunwarper]

Nice! I have a lot more live performance (and beatmaking) tutorials with the SP on the channel :) It's a great piece of gear and the latest 4.04 update added a TON of new features like live looping and internal synth engine

[@dontmakethisweird_]

love your energy, thanks for the tips:)

[@sunwarper]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@TouchBaseBeats]

this is so inspiring. love the way you scheme everything. and beautiful music as well.

[@sunwarper]

Appreciate it! Hope it helps 😁

[@vznquest]

Great tips man! Look out for my impending live atmospheric jungle set in the near future!

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! Ah man, atmospheric jungle?! Sign me up :)

[@barrelofbugs]

Thanks!

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! Happy to hear it helped :)

[@Teleken1968]

I’ve been a synth player since the ‘80s and literally just got my 404 yesterday on the strength of the v4 firmware update. This video was exactly what I needed. Thanks for posting it!

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! Hope it helps and I have a full SP tutorials playlist on the channel if you're looking for more. I'll be posting 4.04 update content soon as well :)

[@Teleken1968]

@@sunwarper I just started testing the waters with tabletop DAWless production to get myself away from the desk and love the spontaneity and the freedom. Can't say enough for your suggestion of putting stems on the 404 and playing live/mixing/FX over the top. :)

[@sunwarper]

That's fantastic to hear! There's a lot of ways to do it like that, you could even make it more "live" by pattern sequencing stem segments of the track, etc. If you haven't seen it, I made a follow up video to this one going over some additional methods and track prep/fx performance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIPFcnagetGXp9k

[@Teleken1968]

Oh cool! I’ll check that one out a bit later. It’s a big week - I sold 3 of my big synths and picked up a MiniFreak to use as a synth/controller (have to thank Ricky Tines for that idea), a 1010 Blackbox to use as “Live sans computer”, their Bluebox for a small mixer/recorder, and 3 of the AIRA Compact modules to use for sound generation and live play - the J6, the S1, and the T8. I’m anticipating a lot of manual reading and probably a little cursing in my near future, but I think this is going to be a really fun little tabletop rig. :)

[@iamluchini]

I had no clue about scale modes in chromatic 😂thank you

[@sunwarper]

It’s a game changer for sure!

[@iosmusicman]

Excellent. So much to digest there. Cheers. Lee

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! 🙂

[@summersleepmusic]

You are a life saverrrrrrrr!!! Method 1 is what I had in mind!

[@sunwarper]

Great to hear! Method 1 is a lot of fun and there’s definitely room to expand it with pattern sequencing/midi and beyond thanks to the one shot playback mode on the 3.0 update (which came out after this video)

[@ambientshrine]

Just in the process of deciding whether to buy and use this new one (being a SP404 user). Many useful tips, thank you.

[@sunwarper]

Appreciate it, glad the video could be of some use :) I've never had the original SP but watched a lot about it before I got the MKII. The MKII seems to add a lot of useful features especially for sound design and pattern sequencing. This video was before the 3.0 update which added a ton of new features like efx automation and what not.

[@ambientshrine]

@@sunwarper yeah, the update adds a lot... I think I am convinced 🙂 Thank you for the info and keep up the great work!

[@sunwarper]

Nice! It's a great piece of gear 😄

[@martynpratt5674]

Very informative! I learned a lot. I'm hoping to play live with the SP404 this summer, and I'm trying to wrap my brain around it for different genres. One is creating a reggae/dub piece -- for this I've started creating bass, guitar, and drum stems for the whole 6 min song. Then making guitar and key stabs on different pads. With the main stems, since they are synced rhythmically, I pad-linked them and will use pad-mute option when playing live. For example, subtracting the bass for a bit, then adding it back in. Then taking away rhythm guitar for a bit, etc. Then on top of that adding the stab-pads parts (along with some spoken word) with fingers. This is good for dub, but other genres I will employ more of your first method in the video.

[@sunwarper]

That's a cool process for the dub tracks! With the new 3.0 update and the One Shot playback mode you could even try using some patterns over the stems. Might give some interesting options for adding in effects with the new mfx automation in patterns as well. Hope the sample chop method works for you :)

[@martynpratt5674]

@@sunwarper Good advice - I'll look into using the One Shot playback - it confuses me at the moment, but I would like to make it work.

[@sunwarper]

I’m just starting to dive into the 3.0 update, but will definitely cover using one shot mode with patterns in a video next month. One shot mode seems pretty useful for having patterns over a backing track without retriggering that backing track.

[@levivincentministries]

Wow. Super impressed with your video! 🎉

[@sunwarper]

Appreciate it, cheers 🍻

[@JulioAvalos3000]

Great tutorial. Thank you.

[@sunwarper]

Glad it was helpful! Cheers 😄

[@sinewaymusic]

This was really helpful and gave me some new ideas for how to use the SP. Thanks for taking the time to record this video, high quality all around!

[@sunwarper]

Glad it was helpful! The MkII has so much flexibility with how to approach it, and the new 3.0 update adds a few other features that work well for live performance.

[@isolabeats4271]

Nice clip bro, great tips. Coming from more traditional grooveboxes/samplers w sends etc, it's taken a while to get my head back around destructive editing and how to jam them, but it's been a rewarding journey.

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! I came from Logic and in terms of dawless, the Circuit (+synths) and it took a minute to get used to the SP, but once it clicks, it works as a compliment to dawless setups or as it’s own workflow. Have you tried using the SP’s midi connectivity at all? I haven’t really tried it but I’d imagine you could use it similar to a groovebox to send midi out to a synth and then route the audio back in to treat with fx/sample etc

[@isolabeats4271]

@@sunwarper I had a bit of a crack but it didn't seem to wanna do it. I'm on holiday in Japan, but will for sure try to integrate it properly with midi, it should play nice enough with my Electribe 2 and MV1.

[@tcmuze]

Nice!!! Really helpful

[@sunwarper]

Glad it helped! Cheers

[@mackie32x4]

One thing roland needs to address is that when to sample to a pad it should show active in some way like a fast flashing. Resampling to a pad,cue a pad,there should be some indicator other than that micro display as to what pad is being routed to.

[@sunwarper]

They've added a lot with those updates, hopefully we get some more quality of life improvements like that, live looping and side chain with future updates

[@mackie32x4]

Definitely side chain and also increase brightness level of pads. @@sunwarper

[@sunwarper]

Brightness is such an issue, when I make music or play sets outside it can be so dim... You're right, hopefully they can do something in firmware for that

[@lelaamparo483]

This was super helpful! Is it possible to queue up a third song after the second track in DJ mode?

[@sunwarper]

Glad it helped! You only get 2 track channels, but if you start the second track, you can then queue a third track on channel 1

[@ThinkerThunker]

Great info. But I find myself watching that animated gizmo next to you instead of paying attention to what you're saying. Maybe have less background stuff?

[@sunwarper]

thanks for the suggestion

[@hghalo]

I disagree, I like your background

[@brianwyse5810]

Cool. I've just been jamming up one one project with about 100 tracks for dj mode-ish, or to 'dj' while out, but even jamming with it, it can be a bit laborious. Your first idea, is a much better idea - chopping up 'a track' and grooving with it for a while. Will be on to it. cheers.

[@sunwarper]

Cheers Brian! Djing is fun on the SP, but having more control over each track's flow by chopping it up definitely makes for a more fun performance and gives a lot more room for moving between tracks etc.

[@brianwyse5810]

@@sunwarper yeah, i think its the next 'project' - to take 1-5 tracks out of the first project (which basically functions as a usb of 'liked' tunes to dj) and chop them up for jamming with. In terms of 'flow', i commented somewhere that the one annoying thing about 'dj-ing' outside of dj mode, was you couldn't preview tracks to cue them up. Somebody commented you can, and explained how -- i'll try dig it out (its on one of spvids recent video posts).

[@sunwarper]

@@brianwyse5810 That'll be a great project! Let me know if you find that comment, I'm interested in hearing the process. I know with the new update you can preview sounds from the SD card, but I dont know if you can preview them out of a "cue" out.

[@pierrefitch]

Brian what’s the best way to dj with 404mk2

[@brianwyse5810]

@@sunwarper Brian wyse yeah, shift + 3 = cue. So, will be cutting out any embarrassing sloppiness with that. The Roland sp tutorial video has everything covered, but u have to watch and repeat everything 2-3 times, until it gets stored in the fingers - but even then I'm forgetting.

[@katrinspringorum]

very cool! thx!

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! Glad the video helped 😄

[@Quatro1]

super useful video, been thinking of buying one for live sets so was great to see its versatility, would you recommend this over say a push or a machine pad for live?

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! It really depends on your live performance needs. The nice thing about the SP is it's fully standalone or can pair with anything else really easily (USB-C audio means it can be an audio interface and you can send the DAW into it for processing etc). I know push 3 is standalone (with I believe just stock plugins) so if you need more of a DAW-like performance that might be the way to go as the SP is definitely not like that. I have an updated video showing my full Live Set workflow on the SP, including how I prep tracks etc if you want to see more of how it works for performances: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIPFcnagetGXp9k Even after this video I've been discovering additional performance methods that do allow it to act a little more like push with stems and different tracks triggering in patterns, but I'm still working out the method so that will be for later :)

[@austindize]

stem seperation - pattern sequencing

[@firekeeper09]

Just FYI, if you created the whole song on the 404 you can bounce stems in an entire pattern directly to sample pads now in v3.0 firmware. Steps are: Press Pattern Select and press Copy Select the pattern with everything you wanna bounce Press Pattern Select again to go back to 'sample mode' and select an open pad to bounce to Press Remain to select specific samples (lets say all your drums for example) Press Copy again The sample pad you selected should now contain all the parts from the pattern now as it's own sample :-)

[@sunwarper]

Yeah, how awesome is the new update! This was filmed pre 3.0, but with the update there’s a whole bunch of awesome things you can do with track stems you create on the 404. I’ll be covering it in another video sometime soon.

[@firekeeper09]

@@sunwarper It really is incredible. Being able to play in pattern mode and then just switch over to your samples might be the best way yet to play live! Also the one-shot mode opens up a whole bunch of possibilities to jam in a 1 bar pattern while having a long loop playing.

[@sunwarper]

It’s quite a game changer. That one shot mode would have come in super handy for my recent live set… there were a few practice runs where I would accidentally retrigger pads 😑

[@saardean4481]

Thanks of the highly informative video. Do you know if I can use the Inputs to combine the Sp 404 with 2 different Sources? Meaning , can I have one mono synth on LEFT and another on RIGHT channel and have them play along (hearing them like a Line in source) with the Sp 404 in real time ?

[@sunwarper]

Cheers, hope it helps! Regarding your question, it is totally possible, I just did that myself for a recent Bandcamp live performance. I had the MS1 go in left and the minilogue go in right. You also still get the input fx which will go on both. One thing I found though is each sound will be hard panned to the left/right. They’re may be a way around that but I can’t remember at the moment.

[@saardean4481]

@@sunwarper that hard panning is bit of a bummer but it’s a start . Cool. Thank you a lot !!

[@sunwarper]

@@saardean4481 there might be a way in the input settings to convert stereo to mono, but I think my workaround for the live set was to send the sp to the audio interface as mono. So stereo in, mono out. Not ideal but also something you can try.

[@saardean4481]

@@sunwarper one of the main reasons I bought it is cause of it’s ability to play stereo samples …

[@saardean4481]

What do you think about the idea of using the line ins at the back for one instrument (minologue xd) and the Mic input at the front for a mono synth? (Unless the mic in is only mic in and not line in. Am not home in order to check)

[@ozone3845]

Still trying to find a solid answer but can this do note repeats /retriggers like MPC or Maschine? Great video

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! I'm not super familiar with MPCs and Maschine, but on the SP you can do note repeats using substep's in the TR REC sequencer mode for ratchets. You can also do 1/4, 1/8, etc. "rolls" on a sample using the roll button. Hope that helps

[@DeathByPixelsVisuals]

Hey Sunwarper / KZbin, I hope you can give me some advise, you being a SP-404 expert! It seems to be a rather complex unit and I am afraid it will not suit me I've recently gotten into making live classic house music, just for fun. I'm using a TR-8S for drums and a Moog Sub37 for funky fun and basses. I would like to level up my game and introduce some vocal chopping and synth chord progressions. Now I am wondering wheter the SP-404 would be a good fit for me, considering workflow. To me it is always workflow over sound. I get the most enjoyment out of the performance part, building up, breaking down etc. I improvise and never stop the beat (I imagine myself doing a live set). I am adding / removing / adjusting / remixing / muting parts as I go along. Would the SP-404 compliment a workflow like this? This is how I imagine it: - The TR-8S as master clock into the SP-404. - Hit Record on the SP, tap in a chord progression over a couple bars - Have it loop - Be able to mute & manipulate it. Would that be possible? Not having to stop is for me the nr1 priority. I hope you can help me out!

[@sunwarper]

The SP might be a good fit as it can do sampling, chromatic sample playback and has a ton of live fx. The one issue specifically for what you're describing is there's not exactly a live sequencer where you could play something and then it would loop endlessly... beyond the pattern sequencer that would require setting a pattern (bpm quantize etc) then recording something in and switching to rehearsal mode when you want to perform over it. Muting and sample manipulation is sort of buried in button combos. It could work but might be a bit clunky. I would say check out some videos on the sequencer on the SP (I have some that I'll link if you'd like to see more) to see if it's a good fit. For the setup you're describing I wonder if something like the Circuit tracks or Circuit Rhythm would be a better fit? I have a tracks and the sequencer works really well for live jamming with easy track mutes and more. Hope that helps :) Here's a beatmaking video I did on the SP that should demonstrate the pattern sequencer a bit better: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIfUZmWVnMdqmpY

[@DeathByPixelsVisuals]

@@sunwarper Thank you for your fast reply, I think you just prevented me from making the wrong purchase. After watching your video and looking into the sequencer, I know that this is not what I'm looking for. I still think the SP-404 would be pretty sick to chop up vocal samples live, but that is a bit to niche to make the buy. I think I might try to get my hands on a second hand midi-enabled looper and see if that works for my setup.. I really just want to keep the ball rolling when I'm playing. Anyway, thank you for your advise - You've got yourself a subscriber 😎

[@sunwarper]

Appreciate it and happy to help! The SP is definitely a great tool for sampling but had its limits. If you do want to add some of that functionality at a fraction of the cost, you could look into Koala sampler on iOS and android. It’s a full on sampler and more for $5-10

[@DeathByPixelsVisuals]

@@sunwarper Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking into the Sonicware LIVEN Lofi-12 at the moment.. that seems to do exactly what I want albeit a bit lofi

[@_en_camino_]

Hey great video! do you know if it s possible to link my circuit tracks to add some extra sounds while I am using the Dj mode and having those 2 machine working together? thanks!

[@sunwarper]

Cheers! Yes it is, the 3.0 update added some great midi functionality with dj mode. I don’t typically use that mode but it allows for midi sync and playback so you could have sounds running on the tracks while you play songs on each dj track of the sp. I don’t typically use that mode but it looks promising with what they added

[@_en_camino_]

@@sunwarper thank you very much for your answer! Oh, that seems pretty amazing, those 2 working together upgrade the possibilities. How would be the connection? Should I use the midi sync + connect the output of my Circuit tracks to the input of the Sp? So i can use the effects of the Sp to make some ambient layers coming from my Circuit tracks. Subscribed!

[@sunwarper]

The tracks and sp are a powerful combo! I perform live sets with them all the time. I don’t typically sync midi (because I usually use both circuit midi for synths), but route the tracks audio into the sp for effects. With the circuit as an external source, you also get another fx track (in addition to the four bus fx) on the sp with input fx! I like to set a compressor to really fatten up the circuits sound as it goes into the sp. Regarding the midi, you have a few routing options depending on which piece you want to act as your brain. If you prefer sequencing on the circuit you can send midi out from the circuit into the sp and then sequence the sp on the midi channel of the circuit. Or you could send midi from the sp into the circuit (which if you’re using dj mode is probably the way to go). That’s a lot of info so lmk if you have any questions. This video I made using the setup may also be helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2HXi5StobWqhpI

[@earnestatkins8145]

Can the 404 and the tracks midi clock sync. I thought the update catered to that but I can’t figure it out. Great video! This is my exact performance set up!

[@sunwarper]

Cheers, it's a great setup for sure! I've used the tracks and SP together for quite a few live sets, but truth be told, I've never tried syncing them. I've always just timed starting both sequencers at the same time and it works great. I know in some of the videos I've made using this setup, folks have commented saying they midi sync the two so it should definitely work. I believe the 3.0 update altered how you can setup the midi on the SP. Previously, each bank was it's own midi channel (Bank A = Midi 1) but now you can also set it where banks A-E are Midi 1 and F-J are midi 2. Hopefully that helps, let me know if you give it a try and how it works :)

[@ghost_in_the_robot]

Do you think the cheaper Akai MPK Mini with a sound source like a laptop or iPad and using it as a midi controller to send samples to an RC-505 for looping would essentially be the same thing as the SP-404 MKII? I'm wondering if I really need this much control over samples and sequencing. I already have Koala lol

[@sunwarper]

I suppose it depends on your needs and how many pieces of gear you want to have/rely on. I've never used an MPK, but a DAW is the ultimate in terms of power, so using some midi to control it like hardware is a great way to go. The SP is great because it isn't reliant on any DAW or external sound source and is rather portable. Another option could be to grab the MPK and maybe a 404a for a lot cheaper to still have the fx and sampling

[@ededdy6771]

If you mute pads on a pattern and switch to another pattern, do the mutes carry over? Asking for variation purposes. I’d like to copy the same pattern multiple times and create variations using different mutes for the different patterns.

[@sunwarper]

I believe the mutes only work for the pattern it’s recorded into. I haven’t used the 3.0 update much yet, but that’s what it appears to be. If you’re copying a pattern that already has mutes though I’d imagine they carry over to the copy, but I believe there’s a way to delete mutes from a pattern. The other option is to use the new pattern copy function where you choose what pads to copy over. So rather than muting parts you could just make duplicate patterns that don’t contain the parts you want to remove.

[@ToreHogas]

Great video, have to try out some of these methods. Just got my 404 but have updated to 3.0, is it not possible to combine methods so that I mainly play stems patterns but also exit out of pattern mode to play samples live?

[@sunwarper]

Totally possible, in fact in other live sets I do it all the time 🙂 while in pattern mode, just hit exit (once) to switch back to your samples without stopping the pattern. I wanted to keep these 5 methods relatively streamlined and in a future video I’ll be talking about additional methods and interesting ways to combine them. With the 3.0 update even more is possible. There’s now a sample playback type called one shot which will play through the whole sample that’s on a pad, even if retriggered in a pattern. So you could switch between different patterns, all while having a backing track playing.

[@ToreHogas]

@@sunwarper Great, looking forward to the video

[@palindromeAU]

When mixing stems across a row of pads, are you limited to the number of rows in that bank? Or is it endless based on memory available?

[@sunwarper]

I'm not with my SP at the moment, but I believe you can link 4 pads per group. There are multiple groups though, so a pseudo workaround for getting more linked would be to create several groups and trigger one pad per group simultaneously, or in the sequencer

[@VJFranzK]

good discussion! do you suppose it would work well for songs with mic vocals in, using the internal efx?

[@sunwarper]

Appreciate it! I haven’t done any live vocals with the 404 yet, but I’d imagine it’s quite similar to running a guitar or synth into the SP, which I do pretty often. It works great and depending on how you set up the effects chain, you could have the vocals run through 5 effects (input fx and bus’ 1-4). On top of that you could do most if not all of the performance methods talked about in the video.

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

how many of these ways still make sense for 404a/sx?

[@sunwarper]

A few would, namely sample chops and using stems. Also, while the sx doesn't have chromatic mode like the mk2, you could make one shots of a run of chromatic notes or a scale and play the sx like an instrument the same way as I do in the video.

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

@@sunwarper thank you for reply (and video, of course!)

[@sunwarper]

@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 Of course! let me know if you give them a try on the SX 😃

[@pierrefitch]

Do you ever use a digitone or digitakt or force with the 404mk2

[@sunwarper]

Not those, though I’m planning to get a digitakt as my next piece of hardware. I currently run the SP with the Circuit Tracks and some analog synths like the minilogue and prophet 08.

[@ademozarslan]

🥳

[@sunwarper]

😄

[@edfroxt7294]

Offtop - Everyone has a Keychron K3 on desktop (me too:)))))

[@sunwarper]

haha it's got such a nice clickiness to it

[@edfroxt7294]

@@sunwarper Yes and looks great)