Anyone using the SP-404 MKII with Hapax?
Still waiting for my June batch Hapax to arrive, but managed to get hold of an SP in the meantime.
Expecting / Hoping to trigger the SP from Hapax, using the SP as pad midi interface to (drum) note input to Hapax, on top of the ridiculously fast and fun sampling capabilities of the SP.
Curious if anyone have had interesting experiences with this combo?
Check out this video
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That’s a great find. Thank you!
Anyone here have had first hand experiences with the combo?
I’ve got the combo. I’ve never had reason to use them together, but if there’s anything in particular you’re curious about, I’m happy to try it out for you.
I’ve used it here. I ended up not liking it that much because the SP404mk2 only accepts notes and velocity through MIDI, no MIDI CCs at all. Ended up switching it with the 1010Music BlackBox in that setup, because it’s a simpler sampler, with some actual MIDI CC support, and ended up using the SP404mk2 standalone, like it seems to want to be used.
But it works. You can set up a drum track in Hapax to control 8 pads. I actually set up the 16 pads in one bank to contain the same 8 samples duplicated, but the top pads to have an effect on them, and then on the drum track in Hapax I had a macro to switch on a harmonizer that transposes the track by 8 semitones, so I could switch the effect on or off. I just wish you could actually control the effect parameters with MIDI CC.
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This is excellent. Thank you for sharing. The tip about using the Hapax midi effects (did you say Octavizer in the video?) to switch between two sets of 8 samples is exactly the type of insight I was hoping for 
I get what you mean with wanting to control it with CC, but I have come to terms with the SP’s idiosyncrasies. Look forward to see if they can play to each other’s strengths, the SP providing a more MPC like input modality to drum programming on the Hapax, and the Hapax providing a way to sequence and edit (and much more) the SP as sound source.
It’s a harmonizer, with Origin set to OFF, and one transpose to +8. I don’t remember if I said “Octavizer”, but that would be wrong since it’s not an octave, but a minor 6th haha. But it is a +8. Yeah, so that would trigger the upper 8 pads instead of the lower 8 pads, you could probably do some breakcore type stuff like that, by randomly hitting other parts of a chopped break.
Yeah, I think it’ll work great for you.
You can put one sample into the chromatic mode and then trigger it chromatically from track 16 which is fine but very limited since you have to stage the sample by select + shift + chromatic and can’t change on the fly.
I’ve been sampling chords progressions into the 404 from a synth and then let it slide to pads to set banks to chord progressions, or to do a chromatic sample of some other gear, that works pretty ok.
I can’t figure out how to love the 404 yet. It sounds incredible, skip back is amazing, the fx are amazing. The sequencer and midi though, are stuck at Hulk Smash. I suspect my key is going ti be sequencing patterns from the hapax, then layering them in the 404. Maybe? Idk. -_-
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SP-404 firmware 2.0 just dropped
https://www.roland.com/us/support/by_product/sp-404mk2/updates_drivers/2bb70708-dea2-403f-a042-afa5a6707ff3/
Taking this combo into even more interesting territory.
Massive list of updates that you probably already have seen elsewhere (and behind above link), but for Hapax the one thing that really stands out is:
- Effect parameters can now be changed by MIDI control change (CC).
if i hadn’t just bought an MPC One i’d be sorely tempted. these new additions to SP-404 probably make it the clear leader at the $500-600 price range for a sampling groovebox (though only two octaves on the chromatic/multisamples is still probably an octave less than I would want/need)
Thank you so much for posting this I somehow missed the drop. The Hapax just showed on the doorstep and the long weekend is calling me and now it just got even more lovelier. That change list is pretty bananas and yeah, it pushes the 404 up to being one of the primary contenders.
It feels like they released in a state that mirrored the 404sx limitations more closely while modernizing it, and now they’re adding in the things that make it compelling outside of the backpack / old school enthusiast crowd. Seeing it didn’t have at least a tr-rec step sequencer made my brain hurt, but was totally in line with what you expect from a 404. Now its starting to fall in line with what i want from any sampler and not just a quirky sampler instrument.
Starting the patterns via midi could be a pretty big boon to the Hapax too. I cannot wait to do automation lanes on the Hapax against the FX in the 404.
I will say the button combos are a little wild and it makes it hard to come back to the 404 and do stuff. Shift + copy + what button, then I do … sigh. It’s getting to the point where it can likely do the thing you want, but if you’re not using it often you’re going to need a cheat sheet to get there.
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Wondering if anyone has a definition file they could share. It seems like the most important CC’s are related to effects on input buses:
– on CC83 (INPUT FX) —
0 (OFF)
1 Auto Pitch
2 Vocoder
3 Harmony
4 Gt Amp Sim
5 Chorus
6 JUNO Chorus
7 Reverb
8 TimeCtrlDly
9 Chromatic PS
10 Downer
11 WrmSaturator
12 303 VinylSim
13 404 VinylSim
14 Cassette Sim
15 Lo-fi
16 Equalizer
17 Compressor
18–127 –
– PARAM Values –
CC#19 EFX switch (0–63: OFF, 64–127: ON)
CC#83 EFX number (0–127)
“Control change messages and corresponding effects(P.126)”
CC#16 Ctrl 1 (0–127)
CC#17 Ctrl 2 (0–127)
CC#18 Ctrl 3 (0–127)
CC#80 Ctrl 4 (0–127)
CC#81 Ctrl 5 (0–127)
CC#82 Ctrl 6 (0–127)
Did you get or do an instrument definition yet
So I’m working on a definition file for the 404 mk2 right now but IMO their midi implementation is pretty darn garbage, even on the 3.0 firmware.
Here are the current problems for working with it in case someone wants to tackle this before I do.
https://static.roland.com/manuals/sp-404mk2_reference_v300/eng/62588961.html
The following assumes MIDI MODE B is in use:
- Assume that channel 10/11 are used for midi mode B.
- The controls for effects are required to be sent on Channel 1-5
- On the Hapax, as far as I can tell, it’s not possible to send effects on a different channel than the current instrument (I.E You can’t send a CC to CH1 on an instrument with CH10 being used.
It’s almost like Roland designed the MIDI implementation as if the effects units were separate (poorly configurable from a MIDI perspective) pieces of gear.
What will likely be required to fix this is to have something in the middle translating midi in a way that makes some actual sense and allows proper control.
I’ll likely handle this in Mozaic for Ipad/iOS but it’ll take me a few days (and require the aformentioned gear).
This could easily be handled on a Raspberry Pi, computer, or anything else that can do midi translation.
Basic explanation of concept is:
Hapax > Translator > 404
- when receiving a CC1 on Midi channel 10, send midi channel CC#19 on Channel 1.
- This will then enable effect 1 on bus 1 on the Roland.
This could then be extrapolated out to the remainder of the effects and would allow control of the device and all effects from one instruments channel within the Hapax (or another device).
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Alright, I spent a few minutes to get this done up
Meet the SP 404 unfucker. If you have any device that can run Mozaic, this should largely fix the issues and allow control from a single channel.
Let me know if you run into problems as I might take advantage of this occasionally as well.
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