Detailed walk-through of the SP404 MK2 DJ MODE 

Please note that this video is now out of date and several updates have been made to the DJ Mode since! Make sure you have your SP on the latest software version and check out the release notes to see what got changed!

YOU ARE A GIFT FROM THE GODDESSES, honestly I’ve seen a lot of 404 influencers outright ignore it or shit on it even tho honestly this is lowkey a powerful ass feature to add to an already modern, new and improved 404 arsenal

Great overview of DJ mode! As said before in the comments, most reviewers are ignoring this addition.

This is so great! I have real turntables, but this sampler will be the perfect fit

just wanted to quickly point out that bend buttons are actually a feature for beat-matching. imagine you managed to sort of sync the tempo of your two tracks but they're slightly offset so the track you're going to transition to is lagging behind, so can quickly tap bend(+) a couple of times to sync them perfectly, or if you went too far, use bend(-) to sync them, which is sort of common when djing with vinyl. old djs before the CDJ era used to put their fingers of the deck to slightly slow it down (bend -) to match the beats

Waiting patiently for that 303 vinyl Sim comparison video. Keep up the good work 🔥

Brilliant vid man! I've been hella intimidated exploring DJ Mode, you knocked it out of the park!

As an ex DJ, my least favorite part of the whole sp community was the beat sets people made. Playing a beat, messing with fx, and then when the beat ends, you play the next one. If i were to perform my beats, i would use a dj setup, and beatmatch and mix my tracks. That how i wanna hear a set. Having the ability to do that here is amazing and I'm so stoked. The one exception to all that was Flofilz tho. His tracks were all the same tempo, so he played beatsets that were all in time and it was dope. Check out his sets on RU-vid if ya get the chance.

Exactly the video I was looking for. Big up man

I think the edit mode will be used for finding the first cue point in a track...seems a little convoluted, but with enough practice it could be done quickly and while performing

thanks for explaining the dj mode

All your vids a quality. Keep up the good work. I know the DJ mode is a bit of a gimmick but to add The bend +& - are for beat matching. (Some turntables had this feature means you wouldn’t have to touch the vinyl so speed up or slow the track.) Means you can sync the bpm and then if you start the track slightly off beat you and bend it to the right position rather than changing the bpm

Thanks for the video ! Couple of things I couldn’t figure out yet on this mode : - Can we lock the key for the speed changes not to alter the track’s key ? - Can we somehow route Bus 1 to the left track and Bus 2 to the right track ? Thanks.

Exactly what ive been dying to see

Preordered mine last week so excited, thanks for the vids man!

Gratitude for this tutorial. How can you view individual track BPM’s when they are loaded in a channel? Right now I just see 90 BPM displayed for each track which is the project tempo, even though the tracks play at their proper BPM…

This machine looks so cool. Preordered. No idea when it’s coming in, but super excited.

I'm really enjoying this series. Thank you 👍🏻

The biggest problem of dj Mode is lack of time stretch. For example If you want to mix 130 bpm with 145, second track will change the pitch when you press "Sync". I hope guys from Roland will quickly realize this issue and will add "pitch lock" mode.

Very cool, glad to see this in action finally

You know what would be a dope feature is a BPM detector and Key finder built in would be a nice update

So gonna use this!

Been waiting for this vid

Again, thank you so much for these Vids

I'm a computer based live musician, but I feel like the DJ mode on the mk2 could be a great plan B if something on the laptop goes to shit. Just having it hooked up ready to go.

Damn that dj mode is tight.

You pretty much can make a 5 min complete mix on sp-404 alone with no additional equipment.That's quite a lot of power for a sampler,especially considering that you will never have a set up that insists of a sampler only.

great video! I’m looking forward to exploring this mode--

THANK YOU! Great stuff! +1 subscriber

Was hoping you could pre-load samples to each channel. Maybe a upgrade in the future.

Hey guys, be careful with that DJ mode on SP. I performed live DJ set using mk2 dj mode and during the mixing of two track SP restarted itself. It never happened to me before with the SP unit. I still dont know where was the problem but im gonna write to roland about it. Just let them know it could happens.

Nice feature to have as a bonus. I just finally ordered the mk2. From seeing DJ mode demonstrated in a few vids I’m pretty sure for a full set I’ll stick to a turntable setup and making edits to tracks on the 404 beforehand when applicable. Could be fun at small gathering or a house party for a quick informal set though since it’s so portable, and also a good backup to have on hand in case your main kit malfunctions.

How does the external source stuff work with the DJ mode? I assume outputting audio is the same but can you assign the external source to one of the DJ faders?

Thank you! 🙌

Ahhh! Been waiting for this one. Question, (or 3) 1. Do you load your songs on the 16 pads before hitting “DJ mode”? 2. Can you also load loops not just songs, so each “DJ” track will loop until you fade-in the next beat? Lastly, I couldn’t see from the screenshot but is there any kind of time countdown on the OLED to indicate track length/countdown, it wouldn’t be needed if you’re firing off loops, you only have to fade in and out when necessary! These are not dealbreakers as such but would be really useful. As always, nice vid!!!

This is so dope man!

Thank you for sharing your knowledge

Great tutorial! Many thanks! Can you make one about how to use vocals effects, vocoder etc, please? Thank you again! :)

Спасибо за это видео, ещё больше захотелось купить этот аппарат!

Is there a way to assign FX Bus 1 and 2 to each channel, and not just specific pads? As eq-ing is a pretty big part of djing, I cant see myself using the SP for sets if I cant eq the two separate tracks that im going in and out of...

Quick question : does the MK2 transmit MIDI clock in that mode ?

Thank you 🙏🏾

Curious to try this with more uptempo music. 135 to 140 bpm

Id love a tut on the other way to dj that you prefer, I feel its more creative

Another Great one :D

I think i would use it but the effects could be more involed and we could have in die dj mode the Option that we can use samples and not only two tracks

Wondering if I have to drum machines hooked up can I mix thru this dj mode ?

another great video

Hi there thanks nice vid. Is there a possibility to use dj mode why ext instrument is on?

So the audio in still works the same in DJ mode? If you wanted to talk over the tracks or something

So fun!

Awesome

They should get Ctl 3 to function as a crossfader .

This seems quite legit. Being able to scrub through tracks would be clutch. The biggest problem for me is no track names.

Excellent video! Answered the questions I had prior to receiving the MK2. Here’s one more question : can you resample what you’re doing while in DJ mode?

Nice features but they missed a few tricks. Like the ability to lock the fade knobs to each other, so you can turn the one knob. But they should have just added a DJ style fader to the front of the unit.

Someone will find a use that edit feature. 😂 That’s only for the brave of heart!

I think the issue is ... You only looked at this feature from a 'live performance' point of view. Some of those features you can't imagine using in a live situation ? Well what about a studio / production situation ? ... I guess it's early days, but there is likely some production / studio application of this mode as opposed to using it purely for live performance. What are the potential production applications ? Well, I don't have one in front of me ... But I think the key question here is if you can Resample output from the DJ Mode, or can otherwise record the output internally somehow. Assuming you can (record it internally, one way or the other), perhaps one studio application of DJ MODE is in 'blending' or 'flattening' multiple loops/beats/audio files that are not already the exact same length. Just load them up in DJ mode, adjust those loop settings you couldn't figure out as being useful in this mode, and sync, bend & blend the beats into one BPM matched audio file that you can then truncate into a new beat / loop if desired. That's just off the top of my head, I don't have one.

Is is possible with the BUS FX to put an effect on only one channel? To be able to mix in from a HP filter or something instead of the volume mixer. Maybe this is a bit much to pull off with only 3 knobs. Maybe an external midi controller with faders for the volume would be cool.

Thanks! I will never be using the J mode

Can you load tracks from the SD card or do they have to be pre-loaded onto a pad first? In other words do you have to select which songs you want to use for your set by setting them up into your pads or can you pick from a whole library in your SD card?

Yeah looks a bit fiddly but give it time. In the right hands it could prove deadly. Still down with the original method of using the fx with interludes etc, best to keep it simple sometimes.

no key change feature in dj mode...?

How do you load your songs into pads for dj mode ?

nice video, thank you! One question: can you use the DJ mode also for incoming sources? Like from the ext source button? f.e. if I play a turntable or another synth... ?

does it have Sidechain from external sound source?

Yes boss

SPvidz how can you use filter drive fx when the left controller knob controls the fader on ch1? Hope you can help.

How do you increase the volume of the headphones in cue mode? Its really quiet. Is it only that output volume knob that controls both headphones and master?

Hey is SP404 MK2 easy to hook up to my Akai MPC one what's the best way to get the best out of it thanks -- also can it be used with my denon prime 4 dj controller thanks allot

Can you assign a DJ controller to work well on this in place of something like serato?? Would the jog wheels and pitch sliders work as expected?? How about something like the Launchcontrol xl for a kind of dub setup or would this be better in regular mode?? Many thanks

Dj over 20 years...hiphop is best to mix on the snare not on the kick..as you said mixing dance music you do on one the kick.. hiphop is easier on the snare because they are mostly on the 2. ...I will make a similar video when I finally get mine,but thanks for the overview.

Can a midi controller be used for the faders? Something like the Faderfox DJ4

So for doing a mix with the tunes you’ve made on it basically??

Is it possible to switch from dj mode to pad mode while the music is going? Play one shot short samples over a whole song loaded in dj mode? Or: is it possible to play a pattern loop and then (while playing the loop) seitch in dj mode and play songs in sync with that loop? Does it sync with external source? Does it detect bpm ? Does samples get automatically time-stretched to the right bpm playing at the moment ?

So if I want to use this to play my backing tracks for a 45 minute set,in DJ mode this be more idea than a laptop?

Can you switch over to your sample bank and play samples or live drum over the top? I’m thinking this mode could be good for making beat tapes out of the stuff you made on the device. One more question. Can you resample the DJ mode set? With 18 minute of sample time it’s not ideal for capturing sets, but could be cool to get a few beats mixed together.

Hi there I'm looking for a box that can record from my phone then remix what I've recorded. Can this box record anything coming from my headphone Jack?

How can I get one?

this dj mode looks pretty basic, I think if you want to dj in the first place this might not be the best device for it.... otherwise it is a neat touch to have dj mode if you are into SP beatmaking anyway

What a disappointment. I have to pre-load the tracks to pads? And memorize them somehow? Is it not possible to browse the library and add songs directly? 😢

no demo of djfx looper while on dj mode? :c

Can you still use the DJFX/Looper while on DJ Mode?

boi, let me grab those KNOBZ. (lip bite emoji)

Man, I really hope I can afford this unit as I'm struggling financially cause you know... being a university student and all...

ES-PAY

If anyone here has an sp404mk2 for sale. Hmu. I will overpay by quite a bit. As i need one asap. Thanks

You just went into Dj mode and everything was there for loading tracks 🤦‍♂🤦‍♂🤦‍♂🤦‍♂🤦‍♂