Play the pads · SP-404MKII guide

3.1Basics

Play a pad and switch banks

The 404 comes with samples already on its pads, so you can make noise before you’ve recorded a thing. The pads show one of ten banks at a time, A to J. All of this happens in sample mode, where the unit lands when you switch it on, with the pads glowing orange.

Get to sample mode and play

If you’re somewhere else, press EXIT a few times to get back. If the pads are blinking blue, press EXIT a few times and then PATTERN SELECT.
Press a pad. You hear its sample.

Change bank

Press one of the five bank buttons: A/F, B/G, C/H, D/I or E/J.
Press the same button again to reach the other bank printed on it. A/F, for example, flips between A and F.
Read the button to see where you are. A steady light means you’re in A–E, and a blinking one means F–J.

Key combinations

BANK: Selects a bank; another press flips to the other bank on that button.

What a pad press does

Playback mode	How the sample behaves	More
Gate	Sounds only for as long as your finger stays on the pad.	Gate and hold: what letting go of a pad does
One-shot	Runs once to its end and ignores further presses until it finishes.	Play a sample through without interruption
Loop	Repeats, with each pad press starting or stopping it.	Loop forwards, backwards or both ways

Many settings in this chapter belong to one sample at a time, so you’ll often select a sample first. Pressing its pad does that. To select it without making a sound, hold VALUE and press the pad (What holding the Value knob does).

Want your own sounds on the pads? Record them with Record a new sample, or bring them in from a computer or another device with Bring audio in from an SD card.

From the community

The Roland SP-404 MK II Deep Dive tutorial guide
XNB
Nearly two hours on projects, banks, patterns, playback modes and effects, with chapters to dip into. Uploaded just before 4.04, so there’s no looper or sound generator.

Beginner's guide to organising SP404-MK2 Projects!
SPVIDZ
A beginner’s guide to organising work across projects and banks, with three main methods plus mute groups and patterns.

3.2Basics

Balance one bank against another

When one bank comes out noticeably louder than another, you don’t have to rebalance its samples one by one. BANK VOLUME gives each bank an overall level of its own.

Hold SHIFT and press a bank button. The BANK VOLUME screen opens.
Turn VALUE to set the level.
Press EXIT when you’re done.

Key combinations

SHIFT + BANK: Opens BANK VOLUME to set a bank’s overall level.

3.3Intermediate

Lock a sample to the tempo

BPM SYNC speeds a sample up or slows it down so it fits a target tempo. That’s what lets two loops recorded at different speeds run together, or a loop ride along with an outside instrument or computer.

Sync a sample

Give the sample an accurate tempo of its own. The speed change is worked out from that number, so a wrong value gives a wrong result. See Give a sample its tempo.
Decide whether it should follow the bank tempo or the project tempo, using TEMPO SEL. See Choose and set the bank or project tempo.
Select the sample and press BPM SYNC to switch sync on. The sample now plays at whatever speed that tempo calls for.

Key combinations

BPM SYNC: Turns BPM SYNC on or off for the selected sample.
SHIFT + BPM SYNC: Turns BPM SYNC on or off for every sample in the bank.

From the community

【SP-404MKII】BPM / PITCH / SPEED【How to Setup】
Roland ｜ローランド
How sample, bank and project BPM relate, what BPM sync does, and how pitch/speed settings differ. From Roland’s Japanese channel, so expect Japanese; YouTube offers auto-generated English captions.

SP-404 Guide: Pitch Shifting, Time Stretching, and BPM Sync
Chris Laps
A thorough guide to vinyl mode, pitch and time algorithms, project and bank tempo and BPM sync, worked through on drums, bass and vocals.

3.4Basics

Gate and hold: what letting go of a pad does

The GATE button decides what happens when your finger leaves a pad. With gate on, the sample sounds only while you hold the pad, which is how you play tight cuts out of a longer sample. With gate off, a press starts the sample and letting go changes nothing.

Switch gate on or off

Select the sample by pressing its pad.
Press GATE. A lit button means gate is on, and a dark one means it’s off.

A slow blink on GATE is a third state: the sample is set to one-shot. Play a sample through without interruption compares all three.

Keep a gated sample playing after you let go

Hold down one or more pads so their samples are sounding.
Keep them held and press HOLD.
Take your fingers off. The samples carry on.

It works the other way round too: hold HOLD first, then press the pads.

With gate off you have the opposite problem, since lifting your finger won’t stop anything. To cut one of those samples off, hold EXIT and press its pad.

Key combinations

GATE: Turns gate on or off for the selected sample.
SHIFT + GATE: Turns GATE on or off for every sample in the bank.
Hold PAD + HOLD: Keeps the sample playing after you let go of the pad.Sample with GATE on
Hold HOLD + PAD: Plays the sample and lets it carry on after you let go.Sample with GATE on
Hold EXIT + PAD: Stops that pad’s sample.Sample with GATE off
EXT SOURCE: Lets outside audio through only while you hold the button.With GATE on
EXT SOURCE: Switches outside audio on or off with each press.With GATE off

Gate also governs EXT SOURCE, as the last two rows above show, which lets you play an outside source in and out like a pad (Plug in a synth, mic or guitar). And if a gated sample has a fade-out set, letting go of the pad is what starts it (Fade a sample in and out).

From the community

SP-404 Mk2 Beginner's Guide (Part 1): Setup, Sampling, Recording & Chopping
Chris Laps
A patient 25-minute start, from setup and SD cards to recording and chopping. Parts 2 and 3, also listed here, pick up effects and patterns.

3.5Basics

Play a sample through without interruption

One-shot plays a sample once, from start to finish, and nothing you do on the pad can interrupt it: any press that lands while it’s running is ignored. That makes it a safe choice for a long sample you’re using as a backing track.

Patterns can’t interrupt it either. If the phrase you record runs out before the sample does, the sample isn’t retriggered: it just carries on to its end.

Set a sample to one-shot

Select the sample by pressing its pad.
Hold VALUE and press GATE.
Look for GATE blinking slowly. That tells you one-shot is on.
Repeat the combo when you want to switch one-shot off.

Key combinations

Hold VALUE + GATE: Turns one-shot playback on or off.

One-shot is set from the GATE button, and that button’s light tells you how the sample will behave. Here it is next to gate on and gate off (Gate and hold: what letting go of a pad does).

One-shot compared with gate

Button light	Setting	How the pad behaves
Lit	Gate on	The sample plays while you hold the pad and stops when you let go.
Dark	Gate off	Each press starts the sample, and letting go doesn’t stop it.
Slow blink	One-shot	One press plays the sample to its end. Letting go doesn’t stop it, and further presses do nothing until it finishes.

From the community

Roland SP-404MKII V3.0 Update Overview
RolandChannel
Covers 3.0’s sequencer changes, one-shot playback, DJ mode cue points and quantising after recording, each with its own chapter.

10 Powerful SP-404-MK2 Shortcuts You NEED TO KNOW!
SPVIDZ
Ten held-button shortcuts filmed in 2026, from selecting pads silently to swapping bus effects and protecting a bank.

3.6Basics

Loop forwards, backwards or both ways

Looping turns a pad into an on/off switch: one press sets the sample repeating, and the next press stops it. It’s the natural setting for drum loops and beds you want running while your hands do something else. With loop off, each press simply plays the sample from the beginning.

You set loop per sample, so select the sample first. It can run in three directions.

Pick a direction

Direction	What to press	What you’ll see
Forwards	Press `LOOP`.	`LOOP` lit.
Backwards	Press `LOOP`, then `REVERSE`.	`LOOP` and `REVERSE` both lit.
Forwards, then backwards (ping-pong)	Hold `SHIFT` and press `LOOP`.	`LOOP` blinking.

To throw a running loop back to its start, hold HOLD and press its pad. The pad doesn’t stop the sample this time. It jumps to the beginning and keeps going, which sounds as if the loop broke off for a moment.

Key combinations

LOOP: Turns the loop on or off for the selected sample.
SHIFT + LOOP: Sets a ping-pong loop, forwards and then backwards.
Hold HOLD + PAD: Restarts the sample from the beginning instead of stopping it.Sample with LOOP on

From the community

3.7Basics

Flip a sample backwards

Reverse plays a sample from its end back to its start. It’s an easy way to make a familiar phrase harder to place, and you can throw it in as a live move as well as leaving it on.

Press the pad of the sample you want to flip.
Press REVERSE so it lights. The sample now plays backwards.

You can also press REVERSE while the sample is playing, for an on-the-spot change of direction. Where the backwards run begins depends on the Reverse Type setting in Every system setting.

Reverse Type options

Setting	Backwards playback begins	Works like
`404`	At the sample’s end point.	The SP-404SX
`303`	Right away, from wherever the sample has got to.	The SP-303

Key combinations

REVERSE: Turns reverse playback on or off.

For a loop that runs backwards or bounces both ways, see Loop forwards, backwards or both ways.

From the community

3.8Basics

Repeat a sample with rolls

A roll repeats a sample at a fixed rhythmic interval, so one hit becomes a run of repeats. It’s a fast way to play fills and build-ups by hand, and you can roll up to four samples at once.

Roll from a pad

Hold ROLL.
Press a pad. Its sample plays as a roll.

Roll something that’s already playing

Press a pad to start the sample.
Press ROLL and let go. The button lights and the sample rolls.
Press ROLL again to end the roll.

Set the interval

Hold SHIFT and press ROLL. Each press, with SHIFT still down, changes the interval, in the order below.
Read the setting on the screen, for example Roll 1/4.

Roll intervals, in order

Setting	Note value
`1/4`	Quarter note
`1/8`	Eighth note
`1/16`	Sixteenth note
`1/32`	Thirty-second note
`1/64`	Sixty-fourth note
`3/8`	Eighth-note triplets
`3/16`	Sixteenth-note triplets
`3/32`	Thirty-second-note triplets
`3/64`	Sixty-fourth-note triplets

Speed a roll up as it plays

Get a roll going.
Hold ROLL and turn VALUE clockwise. The interval gets shorter.
Turn VALUE anticlockwise to come back. It stops at the interval you started from, so you can’t go any slower than that.

Key combinations

Hold ROLL + PAD: Plays that pad’s sample as a roll.
ROLL: Starts a roll when you lift your finger; press again to end it.While a sample is playing
SHIFT + ROLL: Steps to the next roll interval.
Hold ROLL + VALUE: Shortens the interval clockwise and returns it anticlockwise.While a roll is playing; turn the knob

From the community

3.9Basics

Control how hard the pads hit

The pads respond to how hard you play them. That’s great for expression and awkward when you want a kick to land the same every time. Two tools help: FIXED VELOCITY pins a sample at the maximum, and 16 VELOCITY spreads 16 levels across the pads so you can choose one exactly.

Fix the velocity at maximum

Hold SHIFT and press PAD 1. FIXED VELOCITY ON appears, and the sample now plays at 127 however you hit it.
Repeat the combo to release it. FIXED VELOCITY OFF appears, and velocity follows your playing again.

You can set this differently for each sample, and it also appears on the pitch/speed screen (Change a sample’s pitch and speed). The top screen tells you where you stand: Fix means it’s on and Vel means it’s off (Read the screen and the lights).

Play one sample at 16 levels

Press the pad of the sample you want to play.
Hold SHIFT and press PAD 2. The 16 VELOCITY screen shows a four-by-four grid of values.
Press any pad. The sample plays at the velocity in the matching spot on the grid.
Press EXIT when you’re done.

The 16 VELOCITY grid

Pads	Velocity, left to right
`PAD 1`–`PAD 4`	90, 100, 110, 127
`PAD 5`–`PAD 8`	50, 60, 70, 80
`PAD 9`–`PAD 12`	20, 25, 30, 40
`PAD 13`–`PAD 16`	1, 5, 10, 15

Key combinations

SHIFT + PAD 1: Turns FIXED VELOCITY on or off, pinning velocity at 127.
SHIFT + PAD 2: Opens 16 VELOCITY, so each pad plays the selected sample at its own level.

For the way the pads respond to your touch in general, see Every pad setting.

From the community

SP404 MKII Pad Shift Functions Explored
SPVIDZ
Goes through what each pad does with Shift held, from Fixed Velocity to EFX settings. Filmed at launch, but the pad layout hasn’t changed.

3.10Intermediate

Play one sample across the pads in key

Chromatic mode puts one sample on all 16 pads at different pitches, so you can play a melody or a bass line from a single sound. Once you’re in, you can also pick a scale, set its root note and choose how notes overlap.

Play in chromatic mode

Press the pad of the sample you want to play.
Hold SHIFT and press PAD 4. The CHROMATIC MODE screen shows a grid of keys.
Press any pad. The sample plays in the key shown in the matching spot on the grid.
Turn VALUE to shift the range of keys the pads cover.
Press EXIT to leave.

Press REMAIN while you’re in the mode to change how the notes behave. Each press moves to the next method, and the light on REMAIN shows which one you’re on.

Playing methods

Method	Button light	What you get
`LEGATO`	Slow blink	Keep one pad down and press another, and portamento slides the pitch to the new note.
`MONO`	Lit	One note at a time.
`POLY`	Fast blink	Several pads can sound together, so you can play chords.

Press VALUE in the mode to move to the next scale. To set the note the scale is built on, hold ROLL and turn VALUE. Roland’s own picture of this screen reads SCALE:Chrom, a setting its list of scales, below, leaves out.

Scales, in order

Major scale
Minor scale
Dorian mode
Phrygian mode
Major pentatonic
Minor pentatonic, then back to the major scale

Key combinations

SHIFT + PAD 4: Enters chromatic mode with the selected sample.
Turn VALUE: Shifts the range of keys on the pads.In chromatic mode
Press VALUE: Moves to the next scale or mode.In chromatic mode
REMAIN: Moves to the next playing method: LEGATO, MONO or POLY.In chromatic mode
Hold ROLL + VALUE: Sets the root note of the scale.In chromatic mode; turn the knob

To program pitches step by step instead, TR-REC has a chromatic pitch mode of its own (Program steps with TR-REC), and Make a bass line from scratch puts it to use.

From the community

Roland SP-404MKII Sampler Version 2.0 Update
RolandChannel
Roland’s walkthrough of 2.0, the update that brought TR-REC, motion recording and chromatic recording. The TR-REC chapter starts at 1:45.

3.11Intermediate

Mute a pad on the fly

Pad mute silences a sample on the spot. Pull a part out of the mix and you’ve got an instant break. You can mute one pad or several, and it works on individual samples while a pattern is playing too.

Check that the pad is orange, which means sample mode. A purple pad has a pattern selected and can’t be muted, so press PATTERN SELECT to switch.
Press the pad to play its sample.
Hold SHIFT and REVERSE, and press the pad you want to silence. It lights red.
When you want it back, hold SHIFT and REVERSE and press the pad again.

Working through a lot of pads gets fiddly with two buttons held down. Press REVERSE and REMAIN with SHIFT held, and SHIFT and REVERSE stay engaged after you let go, so a tap on any pad mutes or unmutes it. Press EXIT to drop out of this.

Key combinations

SHIFT + REVERSE + PAD: Mutes or unmutes that pad.
SHIFT + REVERSE + REMAIN: Keeps SHIFT and REVERSE engaged so you can tap pads to mute them; EXIT cancels.

The Pad MUTE setting in Every system setting decides whether you can still hear a muted pad yourself.

Pad MUTE options

Setting	What happens to a muted sample
`Mst+Phn`	It’s silent at every output.
`Master`	You can still monitor it on the PHONES jack, without effects.

To record your mutes into a pattern, see Automate pad mutes. To silence what’s going into a bus rather than a single pad, see Cut the audio and leave the effect tails.

From the community

3.12Intermediate

Trigger several pads from one

A pad link group ties up to four pads together, so one press plays them all. Use it to layer sounds, like a thin snare with a clap, without committing anything to a recording. You can keep up to ten groups, A to J.

Hold SHIFT and press PAD 7. The PAD LINK GROUPS screen opens.
Turn VALUE to choose a group, A to J.
Press the pads you want in that group.
Press EXIT to finish.
Press any pad in the group. All of its pads play together.

Key combinations

SHIFT + PAD 7: Opens PAD LINK GROUPS to link up to four pads.

From the community

SP-404MKII Creative Sampler and Effector Video Manual
Roland Cloud Academy
Roland product specialist PJ Bridger works through the unit in 93 minutes, with a chapter for almost every function. It was filmed at launch, so nothing added since then appears.

Roland SP-404 MK II Mute groups & link groups tutorial
XNB
Under five minutes on setting up mute groups and pad link groups.

3.13Intermediate

Let samples cut each other off

A mute group is the opposite of a pad link: its samples refuse to sound together. Start a second one and the first drops away, so you only ever hear the most recent. That’s just what you want for a pair of open and closed hi-hats, or for chops of one phrase that would turn to mush if they overlapped.

Each group takes up to 16 samples, and there are ten groups to fill, A to J.

Hold SHIFT and press PAD 8. The MUTE GROUP screen opens.
Turn VALUE to choose a group, A to J.
Press the pads whose samples you want in that group.
Press EXIT to finish. From now on, only the last pad you play in the group sounds.

Key combinations

SHIFT + PAD 8: Opens MUTE GROUP to group samples that shouldn’t overlap.

For muting between banks rather than within a group, look at Bank Mute in Every system setting.

From the community

3.14Basics

Stop or pause everything

There are two ways to bring the sound to a halt. Stop ends everything, samples and patterns alike, so it’s your panic button. Pause holds the samples until you bring them back, which makes it more of a performance move.

Stop everything

Press EXIT four times, quickly. Or hold SHIFT and press EXIT.
All the samples and patterns that were playing stop.

Pause and resume samples

Hold SHIFT and press HOLD. Every sample that’s playing pauses.
Hold SHIFT and press HOLD again. The samples resume.

Key combinations

EXIT: Stops all samples and patterns, and unmutes your pads.Press four times quickly
SHIFT + EXIT: Stops all samples and patterns.
SHIFT + HOLD: Pauses all the samples that are playing, or resumes them.

To stop just one sample with gate off, see Gate and hold: what letting go of a pad does. For more on mutes, see Mute a pad on the fly.

From the community

3.15Basics

Lock the risky buttons for a gig

On stage, the sampling and editing buttons are mostly just things to hit by mistake, and one wrong press can wreck a set. Live mode switches them off until you’re done.

Hold SHIFT and keep REMAIN held for at least three seconds.
Check the screen. LIVE MODE ON appears, and a small padlock icon shows in the lower-left corner.
Do the same again to switch live mode off.

Key combinations

SHIFT + REMAIN: Turns live mode on or off.Hold for at least three seconds

Buttons live mode disables

DEL
REC
RESAMPLE
COPY
MARK

Live mode guards the buttons rather than your data. To protect a bank’s samples and patterns from being overwritten or deleted, see Protect banks and delete samples.

From the community

If DEL, REC, RESAMPLE, COPY or MARK stop responding, check you haven’t switched on Live Mode by accident. Hold SHIFT and long-press REMAIN for three seconds to turn it off. via Automageddon on Elektronauts