Internet music forums are buzzing today about the upcoming Roland SP-404 MKII, a major update to the classic SP-404 compact sampling workstation.

We have not seen an official announcement for the SP-404 MKII yet, but it looks like it will keep the SP-404 workflow, but improve on it with improved pads and controls; faster project loading and sample import; easy project access via 16 GB memory; and more.

Key Features (preliminary):

• Bang out beats anywhere with AA or mobile battery power
• Capture audio from or stream direct to your mobile device via USB,
• Collaborate with a partner using the dual headphone outputs and mic/guitar input.
• Edit samples with an OLED screen and zoomable waveform view.
• Chop up samples by tapping out edit points in real time, or use auto chop to slice samples automatically.
• Shape samples with envelope and pitch shift
• New resampling workflow lets you re-record patterns and effects layers for detailed sound design.
• Skip Back Sampling captures up to 25 seconds of audio from your performance.
• Process, flip, and twist your sounds with classic SP effects and a selection of new effects, including: Lo-fi, Cassette Simulator, Resonator, Vocoder, Auto Pitch, Guitar Amp Simulator and more.
• Adjustable input quantize and shuffle for custom swing.
• Pad Link lets you fire multiple samples with a single tap.
• Roll button for variable note repeat.
• BPM-per-bank for instant tempo changes.
• Organize patterns for different sets and chain them together to automate playback.
• Load 160 samples across each project for expanded performance and beatmaking combinations.

Official details on the Roland SP-404 mkII are still to be announced.

In the meantime, check it out and share your thoughts on the SP-404 mkII in the comments!