Moodymann Gets a Limited Edition Sampler from Roland

Roland has teamed up with Kenny Dixon Jr.—better known as Moodymann—to celebrate the 30th birthday of his KDJ Records label with a limited edition version of the SP-404MKII Creative Sampler. Limited to only 600 units, the SP-404MKII KDJ Records Limited Edition retails for $599.99, and like the standard version, makes sampling easy and accessible for both professionals and hobbyists alike.

This special version of the popular sampler comes loaded with samples chosen by KDJ artists, a seven-inch of KDJ music, a separate mixtape of music from the label and its artists, and other unique features, including a custom faceplate. It also has 10 entire banks of samples and patterns you can’t get on any other sampler, with a handful of new and old songs from the KDJ catalog. And of course it boasts all the features that have made the SP-404MKII so successful. It can internally store over 2,500 samples and patterns each, with 16 samples and patterns stored on 10 banks apiece across 16 projects each, with a max sampling time of 16 minutes and a total 16 GB of internal storage. It samples at a frequency of 48 kHz, and supports WAV, AIFF, and MP3 formats. It has a slew of effects, a graphic OLED display, 17 velocity pads, and support for an external SD card if you need extra storage or want to import or export. It’s a versatile device useful for anybody who uses samples in their music.

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It’s also an important part of Moodymann’s toolkit. Through his own music and the records he’s released through KDJ, the DJ, producer, and musician has long celebrated the rich musical legacy of Detroit, from its midcentury mastery of American radio to its groundbreaking innovations in techno and hip-hop over the last four decades. If Moodymann and the Detroit scene has inspired your own music, this limited edition unit could be the sampler for you; even if they haven’t, it’s still a cool, one-of-a-kind version of one of the best samplers out there.

I think there’s a conception that samplers are mostly useful for house, dance, techno, hip-hop, or other styles of largely electronic music that are typically built on samples. Obviously samplers are crucial to all of those genres, but that’s not all they’re good for. There’s a broader use for them, of course, either for traditional loops in different genres or for replicating parts that are too complicated or physically difficult to recreate live. Say those ringers who played trumpet and strings on your chamber pop song can’t make the show, or the stage isn’t big enough for your occasional cello player; plop those bits on the Roland SP-404MKII and try to recreate that sound live as much as you can. Or if you don’t want to rely on the processed sound of a drum machine for your solo act, create loops of live drums.

You don’t need Roland’s limited edition Moodymann model to do all of that, but it is a cool and strikingly designed take on the classic unit. If you like the idea of showing your love for Detroit, Moodymann, and KDJ Records with your gear, here’s a sampler worth checking out.

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