SP404: Customization
Over the last few years, it seems like everyone knows someone who has got a 404, or one of the extended SP family.
Picking up where Roland’s popular SP-303 sampler left off, the original SP-404 was launched in 2005 with a sleek, silver design that stood out against the other samplers on the market; not only for its look, but its portability, workflow, and (still very competitive) in-built effects.
But this isn’t what makes the revival of the samplers like Akai’s MPC or Teenage Engineering’s Pocket Operator interesting. These bits of music tech are leading the push towards a way of approaching music production that rejects the Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) such as Ableton Live, Logic Pro X or FL Studio.
Instead, artists are offering a new vision of music production; one that invites raw, in-the-moment creativity they and their fans find much more exciting.
So we’ve put together all the best stores for customizing your sampler, as well as tutorial videos on how to do it, into a handy step-by-step guide.
Cremacaffè Design
(OG, SX, A)
With a humble beginning in 2013, Cremacaffè began making lightweight compact stands to improve the experience of using electronic devices such as samplers and laptops.
Fast forward to 2023 and the current collection of accessories stocked now by Cremacaffè easily makes it the best independent store around for customizing your SP-404.
Handmade, unique and always well-designed, Cremacaffè embodies everything we love about small businesses - starting with locally sourced and repurposed materials, the design team build products that every SP user needs.
included: faceplate stickers, fabric pouches and classic Cremacaffè wooden stands (+ a real x-ray faceplate protector!).
SHOP HERE:
UK / US / EU / ROW
Style Flip
(OG, SX, A, 555)
StyleFlip is one of the most popular sites for SP404 customization and is where you can really make your SP-404 design your own.
The best thing about Style Flip is the design-your-own feature on the website, which lets you print your own image onto a 3M Adhesive vinyl sticker. This might sound difficult to apply to your SP404, but actually it’s pretty easy.
The Style Flip custom vinyl sticker is available for the OG, SX, and A models.
StyleFlip’s design-your-own feature on their website. credit: StyleFlip
MPCStuff
(OG, SX, A)
MPCStuff is one of the original sites for all of your sampler customization needs. It does pretty much every sampler you can think of there - plus spare parts, stands and carry cases for your sampler.
Specifically for the SP samplers: here you can pick up SX, A and OG blank faceplates, as well as replacement pads, knobs, and lots more.
SHOP HERE:
Permanent Lab
Independent store based in Japan. They’ve got a really clean look and stock unique SP-404SX/404-A faceplate stickers for a reasonable price.
Features 4 ‘simple’ colors, 4 ‘baby’ colors, and some dope silver/gold/black knobs that I haven’t seen anywhere else.
*UPDATE* have reached out to the store to confirm if they deliver to customers outside of Japan. Will update you here when I get an answer!
SHOP HERE:
Ultra3200
(OG, SX, A)
Although this is one of the newer shops in the scene (and cheaper), don’t be fooled into thinking this translates to ‘lower quality’ - because it doesn’t!
Ultra3200 is one of the best providers out there, printing some of the most unique and appealing faceplate stickers. The colorful anime/retro gaming styles are instantly recognizable and stand out confidently in a crowd, with many other different design styles to choose from.
They also have a great selection of hip hop & beat culture-themed stickers too!
Check out their range via their online webstore or their popular Etsy store.
PavelxPowers
PavelxPowers has graced many SP-404s with his bright, clean faceplate sticker designs. Their eBay store makes the process easy, showcasing all the different colours they stock next to each other for comparison.
They don’t just make accessories for the 404 either - Pavel’s xpowersdesign store also provides custom faceplate designs for Boss SP-202, the 404’s older brother, the SP-505, the MPC One + MPC 1000 as well as cases to frame and protect the Teenage Engineering’s ‘PO’ range. Check out their store here.
SHOP HERE:
