Signal Chain
Visual Diagrams
See exactly how audio moves through the SP-404MK2 — from pad hit to output. Seven configurations from dead-simple DRY routing to a fully wired live beat bank.
DRY Signal Path
The simplest routing: pads play back directly through the master chain with no Bus 1 or Bus 2 effects. Everything is completely dry — what you recorded is exactly what you hear.
Use DRY routing when you want total control over each pad — no shared effects coloring your sound. Great for pre-mixed samples or when you plan to add effects in your DAW.
Hip-hop beats with pre-effected samples, or any session where you want a clean export.
Bus 1 Reverb Send
Classic aux send routing. Orange pads are sent to Bus 1 (reverb), while other pads stay dry. Bus 1 output and dry pads both feed into the Mix node, then through the master chain.
Bus 1 behaves exactly like an aux send in a mixer. The reverb tail doesn't affect your dry pads — you get the best of both worlds.
Add space to snares and percussion without muddying kick drums or bass.
Parallel Buses
Bus 1 and Bus 2 run in parallel — each processes independently and both feed into the Mix node. Orange pads get reverb, green pads get delay. Neither bus affects the other.
Parallel buses give you two independent effect groups. Think of it as two aux sends on a console — snares go to reverb, hats go to delay, and the kick stays completely clean.
Separate spatial treatment for different drum elements — rooms for snares, rhythmic delays for hi-hats.
Series Routing
Bus 1 feeds directly INTO Bus 2, creating a chain. The signal is processed by Bus 1 first, then that processed signal goes through Bus 2. Doubles up effects in sequence.
Series routing chains effects: Bus 1's reverb feeds into Bus 2's delay. You get reverb → delay in sequence. The order matters — swap them and you get delay → reverb, a completely different character.
Dub-style echo: reverb into delay creates deep, washy spatial tails perfect for reggae or ambient hip-hop.
In series mode, Bus 2 receives Bus 1's output — NOT the original dry signal. This means you're effecting the already-effected sound.
Live Beat Bank (90 BPM)
A full Bank A configuration for a live hip-hop set at 90 BPM. Kick and bass stay DRY for punch, snare gets Bus 1 reverb for room, hats get Bus 2 delay synced to tempo. Master chain: vinyl sim into compressor.
Keep low end DRY — kick, bass, and sub should never go through Bus 1/2. Effects on low frequencies create mud and phase issues. Only transient/tonal elements benefit from reverb and delay.
Live performance hip-hop set: clean low end hits hard, reverb gives snare a room, tempo-synced delay makes hats groove.
Set Bus 2 ping delay to 1/8th note at 90 BPM = ~167ms per tap. Use BPM Sync in the effect settings to lock it automatically.
MUTE BUS Isolation
The MUTE BUS technique: mute the dry pad signal so only the Bus 1 reverb tail plays. Hit the pad, then mute the dry signal — the reverb rings out in isolation. Used for dramatic effect transitions.
Hit [PAD 2] to trigger snare + reverb → then quickly press [MUTE] to silence the dry signal. The reverb tail rings out alone. This works because Bus 1 continues playing even when the source pad is muted.
Dub drops, breakdown transitions, or dramatic builds where you want pure reverb wash without the dry sound.
The dashed path in the diagram shows the muted dry signal. Only the Bus 1 reverb path remains active through Mix into the master chain.
Complete Inbound Chain
Full signal path from USB-C audio interface input, through Input FX processing, into pads, through buses, and out the master chain. Used for live sampling or processing external instruments.
Input FX is applied BEFORE the signal reaches the pads — so whatever you sample already has that lo-fi processing baked in. This is intentional and powerful: you're sampling the processed sound.
Live instrument processing: guitar or synth comes in via USB-C, gets lo-fi treatment from Input FX, then gets split to pads with different bus treatments.
Input FX affects all incoming audio regardless of pad assignment. Use it for global character (lo-fi, saturation) not per-pad effects.