Roland just dropped the SP-404MK2 firmware 5.5 update, and the big headline is simple: sidechaining is finally inside the 404. I didn’t know anything about this update either—I saw it on YouTube just like y’all—so in this video I react to Roland’s walkthrough and give my real thoughts on what they added (and how it actually works on the machine). A lot of people asked me for sidechaining back when I was posting SP-404 beat videos, so I already know plenty of y’all are gonna be happy about this one. Roland’s implementation is envelope-based side chain compression, which means it plays nice with the SP workflow—especially if you’re resampling loops, breaks, or full patterns. The key thing I noticed: you’re setting a source and a target, and it looks like you’ll be routing your target through a bus (not just slapping it straight on a single pad the way some people might expect). Once it’s set, every time the source hits (like your kick or drum loop), the target ducks, creating space and adding that pumping motion. And I gotta give Roland credit—steady updates like this matter, even when it’s not a long list of features.