SD card & file management

The unit imports WAV, AIFF and MP3. FLAC and M4A are supported only through the SP-404MK2 App.

Convert FLAC, M4A and OGG files to 48 kHz 16-bit WAV before copying them to the card.

Ableton Factory Pack samples (e.g. Latin Percussion Samples/Combined/*.aif) are encrypted files only Live can read; export them from Live as WAV (Export Audio/Video, or Freeze and Flatten / Consolidate) first. The pack's .ogg files are low-quality browser previews.

24-bit WAVs with a WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE header (some Bandcamp downloads) may not import; the manual doesn't say. Plain 16-bit 48 kHz WAV is the safe conversion.

Files on the card do nothing until imported: put them in the card's IMPORT folder, then SHIFT + pad 14 > IMPORT from SD-CARD > SAMPLE, press a pad (empty pads blink yellow) and pick the file with VALUE.

On the file list, SHIFT + turn VALUE selects several files, SUB PAD previews, holding MARK while turning VALUE scrolls fast, and pressing VALUE on a folder opens it.

Imports and exports run in the background (an indicator shows in the display), so you can keep working.

Whole songs import fine if each is under 16 minutes, but they use a lot of storage (16 minutes ≈ 185 MB, roughly 11–12 MB per minute); delete the song pad after chopping.

"Unsupported FILE" means the file type isn't supported; the manual says to check the file extension, format and folder directory.

Filenames with en dashes (–) or Cyrillic likely cause "Unsupported FILE" with FileSystem = "Latin1" (the Gost Zvuk album); a copy with short ASCII names is the fix being tested.

Keep file and folder names short and plain ASCII, and leave cover art (JPG/PNG) off the card; you browse on a small screen.

The user's card (F:, label SP404MKII) has IMPORT, EXPORT and BKUP folders at the root; BKUP is presumably where UTILITY > BACKUP writes (the manual doesn't name it).

No power-off is required to remove the card; the rule is never to turn off the power or remove the SD card while the screen indicates "Working...".

Wait until a background import, export or backup indicator is gone before pulling the card, not just until you're back on the main screen.

"No SD CARD!": turn off the power, make sure the card is fully inserted, then turn the power back on.

Eject F: in Windows before pulling the card from the PC's reader; Windows can still be writing after a copy looks finished.

Powering off before removing the card is the cautious habit, especially right after a backup or project export.