64 thoughts on “Isla Instruments SP 2400 Drum Machine & Sampler Now Available To Pre-Order”

1. Stay away from this company! At first they should fulfill their promises regarding the Kordbot before they start their next project. The Kordbot firmware is still buggy, many features are not yet implemented, the last firmware update is about 9 months ago. In my opinion a completely unfinished product after more than two years on the market and clearly behind the expectation level.

   1. Reality-check please. Dave Smith, Pioneer DJ, Apple, Access, Ableton, Elektron, Akai are just the brands on my desk that all have been guilty of what you describe. Give me 30 minutes more and I could probably fill up an entire page of companies that does this regularly.

      I think it’s an _awful_ practice, but singling out Isla for this behaviour is shoddy.

      1. By that logic, speeding is totally fine because others do it also. I’d like to see the reaction from the cops when you use that as an excuse in an attempt to get away with it. Reality-check please.

         1. You might have missed what I wrote at the end?
            “I think it’s an _awful_ practice, but singling out Isla for this behaviour is shoddy.”

            1. Your excuse is still that others do it as well, which for me, is not an excuse at all.

               1. You misunderstand me. I’m not making any excuse. Let’s take your own speeding metaphor for example. _Everybody_ is speeding. I don’t like speeding. Now some genius points at the Isla car and goes hysterical: ISLA IS SPEEDING!!!11 This is what I meant by “Reality-check”. The reality is that everybody is “speeding”. Is it bad? Yes. I don’t like it one damn bit. But singling out Isla as a speeder on a highway of speeders is nothing but shoddy. It’s not an excuse. It’s the bloody norm. Elektron even had their Overbridge stickers on the Digitone boxes and webpages for months before they had the decency to take it away. Virus TI was released 2005 and the TI functionality have _never_ been working properly – still not to this day. Anyone remember the promised update for the Waldorf Microwave XT? The Akai Force still lacks a song mode and my 2018 Asus monitor loses connection if my computer goes to sleep and I have to reboot my computer again. Overpromises and underdelivery, this is the norm of today. I’m not making an excuse. I am saying is that singling out Isla for this behaviour is shoddy.

                  1. Your problem is that you read somewhere in the comments a “just” or an “only”. Nobody said that only Isla Instruments is doing it. Since this post is about an upcoming product from Isla Instruments, it’s normal that if people have something to say about said company, that they do it here.
                     Feel free to talk about your experience with Dave Smith, Pioneer DJ, Apple, Access, Ableton, Elektron, Akai in the comments section of a post about them. Here it’s about Isla Instruments.
                     Anyway, to point out that others do it as well as an excuse, which you tried to make, regardless if you actually realize that, is not an excuse.

         2. Your speeding analogy is poor at best. Speeding can have dire consequences and/or fines and imprisonment. It’s enforced by law for public safety. Releasing Buggy firmware for boutique electronics is none of those things

            1. If you want to go that far, advertising a product with features which it doesn’t have, is “false advertisement”, which is illegal in a bunch of countries.
               Anyway, I am sure you understand what the point I’ve tried to make is/was.

   2. +1 The software is very clunky on the KB. Basic fonction like external clock sync is not working at the moment with LIVE and OSX even if it was advertised like that. No answer from Brad after many attempts contacting him

2. 2nd shoab. stay FAR away from Brad and Isla.

   His production process is to print your shipping label before he builds your machine. So I receive an email saying my kordbot is shipped. 4 weeks later my kordbot hasn’t left the USPS facility. Casually inquire to Brad and he rips your head off and curses you out.

   Add insult to injury, I just want the guy out of my life and no matter how many times i unsubscribe he changes e-blast service for every single email and re-adds me to the list. Real troll behavior. Every time Isla is ever mentioned anywhere, I see comments like Shoab’s, so it’s going to be nice to just sit back and watch what happens to Brad and his company’s reputation.

3. I third the feedback. I bought the Kordbot. Delays, business ethics and any personal issues (others, not me) faced by supporters/backers aside, the hardware quality of the product alone is poor and it shipped literally incomplete. I sold it off quickly after realisation that this company would not be following-up to make the product right. I also bought the SP-16 and I can tell you the hardware is high-quality albeit a lot more expensive. There is no smoke without fire, Kordbot would be covered positively in synth news world otherwise.

   1. Yeah, it doesn’t seem like the release of Kordbot was the most gracious release ever. Well… I might be an overly optimistic person, but I give them the chance to prove that the 2400 can be a good product. Akai was utterly bastards until just recently, so if they can turn around anyone can. But I’m waiting until it’s been out in the wild for some time before I send them any of money, that’s for sure.

4. I recommend you guys put a Hard Drive on that 2400. I own an MPC 5000 and it came
   With a 80 Gig Hard Drive Fresh out the Box. If the Developers are reviewing comments on Here
   I believe it’s worth the effort.

5. SD card and USB host/device. From what interviews I have seen the dev may have learned his lesson from his experience with Kordbot. The 2400 looks like it’s pretty heavy duty on all fronts. We’ll see. I have no connection with Isla. Just interested in the product. Check out the website and interviews on YouTube.

6. It’s unfortunate that the same people always follow any posts made about my stuff to leave their negative comments.

   I can categorically state, I am never rude or abusive to anyone, unless they are to me first.
   I try my best to help people and be supporting, but when I am met with impatience and rudeness/abuse, they will not get a favourable response from me. (I have now taken on customer support staff btw)

   In your case Michael, you performed a chargeback on your credit card once you saw it had actually shipped to you. To a guy running a small business from his garage, that’s a pretty unkind thing to do. I’m sorry you kept getting emails, I need to up my game on admin of the email system (i did actually yesterday make sure you were not existing in any of my lists)

   To address the fact I have abandoned my kordbot users is simply untrue, we are developing a huge firmware update to include the sequencer that we promised, and also address many areas that we maybe didn’t get right the first time around, but these things take time and I only have 2 developers. I hope to soon have more, and you will see kordbot firmware mature very soon.

   The flack I get for developing another product while still working on kordbot is a little unfair in my opinion. For my business to survive, it is imperative that I expand the catalogue and keep things moving. Do you want a company to fold, resulting in kordbot fw never getting another update, or do you want kordbot to wait a bit longer while we expand and grow?

   My first release, the kordbot, may have been a little rough around the edges, I’m addressing that, but the VAST majority of my customers are all delighted with it, you only have to look around instagram, facebook, youtube and see all the fantastic music people are making with them to attest to that.

   I can’t please everyone, sorry.
   Brad
   ISLA Instruments.

   1. Anyone who has ever tried to start a business will know that mistakes happen ALL THE TIME. Outsiders thinks its so simple to just make something then send it, all done. Thats far beyond the truth. You can even see many failures on Shark Tank where entrepreneurs either dont learn and fail or learn and improve. So you have to wait it out and see improvement before throwing stones.

      On the other side, who cares, i pay, gimmie! Thats the life of a consumer. You can clearly see that sentiment on ebay where someone makes you an offer for a product 100 bucks less than the sale price, you accept it, then they tell you that they will rescind their offer if you cant ship it same day with next day air. Some entrepreneurs suck but consumers can suck just as much. Some people suck, welcome to the world and everything will never always go your way 100% of the time, all the time.

      For the SP 2400, im watching this for sure. That Tribe Called Quest- Electric Relaxation comparison video was the best. Got the blood going.

   2. Chargeback on a credit card after shipped. That is fucked / fraud / theft. Do you people understand what that can do to a business – fines / lack of payment processing / additional processing charges. It’s a wanker move.

      1. I never performed a chargeback. That is just something he is saying to drum up support.

         I’ve purchased dozens of musical pieces over the years. I haven’t always been happy. But the only person I’ve ever encountered who was actually cruel and condescending to me as a paying customer is Brad Holland of Isla Instruments.

   3. Notice they are all named Carl or a respelling of it….it’s the same guy LOL.

   4. Admin: Personal attack deleted (name calling).

      Keep comments on topic & constructive.

      Please feel free to resubmit your comments without the personal attack.

   5. “I can categorically state, I am never rude or abusive to anyone”
      given the tone of your post, and the fact that you are publicly shaming customers, i would hazard a guess that this statement is not entirely accurate….

7. Brad,

   Your statements about my chargeback are categorically false. In fact, you never built my machine 4+ weeks after I received shipping confirmation. Your customers receive an email saying their product is shipped then the tracking says the package was never delivered to the facility. For 4-6 weeks afterwards!

   The classy thing to do would be to admit your production process had some hiccups and not call your ex-customers out by name, but the fact you’re running damage control on all public fronts speaks volumes anyway.

   Best of luck.

8. Feels a bit expensive to me considering the cost of the hardware on show. I can only assume the lions share of the $949 is from the development cost.

9. “THEIR negative comments”

   just goes to show you how Brad isn’t willing to own up to his mistakes.

   I tried to respond to Brad directly, but it seems I can’t get past synthhead’s filters.

   I will only say it speaks volumes any time a company has to take to the comments to run damage control. Best of luck to Isla.

10. I don’t have to take to comments anywhere, I choose to.
    This is the internet, am I not allowed to have my say too?
    Have a great day!

    1. Then at least tell the truth. I never performed a chargeback.

       And also maybe protect your customer’s privacy even when they’re your ex-customer. Not very classy.

       All the condescending things you’re doing and saying go way farther in showing people who you are then i could ever tell them.

       1. Have not had any dealings with Isla, however reading their reply here was pretty taken aback by them calling a customer out by name. It felt unprofessional.

          1. indeed, an interesting product in theory, but with this kind of behaviour on public display (i can only imagine what he sends customers in private communication), i’ll be sure to stay far away form Isla!

11. Thanks Brad for sharing your viewpoint on that.

    However, I find it inappropriate what you say about critical users of your product. I am active in some musicians’ forums and have heard similar complaints there as well. So, my experiences in using the Kordbot in a real studio environment seems not to be the only one. To ignore or diminish those who can actually provide you with the best and most honest input for product enhancement is counterproductive and not good for the reputation of ISLA instruments.

    The last time you offically talked about the Kordbot firmware was in Facebook on December 9th 2018. More than 7 months ago! Since then, only the delivery of new batches was reported there. So what do you expect from users, if you do not publish any further news about the progess with the firmware?

    Which features did you implement? When do you expect the release? Where are the little videos of the progress you are making with the new features of the upcoming firmware release to further tease potential buyers? For 7 months there is nothing here… And now you want to make us believe that the firmware is almost done? Then please show us some videos! I (We) are (all) very excited about what we can expect soon. And I’m sure the many negative comments will stop right away. I’m sure this kind of video will take you less time than posting again and again about your next KB delivery.

    Thanks a lot, Brad, if you will post something soon (best before coming up with the SP2400!!!).

12. I actually love my Kord Bot. Have emailed Brad on several occasions and he’s always been helpful and professional. I do notice the same few people on multiple forums complaining about the company. They would do themselves a service by just moving on.

13. Have to agree with folks in the thread here. I have a Kordbot, it’s not a fully realized product but I’m encouraged that there is a major update coming up. It was a rocky road for a while but Brad can make it right — as you see your current customers can overshadow a promising new product that could be a big hit.

    I have designed / built / shipped a lot of product and it can be insanely difficult so I feel for you. Make it right for your early adopters and we’ll become your strongest supporters! Thanks.

14. I was having similar issues. However, the damage Isla did to its own brand today is excruciating.

15. The damage Isla did to its own brand today is irreparable and excruciating.

    All who choose to deal with Isla in the future have seen the warning signs here.

16. Does this thing just trigger a single sample to be played through each filter/VCA, or can you play multiple pitch-shifted samples with their own envelopes through each filter/VCA? What I’m getting at is whether or not this thing is limited to percussion, or if you could use it to fake the PPG Wave if you uploaded the wavetables as samples?

17. even aside from the personal dramas, i had so many questions as to “why” this particular machine.. but then i saw “passion project” and that explains EVERYTHING

18. What about using a recently launched Waverex Sampling Card for the M1 / M1R or Wavestation and do similar things with a real synth engine?

19. In this day and age a company that tries to put out a product before it’s debugged is asking for it. The Internet Flying Monkey Brigade will be out with torches and pitchforks before the first 20 units are out of the box.

    As we see all too often here, there are many who will start flaming a product that they don’t even own! Or that they have never even played. Then we have the Super Users who will program a sequence with 100,000 64th notes at 220bpm and complain that the device locks up.

    You know. The Internet!

    I have no experience with this developer at all. But I do wish him luck.

    Now I have to get back to trying to put my lab back together after ripping the entire thing to the ground.

    1. 100,000 64th notes at 220bpm is nothing
       nor do I think its absurd requirements
       its 2019 and not 1985 anymore 😉

       I like to use double the bpm to get higher note resolution aka 128th notes, its the oldest trick in the book.

20. Thanks Brad for sharing your viewpoint on that.

    However, the last time you offically talked about the Kordbot firmware was in December 2018, which is about 7 months ago! So what do you expect from us users, if you do not publish any further news about the progess with the firmware as you did in the beginning of the Kordbot project? And then you come up with a new hardware project…

    I’m not against you and your products, the Kordbot has such a great potential but please improve the communication with us users and, more important, show us some videos of the new features NOW! I am very excited about what we can expect in the near future. And I’m sure the many negative comments will stop right away.

    I hope you’ll post some updates on the Kordbot soon to calm down this steady discussion on the Kordbot.

    1. Sorry for the doublet. My first comment was for long time under review, so I wrote it a second time, which now appears at the same time….

21. If it has the original vintage DAC IC’s and filters on board it should be cool!
    But if the bitrate reduction, aliasing and filter are purely firmware emulated it’s just a VST in a box like the TR-09.

    1. “If it has the original vintage DAC IC’s and filters”
       doubtful…..plus there is the hideous LED rainbow to consider….

22. The idea of an SP-1200 recreation is so exciting … And I would expect there to be some UI adaptations however the light-up-pads that are generally du jour-ubiquitous feel like fuchsia neon underlights on a horse carriage.

    Totally possible that others value whatever visual feedback said lighting provides over true-to-form-ness but personally I feel like I’d be “watching two movies at once” so to speak having this degree of modernism inserted within the vintage recreation.

    Lastly: If the lights can be turned off all is forgiven and regardless this machine already has my GAS going / I hope it’s solid success.

23. …when you go into the comments, create multiple identities, then get upset when your identified. Very entertaining thread. Even at the highest levels of product development, there are issues. Some people can handle them, others can’t. For sure id be pissed if I saw the shipping label was printed and sent 4-6 weeks later. Anyone would. But id go on this tirade is I never received the product or my money back. If I received it, I’d just say “Fool me once, shame on me” and keep it moving, Life is way too short.

24. some folks talking about speeding? the only speeding i see is me and a bunch of other SP heads speeding to their computers to pre-order the 2400!! my order is in, i’m so excited and grateful to Isla for doing this.

25. Freeways should not have speed limits.

26. i won’t preorder, but i’m definitely getting one. the demos are more than satisfying. the only modern sampler with character.

    btw is it possible to record midi to sequence synths?

27. Suggestion: find a Roland S-330 or Casio FZ1, they still go for around $100 if you look around. Load it with drum sounds (make sure your sampling input signal is a tad hot). Hook up a Beatstep Pro and voilà: you’ve got yourself a real lo-fi 12-bit sampling drum machine with true grit for $350 or less.

28. his products have neither FCC nor CE certificates upon confirmation from him.
    are tolled in europe by customs ..
    illegal products .. keep away!

    1. Admin: Comment deleted.

       You’re using multiple user names (Fizmo, Shoab) to post comments on this thread. This is a common tactic of spammers and results in your comments getting flagged for moderation.

       Using a consistent identity and posting constructive comments will help avoid having your comments getting flagged for review or for moderation.

       1. that´s the problem with the internet nowadays. everyone bellieves they can run a company and sell their stuff.

    2. oops, that lowers my interest to zero
       no CE certificate, wtf, I dont want to burn down the house, no thx.

29. I wouldn’t make my purchase decision based on the nonsense in this thread.

    1. I wouldn’t call missing FCC and CE certificates “nonsense”. Customs can send your order back or destroy it. In the best case you lose the shipping cost (plus the cost to send it back) in the worst case you lose some $1000.
       Add to this that PayPal is no longer an option and you’ll see that buying from them is a very high risk. If you are in the USA, you might have less to fear, but if you are in the EU, you are better off playing lottery.

       1. The product is in pre-order status. Not scheduled to ship until December/January. A lot of jumping to conclusions from what I see here. Ah the internet…

          1. The KordBot is not “in pre-order status” and still lacks FCC and CE certificates. Isla started shipping them in 2018.
             A lot of fanboy-ism from what I see here. Ah the internet…

             1. LOL! I’m not talking about the Kordbot. Let’s see how this SP2400 shakes out is all I’m saying. If that’s your definition of fanboy-ism then so be it! 😉

30. Keep it up Brad! I love my Kordbot.

31. SP2400 Will have full certification when it ships. Testing being carried out by UL Labs.

    1. Blablabla maybee FCC and no CE
       if it goes by the kordbot as with the wrong promises .. it will be nothing .. i would deliver first then promise ..
       Incidentally, the missing certificates were confirmed by brad itself … should actually report to the competent authorities.

32. I can see it, he is next year on the superbooth and arrested, the equipment seized ..

33. How much fulfillment and meaning must your life lack to assume multiple identities on a synth news site just to attack a manufacturer in the comments on an article that has nothing to do with the product you’re complaining about?

    I always liked the myth or the aura around these early samplers, like there’s some kind of cool digital mojo in the old circuits or something. I’ll be happy to see how this turns out.

34. I have been thinking on pre ordering the S2400. Im in Europe.I see all these comments and honestly i get worried. Is a big move for me to spend 900 Eur plus what I ll have to deal with at the customs. is there an update on these subjects? Is it reliable to spend this money? Are Certificates coming with the product?, so at least when I go to the customs and pay a lot, I can take the instrument with me? Please let me know.