I think this is pretty much the idea of Bento. You could expand it by incorporating FX pedals using the multiple outputs and inputs, but I think it’s meant to be used so that you bounce around audio using the different machines.
Yes, to play samples chromatically, you need to use the multi engine with one sample.
oh wow, thanks for clarifying that. weird. nice that its implemented though
i actually bought a tiny one, similar to a lav mic, but i thought someone recommended it saying it had an internal battery or something, but it doesn’t actually work with this type of input. so i’m not sure what i’m looking for there. i see camera mics who are meant for plugging into and receiving power from DSLR’s, but i assume i need something specific. a small dynamic(?) mic which doesnt need external power and is hot enough to be audible via strictly a single 3.5mm trs jack. i think im gonna be just settling on using my roland p-6’s built in mic and running the mix out of that to bento in 2. zoom h5 is always with me but its chunky and annoying for this purpose unless im recording things beforehand
I really wish they would put mic’s and speakers on all these portable workstations going forward… that is so annoying I can’t put into words… also a big reason I love my ko2 and am not going to trade up…
You could also use a cheap field recorder by Zoom or others. Comes with its own batteries and is relatively small.
If you look on Amazon, this is an example of what I was taking about=
sptsswet, Replacement Microphone Compatible with GoPro DSLR Cameras Camcorder Audio Recorder Omnidirectional Microphone with Windscreen,3.5mm 3-Pole Black
Just a tiny mic that plugs in the audio in with no cords to mess with. They’re are different ones, this is just one of them.
Thank you. So it doesn’t require any additional power and it’s hot enough to get a good signal to a regular audio input jack?
I actually was considering this. It feels a little ridiculous to buy a second one while I already carry around my big h5 every day with my so.4 stereo Omni pencil mics
So I was looking for an affordable one that wasn’t garbage, the ones that fit in your pocket. But there are so many options and I have no idea where the quality differs in these. But yeah I think that is a good idea
More practical
If my phone still had an aux port, this wouldn’t even be an issue. I guess I could carry around my trs to lightning adapter? Might be a good compromise
The aux port dongle for your phone and koala app are a whole lot cheaper and less added carry than buying another field recorder…
yeah thats a good point. but i actually think the P-6 is smaller and lighter and easier.
i carry them both with me most of the time i have my gear, since they fit in most bags, so im covered. i just want a very low effort, very tiny thing…
which is the reason for this comment i made earlier:
so wait, how are you guys editing samples on the Bento? I though i just hadn’t fully explored it yet, but can we really not truncate and apply processing and whatnot? are you supposed to load a loop recording into the One shot track, then edit the length, then resample that to a loop track, then load that into a multisample track to play polyphonically?
i hope not, because thats insane
i like to use my samplers as like samplers, where you can record audio in, edit it, play it like a synth voice, filter, envelope, add effects, resample quickly and intuitively
I would have suggested p6 but really an aux dongle for the phone you already have in your pocket is actually just easier, which is basically what I discovered about the p6. Especially since bento also has granular, I think I’m gonna just sell the p6 at this point since it has no workflow or speed advantages for me.
yeah thats also a good point. i still really like the sampling workflow on the p-6. its actually much easier to edit samples and resample on there. the effects are better, the filter has a looping envelope that goes into audio rates, it has a built in mic, the granular is really good, and i love the mfx resonator and lofi settings.
it’s hard to justify letting go of it but yeah theres a lot of overlap
until they implement a better way to edit samples (even just start-end point) on the Bento, i might just be doing all my audio editing on there, and recording those sounds into the bento for arranging
anyone try the new FW yet? they have a feedback survey to fill in after you use it. gonna load it tonight.
Curious to hear what’s new and how stable the Bento has become over the last month.
Taken from 1010 Bento page:
“We are pleased to make a new beta available to you. This beta is part of our lead up to version 1.2. This version, 1.1.14, includes the following new features since 1.1:
Unquantized or off grid sequencing mode. From the SEQ screen, press the Sequence tab and switch Step Mode to Off.
Rename Loop Wave files. Look in the loop bank and dashboard.
Light up pads on the TRACKS, INST, and SEQ screens now show which notes are playing.
LAUNCH: New behavior: touching a pad also selects the sequence making editing and recording easier
SEQ: Smarter scrolling using the up/down arrow keys to adjust the visible range and the active pitch.
New behavior: Pressing the STOP button twice no longer disables all sequences and loops. Hold the STOP button for 1 second instead.
Lots of bug fixes.”
Probably the most important one 
. The rest sounds like a lot of quality of life improvements instead of fancy new features. This makes me slightly more optimistic that they‘ll make it a stable machine.
Off grid recording and being able to rename your samples in the box are very welcome too! Wondering why they changed stopping everything from a double tap to a long press of the stop button. Dunno how I feel about that one. Always liked the double tap on the elektrons it felt intuitive and I could time that well. Guessing a second long press doesn’t sound ideal for some reason but maybe I’m missing something that others are having issues with?
I’m not into the new stopping thing either, a second long is hardly a way to force a stop to actually happen on beat. however, a lot of the other features are in fact very nice. I haven’t had any real stability problems with it at any point but navigating the sequencer is much improved and the new mod source options are very promising (they added “MACRO” mod sources to granular machine and hopefully others soon). Sample preview is great but it’s annoyingly not there for patches yet. Would love to hear just a quick middle C or something from a given patch.
Keep at em for the kinds of QOL and feature improvements you want but they’re doing a good job imo of actually responding to different suggestions if they’re actively planned already or discussing the nitty gritty of the implementation and what their challenges are about deciding how to implement something. They also said a manual is coming with the target date August 1, which would be very welcome.
Damn it, I was hoping they’d never do it. Manuals in 2025 seem so backwards-thinking, if not plain reactionary 
they should revert back imho on this workflow, hitting stop twice on any sequencer is the universal way to do it… any type of (hold for x amount of time) should be for far less important applications. I’m very curious how they came to this conclusion in practice.
I’m pretty close to sending mine back.
As far as how I work with sampling, my Blackbox is
still outperforming the Bento.
Bento slows me up, but I can see how many would get along great with it though.
when it’s a single page pdf that just says “exploration is creativity” in large bold letters you’ll be feeling better about it.