Hey guys and girls, what are the bentos sample editing capabilities? Is there a video out showing how to mangle samples? I’m on the fence about buying one and this is what’s holding me back, I haven’t heard much talk about this at all
I’ve been tempted by a lemondrop and fireball for a while now. Would a bento be a better purchase as it has both those plus an ability to play them.
They are fully featured with same options as the originals aren’t they?
Thanks
Eyeing one in the past and would prefer to wait till Superbooth 2026 when the team said they will give a major update.
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It depends very much on the track type. There is a One Shot track which is basically like a drum machine, a Multisample track, a Slicer track, a Looper track, a Wavetable track and a Granular track. All these work with samples but treat them very differently. The granular engine is very good, actually one of the best out there and the most experimental side of Bento and its sample mangling capabilities.
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I received my Bento today. Tested it for two hours. Um… What to say…
When I turned it on, the machine made a horrible noise through the headphones. Like a crazy radio changing frequencies erratically or a bad granulator. I launched the sequencer on a factory project and the noise stopped. I stopped the sequencer and the noise returned. I checked that a pad wasn’t stuck, but nothing. So I decided to do an update from the included SD card (so an update from 1.1 to 1.1) and it worked, much to my surprise. No more grating sound! I repaired the machine myself.
I then started installing the latest update (1.4.7) to quickly explore the integrated Fireball synth. Everything went smoothly, but in use, I discovered other problems:
- Tracks mute for no reason when I manipulate other tracks on the instruments page. I have to regularly return to the mix page to unmute them.
- On a drum kit track, some pads stop working in the middle of the pattern (from 9/16 to 16/16) when the sequencer is launched. This is reproducible. I checked that it wasn’t due to choke groups, but it’s unrelated.
- The note on Pad 12 is sometimes higher than on Pad 13.
- On a loop track, raising the pitch on a recorded loop creates a perfectly perceptible time shift of a few tenths of a second.
I found the UI quite intuitive, even if it has a few quirks (like the headphone volume control, which I searched for, or the inability to test effect settings by pressing the pads since the settings are on the mix page and the pads are then assigned to mutes).
I found the FX to be of very good, especially the reverbs.
The few multi-sampled instruments are very nice.
But I wasn’t familiar with the Fireball synth, which I find harsh and cold.
The filters are ugly (they remind me of those on my old MPC One).
The sequencer is prehistoric.
I’d really like to give this product and 1010music a chance, but I find them very worrying when I see the condition my brand new Bento arrived in and the remaining bugs (and I’ve only tested it for two hours). It’s sad. But for the price, I can’t afford to leave this machine on a shelf waiting for significant improvements. The few existing effects are good, and the multi-sampling is full of promise. But that can’t compensate my concerns about the machine’s stability. I have a feeling that 1010music has a mountain to climb. I wish them the best of luck from the bottom of my heart.
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Thanx for the heads up.Any thoughts on your next machine?No MPC then?
I don’t know. Mobility is important for me as I don’t have a desk for my gears.
I already have a Move which is really really great but I miss a multisampling machine for the kind of music I make. That’s why the Bento was the perfect machine on paper.
I will maybe try to get a 2nd hand Tangerine to get this multisampling. I don’t know if the Move is able to power it with its USB (the Move power up my Launchkey 37 mk4 or my Launchpad Pro without any problem).
Sounds pretty much like my experience with it shortly after it launched. I still find it hard to tell whether the Bento is a completely different machine now, but what you’re decribing sounds like it’s still quite unreliable and buggy to the point of potentially destroying your ears.
I also find this sad because I love the concept and loved the form factor. But your post is a good reminder to just stay away from that device.
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I think 1010music wanted to make the perfect (really) portable groovebox. The idea is great and I think that many of us wait for this.
But it’s still a dream.
I don’t know if 1010 will be able to achieve their idea. I hope so but i’m afraid then maybe made wrong choices at the beginning (the touchscreen, undersized processor, poor SD interface design) and put themselves in a tricky situation where they have to climb a mountain and get very bad reputation in the mean time.
For now and for me nothing can beat the Ableton Move in my set despite many missing functions compared to Bento, on paper.
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I too wanted to love the Bento but ended up letting it go pretty quickly.
The MPC Sample will let you make multi-samples via a web application. (Other wise you could look for a used Live 2 for a good price)
I wanted a small sample player - with a screen - for live clips launching in a performance and have been going between the OG Blackbox or the Bento. Looks like the Bento is still plagued with a lot of bugs since its launch.
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My Bento returned to Thomann’s shop so I don’t have it anymore.
But I read from Steve that he will issue a major update during Superbooth. Any information ?
Well they’ve just released a Blackbox 2.
I’m sure people with super buggy Bentos are not super stoked.
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I think debugging remains an ongoing matter, but as a Bento owner, I’m happy they’ve introduced audio over usb - 6 in, 2 out. I’ve only had a little trial run on the beta, but it seems to be running smoothly.
1.5 is in beta and can be downloaded in Discord
I haven’t been following the Blackbox, but it looks like a Bento at first glance. Are there any substantial differences between the two? Or does this more or less replace the Bento which we can expect to be abandoned?
Should we expect the BB2 to be just as buggy as Bento? Or did they take their time and release it in a better state?
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Loopop’s review of the Blackbox 2 answers some of those questions
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It does sound like it’s more a Bento mini than a BB mk2
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All good and valid questions. Not trying to dump on the team, but the Discord is a mix of 1010 loyalists who think the team is beyond criticism and a select few who are careful about how to respond to the news of the new BB2 launch.
I can’t see how releasing a new product, when your flagship is nowhere near a state of completion will magically lead to better udpates for the Bento. Even if, as they say, they share platforms and allow for development in parallel. I’m holding out hope, but so far there’s not much to look forward to. It’s a shame, but the light at the end of the tunnel is a faint flicker right now lol
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