Absolutely, creative sequencing isn’t really in the Blackbox’s wheelhouse - in that respect I’d probably prefer to record a long, synced sample into the BB with a Digitakt (or similar) sequence driving it. Capture all the trig condition / p-lock / ctrl-all goodness in one sweep and then slice and arrange it on the BB.
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I have to agree somewhat. Blackbox can handle song resolution down to the step, of course, and very fine steps at that if you wish… but I don’t prefer to do very fine sequencing on it. The touchscreen alone is a bit fiddly when step sequencing and I especially don’t much like the piano roll view. I am always wishing for more automation, modulation, and so on as well. But when it comes to arranging/sequencing/triggering clips and parts, BB is refreshingly freeform which I love.
My workflow tends to be sampling chords, progressions, arps, and whole bars into the device and then messing with those as chunks, stretching them, filtering them, etc. This is where the light approach to sequencing, with basic probability and velocity options, is okay. I tend to see it like a “palette” in some ways. If my colors have been chosen and squeezed from their tubes and placed on the board… the BB really lets you paint with them then in a natural way IMO.
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Recording OT/DN and only needing a BB+AH to jam out is very handy. I support this workflow quite a bit.
You can do creative sequencing but nothing like Elektron boxes can.
BB is just a really nice machine. Sound quality is top.
I do use the MIDI OUT (to DN) from BB and record MIDI from the USB for my Keystep.
The keys grid is fantastic (on the BB) and is something that I wish all samplers had.
I leave it on 24/7 btw, no problems (for anyone wondering).
By ‘creative sequencing’ I mean the kind of pattern variations that Elektron stuff specialises in - trig conditions, neighbours, p-locks, LFO influences and all the rest. I agree the BB can support complex arrangements, but it requires effort compared to turning a 16-step Digitakt sequence into an evolving piece. So they make a nice duo in that respect. Of course the BB offers sequencing features that are beyond the Digitakt’s reach, too, like true polyphonic patterns…
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Ive just received my Black Box and Ive been thinking about making multi samples of some of my devices (big Roland Digital Piano , pulsar 23, Modular etc.)
I was wondering If i would to set up a gumroad shop and sell some multi sample packs for a small cost, would anyone be interested in purchasing?
And further more:
How many notes over an octave?
How many octaves?
How many velocity layers would people be interested in?
For my personal use I would probably just need two/three notes per octave and maybe 3/4 velocity layers. But I don’t know what other users may look for in multi samples…
I’m also guessing these would be applicable for use on Deluge and Mpc Live as well? Or do they use other ways of cataloging the samples?
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Interested to know more. I know it’s only 3 melodic/polyphonic tracks but aside from that ?
(Sorry if OT for this thread, happy for mods to move it somewhere more appropriate)
Nothing wrong with the feature set (well… for my use case at least). Nothing wrong with the hardware either… it’s well built. But (and that’s a big “but”), when I had one the software was barely usable. Two main problems:
- the lack of contrast between activated steps and deactivated steps makes the grid almost impossible to read
- the damn thing can’t even stay in sync when switching patterns
Of course, everything could be fixed in an update. But we all know Korg too well to wait.
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So I got the black box this week… my intention has been to add longer samples such as long vocal takes to my music… and after the confusion settled I must say l, it kinda feels like cheating…
Here’s a jam just to try out my intended workflow, OP-Z on the synths and blackbox on the vocals… using the granular engine to pitch up the vocals for some chipmunk action… the sampling could have been better, but I see this more as a proof of concept of anything…
This feels like a keeper…
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Hi there,
I’ve been researching a few recording options in the past months, including handheld recorders, mixers with inbuilt recorders and portastudios. However, these options seem to offer too much or too little for what I am looking for. Now the more I read about it, the more it seems that the BB comes closest to how I picture my workflow.
One thing that concerns me though is the audio quality. I would most likely use it to record an FM and/or wavetable synthesizer and I would like the recording to reproduce the tone faithfully. What is your experience of recording these kind of sounds? Does the BB affect the sound in any way, for better or for worse?
By the way, before I found out that BB could record very long high quality samples I was thinking of buying a Bluebox instead. I wouldn’t do it now, having found out that there is no way to navigate back and forth within your recording and there are no sequencing options. Is the sound quality the same on both devices?
Thanks for any insight!
Sound is loud (as in eurorack-level loud) and clear.
Is the sound quality the same on both devices?
I have both, yes it’s the same. Transparent to the point where you can swap a source to its stem without noticing the difference.
Does the BB affect the sound in any way, for better or for worse?
The only time I ever notice an unfaithful representation is if my BPM is off and the Blackbox instinctively tries to stretch out the recorded clip. I would say that as a general rule, I fully trust my Blackbox to be accurate. In fact, the BB always surprises me with the sheer number of samples and clips it can play back in terrifically high quality.
It records clean, crisp and with top quality. Only the Toraiz does it better, but that sucker is a behemoth and only records for one minute. So not really an option.
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Would you say that the sound quality is equivalent to what you would get recording with a Tascam DR or Zoom H portable recorder?
Anybody else’s BB screen getting a little loose? I can wiggle it a little on the left side and now it’s sitting in there just the tiniest bit crooked (can see wider black bezel on right bottom side of screen, tapering to the left just barely)
Not mine, but I think I have seen some people on the 1010 forums open up and reset the screen.
I cannot compare to either of those recorders, but I can assure you that if sound quality is your concern you should not worry about BB. It’s fantastic.
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Nice I’ll be looking over there then, cheers!
I have a line of dead pixels but screen seat is okay still…
Thanks for your answers!
well-known problem with the screen mounting. (see Poorly fitted display - 1010music Forum )
I fixed it with the 3d printed piece of plastic:
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