1010music Blackbox

Me, too. Twice, so far.

1 Like

Yes, I would imagine it is. Though with care, Iā€™m thinking it wonā€™t get worse.

I am really thinking about purchasing an BB.

Could the BB be a good companion for my DT+DN+0Coast+Keystep-Setup? and how i could implement the BB in the best way?

I would like to have a portable solution which really make sense. i want to work at home with my main setup. But i am really often not at home, but also want to work on my projects. perhaps the BB is the right thing. but i dont want to work always back and forth.

so the question, can the BB the main source to keep all together?

1 Like

Probably not. Itā€™s deceptively deep despite (or because of) its slim set of features, but a project contains only sixteen samples and sixteen sequences. Your setup sounds like it demands more.

1 Like

i have now read the whole thread. i will keep this in mind and considering the pros and cons.

perhaps i can test one at musicstore. but very interesting little machine.

1 Like

Be great if they activated USB SD rw mode to save wear n tear on the card-ware
ā€¦ and allowed mounting an Octatrack /TE OP as a drive on the BB

3 Likes

I genuinely worry Iā€™m gonna break this thing every I have to put the USB in or take it out. Otherwise this thing is really nice and built well!

Using two hands and extra care, it can be done safely. Granted, thatā€™s a pain. I normally power on and off from a power strip, so I only have to unplug when taking the thing on the goā€“which is often enough. Also, Iā€™m getting some of those USB rocker switches.

Itā€™s worth a shot. Thanks.

After an unhealthy amount of gear tweaking, Iā€™m now committing to finishing a few with this rig.

17 Likes

Also wondering if you could use an external sequencer via USB midi in.

Whereā€™s the SL-MkIII?

I returned it. Had a longer rant on it in the SLMKIII-thread. Itā€™s a great keybed, but itā€™s not for me.

Yeah, I read your rant. It sounded like the keybed made it worth it for you.

Youā€™ve discussed your sequencer preferences, but are you going keyboardless with the Blackbox setup?

Yep. My keyboard usually leads to result that doesnā€™t work all that well within the music I make, anyway. My classical training gets in the way, so to speak.

I bring out a Keystep from time to time when I need to get more complex stuff sequenced, but recently, I tend to look at it the other way around - okay, so if I donā€™t have a keyboard, what kind of music will that lead to? And I try to embrace that as a possibility instead.

Iā€™m not saying Iā€™ve pulled it off :slight_smile: but Iā€™m trying, for now.

I have the modular rack in another location when I want to work in a different mode. No keyboards there, and also, no samples. Itā€™s extreme, and Iā€™m thinking the Blackbox will be the device to shuttle between the two modes and locations. The Octatrack is too inconvenient compared to the ultraportable BB.

1 Like

Thatā€™s exactly the way I see it too. Iā€™m still debating with myself if the Black Box is my new center, or if the Octatrack remains. Sure, in terms of features, they donā€™t compare. But somehow, I get more things done and move quicker when working with the Black Box. As much as I love getting lost in the p-locks and lfos of the Octatrack, Iā€™m still lost :slight_smile:

4 Likes

Interesting. Of course, Iā€™m scratching the surface as a relatively new OT user, but Iā€™ve been enjoying the ride so far. The flexibility and depth of the OT is one of the main reasons why I like it. Though, to your point, it is very easy to get lost. Most of my projects start out with one idea, but I often end up with something very different.

2 Likes

New firmware. BASIC GRANULAR.

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback. Based on your input we are pleased to make available our next beta release, version 1.2. Here is the list of whatā€™s new:

  • Simple granular synthesis. We built this enhancement in response to requests for loop crossfadingā€“it takes the idea much further. Look for a new option in the Sample/Clip/Slicer drop down menu. Granular mode works as an extension to sample mode. You can define the pitch, start, stop, length, loop mode, etc. You also get these parameters per voice:
    • Grain size: 1024 to 16384, which is about 10ms to about 200ms
    • Grain count: 2-8. Running 8 grains sounds cool but eats up the processor
    • Spread: The amount of randomization in grain position surrounding the playhead
    • Speed: How quickly the playhead advances through the waveform.
  • Copy and paste of PADS. From the PADS screen, turn the lower right knob to the right as you will see a new control panel.
  • Recording templates: Configure the pad mode, launch mode, envelope, and MIDI setupā€“before recording the sample
  • MIDI Keys channel. Hook a keyboard to the blackbox and it will play the active pad directly.
  • Knob control of the event step as well as pitch and duration in the SEQ editor.
  • MIDI output channel per pad
  • Control of the edit position in the text edit window. You can finally change the beginning of a file or preset name.
  • Pressing the grid button in the upper left corner of most control panels lets you switch PADS or SEQS directly without returning to the main screen
  • New navigation style for PADS. There are now only two main pages per pad: The Waveform and the Control Panel. The control panel has several sub pages directly accessible by a toolbar at the bottom

Bug fixes:

  • Saving or Trimming WAV files a few minutes in length would crash the box
  • Sometimes the knobs, particularly the upper right one, would jitter
  • Sometimes the thruing of MIDI controllers would alter the value slightly
  • On short envelopes, there was aliasing
4 Likes

Great stuff!

And itā€™s a Saturday :+1:

1 Like