Had a quick go and this thing is really opening up with the FW updates. The granular sounds nice enough. Now I wish they would bring CPU load visible to help avoid glitches.
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would love to be able to externally sequence all the sample parameters!
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Yeah, this is my biggest wish in addition to a robust firmware. Makes sense, because the entire thing is very much a great fit for external sequencing
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They should introduce an optional ExtSeq firmware that removes the sequencer and song mode and beefs up everything else given the freed up cpu.
Still like the onboardelementary sequencer but bb works so well with an OT/DT/MNM etc
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Great update. Iām cancelling my daughterās birthday. Iām sure sheāll understand as the years heal the wounds.
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This update could be the final push to buy one. I would love to hear a demo of the granular synthesis.
I messaged aaron on the blackbox forum about the cc parameters, I never got an answer about it. I have been able to use pitch but nothing else
Any advice? The manual is barebones about that part
Ya more cc would be one of my requests.
An XML File on the sd card to map any function to any midi cc or note please!
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Iād go for more internal modulation before CC, but Iāll take either if itās offered 
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I use an external sequencer that does modulate params so it would be cool. But ya internal modulation would be cool, maybe dedicate a sequence of the sixteen available just for modulation of parameters
Well holy shit.
Maybe Iām easily impressed because I have so little experience with granular, but I love all the tonal qualities possible with grain size and count. Itās great that it automatically plays through the sample at the speed you set (independent of pitch), and obeys your loop mode/markers. And the spread is a nice way to add even more interesting variation.
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Damn now this box becomes even more appealing. Oh myā¦ Christmas may be early this year haha
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Fwiw I was planning on returning mine till this last update. Nothing wrong with it, itās awesome. But this update made it so much better. I didnāt even have a big hankering for granular but now that itās there, itās super fun!!
And the fact that they really are steady with updates makes this promising to hang onto. Highly recommend!
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Should anyone use the Blackbox instead of Digitakt for live performance?
My requirements are to have songs saved an play efects live, sending some long sounds also.
I would play it with an Arturia BSP.
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Might be a pretty strong combo. The Black Box can play (very) long stereo files. I usually record longer takes with it myself, for example a bassline from the Tempest which goes on for maybe 32 or 64 bars, adding small variations with modulation and live playing all the time to make that loop not really a loop, but just a very long take of a sequence thatās harmonically looping but constantly moving in texture, not because of randoms or LFOs but because of live playing.
Since it launches those recordings both as clips or sequenced from the sequencer, and both clips and sequences can be triggered in sync from external devices, the BSP can be a powerful companion to the Black Box in this regard.
Where you might run into limitations, is the sixteen sample slot part. As cool as it is, you only got sixteen samples accessible at one point per project. You need to load a new project to get new ones, and syncās not tight between projects.
You can get around this with slicing, which offers a few variations on how to both slice and then play those slices. But it is what it is, and perhaps one of the major things to consider if youād bring the Black Box for more extensive sets.
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I wonder if thatās something they can work on improving with an update. 16 is fine and a ton of fun, but 24-32 would be ideal.
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As an iPad owner, I donāt get the appeal of this. Yeah a few knobs and buttons but my iPad with music apps just seems so much better and more versatile.
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