1010music Blackbox

Nope. :smiley:

I’ve had one for a bit now and absolutely love it. Both for what it does, and especially for what it doesn’t do.

For all the complaining about the things it’s missing (no EQ, limited effects, no ability to turn off quantized MIDI recording, etc), what’s not always obvious unless you’ve used one is how well it implements the features it does have.

For example, the sheer ā€œset it and forget itā€ immediacy of the quantized recording function on the BB can’t be understated. Yes, you can this on an OT, the Roland MC-707 and yes, with a few extra clicks get it going on an MPC, but the sheer no-frills speed and ease of doing it on a BB almost makes it feel like another function entirely.

This makes it an ideal companion for quickly capturing perfectly-timed audio coming from synths or, in my case, guitars. Couple this with an easy outboard effects loop workflow, easy sample timing manipulation, stereo sampling, card streaming, etc. and you have yourself one hell of powerful system in a package that will fit on a crowded desk.

Your enjoyment will depend on your workflow of course. One man’s feature is another man’s distraction. Do you want a full blown DAW in a box and MIDI sequencer, with EQ and multiple effects and an XY pad and [insert laundry list of functions] then, yeah, an MPC is your best bet.

But if you want a small, streamlined companion that will let you sit there and quickly amass ideas without having to think too much about it this thing is a godsend.

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Hi. Quick question:

Is it possible to record midi into the sequencer?

Yes. Through the sequencer.

Yes. Both from a controller and from the pads. No automation, tho.

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I’m back! Ok so I have my 1010 Blackbox my mackie 8 channel mixer, Minibrute 2 & Microfreak and an electric guitar running through a HX Stomp. All of these devices are running through the Mackie mixer. I’m finally getting round to producing some tunes. I’m thinking I’d like to record them so which out the portable Zoom recorders would you recommend for this purpose?

Why not record your tunes on the Blackbox?

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I did think about that, Im fairly new to the Blackbox so I’m probably not using the BB to it’s full potential. So far I’ve just been sequencing drums and little guitar parts on the Blackbox, I’m basically jamming with the other instruments 2 x synths, guitars vocals etc through the mixer. Sometimes I can be jamming for an hour or so and would like to capture those moments instantly

The Blackbox is perfect for just catching your work in the moment. It’s like having a sixteen track tape recorder. Once you’re comfortable with it, it’s as easy as just hitting record and start jamming.

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Thanks @circuitghost wondering if you can help me? it it’s probably a bit of a vague question also. I’m looking for some recording tips for the BB I tend to jam for quite sometime what would you recommend setting wise in the BB? are the pads limited to a certain amount of time? Sorry I’ve not picked up the bb in a while so I’m slowly getting used to it again, any tips pointers greatly appreciated

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Not sure if this will help but this is my set up. I’ve got my instruments inc the BB, elect guitar, 2 x synths, vocals mic in each channel of the 8 channel mixer.

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Well, if sync isn’t an issue, then just pick a pad, play your input a few times and check the Blackbox gain staging to make sure you don’t clip into the red, and then just hit record. You wanna use the Custom setting for time, so that you decide for yourself when to start and stop your recording. That way, only the SD card would set the real limit.

However, if breaks come naturally for you, I would recommend to record your sessions in pieces over the pads. It’s a lot of data to process for the Blackbox if you record an hour in a stretch, for example, and if something goes wrong, that hour is lost.

Otherwise, it really is just a matter of making sure your input gain is good and then hit record and go.

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@circuitghost thank you for that!

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No problem, mate :blush:

wasn’t aware it wasn’t possible to record non-quantized, what was the reasoning behind not having that option?

No idea. I know 1010 Music was looking to change that, but honestly it’s not been an issue for me.
Besides, the quantizing only applies for MIDI data. Audio is recorded as, uhh, audio.

If it is a problem, with a pattern length of 128 steps you can change the resolution to get to an effectively higher note quantize so there are workarounds.

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hello, good peeps at 1010. I’m really loving the workflow with the blackbox. I’ve been really productive with it. so, a thousand thanks too you all for your fine work on it!! the form factor of great. & the overall ease of use is ideal for me–& I’m no einstein when it comes to new technology. the sample editing is fantastic!! sequencing in pads mode is really smooth & freeflowing…

sequencing in keys mode, however, is much more challenging. I can zoom in to help improve accuracy of step selection, etc… it’s a bit of a struggle there, but it’s manageable. but there’s no horizontal numbering on the keys mode grid so that I know what measure I’m on in the sequence. this, obviously, is especially challenging on longer sequences. this seems like an easy fix, so I’m hoping to bring this to your attention. thanks kindly for your time & consideration here.

-rocco

I’m a bit of a noob over here, so–if you have the time to go into it–I’d really love to hear you elaborate on how you setup this ā€œeasy outboard effects loop workflowā€ action… -thanks

I’m a recent BB owner here, really enjoying the immediacy of recording long jams. The slice mode is great too - more flexible than I’d expected. Other than being unable to set a specific number of bars to sample for, the only issue I have is with the clean process, which seems buggy. I foolishly used it on my first song to get rid if unused wavs. However It also deleted half the wavs allocated to pads and part of the song. So that was a bummer. I’ve tried explaining it on the user forum but they don’t seem to understand what I’m saying…
Bought instead of an MPC for the long file streaming. Works a treat. Almost like having 16 high quality Microgrannies.

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Have you seen the new release coming from 1010Music? The BlueBox!
You can ditch your mixer and not bother with a Zoom recorder :wink:

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