So, I started my journey into hardware a year ago and acquired no less than 10 synths (including Pro 3, Rev 08, Nord Rack 2x, Grandmother, Peak, Hydrasynth and more) and also Elektron gear - DT, DN, ST, OT, plus a few others like MC-707, Sp-404 mk2, Oxi One and Strymon effect pedals. It’s a very fun environment to work in, but it doesn’t get me any closer to finishing tracks.
I hate doing stuff on the computer and I found out that most of the time I prefer sitting on the couch with a device or two and thus the idea of the groovebox appealed very much to me. I had the most fun with Syntakt and MC-707 in this regard, but I always find myself with a bunch of good patterns and generally I am too lazy to fire the laptop and record and arrange into it.
Still, I am chasing the idea of a groovebox that will put me closer to finishing tracks with emphasis on arrangement. I have Ableton and in general I prefer the timeline arrangement view, but the implementation in the devices I have is very generic or clip-based and it’s very time consuming to work on breaks, transitions, fills, etc.
The styles I prefer are deep house, ambient, some techno, experimental quirky stuff…
I tried MPC one, learnt it, but ultimately didn’t like the sound and that it tries to be a real DAW in a box. I am looking into Maschine +, Akai Force, Push 3, but really I don’t want to spend more money experimenting with new devices and I already started selling some of my gear.
So, my question is - what is the single device that you can finish full tracks on?
A computer.
Based on the fact you know Ableton, Push 3 Standalone sounds like a good choice. There’s a long thread on here with lots of info.
Based on the fact you enjoy Elektron boxes, Octatrack. The Arranger in there is pretty good. Some people don’t like the FX, feel that it is outdated
Digitakt
Maschine for me. I use it with computer, but do everything on the hardware. So Maschine + would totally work for me
Probably you are not in a mood or have the energy to finish track this last year.
And that’s fine if you have fun writing pattern.
But moving from a great looking painting to a movie is work. And sometime not fun work. I do way more pattern than song
There is device which make things a bit easier to finish a track on a single device, but for me, most of the time it us using two at the same time.
MPC + keyboard work fine for me.
DN + keyboard + AR works fine also for me.
Currently AFAIK the only 2 hardware grooveboxes that have linear arrangement are the Force and the Deluge. (Happy to be corrected though)
If you are determined to only use 1 then I’d say the Force offers more in terms of fx, eq etc. But you might not like the workflow of either of these.
I think the best approach is find a sequencer whose workflow allows the kind of arrangement and sequencing you want, then add any other requirements around that, rather than being determined to do it all within 1 box.
Maschine
Maybe Syntakt & MC-707 and a portable recorder as a solution?
Or record into the SP-404 instead of the computer.
The 707 is definitely interesting because of this clip view.
It allow to easily of this row could follow this next row.
But without an external midi keyboard I find it difficult to use.
I guess the Akai Force as suggested by @darenager might be valuable also for this kind of abbleton like workflow. Never use it, but quite sure it might be good !
The issue for me of using one and only one box, is being able to figure out if variations from this part of the song to this part will feel good and what does not work.
Too much change of sound between pattern, and clip allow to put some grease to solve that delicate situation.
I find that it is good to record a very long jam with a lot of variations. Then one could rearrange, cut it up in a DAW later.
For me, the Octatrack is the best if I had to choose only one machine for full tracks. Live arranging in that thing is very fun.
But I like very slow minimal arrangements. No sudden key changes or something, so it all depends.
Maybe I misunderstood the question, but ST, DT and DN all have song mode (and it is much faster to use than Octatrack’s Arranger) and Midi Tracks, pattern change can be synced, so you should have everything you need 
That is a lot of gear for your first year.
I would suggest that you’re likely so overwhelmed with the sheer amount of options you have at your disposal, some kind of options paralysis is kicking in and having a knock on effect.
Another groovebox, synth, sampler, outboard effect rack, is not going to help you finish a song.
What will help you, is discipline, focus, and time management - the three biggest enemies of creation.
So maybe changing your approach will help you finish songs, and save you buying more gear, and getting yourself caught up in a loop of purchasing gear to finish songs, that aren’t ever getting finished.
Maybe brake your time up into chunks:
Set some time for creation - focus solely on making some nice sounds, getting some melodies, grooves, whatever components you need.
Set some time for arranging, putting the blocks together, choosing the right parts for your track etc
Set some time for neatening up what you’ve put together in the previous session, making the collection of arranged pieces, into some kind of cohesive draft.
Set time to finish. If you’ve found a way to break up the process like above, you’ll find there’s no longer no finished songs, but a collection of tracks that need the finishing touches. You may have tons of these in this state, but that’s a whole universe away from where you were (are currently).
Or just use your computer as already suggested 🤷
I agree with @Jeanne. Song mode on the digis is great and imo better than OT arranger. I wouldn’t be too strict on avoiding a DAW though. Imo you can come up with tracks pretty fast on Elektrons, but finishing them without a DAW at all makes life unnecessarily complicated and might explain your barrier of finishing things, because everything takes longer and it’s a lot easier to mess things up. You have also bought a lot of gear in a short period of time, so coming up with the basics on a groovebox and maybe later let e.g. a DN track be played by an analog synth (using DN sequencer) might be easier than trying to come up with all elements on 10 different instruments.
So here’s my way of mostly composing and recording on hardware, but bringing in Ableton where things just get too complex/frustrating when only using a groovebox. I’m still struggling with this, but the following method has helped me getting things done.
I try to come up with the core foundations of a track on DN or ST. Then I record a jam where I manually mute/unmute tracks and switch patterns, twist some knobs. Maybe do that i several runs where I focus on only a specific track or box. I then listen back to that a lot and see what works or not. Next I program that progression in song mode or I try different arrangements with the recorded audio in Ableton and then program that improved arrangement in song mode. Then I record each track individually while playing with knobs or sending audio to effects pedals. I can then refine that in Ableton with EQ etc. and also do things like fading in/out, muting and panning in Ableton. Finally, when the track arrangement feels ready, I export eight stems for different elements and throw them into OT static one shot tracks. Then I set up some scenes and record each of these tracks into Ableton (one at a time) while making use of scenes. There might be things like noise etc. that I can remove in Ableton, but the track should be done by then.
Pioneer Toraiz SP-16.
16 patterns per bank, and 16 scenes per pattern, each scene has a different set of samples. Jumping between patterns and banks is so much fun. The stereo sample support, sample chain support, analogue filters and (basic but workmanlike) effects along with the p-locks and easy (live) resampling make it a bit of a monster.
Elektrons are wonderful things but I can never finish tracks on them. I use them to come up with organic loops and layers, as idea-machines, fonts of inspiration.
I’ve had a Circuit Tracks and a Model Cycles and have and enjoy a MC-707. but the only device other than a PC I’ve finished tracks on is the Polyend Tracker and that’s only with dumping stems into Bitwig and spending an extra couple of hours finishing them off in the DAW.
I think the Force is probably the closest thing, but to me it just looks like hardware Ableton so at that point…
Can’t point to specifics. Like with most things, digi song mode was just more straightforward, easy to understand and reliable. OT arranger has some quirks when it comes to muting/unmuting that I don’t remember that aren’t there on the digis. Since I compose/arrange all main elements on digis before throwing them into OT, I was glad I don’t have to learn OT arranger and can use digis for that. I’m sure OT arranger is fine, since digi song mode is based on it and both are more powerful than analog song mode. But I agree with Jeanne that arranger wouldn’t be my argument for getting OT if you have digis and are worried about arranging.
Just to elaborate a bit on my preferences:
- Octatrack - I wanted so much to like this thing, but the workflow quirks and the outdated effects made me always jump to one of the Digis, where things are more straightforward. I was thinking to sell it, but something inside tells me that one day I will get used to it.
- DT/DN/ST - excellent machines and DT is what got me into hardware, so I will never get rid of it. Any combination of the two boxes is really inspiring to propel the whole track and I am getting very close to this, but I am using them as the brains for my synth setup and actually I’ve recorded an ambient album with this setup into my Tascam Model 12, which I quite like. However for the couch jamming thing I prefer one device that has it all - synth engines, powerful sequencer, simple workflow, good fx…
- MC-707 - I really like the classic Roland sounds packed into it and tbh it is the thing that is the closest to my desires of finishing a track on one device, but if only it was tweakable the way the Elektrons are, it would be the perfect choice. However, the synth engine is not really inviting to craft your own sounds and the limited options of messing with the drums really upsets my creativity.
- SP-404 mk2 - I was just curious about it, but the workflow is so awkward for my taste, that it outweighed the good things.
- MPC One - I got through the whole 400-page manual and was really hooked at first, but I felt exactly like I was doing the chores in my DAW, trying to get the perfect mix and in the end the internal synths were just not good enough for my taste plus the arrangement in the MPC style was not suited to my favorite genres.
Regarding the alternatives (based on the information I have so far):
- Maschine + - I like the sound of NI vst’s and I feel like I will be at home with it, but the fact that it doesn’t evolve to the standard of the current devices in the category makes me hesitant about it. Not sure if the arranger is a step above Elektrons.
- Push 3 - I am tempted by this one, but the price really puts it into another category, so I have to sell a bunch of stuff and actually I already started. I think I will like the workflow as I am very familiar with Ableton synths and fx, but read that the arranger is only for those that are used to Session view.
- Akai Force - I found a very good deal for it, around the same price as Maschine+. My fear is that it will be very similar to MPC workflow and I need to sample my synths in order to get better sounds for my tracks.
- Deluge - haven’t really considered it as an option, but I will look into it.
Not a groovebox but in my limited time of owning a Cirklon V1 (ditched it as nearly top of the V2 list) I enjoyed how you could structure songs etc and name each song part picking and choosing what hardware or softsynths. You could simply play the Elektron patterns in an organised manner or sequence them from the Cirklon or a mix of both