If only it could sample directly. Unless I’ve missed something.
If you’re talking about the Deluge, it can sample. Apparently, the converters are pretty good, according to the few who own one.
The one gripe I have with sampling on the Deluge, is that it isn’t automated in any way. No audio threshold, no equivalent to record trigs, so you’re left to trim samples by ear. Fine, when you’re working with one shots. Trickier, when you’re working with loops.
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Oh wow, you’re right. And it is battery powered!
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It seems to be da shit, doesn’t it?
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thats another reason I wanted it. BAttery powered means alot to me, especially at work trying to sneak in some production time.
I would have been all over the deluge if piano roll was my thing and if I heard more sounds I liked from it… also if it had more knobs, doesn’t seem as good at live interaction as a digitakt but you can write long ass sequences and if that is your jam deluge has got it in spades. Overall deluge comes across as the pro novation circuit to me which is great but over all the sounds I have heard from both it and the circuit sound a bit weak compared to a digitakt or an electribe. I think I just don’t like the filters on them… I have still yet to hear a sound out of either that made me go “woah” so to me deluge still seems like a sketch pad instrument. Maybe once more people get there hands on them we will see some sounds that really wow people or you could always send one through an analog heat or a MF drive and it would probably beef it up.
Ha - I was just thinking of returning my DT and getting the MPC Live while it’s 15% at GC. I’d buy the DT later when it was on sale.
I love the DT BTW
That is my one concern too and the primary reason I gave up on the Circuit.
What I hear, though, from Deluge demos is potential, an engine that just hasn’t found someone to uncover its sweet spots yet. I like the timbres. Just gotta find the nuances now.
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Yea similar to the digitakt being able to load in your own single cycle wavesforms as oscillators will surely net some good results to someone who puts in the time… Digitakt just instantly sounded good to me with its filter.
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Yeah, we can close this thread now because there’s an OT2 rumour and we’ll all be selling the awesome samplers we just bought 
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Looks like the octatrack mk2 just is better buttons/looks. But comparing digitakt and mpc live was always a silly thing to do 
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Co sign rytm and mpc live.
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Good topic but I don’t believe these devices are comparable. Yes, they’re both samplers and midi sequencers but the similarities end there.
Both are super fun. I just picked up the MPC Live and it’s super fun. I was jamming on the DT for the last few weeks and that was fun to. But their flows are way different. And the MPC Live is just under double the cost of the DT. You get what you pay for (more midi, more tracks, etc.)
I will say this. I’m a new believer in that touch screens are the future. The MPC Live is kind of cracking right now with the touch screen. I thought it would be gimmicky, but it’s rad. Very responsive.
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I agree, touchscreen really is another level in beat making. It was daunting at first for I am used to knobs, pads and sliders but once you get the hang of it, the workflow becames a breath of fresh air and very fast. No more working that jogwheel to place start and end points, just tap my finger on the screen of where I want the points on the waveform, its that instant.
I know iPad apps been out for a long while but just working on a touchscreen, especially banging out some drums on the poor screen, doesn’t get my productive juices flowing. Akai did it right, but I believe someone will do it better imo.
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Both for me, for a few reasons. DT because of plocks and cond trigs and live for everything else but the main reason is because Im ridiculously wealthy.
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So after owning both for a few months now here are some of my thoughts.
I have been an mpc enthusiast for over 20 years having owned the 2k, 2kxl, 1k (3 times), and 2500 (2 times). My initial hope was to use the live to replace my laptop and ableton. The digitakt was my first elektron box and looked as though it could replace my 1k for most duties.
So first the MPC Live. Im gonna this part out of the way… this box has no soul! That said it is a major upgrade from my previous MPCs. There a few things missing which will most likely be addressed in future updates… ( crossfade loops, full multitimbrality, arpeggiator etc) Some things I dont like are design choices which negate some of the performance possibilities of pre touch screen MPCs. I have had zero issues with bugs or crashing of any kind. Its a chop monster… easily the most efficient machine I have used for this… MANY options. Sadly, I think the touch screen kills it for me… It functions extremely well but Im feeling like it hinders me from really connecting with the machine… I doubt I will ever love creating with it. I DO love chopping with it, connectivity it offers and unlike other MPCs can perform so many functions with the sequencer running.
The digitakt despite not having a way to back it up cough cough step style automation, limited connectivity and routability it just keeps growing on me. Its got the old school charm that just vibes with me. Its sounds killer! I mostly do hip hop inspired beats… dilla, flylo, dibiase etc and this box despite its workflow being vastly different from what Ive been accustomed to it makes things happen the way I want to hear them and with very little effort. There is no need to chop anything! Just plock sample start points, or loop points or whatever… There defintely things I wish it had. Polyphonic playback of samples from the digitakt buttons, an arpeggiator, more filter options, and at least one more lfo per sample track.
Obviously they are both samplers so there is some overlap… The live definitely does more but lacks any sort of personality that I kind of expect from a hardware standalone device. Yes, I realize its a machine lol. I aint saying Im going to sell it but Im definitely on the fence. I have sold many a device that I believed had unique features that nothing else available could deliver.
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Sounds to me like you shoulda gotten the X instead of the live…?
Soul or not, I am loving mine. Finally there’s an MPC with relatively “modern” workflows, while still having that classic MPC ease of writing. No faffing with stops, bar lenght duplicates on the fly, proper round robin… Wanted these things from JJOS for years and now that we got em I aint looking back.
No question the tech of the legacy machines is dated. I have plenty of praise to throw at the live… I just don’t love it. It’s an ugly design that feels cheap and attracts more dust than any gear I’ve ever owned, and that said, it’s the giant screen that’s going to kill it for me in the end. Even though the x would give me an experience more akin to legacy it has a friggin television for a screen!
time will tell.
fair enough. I’m so used to using an iPad for all my daily routines that the touch-screen is ok for me, but I can understand the dissatisfaction.
Piano roll editing OTOH used to be ridiculous on the older MPCs tho! I’d say that is where the touchscreen shines the most - even chopping was doable enough with the jogs and keycombos to a usable degree…
I have touch screens, too many in fact. I may have to kill my phone and iPad for the live to live lol.
Excellent point about the piano roll… transposing = select > jog!
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