Hardware midi sequencer/looper without steps

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

These days I find myself drawn to Ableton Live when noodling with my synths, and using the Digitakt a little less. I nevertheless dislike making music on a computer each year a bit more so I’m looking for an hardware midi looper.

What I would need in a MIDI looper:

  • Tempo + metronome (eventually with click on a separated output)
  • Ability to plug an external keyboard (Arturia Keystep)
  • Recording midi inputs and quantizing inputs (on the fly or afterwards)
  • Clip system (like Ableton) / Patterns (like Maschine / FL), on several tracks/scenes

I have had the Maschine MK2, was never fond of the process. Never tried the standalone one. Never tried an MPC. Never tried the Squarp Pyramid and such.

What’s your favorite Hardware MIDI sequencer/looper and why?

#2

This? Don’t own it but looks nice:

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#3

Much more basic, but also maybe more immediate, there’s the Bastl MIDI Looper. I’ve been using it for a couple af months and, for me, it strikes a good balance between ease of use and functionality:

  • different loop lengths
  • MIDI notes and CC
  • stretch
  • transpose (just by octaves, though)
  • several quantize resolutions
  • velocity humanize function
  • shuffle
  • overdub or overwrite

It’s also relatively cheap. However, it’s limited to 3 MIDI channels.

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#4

If the clip architecture of Ableton Live is important to you - which I can understand - and you consider an iPad is not a computer - I consider it is, somehow - ModStep used to tick all my boxes and does everything you mention and more. It’s basically Ableton Live on iPad for MIDI (there are also audio options I’ve never delved into)

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#5

Thanks for your answers! I was expecting MPC-type answers, but the LOOPA is actually quite an impressive option! The BASTL is nice too, even if limited to 3 MIDI channels and the transposition only goes full octaves.

At 650€ built, the LOOPA is almost as expensive as an MPC One, but the workflow seems really nice.

Edit: I’m trying MPC2.9 software right now and it seems there’s no notion of midi looping? I found the track mode for midi and was able to record 3 overlaying instruments but can’t seem to find a “clip” or “scene” view… :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Edit2: Reading articles, it seems the Akai machine that has the ability to loop live midi clips the way Ableton does it is the Force, and costs a bit more! Makes the Midiphy and Bastl machines really shine at their price points.

#6

Squarp Pyramid is well worth checking out if you are interested in having tracks with different lengths, it has a certain workflow that once clicks is very fast to use, it does not have a built in metronome beep but can send a midi metronome to say a rim shot on a connected device, or you can use the ENV out connected to a piezo buzzer.

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#7

Just watched this : Squarp Pyramid Comprehensive Sequencer Tutorial - YouTube

The amount of work this guy puts in his vids always baffles me. Anyway it looks great but maybe a bit too complex, oriented towards full fledged sequences more than live looping (which it does too, but with a great deal of obscure shortcuts).

In that regard the menu that shows what each function does on the LOOPA looks really nice. Much less depth but also probably more suited to my usage.

Nice suggestion nonetheless.

@Omar Modstep is a good suggestion too, but a bit too computerish indeed.

#8

With 100K+ subscribers I guess he must find it worth his while.

#9

Yeah, that was my impression as well. I work full time in front of a computer so I’m like cringing from screens nowadays. This being said, it offered everything I needed as a MIDI looper for very little money (well, I already had an iPad)

Bastl MIDI Looper performs almost as well and does not cost too much either. The only thing it doesn’t do is transposing on a defined scale (but my MonoMachine can take care of that). What I like about it is its simplicity. This comes at the cost of less functionality but that’s OK with me.

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#10

With 100K+ subscribers I guess he must find it worth his while.

He most certainly does, but still!

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#11

Loopop rules :love_you_gesture:

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#12

So, one month later, I got a Loopa. It’s really, really impressive. It compliments a Digitakt (or any other sequencer) really well. At that price point it’s an amazing option and the build is really neat (plus it should be quite easy to repair, should it fail).

There are some limitations (most notably 6 tracks of only 6 clips each), but it’s perfect in a live context. Plus with a Digitakt on its side I’ve got some more midi capabilities and sampling options, so I can use the Loopa for the long improvisations, and the Digitakt for more pattern-ish stuff + the sampling.

Thanks again for the nice suggestion! I’m having a great deal of fun with this machine.

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#13

what did you get exactly?

#14

The Loopa, with the same case demonstrated in Loopop’s vid. I had it build by one of the techs that are mentionned on the Midiphy website. With the build and not accounting the delivery, it cost 650€. If you have the required tools and skills, build it yourself costs a bit less : 250€ for the main module and about 100€ for the bill of materials, and 50€ for a plastic case.

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#15

Be interested to hear what you think of it once you’re fully settled with it (maybe a months time or something ?) … in particular how it affects your workflow compared to a ‘step’ sequencer.

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