I was having similar debates and ended up going with an iPad+ Nano studio. I’d rather hardware but I couldn’t find anything that fitted the bill
Deluge?
It’s the ultimate sketchpad imo, incredibly fast to write on.
Better to track the MIDI out though, the sounds may be a bit weak for a finished track.
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OP-Z op-z
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The MPC Live ticks all your boxes.
I also think an Electribe would be an excellent choice. You can’t let the arp implementation deter you. Seriously, if you hate using the touchpad, just latch it and forget it.
Anyway, that’s all I got… Good luck.
Cheers!
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Oxi One (bluetooth wireless for sketching with ipad) absolutely pisses on every suggestion on here regarding scales, chords, arps etc…And is perfect for taking that data into synths later on.
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I guess it’s settled then lol
Even though it’s an inanimate object that doesn’t urinate on other inanimate objects, I’m pretty sure I’m going with the 101. I just need a simple box to quickly sketch uncomplicated melodic parts that make up the foundation of a track (essentially a synth + looper workflow), then bring them into Renoise for arranging, including any fancy slicing/sequencing tricks that needs to be done.
Definitely keeping an eye on the Seqtrak to see how it progresses.
Quick question about the 101-- can each clip have its own instruments, or are you limited to the same four instruments for the whole project?
Thanks again for all the shouts!
I would ask myself these questions:
How do I want to input the melodies?
For instance its very different playing stuff in on an MC101, a Circuit, or a Deluge.
How much editing of those melodies after they’re recorded?
Microtiming? Feel? Quantize?
Far easier to edit/correct stuff with a grid sequencer.
The Oxi looks good but doesn’t make any sound so not usable as a single-box sketchpad.
I don’t want to put you off but I wouldn’t want to sketch stuff on the MC101 (I own both Deluge and the MC101). It’s just too fiddly!
And thats the point imo… when sketching a song, workflow is king. You might need to get hands-on time with some options before you commit.
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I’m a bit surpised that it took so long for the Circuit to get mentioned. For me it’s pretty much the definition of a sketch pad. The sequencer is not particularly deep, but it is extreeeemely immediate. But it’s probably too few synth tracks for the OP. And the synth controls with the 8 macro knobs are somewhat of an acquired taste (to say the least), for proper sound design one really needs to use a companion app on the computer. But still, as a sketch pad it is a strong choice, imho.
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I have owned two Deluges and i really struggled with them. Like you leave the thing for a week and return scratching your head with all the combos. Ive never had a device which crashed so many times - yeah using just the internal sounds its ok but with samples - crashes. The grid is its biggest draw but makes a very expensive midi controller. Guess thats what progressed me onto something like the Oxi One.
I’ll second this.
The Roland workflow is always a kludge, especially on their smaller boxes.
Cheers!
Thanks for that. I’ve watched a bunch of videos and had a quick look through the manual and it seems easy enough… is it not like that in practice though?
As previously mentioned, I’m more or less going for a synth + looper workflow–
One track for a drum kit to make a basic beat (I use Renoise for the final drum sequencing). Choose my bass, lead, and chord instruments for the other three tracks. Choose the scale, adjust portamento and arps. Hit play, drum loop begins. Play chords on track two. Bass on track three. Lead on track four. Change clips and do the same thing with variations. Repeat on as many clips as needed.
Most of the time everything will be played-in live and unquantized.
Will that be cumbersome?
I used to own a Deluge. It rocks. But it’s waaaay more than I need right now.
That’s how I use my Roland mv-1. There is no deep synth editing, unless you get the zenology vst. However with thousands of presets, you will find some nice sounds.
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Nice. Same. Not looking for sound design functionality. Solid and varied instruments/presets is what I need. All the sound design will happen when I play back the individual patterns through outboard fx recorded directly into Renoise, where I then essentially remix the foundation of the track.
The Circuit is great but the OP wants to play chords. You can’t play chords on the Circuit.
Edit:
I am referring to the Circuit Rhythm
Yes.
I don’t find it fiddly at all. It has a great arp and chord mode and you can also create chords. The sequencer is fun and easy to use and there are different ways to enter notes.
I guess it’s a matter of preference but the MC-101 is a very capable machine.
I recommend that anyone interested in one should try to get some hands-on experience with one. I like it and think it’s great.
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i also love mine, thanks for coming in with the correct info. gotta dig deeper myself!
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It’s fiddly as shit (for me), perhaps because I do most of my sequencing on Deluge or Hapax. It’s all relative of course.
For me it depends on how precise you want your music to be. It’s very easy to edit on a large grid compared to a small row of pads.
Even then workflow varies. For instance, its far quicker to write on the Deluge than the Hapax. Because you have an encoder for left-right scroll, and same encoder pressed then controls zoom in-out, its insanely fast to navigate and place/move notes around.
I would say it really depends how precise you want to get.
For me the MC101 has one of the worst flows of anything I’ve used. On the other hand, they’re not expensive, so could find out yourself and either keep it as a sound-module or sell it on! (I kept mine for sounds).
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Yeah, it has a TON of sounds.
Sure you can, each of the synth parts (on the OG/Tracks) has 6-voice polyphony.
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I was referring to the Rhythm.