That’s an amazing piece of functionality! Although I did know about routing the MIDI back into itself, I didn’t know you could do that with the LFOs!
Each midi track had an LFO! Also, the DT used to crash on double STOP (which cuts tails) but that has been fixed, so no issues midi out to in. Also, since I know you are an iPad user, I think I’ve tried before but should be no problem to route DT to DT in AUM’s midi matrix to achieve loopback that way without wasting your ports. Also, assigning the DT midi track CC’s to Noir’s hardwired Cc assignments and plocking Noir parameters is a joy. Works for any other plug-in too, of course. Along with sequencing with conditionals and probability. Turns AUM and some plugs into the ultimate recording sound module with FX. Importing channels from premade AUM projects with assignments set up as desired makes for nearly drag and drop AUv3 presets able to be loaded instantly into a DT ready project. Bonus for making a DT template where your H bank had preassigned MIDI CC assignments so you can just copy and paste patterns set up for whatever plugins you want to sequence and automate!
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I have the three Moog semis plus drumbrute going into the Octatrack for clock, mixing and processing. I find that to be a very good combo for jamming.
You could potentially have four insert effects for each input. Plus LFOs and seq step automation. I love the SSR and BRR on warm analogue Moog tones.
Another option is to live sample a state and use the cross fader for a transition. Which is helpful when you need to set up the Subh for the next “scene” while performing.
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My experiences so far. Hybrid setups user.
I have dabbled with music production when I was in my early teens, starting with Reason 1.0. I’ve tried FL Studio and Acid Pro as well, but stuck to Reason till version 5. never did hardware at the time.
Then my hormones took me away from music for a long time, then my career, and about 4 years ago I decided to get back into it. First I bought Reason 8 update which came out at the time - obviously. While it was fun for a time, I started getting annoyed by looking at the screen and using a mouse which I do for work for most of my days. My foray into hardware started after that:
iPad: Endless possibilities with high quality inventive, contemporary apps, while still maintaining a sort of dawless experience. Powerful AF with processing power - or scalable if short on budget (still very powerful). Responsive multiple finger interaction, but tactile feedback is painfully missing. There are no quality, aesthetic all in one controllers in existence, so hybrid groove box devices are closer to ideal here - acting like audio interfaces as well. Best overall portable option is hands down the OP-Z: To this day still my favourite and fastest sequencer that just prints ideas out instantly. It’s also a literal swiss army knife and powerful enough standalone + it sounds great. If they make a metal version of this it will just become a no brainer for anyone mildly interested in electronic music creation; Cons: build quality - it will bend, no way around it. Mine still works well after 3 years, but it is curved like a bow. Second best for combining with the iPad: Digitakt - needs no introduction here I think - love it to death; Cons: not as portable and no internal battery, but can be moded or used with a special cable connected to a power bank. Cons to the iPad: While it can replace a computer for most daw work, editing in the likes of Cubasis is a pain, so finishing projects you should still do on the computer, but it is the most versatile thing you can get - and the most portable!
Deluge: I owned it for 2 years and then finally sold it to fund an OP-1. I am not joking when I say that I did half of one decent song on it in that time. I just could not connect with the device - mostly with all the convoluted shortcuts and the preset browsing was hit or miss for me. I do however recognize the huge power this machine has and the lovely community behind it. My suggestion is to borrow the thing for a while if you can do so, or get it from a retailer with a return policy - this goes for all stuff.
OP-1: Never getting rid of this one, as it is to me very inspiring and takes you out of the regular dimension of labels such as VCF, VCO,… to a more playful wonderland. Not for everyone, so be careful! Note that for your use case this isn’t the device, it has no multitrack MIDI capabilities to control other stuff, but is a formidable groovebox unto itself.
Digitone: Great sounding synth and also a complementary groovebox plus an amazing 4 track polyphonic sequencer with pattern locks, but I suggest you make it a later addition for your needs.
Hope this helps.
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…i’d also highly recommend a mpc one in this case…
plus a little mackie mixer something for easy sonic cross traffic and flexible “minimal studio” workflow…
MPC Live or One.
those are sampler-style grooveboxes – unlike e.g. MC-707 which is VA-synth-style groovebox.
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Octatrack.
Let us know what you think about the Sirin and DT play date! I just got a DT delivered to couple with the Sirin. I’m out of town and hankering to get back and try them out myself
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That sounds absolutely incredible! I’d never even thought of getting AUM involved on the MIDI routing front either. Seriously, I was sold on a DT already but now I’m positively fiending!
Will do, although I need to move out a few pieces of gear before I buy the DT so it won’t happen until late next week I imagine (barring some unforeseen windfall)
I shall report back on the weekend then! Got mine on zip pay, which is 4 instalments starting in a month, and it was on special down by 20% off
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This was really fascinating insight - thanks for sharing. I didn’t realise that the OP-Z literally bends! That’s quite horrifying and pretty crazy that TE didn’t up the quality of them at some point since release.
I’m increasingly coming to realise that buying a Digitakt is often the first step towards owning a Digitone, which is intriguing. I’ve not really looked at it, but then I hadn’t really looked at the DT for a long time too.
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Ah, I’m very much looking forward to hearing about how you get on with it, then!
I absolutely adore the Digitakt, it’s the drum machine/ sample-sequencing powerhouse of my setup. That said, I make music in Ableton Live and if I didn’t have Live and if I was determined to have a hardware-only setup I would have an MPC as well as the Digitakt in order to put songs together. Or perhaps a 1010 Blackbox, which is a superb alternative for sequencing tracks.
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I would definitely buy an OP-Z again if it had a metal case
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I got the Digitakt because I know it and the level of creativity it invoked from me was unrivaled. Now I have some really nice gear to sample, sound design drums, bass, synths, everything… But I do believe I will still end up with an MPC due to song mode. Evoking enough present emotion during a song is too hard without a song mode. That’s just my opinion for what I enjoy making, I’ve seen plenty of amazing DT only tracks but when it’s coupled with other gear, it’s too much for me to manage.
Which one I don’t know yet, MPC Live II or MPC One. There was a Live II Retro on eBay for $900 last night. I can’t believe I missed out.
For now thanks to @PeteSasqwax I will be purchasing Beat Maker 3 on iPad.
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Make sure you test it thoroughly within the Apple return policy window (14 days I think). It is not very stable for me (Beatmaker).
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Akai Force looks interesting too. I always dismissed it due to the vast amount of complaints, but they can be had for $800 or less sometimes.
Edit : 4/4 time signature lock is no good
I’d probably cast my vote for the MPC One here too, I think it’s an almost perfect balance of price & flexibility. It may lack ‘character’ compared to, say, an Octatrack or OP-Z, but it will do whatever you ask of it and doesn’t really have any cryptic elements to it. The Force does look like a viable alternative depending on your interface tastes.
I’ve tried a variety of alternatives, and while they all have their advantages and charms, the One maintains centre space as a real Swiss Army knife. It samples and sequences effortlessly, integrates really nicely with MIDI gear (especially with USB), it can be a looper or phrase sampler, it records audio tracks which can then be visually edited, saves to SD or USB drives, packs a ton of decent FX, has a solid mixer setup, virtual synths (including the great recent drum synth additions), and so on and so on.
For longer samples, there’s the Blackbox, but it lacks many of the bells & whistles. For creative sequencing, Elektrons still hold the throne (and the OP-Z is no slouch) - but again, they have a comparatively limited subset of features. Features aren’t be be all and end all, of course, but if you’re talking about a box to glue everything together I think the One is a strong contender and a bit of a bargain.
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Thanks for the input. Someday I believe I will get an MPC to complement my setup. Besides the SP-1200 I can guarantee a lot of the music I love was made using MPCs, both new and old.
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