Omg, minimal!
This post got me to dust off some of the records that I bought in the mid 2000
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hmm
T8 (and all Roland AIRA compact) is a UX nightmare unfortunately. It sounds phenomenal but programming a bassline on it is even worse than on the original TB-303 
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Yes, i indeed can read and know that it has synth engines. I just think fir its intended purposes the DT1 still is better, for the synth parts single cycle waveforms are good. The synth engines did not seem so grat in the demos to me personally that they clearly win, but thats subjective.
I was focusing at the overall package, not if its synthesized or sampled, and i stand by that that i think the DT1 is the way better device for a minimal techno setup.
Fair. I will need to look into it, but if the sequencer is like on the S1 its perfectly fine and less clunky then most other 303 copycats, and at least on the S1 all normal controls where right there on the front.
Everything else is to annoying, yeah.
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No the S1 is way better (still a lot of menu diving)
Each their own. To me, making music with samples is generally boring and uninspiring compared to synth engines (yes, I mean synth engines beyond simple single cycle oscillators). But that’s not the point here. The point is that sample engines and synth engines are different things, so I don’t see how one would ”mop the floor” with the other, just as I wouldn’t say that about a piano and a guitar.
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Funny as I found the T-8 UI great and easy to program, but was hugely disappointed by the sound and found the 303 sound range very limited (cutoff not opening enough, max resonance is very tame, accent is not well emulated…) especially compared to a 90$ TD-3 which has a way more lively sound.
These days, I found that about any modern synth can do a better job at emulating a 303 (Micromonsta 2 and Typhon for example) than a Roland 303 emulation 
But that won’t be the case for DT1, even with single cycle: the filter is far from cutting it, OD comes before the filter and not after, no mod matrix to simulate accent with mod wheel or velocity, no portamento for glides. Saying that a DT1 does it better than this Minimal machine is a bit far fetching.
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Usually there’s a lot of hype and then most people sell them because of limitations or annoying UI etc. I’m sure this thing is fine, but the longer I’m following the synth, sampler, groovebox scene, the more I feel like there’s way too much stuff released these days.
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He’s coming to Montreal this Summer. Let’s hope he’s ok.
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This! Gear evolves fast but users don’t / can’t follow.
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I think there are too many boutique/DIYmaker individuals cranking out their own grooveboxes.
I want to wrangle them up into groups of four and force them to start companies. Skill and potential is getting spread too thin. Is there a venture capitalist ready to fund my groovebox incubator?
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I ordered one but decided to cancel the order.
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Well I’ve really been enjoying exploring and learning this box
It’s full of surprises and hugely more capable than I expected. The comparisons with the Aria T-8 are completely off. It’s also been much nicer to use than the one LIVEN box I have previously - the Mega Synthesis which I hated.
A few things that jumped out at me
- Track 10, the sampler looper, has decent sounding timestretch and even cross-fade! Putting the DT2 to shame
- The drum tracks can be swapped to other sound banks (e.g. load another kick on the the clap), and there’s even a decent selection of bass and synth sounds which are easy to sequence chromatically
- The bass part is not going to be convincing any 303 purists, but has some extra stuff like a sub-oscillator which was truly speaker shaking
- The way it uses variations is flexible, so it’s usable as chained 4 bar pattern and/or fills and/or sub-patterns however you want to approach it.
- The pattern chaining is easy too, you could create full tracks or short sets with it
- The effects aren’t exactly brilliant the reverb sounds pretty meh, and I don’t see me using half the MFX
I’ve not even tried sampling into it yet, so that’s another avenue I need to explore
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Mine was delivered two days ago, but I couldn’t pick it up until today. First impressions:
Super easy to get started with cranking out good sounding jams. The built-in drums, especially the kicks and hats, sound great. The bass synth sounds awesome, but it’s much closer to a 303 with the devilfish mod (or TD-3-MO) rather than a stock 303. The sequencer is very easy to use, especially if you’re used to Roland TR, Elektron, etc. sequencers. Lastly, the built-in speaker is actually serviceable, surprisingly.
Oh yeah, the 3-band DJ-style isolator kicks so much ass. What a treat to have it built-in. Too bad it only work on all the drums, and not the synth. Would be even more kick ass if you could select what tracks were routed through it.
It’s solidly built, and the buttons and knobs feel quite good, but the all-plastic construction doesn’t have “serious instrument” feel. It’s like a Volca or Aira Compact in this way. Not a complaint, just info for those that might be concerned about things like that.
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given the lower cost, that makes sense. I mean it looks better than the garbage Yamaha Seqtrak that lacks a screen. I had a Seqtrak briefly that went back. I rather save up for an MPC, OP XY or Syntakt if I wanted a small groovebox.
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Tell me I don’t need this if I have syntakt already :')
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you really do not need one. But I think if you want a fun couch toy to jam on cheaper than an OP XY for example or not as bulky as an MPC Live III, then I can see a use case. I mean can jam anywhere. Also most gear like Elektron is expensive to have stolen or lost or damaged in a dirty loud club. You can always buy one and return if not good. I had the cheap Yamaha Seqtrak that I hated and returned that. At least this one has a screen.
On the melodic side, except that bass synth, can you do something else with those samplers?