Yeah, the Deluge is a leap of faith to buy. It’s so specific, it’s difficult to get an idea if you’d like it or not, just by reading reviews and stuff. It does so much things in its own way, you just have to know it, to know if it’s for you. But it has a very serene quality to it, which keeps making me want to understand it better and overcome this idea I have, that the sounds get a bit cramped in there. Hence the track above, actually, to once again try and find my way around that notion.
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I have the SiX setup to do offer both (CUE1 to Deluge, CUE2 to Matriarch) but mostly just send sounds through the Matriarch. (I know we talked about this before… the Deluge’s output can get crowded enough with its multiple roles 
)
So yeah! I use the Matriarch’s filter and delay to process the Deluge. I normally either use the Matriarch’s drone mode or patch the (amp) envelopes to be repeating. Then I may bring up the Matriarch noise and/or oscillators to add some background. If I’m using the oscillators, I may sequence a progression from the Deluge (shout out to the Deluge’s unlimited sequence length here!). And of course, I use the modularity of the Matriarch to add movement to filter/delay/amp as desired. That’s the general recipe: each patch evolves according to the need
Here’s a rather lengthy example, an exploratory recording from an ambient project I’m working on. The Matriarch is providing all the noise and lots of delay on the Deluge (and possibly some drone notes?)
I mentioned this in the Matriarch thread… I’ve been really enjoying the combination of these two. Playing a Deluge synth from the Matr keyboard, sending the audio through the Matr, and having the modwheel/aftertouch affect the Matr signal (and/or the Deluge synth) is quite a time 
also stacking a Deluge synth with the Matr’s oscillators!
I have a few posts in the Current Sounds thread exhibiting the Matriarch as a FX unit. Here’s the most recent, where I take a percussion sequence Deluge (literally just “painted” a sequence in) and massage it through the Matriarch.
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Agree it has been a great all-in-one box so far. I originally bought mine to fill in some gaps on my other two pieces of gear (analog four/octatrack), I specifically wanted to explore some poly sequencing/ sampling/ synthesis. I’ve found the synth/sampling engines are deep enough to be able to do quite a bit of work with just one box. While the effects aren’t exactly the greatest themselves, when combined with a synth engine that lets you even play samples chromatically with independent speed/pitch it makes the Deluge pretty darn interesting. Hell, even in a kit each drum has full access to the synth engine; it basically killed any of my GAS for a drum machine/ synth in one go. My main two wishlist items for a Deluge 2 would be more audio i/o (or mpc style interface support) & velocity sensitive pads
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Whoa. This sounds bloody fantastic. If you Bandcamp this, I’m first in line to get a copy.
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I really appreciate the track, congrats !
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Thank you 
Thanks! The support and validation really means a lot 
stay tuned, I’m planning on starting a thread here to share some of the process and release some music in that vein.
Wow, lovely stuff! 
I agree Deluge as an all-in-one box is great, if you take time to understand how it works.
When I got my hands on Deluge, I forced myself to keep on creating one full song only with it, to learn basic features and workflow. It helped me a lot.
Synth engine is special imho, but can be surprisingly good. ie, the classics Boards of Deluge packs are amazing.
Sampling possibilities brings a lot of possibilities, as a standalone machine, and with other hardware.
Resampling Deluge itself can give material to create amazing synths based on samples, and coupling Deluge with just one external synth/fx box/sampler can take you far very fast, while still keeping the setup small & compact.
Midi sequence external stuff, sample in Deluge, create synths or loops from these samples, resample, send to external box for fx, …and so on.
The workflow is very specific to this machine, and no specs list or anything can really explains if it works for someone or not.
For me it became the best flexible brain of my constantly moving setup, as my desk is missing space 
And these last days I tried to focus only on Deluge + 1 synth at a time, and I am surprisingly happy with the result as I usually use it with at least 4 or 5 other machines.
Here is an example, my (only) live jam with it, as I’m more a linear tracks maker than a live performer. Personnal challenge was to create patterns within 2 hours, play live with them while internal resampling main output, then delete the project.
Deluge playing rythm and some melodic stuff, sequencing Micromonsta 2 (bass and pad) that goes in Deluge input, nothing more:
Here is another example, Deluge + Typhon only. Many Typhon sounds sequenced, sampled, chopped and resequenced with Deluge, and one Typhon sound played through the track, going into Deluge input (I’m lying a bit, I used SP303 for distortion on a short rythmic loop 
):
For both of these tracks, the main output is recorded with Deluge’s resample function, and is mastered by a default Maximus preset in Fruity Loops, then in an online mastering service with another preset. No further processing, as I’m very bad at this
I hope it can show some of the Deluge possibilities.
Big up to @rephazer and Krzysiek Stęplowski as I used some of their packs
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@captain8, tagging you here to keep stuff organized:
Youtube example clip of some sample/loop work, starts at 5:06 in case the timestamp gets lost. At 5:06-9:01 he is working with a single loop, at 9:02 he starts a new kit with the same sample but actual slices. The view he is throughout is a single kit view, each row is a separate instrument using the synth engine typically used for drums or slices. A song is made up of multiple kit/synth or external midi/cv layers.
It’s possible to sample a clip, take a small section like a pad or note, pitch and loop in a single synth and playback chromatically/polyphonic.
I also like to sample a longer clip and pitch/loop small sections and resequence to create new sequences. Then just layer drum kits and other synths and sounds on top. In a kit, each slice can have independent sample settings such as time, pitch, fx, etc.
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Does anyone know if Deluge can RECEIVE Midi Program Changes (eg. from Ableton)? In the manual I can see that it’s possible to SEND program changes but not sure if Deluge can receive program change to swap patterns from external gear
Are you looking to change the Deluge song or just the sections/clips? The latter can be done using simple note messages and the Deluge’s learn function. I don’t think it’s possible to change the song from external gear.
The folks at the Synthstrom forum are really on top of answering questions if you wanna try to ask over there too
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The section “Making a Track in Deluge” has done more to move me in the direction of buying a deluge than anything. else I’ve seen. (Still lurking here, obviously)
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Do it! 
As the video shows, the Deluge workflow has a sweet balance of ease/speed and power/flexibility.
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Yes … the thing that’s always put me off is that little screen, but it didn’t seem to be too bad the way he used it … I could fairly easily ‘read’ the filenames 4 characters at a time. (Actually, that may have been another video)
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Screen’s no issue. You won’t hardly need it, especially if you know your way around your samples already.
I haven’t seen a single video that shows why people praise the sequencer and arranger so much.
When I read the praise I get super interested but I can’t find any good demo of the workflow…
Guess you have to try to find out
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The sequencer is basically a piano roll. A common format on daws, but screens make that a little harder on hardware due to the size. The deluge got rid of a screen and uses the pad matrix as a piano roll instead. If you skip to 23mins in the above video it shows an example of a single clip with a set of drums, that’s one of my favorite usages on the deluge, I can just have my full drum pattern up and keep making changes. A synth or midi sequence is the same, scroll down for lower notes or up for higher notes, only 8 notes at time, you can collapse to show just your selected scale and notes will show as longer lines to show how long the note is held. Overall I like deluge for drum sequencing and lead/bass lines
Basically if you like piano rolls and want a hardware solution then the deluge is a great option. If you play stuff in, prefer step/elektron/xox views or prefer a high resolution screen for your sequencer then it might not scratch the itch. You can also do probability, retrig etc easily by just holding the note down and turned the correct knob.
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It has a 8x16 overview and easy scrolling and zooming, fairly simple trig conditions and plocks (albeit not easily viewed after entered as some other gear) the arranger is good but could be better, it has been a while since I used mine but there are a few things that bug me about it.
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