Interested to know what would be fixed (or different) in your mkII ?
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Let’s put reason aside, and just look at why I put the Deluge away and what would make me bring it back - no expectations, no dissing the current one, this is just me and my preferences -
I actually think the synth engine’s quite lovely, and realised after some time it’s not the engine that was the issue for me, but the fact that there wasn’t much room for it. One patch, totally fine. Two, already getting crowded. And this was a general issue with the Deluge for me. Whatever headroom actually means, this is the way I’d use that word in this context. There was no room for the mix to grow and the synth engine doesn’t get enough air to breathe.
The onboard fx, from eq to reverb to the rest, didn’t add anything. Either the next version doesn’t have fx, or put fx in there that’s at least vanilla in quality, to polish the mix. The Toraiz is a good example here. FX aren’t anything special, but for shaping the mix, they’re enough and if you want a stellar reverb sound, you can find that in outboard or through plugs.
Whatever algoritms used for the samples, don’t impress much when you do anything with them than just playback. Pitching, time stretching, anything - you can just hear them falling apart if not so much in artefacts as in just quality. Whatever the blackbox, Field or Toraiz is doing here, I’d love to hear this in a next-gen Deluge as well.
The hardware interface was fine at first, but as the Deluge has evolved, the interface understandably couldn’t keep up. Whatever the MKII serves, just make sure it’s made with the same streamlined idea for all its features as the first one had.
Throw in multiple outs for good measure, and expand on the internal routing options for looping, resampling and stuff.
So in essence -
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Pimp the headroom. Give the tracks space to breathe together.
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Raise the fx to standard mixing duty level at least, or throw them out all together.
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Rework the sampler algoritms to a higher standard.
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Make sure the hardware interface keeps up with the lovely workflow.
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Expand the hardware ins and outs.
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Except for the headroom, isn´t it possible to do most of this with firmware updates instead of a v2? What I mean is, I really dig the possibility to upgrade the OLED instead of buying an new device. The ins and outs could be added in a USB audio update (maybe something like overbridge). Or an external USB device for the deluge. But fx and sampler algorithms are absolutely possible to update with a new firmware.
Personally, I really dislike v2 in general. Some added USB jacks, wifi and bluetooth or the possibility to save more samples does not make me want a v2. And every v2 forces me to upgrade or loose some value of my v1. The threads with shipping updates, unboxing and first jams with factory presets can be pretty boring. I think, that every device on the market is able to produce great songs and better versions don´t make me a better musician.
It´s no offense, I just don´t like the demand on newer versions for every device in general. Each device will have limitations - always. The only solution without limitations is a daw. And most people here don´t like daws. 
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No idea 
I know hardware choices define the limits of firmware upgrades. Where the Dellie begins and ends as far as this goes, I don’t know.
Working and refining my hybrid setup with the Deluge+OP-1f+Ableton, and so far am enjoying the process and progress:
the measure of self - v2.aif (4.4 MB)
the measure of self v3.aif (5.9 MB)
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Yeah the effects are pretty mediocre, crazy that there’s no stereo modulation effects (chorus, phaser) and in general it doesn’t have as much modulation capabilities as I’d like, compared to the Elektron. But yeah, it does have a really good workflow and the arranger is top notch. Being able to plop in patterns and then make unique patterns that just exist within the arranger makes it so easy to switch things up.
My biggest problems would be alleviated if they just had an export option. At the end of the day everything goes through my DAW for mixing and if I could just press a button and export all my tracks and load them easily up into Ableton every problem I have with it would be solved. I know there’s a way to record each track individually with a resample method but it’s still a bit too hands on for my liking. Audio export has been something I’ve asked for for years and last I heard they straight up said they wouldn’t ever do it.
But then I look at the Polyend stuff and the M8 and really just wonder why this isn’t on the Deluge. Even if it takes a long ass time, that’s fine. Because it already takes a long ass time to split stems out the way it is. I’d rather just press a button and come back later.
On a side note, my friend got his Deluge back with the OLED and it really is a game changer for this device. Browsing and being able to visually see multiple lines of data… simple stuff but god damn, this thing should have always had something like this but especially with the added features the new screen really helps alleviate the problems the Deluge was coming up against
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That’s quite funny, because whenever someone said, that the Deluge would be awesome with a screen, hordes of people jumped in to tell the world, that the Deluge doesn’t need one
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No, but if it could have one …
I think Oldman C pushed me over the edge, wonder how long the process is… I wish they had someone in the states that could do it
Yeah, the arguments for the original screen weren’t great and felt like defense of a new toy people just bought and weren’t ready to criticize.
I do think once upon a time it didn’t matter as much. When you structured your own sample folders you got used to it and when there were far fewer shortcuts you could get by without looking at the screen much. But as time went on and more things were added it clearly needed more lines of information than than just 4 some times difficult to parse characters.
But yeah, the OLED screen is definitely worth it. Kinda making me gas for one again now that I’ve seen it in person lol
It seemed to be about two weeks and I’ve seen other people in videos say the same thing.
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Long term owner of Deluge here, had it over 3 years.
It’s the one device I will never sell. I use it to write songs on, before transferring to my Hapax for further development. For me its the greatest device for writing music, so quick and easy.
I have no problem with the screen. I have a relatively modest sample library (88Gb), and the screen forced me to go through a process of consolidation and learning.
I divided my samples so I had no more than 50 in each folder, then used two renaming programs to rename stuff to a two letter code. It sounds like hassle, was quite easy, but it did take a while.
However, the benefits were huge, and not just for the Deluge, I really know my samples inside out now. I forced myself to listen to each one as I did it. Now when I need a sample I just kind of zone out and let myself go to the right sample without thinking too much.
Apologies for the long ramble 
The moral for me was, sometimes something good comes out of an annoying limitation. Plus I’m not at all interested in the screen refit.
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Interested in what and how you transfer. You record midi playback ? Extract stems ? Or just re-create ?
Curious, what programs did u use?
That’s pretty much my experience too. I think it’s the combination of having a fairly small sample library and the fact that I always use the shortcuts instead of the menus, but I’ve never felt the need for a different screen.
I was actually I bit bummed when they announced it, only because I feel like there are much more important software things they could have addressed first. But I get it’s a big thing for a lot of users , so I respect them for taking care of their user base.
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The only reason I was a little annoyed with the screen announcement is because I do feel like the hardware is showing it’s age and they keep increasing the cost of it. Yeah, there’s an argument for adding the case and the screen but I do think with all the functions they keep adding the hardware doesn’t have the buttons for it. More knobs would go a long way.
But regardless, they went this route and I do have to say, again, it’s worth it. And not really just for sample management. I’ve been an on again off again user of the Deluge for 5 years. Even since I last sold mine I picked up my friends Deluge and remembered everything. When you make your own sample library it’s not that hard to navigate. But it does increase the beginning learning curve because letters like V and M don’t display how you’d expect. But other minor things like having the display tell you if you’re nudging a note or ratcheting it are welcome too. Sure, you learn which know does what but it’s those little things that make the input better.
Looking at the price, I didn’t realize it was $150 to Retrofit it, I could see why someone would be hesitant for that cost especially if they feel they know everything inside and out. But with the added functionality of browsing different folders from last year this does alleviate a pain point the device has always had. And to be honest, I’m not sure why they thought the original display was what they should have gone with, small LCDs have been cheap for a very long time.
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I really like the OLED screen. 
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I would probably still have my deluge if it had a LCD screen. Browsing was brutal!
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Me too.
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It is now 6 months since I paid the retrofit deposit…still waiting for getting contacted. Anyone else?
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