I finally bought it and is coming from New Zealand right now. I expect it to be here next Monday.
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My GAS is insane after reading this thread. Iām still rockinā an MMT8 over here.
What did you switch to?
Mediocre keyboard player over here with zero desire to punch in xox sequences (I know the Deluge is much more than that), but want to compose in 4-8 bar phrases (as about as long as I can play a part competently), feed in live e-drums on CH10, quantize here and there to taste.
I love setting up an arp as a foundation, and layering on top, with delays, until I have something that grooves enough I can play along with on e-drums, try odd time signatures, just jamā¦ but when Iām onto something, thatās when life falls apart: I feel like Iām going to break something if I try to do any arranging on the fly, so obtuse shortcuts scare me a bit.
If yoy lust after an MMT8 watch this. This guy lusted after a modern alternative for years. Now hes found one. The Pyramid Squarp.
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Well, since Iām keyboard hardcore, I now have an Analog Keys. Itās the only modern piece of gear Iāve found that combines pro sound and design abilities with a great sequencer and a solid board.
Though I donāt think you need to be able to play, to appreciate the workflow and interface of a keyboard-based workflow. To me, the difference between a keyboard connected to something, and a keyboard integrated into the flow, is fundamental. I tried all kinds of boxes, including the Deluge, connected to solid midi keyboards. Itās not a bad option, but itās something else.
And in the end, Iāve just realised that I want a proper workstation with a quality board, that has a modern analog sound and doesnāt need its own house to fit into the studio. There are no other options that the Analog Keys then.
Besides, I think Elektronās workflow is very fast and immediate once youāre in it. Their stuff takes some time to learn, but they stick to muscle memory. Once youāre in the groove, theyāre very fluent.
Ah, I had one, traded it in for a REV2. I didnāt get along with Elektronās jive: squinty little screen, lack of poly, etc.
Did miss the External Keyboard button; made a better ācontrollerā than my REV2, which uses NRPN + CC, but not Keyboard Local Off, so you lose control of the front panel if you donāt get those NRPN/CC messages back in again.
I think somebody needs to make a Deluge/Pyramid/Cirklon (i.e. modern sequencer) with a quality keyboard attached, with or without synth engineā¦ like a workstation of yesteryear, but with CV/multiple MIDI Ins and Outs, and a modern display.
Fantom G6 comes close-ish, but not quite.
I agree. There are a few modern attempts out there to try different angles on the workstation concept. The JD-Xi, with its portability yet fairly flexible structure for the size and price, the Kross2 that just packs a lot of power in a very portable package, though the keybed is just plain awful. And letās not forget the Miniak, which conceptually was pretty great but just horrible in execution.
Iām wondering if thereās just no market for it. Keyboard players usually want their big boards and ALL the features in the world, if theyāre going for a workstation. Or you just want a piano. And the groove box funk crowd, they donāt want keys at all.
Yet, as I understand it, the JD-Xi has been quite a hit and the Kross boards sell pretty well, too.
I have an MMT8 actually, but it doesnāt do well with long/linear MIDI.
This looks amazingly simple and awesome: MIDI Looper from Future Artist:
http://www.future-artist.com/
I canāt imagine a world without a keyboard: I guess my goal is always going to be, subconsciously or not, to get better at playing an instrument (keys, drums, etc.). And while I like some helpers in either area (quantization, overdubbing, punch-in/piano roll fixesā¦particularly because my left hand has a mind of itās own on the keyboard sometimes), just xoxāing my way through a āsongā doesnāt really appeal to me in the slightest: too much programming, not enough playing.
Hereās a video I just found!
This guy demos the deluge synth sounds:
Deluge stuff gets interesting around the 9 minute marker
edit: dammit. itās a sample-heavy demo.
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Itās marketed at 6 hours of battery life and I get about that much from mine. Itās awesome.
That was great. I had an MMT8 for a while and I also loved it.
The more time I spend with the Deluge the more I think I donāt need anything else apart from it and my trusty ND2 as sample fodder.
I have a few niggles, but overall this is a great tool!
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Inspired by a video I saw earlier about drums via the Delugeās synth engine, I made my own ātrackā just using the synth engine. Itās okay i guess but i found only an envelope decay setting of 1 to be workable for kicks for example. Also, saturation is pretty much on/off between value 0 and 1. In that sense I donāt suspect a very wide spectrum of sounds can be generated - but hey - i might prove myself wrong fiddling around.
This is on 1.4 by the way.
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dude! your track caught me off guard. i like the grit and the groove is nice too
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I liked your track
Is this 100% Deluge?
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Had a quick play with the Deluge which I got today, seems like a deeper box than I was expecting, I was pleasantly surprised by the audio input as an oscillator - it reminds me of a Boss RPS-10 thanks to the weirdo pitch shifting stuff that you can do, great fun!
Not quite got my head around everything yet, but so far seems straightforward enough, definitely seems to work just fine without a screen, and overall it seems quite flexible.
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Yes it isā¦ synth tracks only, no samples, just oscillators. It is reaching its limits here (CPU) more tracks wouldnāt play simoultaniously. But to be fair thereās quite a bit going on, a few doubles panned hard left and right with some fine tune difference to make a nice stereo image and some doubles (3 or 4) for the clap / snare . Itās such a fun machine!
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It took me a few days of playing with it and using the manual and Iām still asking things to the facebook page, but once it clicks, itās really super deep.
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The on/off behaviour of the saturator make it really hard to use.