The Woovebox - a tiny and cheap but ridiculously powerful groovebox

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

It just got released, and for $249 it surely packs a lot. I’m in love with my OP-Z and out of cash, but this tiny groovebox seems to be a worthy contender if you’re looking for something portable.

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Synthesizer

16 part multi-timbral / 16 tracks (1 x 4-voice polyphonic track + 15 x 4-voice paraphonic or mono tracks)*
16 versatile synthesis algorithms
17 low-aliasing oscillator models + up to 256 user samples
Virtual Analog, FM, Super Saw, AM, RingMod, x0x percussion, more
2 oscillator models per voice
1 multi-mode filter per voice (10 filter types)
2 x AEG, FEG, multiple LFOs per voice
global multi-FX; reverb, stereo chorus, 2 x stereo delay
per-voice FX; distortion, saturation, bit crushing, resampling, global multi-FX sends
per-voice dynamics; compressor/limiter, 4-bus side-chaining, gating
master compressor/limiter, vinyl and noise effects
emulates vintage digital, analog and organic sounds
extensive, complex sound design capabilities

Sequencer

16 songs x 16 tracks x 16 patterns x 16 steps
fast workflow; create new intricate song ideas in minutes
polyrhythms, generative, arpeggio and x0x-style patterns
use scales, modes, chord types and inversions, w/o music theory
per-step conditionals, 100+ step modifier type, probabilities
pattern chaining, pattern muting conditions
micro-timing and swing
song mode with per-fragment transformation and automation
send sync and MIDI to control connected gear
exports songs as WAV (song, stems dry & wet)
undo functionality

Sampler

62s @ 44.1kHz 8-bit mu-law compressed (~12-bit effective) w/reconstructive interpolation
16 user kits x 16 samples
dedicated 3.5mm line-input
digital sample import via Bluetooth
mangle, slice, chop, re-arrange samples
add new oscillators, one-shots and loops
multi-sample, single instrument support
use live input as an oscillator model
re-sample internal synthesizer
automatic space management and optimization
undo functionality

*polyphony restrictions may apply depending on used DSP resources

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Pocketable

68g / 2.4oz / 0.15 lbs
71.6mm/2.8"(W) x 76.0mm/3"(L) x 7.9mm/0.31"(H slab) 30.8mm/1.21"(H knob)
USB-C rechargeable 1000mAh internal battery
10h+ battery life continuous play, Bluetooth off
6.30h+ battery life continuous play, Bluetooth on
physical on/off switch
protective case included

Connectable

3.5mm stereo audio-out with sync pulse out via breakout cable (included)
3.5mm audio-in for sampling, effects and live mix of external gear
3.5mm type-A MIDI out*
USB-C port (charging-only)*
Bluetooth LE wireless MIDI in/out**
Wooveconnect web interface***; song/sample transfer, WAV export, firmware update

Playable

live mode with 16 triggerable scenes, programmable automation and re-triggering effects
mute and unmute tracks on the fly
16 tactile micro switches for live playing and improvisation
unique dynamic key-mapping for live melody improvisation
process 2 channels of audio-in as part of your song or live performance
integrate external audio into synthesis engine
endless live sound mangling possibilities and rhythmic effects

*cable not included
**compatible with macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and - to a degree - Windows
***requires a Bluetooth LE compatible host device, operating system and WebMIDI enabled browser (e.g. not compatible with Safari/iOS)

Freebeat review

15 Likes
#2

They put a lot of features from the big boxes into this little thing.

some of these demos are pretty decent.

9 Likes
#3

I will never be able to enjoy this with these pocket operator buttons. If/when someone comes out with a case then I might be interested

11 Likes
#4

what’s the sample storage and project amount?.. Update: ok 62 seconds of sample time, but is that stereo or mono?

@alexwasashrimp what do you like about this over the op-z?

#5

If they packaged it as a volca it would be pretty legit. It’s dope as it is if you’re going away for the weekend and have to pack light, but if it were a volca that did all that at the same price point it’s set at now, a few other companies would start to look pretty bad.

Mostly the price is in my comfort zone of I can spend this money and not cry about it later. I try not to buy too much stuff like that, but when I do, I don’t cry about it later so this sort of fits in to that pocket - no pun intended.

4 Likes
#6

As an op-z owner the resample and auto-slice function has me interested :eyes:

1 Like
#7

trying to find clips on that very thing as we speak

#8

Hi all,

AMA.

Some notes, comments, replies;

Sampling time is 62s mono at 44.1kHz@8-bit mu-law compressed (~12 bits dynamic range, with greater inaccuracies in the higher amplitude levels as a trade-off) or resampling at 22.05kHz@16-bit.

As a sampler, it’s not going to blow away any upmarket samplers, but is more geared towards sound design and creatively mangling sound (including a bunch of lo-fi options).

The Woovebox is my old late 90s/early 00s studio condensed into a pocketable device (including some gear I wish could have afforded back then :slight_smile: ).

The final unit was the result of carefully (obsessively) optimizing the balance between power (battery) budget, DSP budget and BoM (bill of materials) budget. “bang-for-buck” in the widest sense was design goal #1.

74 Likes
#9

This is great information thanks, also welcome to the board. Just for clarity on the issue, does the unit allow all parameters to be CC controlled from outside the box or is the midi implementation limited at this time? :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#10

Thank you!

The MIDI implementation is quite basic currently and is currently mostly geared towards driving other gear; note on/off, velocity and sync/start/stop. More comprehensive support is definitely on my wishlist, but there are some important things to consider (BLE connection saturation, having more parameters than CCs, etc.) before I can commit to anything beyond that.

Any other important limitations you should be aware of are detailed here;

9 Likes
#11

I appreciate your transparency, thanks for the specific information. Looks like a fun product, also to clarify this is an assembled product, yes? Not a kit/or, you’re either building them or ordering them offsite and then shipping, is that correct?

3 Likes
#12

The Freebeat review is too short to cover everything, so I may be missing something, but here are my initial thoughts compared to the OP-Z.

Pros:

  • WAY deeper sound design

  • cost (well, I already have the OP-Z, but in general it’s $249 for the Woovebox vs $499 for the OP-Z plus $149 for the Line/Oplab module to upgrade the connectivity)

  • resampling

  • multisamples

  • undo

  • a display, albeit quite basic (I know many people don’t need a display and rely on LEDs only on the OP-Z, but I rarely do that and mostly pair it with the phone/iPad)

  • probably more effects and dynamics, both per-part and global (my main gripe with the OP-Z is its compressor, I find single knob compressors useless in general), but I can’t find detailed information on the effects in the manual, so I can’t be sure how deep they are

  • even more robust step components (although I’m not sure yet whether you can use multiple components on the same step)

  • more modulation

  • sample import via BT

  • song/stem dry/wet export via BT (you can export stems from the OP-Z via Underbridge, but that won’t work on an iPad)

  • the song mode looks much more powerful than simple pattern chaining, though to be honest I’ve mostly been happy with pattern chaining so far

Cons:

  • no USB audio (but that’s mitigated by export via BT, I usually use USB audio to record tracks to the iPad)

  • only one poly track (that’s enough in most cases, but probably not for an arp with piano samples), it would be cool if we could eg join tracks A1-A4 into a single 4-voice poly track

  • PO-style buttons (but that can easily be fixed with a Dichstudios-style case)

  • no CV (requires the Oplab module for $149 on the OP-Z)

  • no send/return loop (requires the Line module for $149 on the OP-Z)

  • can’t be paired with a Launchpad X (I sometimes use mine with the OP-Z, it can be powered from it and send MIDI)

  • the lowest BPM is 80, but that can be circumvented by setting beat division (I make a lot of tracks in the 40-80 BPM range)

  • pattern chaining looks a bit fiddly

  • the OP-Z app is very useful, but actually I don’t see any reason for the Wooveconnect not to get more features for becoming an extended display later

9 Likes
#13

Yep! Fully assembled here in Oz, shipped to your door, ready to go.

4 Likes
#14

And the add to cart option has a shipping calculator for purposes of lookie loos like myself? I assume it’s all fairly standard, but good to be prepared none the less.

1 Like
#15

Pretty fair assessment!

  • There is one polyphonic track for (up to) four-note chords, but the other 15 tracks can also play paraphonic chords in addition (the patches/timbres are a bit more limited though). And there is, of course, nothing stopping you from triggering the same timbre on multiple tracks to play chords that way.

  • There is actually a short-cut for pattern chaining that FreeBeat may have missed. You can read more about pattern chaining (+the short-cut; last paragraph) here.

Hope that helps!

11 Likes
#16

Right now, Standard shipping to UK & EU is USD $21, and to to US it’s USD $17. That’s with tracking and signature on delivery. I don’t think there is a whole lot of difference between Express and Standard in terms of features and speed.

2 Likes
#17

I’m rather thinking of long release single notes, paraphonic wouldn’t work as well for that. Would be great if a few auxiliary tracks could be linked to be controlled as a single polyphonic track, it would be easier to sequence them as a single track. Plus if all 8 could be linked and turned into a chord track (or, even better, if the chord track polyphony could be expanded at the cost of the auxiliary tracks - that may be an easier solution, as adding a second chord track would unnecessarily complicate things like chord follow), that would allow for long release pads naturally overlapping without voice stealing.

1 Like
#18

I’m impressed and definitely interested.

Not ready to buy after some serious changes/acquisitions but I’m hoping it’ll be available later this year vs early next year.

3 Likes
#19

This will be very helpful for those more reserved with their posts, more prone to reading than asking questions (clearly unlike myself), I’ve just seen that myself on the site thank you. Appreciate that you’ve been forthcoming about ground loop noise, saves me the trouble of asking, apparently for some it’s an awkward question but after reading your disclosures page I can tell you’ve put a lot of thought into the device and towards your target audience. One more thing is that I assume the encoder is a 24ppq unit with tactile detents so you get feedback from it as it’s turning, is that accurate?

2 Likes
#20

Thank you! The encoder is a Bourns PEC11L-4115F-S0020 with (20ppr), which is the highest quality/durability low profile encoder I could find. It’s commonly used in other pro audio equipment. Datasheet here if it helps.

9 Likes