My phone and a handful of apps. Voice memo is the most used.
Not sure how compatible this device is with my most common genre though (synthwave). Very melody focused and not at all samples based.
This is a very underrated comment and generally great advice! Perhaps I was too narrow in my description of the use case because I rather mean a device to use when my wife is watching Netflix/HBO and we’re both wide awake. Think “between 7-10pm”. 
Also, to clarify, my problem isn’t how to capture a creative idea when it comes to me - for that, a notebook or audio recorder is indeed excellent. Rather, it’s about having fun with a device that can generate creative ideas. Hope that makes sense.
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You need a “device” to generate creative ideas? 
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If the use case is ideas generation, then Circuit Tracks might suit. It’s the fastest sequencer I have used for putting down melodies and chord progressions, and you have some drum tracks in there as well. I never truly liked the sound though, but some people do, and it might not bother you anyway if it’s about generating ideas.
I’m enjoying model: cycles at present for coming up with creative things I never would have thought about otherwise. Infinite note, followed by step-sequenced lock trigs leads to all kinds of interesting sounds. What kind of music do you want to create?
An arpeggiattor might be useful for playing with sound ideas without programming sequences, and neither of the above have it. Digitone?
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digitone is the clear answer. no better multi-track sound design & melody/pattern composition sketch tool. 4 tracks, 4 different presets, best sequencer on earth, pretty nice versatile synthesis engine, sound locks, arp, great effects, nice filters, p locks. which is why we need more digitones with alternate synthesis engines. there is no better format, we just need more/deeper synth options
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MC101 is versatile. It sounds great, has lots of fxs, and you can use your own samples.
I use it in the studio as it sounds clean, but also on the couch, or in the bed, because small enough to leave it on the table close to bed.
This way I find some good presets, write my ideas, sometimes use my preloaded own samples.
And when i have a very nice loop I can resample it and save it as wav file, for reuse in samplers in the studio.
BUT:
- be prepared for presets diving. Many of them are nice, but it can need some time to find the good one.
- spend some time to watch videos to learn some useful shortcuts, as it has no good manual. Learning how to use can take some time and practice (it worth it
)
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Koala Sampler, absolutely.
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I like miRack on the iPad, it’s relaxing and a fun journey. I have a TR-6S and it’s great as a classic Roland drum machine and the FM is nice, but don’t find it very inspiring for making music on compared to my Elektrons/MPC. I think the MC-101 would be a lot more fun for your purpose personally and definitely appeals to me with its 3000 zencore presets & sample kits.
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I second Koala and the SP404mk2, even though OP explicitly excluded both of these in his OP
Next up for me would be a DT with a battery pack.
What I love about Koala and the SP404 is the ease with which I can sample things / feed new samples into them. No cables (other than a USB cable for the SP404 to iphone)/interfaces/additional microphones etc needed.
The DT has a great form factor and this wonderful second-order depth to it. Nice to play around with and craft music on when just idling and enjoying time off. And a battery pack is not super disruptive for me, just about tolerable to consider it mobile / “lap-compatible”
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For me it’s Elastic Drums on my iPhone.
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Well, think of it as “I need a smaller guitar that I can take with me wherever I go to play some riffs when I’m bored” - except I’m a synth nerd, not a guitarist.
Thanks for excellent input! Yes, if it were just idea generation, I agree the Circuit would be suitable, but I do value actually great sounds too and wouldn’t mind being able to sample from this idea generating device into the MPC if it actually sounds good. So a Roland MC-101 would probably be a better choice for me than the Circuit for that reason, since the synth sounds amazing (plus, it’s smaller).
To be honest, the Model:Cycles would be almost perfect if it had a built in battery or could be powered by a powerbank (easily+reliably; I have bad experiences with Ripcords). I owned a Digitone in the past and loved it, but it was way too clicky and tethered to its power brick.
For the most part, I agree. The two things missing for me are 1) usb power and/or built-in battery, and 2) less clicky buttons (my wife did not appreciate it when I used my Digitone in bed).
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I’d still say it is your ideal bedside companion. I have a RipCord cable that works fine. But BirdCord has a better reputation as some claim in here. Got mine in a complete package for just 200€. Absolute no-brainer.
Plus: It’s a very versatile little box. Not at all toy-like.
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Yeah, I’m leaning more and more towards it actually, and you’re describing pretty much exactly how I’d use it: find good presets, lay down some notes/chords/arps and if it sounds unique enough that I can’t easily reproduce it on the MPC, sample the loops and build from there.
I don’t mind learning key combos, I grew up with Street Fighter 2 and keyboard shortcuts on Windows software. If I can choose, I actually much prefer an efficient set of key combos over more buttons if it means I get a smaller device. (So yeah, the M8 would have been an interesting option too if it were more generally available.)
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I hear you. Will look into the BirdCord option. Maybe it’s less flaky on an M:C than on a MPC One.
I agree, for €200 it’s a no-brainer, even though something like a Roland MC-101 clearly will produce more interesting sounds for a synthwaver like myself. It’s probably between these two machines in the end. I think the M:C will generate more happy surprises, like my Digitone did, while the MC-101 will double as a sound module.
I’m not really a sample kind of musician, but I’m attracted to the idea of it. Just doesn’t inspire me in the same way a versatile synth does. With that said, I started my music hobby with a Roland W-30, but I never used it for sampling full phrases/parts, only for looping sounds and playing them as a subtractive synth with the LP filter.
I tried Koala but I have a hard time going from just silly voice samples to something that inspires me musically. Maybe it’s just too much fun to sample silly things with it. 
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I hear you, felt like that for a while myself. And nothing wrong with that either, a nice synth can have worlds of discovery in it, if that’s what’s calling you, you should definitely follow the calling
My attitude to samplers changed when I started thinking of the sample as just a complex VCO rather than “a sound” in its own right. It was only a small mental shift for me but made a big difference in the way I approached samplers. Suddenly all the sound shaping techniques that make synths so rich open up in a sample-based process as well with the added elements of modulating sample-specific parameters (pitch & time, start/end/loop point, playback direction etc). Not all samplers are suitable to that kind of workflow with samples, but eg the Digitakt is absolutely.
I’ve turned samples of a squeaky door into birdsong and a simple hihat one-shot into a flowing brook on the DT, which is really exiciting to me (but then also sound is more exciting to me than music :)).
I think with what I’ve read about your requirements so far, I do agree that the MC101 might just be the right one for you (if you don’t mind preset surfing that is)…or a Digitone with a battery pack 
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You don’t need a Ripcord or a Birdcord to power it via USB. The side power input can take 5V easily; I use a Minirig power cable to power mine from a USB battery.
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