Father’s Day drawing and shirt by my son!!
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Beautiful gift. Also your son did amazing work
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Please be so kind to explain why TV is slower than other boxes?
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I’ve owned every modern Elektron except Model:Samples. None of them ever showed me a prompt “wait”. I get that prompt on Tonverk all the time, when I copy or paste a pattern, when I save, when I load a project. This isn’t that surprising, since I use multisamples and subtracks with lots of samples prepared on a PC. I assume it’s a lot faster if you only use single tracks and wave finder, but for me, multisamples and round robin subtracks are the reason I love TV. It’s a bummer and a slower experience compared to any other Elektron. There’s also things like you can’t copy and paste a pattern to an empty pattern, which slows you down when jamming and is a problem for improvised live performances with several patterns etc. The TV offers unique features that are worth it to live with these slowdowns for me, but I think people should know about that before buying.
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I haven’t used any multi samples with it and have found it really fast, that’s part of the appeal for me.
I’m not surprised it’s slower when using them, but in general I find it as fast getting music down as the other Elektrons I’ve used, DT specifically as that’s my most used one.
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Yeah, I suspected that and have just added a disclaimer specifying that. Tonverk without multisamples and round robin subtracks is removing all of the elements I love it for, but I can see using it just like a beefed up DT and being faster. Didn’t sound like @Stone262 was interested in that though, their usecase sounds close to mine.
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Yeah your point was clear. I hope they can bring those load times down for multisamples, that’s a flow killer I imagine.
And yes my use case is a DT without clicks, polyphony and more effects which it excels at.
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Arrived just now 
looks amazing I’m gonna have a fun saturday checking this out.
Tonverk
Intentions after a few hours play is to start mapping controls from Tonverk on Neuzeit The Drop for even more fun. Happy Days 
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My setup is a Tonverk, TEO-5 (desktop) and a midi controller, alongside my guitar gear (my primary instrument) and it’s a fantastic setup. I feel like basically all of my bases are covered.
If you can get the TV before selling your Hydrasynth, it’s really easy to multisample so you can keep some of your favorite patches 
I’ve been using that feature to pull VST stuff I like out of the box for hardware jamming
TV also works really well with a good powerbank so it feels portable enough for me (worth the extra heft for the extra features)
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I really appreciate your extensive answer.
I am asking for the following reason.
I had A4, Keys. DT1
Now I still have OT (which I adore)
I am thinking to get one more box, TV or something else.
Under consideration are: Track8, TV or 1010 black box mk1.
Main reason - I want to record 8 bars, and process them.
I have some other instruments, and mixer.
TV looks very interesting, Track 8 is close second.
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At the risk of @Azzarole accusing me of hoarding, I am completely with you! I have been watching videos and researching the Continuum for over a decade, and always passed on it due to price. I have to admit that my Linnstrument, Osmose and Push 3 were each attempts to get to something like the expressiveness of the continuum for less money. I do recognize looking back that I could have come close to getting a continuum for the price of those three controllers. I didn’t buy them all at once though. No regrets.
I’m about 90% sure the Slim 21 will be my next purchase (probably next year). So glad it’s here!
Quick question. I am probably not all that interested in learning the EaganMatrix software editor (at least until retirement, not joking). Is buying the Slim21 worth it even if you don’t want to muck around in the EaganMatrix editor?
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@evsey: What exactly would you do with that TV/Track8/Blackbox? I think they’re good and bad at very different things. Your OT might also cover a lot of those things. If you’re mainly interested in songwriting/arranging, I would choose something that doesn’t follow the Elektron pattern and sequencer paradigm.
No worries, if I would accuse anyone in this thread of buying too much stuff, it would be @rob_lee 
.
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How could I resist the Tonverk tho? 
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Yes,
Main goal is arranging or more or less create a track.
OT sampling is ok, too capable and too many options.
I like OT to mangle existing samples, and record 4 bars.
Thanks for sharing!
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I’m still in the honeymoon period, with just over a week of Continuum ownership, but I’m very much obsessed with playing and learning the Continuum as an instrument.
My experience as a beginning Continuum player
I’ve been putting in 2+ hours of playing / practice time on it every day for the last week, and find myself amazed both by the playing experience and the sonic worlds it opens up. It begs to be played – I’ve had a few too many late night playing sessions this week and my sleep has suffered for it.
It is a new and challenging instrument to play – it very much requires active looking, active listening, and honing new aspects of your physical coordination. This is true of all instruments of course, but the learning curve feels steeper compared to something like the Linnstrument or Osmose.
There are no non-visual physical landmarks on the surface so you have to get used to the feedback loop of asking yourself “where are my fingers?” and “what do the on board display and my ears say about how close I am to hitting the notes I wanted?” and adjusting appropriately. Very much like fretless string instruments such as the violin, viola, etc.
The configurable note rounding can very much be an aid in getting it “exactly right”, but I’m also appreciating how natural and interesting to the ear things can sound when single notes or chords are a little off or sloppy. As someone who has primarily played keys for the last couple of decades I sometimes fail to appreciate how good it can sound to hit a slightly off note. It makes for a very human sound.
The Eagenmatrix synth engine also allows for sustain and two sustenuto pedals, and the Slim 21 begs for a “tri-octave” pedal setup. So integrating foot movements is part of the playing experience in addition to fingers and ears.
Do I sound great playing it? Not yet! 
But there are many moments of sonic “Wow!” and enough beautiful lines, figures or chords I do manage to hit that I’m happy and motivated. The instrument keeps calling back to me.
Programming the Eagenmatrix
One of my justifications to myself when I considered purchasing the Slim21 was that I saw it as a synth engine not just a controller. And indeed the built-in Eagenmatrix is an hugely flexible synthesis engine that is capable of a startling array of sounds especially since its deeply coupled with the oustanding playing surface of the Continuum.
However, I will admit I haven’t made any attempt to dive into the programming the Eagenmatrix yet.
Just using the playing surface timbre changes, the 6 macro parameters, plus the recirculator (delay/reverb) and EQ parameters attached to each patch, I’ve been able to get a huge range of sounds. I’ve been writing down all my “how did they do that?!” patches to explore once I do dive into the bowels of the Eagenmatrix.
Cons
The few cons I have so far mostly relate to the Haken Editor software. The Editor is a little “janky” in the sense that it uses non-standard UI elements, non-flexible scaling, and has some issues with reflecting parameter changes absolute MIDI changes sent to the Continuum by third party controllers (the Continuum responds fine, its the editor that doesn’t update its state). My understanding is that the Haken Editor has recently undergone a re-write from a Max/MSP app to an implementation in JUCE so hopefully these idiosyncracies will be worked out in short order.
Integration into my studio
I’ve only done superficial tests of the Slim 21 with other instruments and VSTs in my studio. For example, I used it to play some MPE capable patches in Live and on the Push 3. That worked and sounded great. This weekend I plan to test it with some MPE capable hardware synths such as the Erica Steampipe and the Supercritical Redshift 6.
I haven’t tried to go the other direction yet, such as using the Push 3 to play the Slim 21, but I also plan to explore that this weekend. Because the Slim 21 is limited in size and hence immediacy of playing range, I’ve been thinking about trying to learn coordination of left-hand playing (bass lines, chords) on the Push 3 coupled with right hand playing on the Slim 21 (melodic stuff; fast expressive playing). The combo of the Slim 21 + Push 3 seems like it should provide an infinity of expressive playing and synthesis!
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Thanks for this very thoughtful, articulate and (for now) thorough review of your experiences. I hope you’ll share more. I am excited for you (and me eventually).
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Be interesting to hear how well the Redshift 6 pairs with it.
I guess you also tried a Linnstrument in the past? Presume quite different experience?
Yes, the Continuum is quite a different experience than the grid based Linnstrument.
I was an early Linnstrument adopter (2015) and it was my introduction to grid based playing surfaces. I think it’s an excellent controller, it’s highly portable, and it can be very expressive.
As much as I enjoyed playing the Linnstrument, I could never get quite the fine degree of control I desired out of the Y and Z axes. The large range of the Y- and Z-axes on the Continuum suits me perfectly. X-axis slides are doable on both Linnstrument and Continuum, but again I think the Continuum sets a high bar in this regard. Everyone’s manual dexterity and fine motor control vary of course, and there are videos of great players showing that super fine control is very much possible with the Linnstrument.
I sold my Linnstrument 200 about a year ago to another 'naut; but do miss it sometimes. I’ve considered picking up a Linnstrument 128 if I can find a good deal. I think the Linnstrument 128 + Slim 21 would be a great combo in the same way as the Push 3 + Slim 21 (minus the synthesis and sampling capabilities of the Push 3).
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I bought the last PWM Malevolent from Thomann. My purchase is validated but the Malevolent statut changed to ‘out of stock’. I contacted thomann to be sure, and they confirmed me I have bought the last one… Malevolent end of production ?
Yeah, I’m not much into chopping or slicing samples, it’s definitely more the multisample and working with sort of 8 bar clips or bits of audio that I’m into, coming from the Blackbox.
I think if I got a Tonverk, the Blackbox would be the last thing I would sell as part of retrospectively funding the purchase. Of the gear on the chopping block the BB is definitely the one I feel closest to and most inspired by, and I think it offers some complementary utility to the TV with looping and clip launching. Plus it’s really small so it isn’t as much in the way as other gear.
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