You can get a usb hub for $10. Cable management would be messier so I see where you are coming from. The EVO plus the peripherals would be $70 less though and you would have more USB
Also, in the other direction, you have the SSL 2+ for $280 with MIDI built in.
Scarlett is still a fine choice
so that portable synth-based tracker that trash80 has been working on has finally shipped to everyone as of monday and I’m getting mine today! I am SO FUCKING EXCITED
Oh man, that thing looks fun to play with, yeah.
The new Plogue chipSynth sfc has been out for a little bit. I only found out today. I bought it straight away and loudly sighed uncontrollably after playing a few notes. Tried a few sounds and really like it so far.
Too bad he doesn’t know me!
Well, a few months ago, I came across a fascinating video on YouTube, titled simply “Oscar Peterson Synth”
Further complicating matters, In the Key of Oscar is also the name of a documentary on his life, which made it very difficult to find this recording.
sick
has anyone here fucked with the elektron model:samples and have thoughts about it? the big gap in my current hardware workflow is a) sampler b) sequencer and i’ve been eyeing this as a cheap-ish way to go pure hardware and see what the big deal about elektron’s sequencers is
i’m currently using a weird hybrid setup where i’m using ableton as a sampler and to sequence a roland system-1 but doing everything else in hardware, and the difference in workflow between the two is pretty stark (hardware = just tweak knobs and have fun, ableton = lots of prep + push requiring menu-diving for anything making it hard to change things up on the fly.)
i’ve not used one, but was talking to a friend recently when i was selling my digitone. apparently the sequencer is basically the same in both, which is to say it’s really great. once you get used to it, the workflow is super easy and intuitive. part of my problem with having a digitone was that it was too easy to make things that sounded good, but not necessarily what i wanted to make. but as part of a bigger setup, the model series seem great for the price.
i know people love the digitakt too, so the sampling side is probably pretty solid.
yes I have had one, I actually even used it for drums with my octatrack because I wanted to use the octa more for FX on my synths but I have since sold it after finding a setup that gets me the FX I want without having to use the octatrack’s inbuilt stuff
if you’re not planning on doing any live sampling (meaning sampling your synth in real time and then playing it back without stopping the track at all) then model:samples is pretty great - you’re basically buying the cheapest version of elektron sequencers which I’ve always had fun with. the workflow difference you’re citing above is exactly the reason I got into pure hardware and I’ve somehow been able to do a weeklybeats track every week for 3/4ths of the year, which is an unprecedented amount of writing for me.
elektron sequencers are a lot of fun! the main draw is parameter locking, which allows you to change any parameter on the sample on a per-step basis. so if you want a clap sound to be louder or bring the filter cutoff up SPECIFICALLY on the 13th step all you need to do is hold down the 13th step on model:samples and twist the knob to what you’d like the value on that step to be. there are also cool things you can do with the chance and playback parameters, where you can specify a sample to only play every OTHER sequence or only play 45% of the time when the step is hit. all of this means that you can take a simple 16-step sequence and make it much “longer” and more dynamic just through p-locking, and the model:samples gives you a sequence length of 4 bars
oh oh and what makes elektron boxes really nice for live performance is that if you hold the “track” button and twist a parameter knob it’ll change the value for every track on the box, which means you can totally fuck up your sequence and make it sound wild, but if you hold the function button and hit “Pattern”, it’ll reload the sequence as it was saved initially, so you can dynamically create buildups and then drop everything back to how it was before
the main issues with the model samples is that you’ve only got 6 tracks, and if you’re going to be sequencing the system-1 with it then you’ll actually have 5 tracks for percussion, which is only a problem for me because I often like big standout percussive elements to have long tails and using parameter locks to play different samples will cut off the tail of the currently-playing one. the screen is also super minimal, so you’ll need to spend some time figuring out the structure of the menus, but model:samples is the one box that has a dedicated knob for almost every different parameter you’d want to change on the sample itself so you won’t need to do much menu-diving when you actually get into playing, it’s just project management stuff with sample loading and stuff like that.
it also comes with a bunch of single-cycle waveforms that you can use to actually turn the sample into a synth which is fun but I already have my synth boxes so I never really use it that way
oh and I’m pretty sure they’ve added in the ability to parameter lock samples themselves, so you can put in different samples on the same track - that wasn’t there in the release firmware
HAVING SAID ALL THAT - if your budget allows it and you’re at all interested in sequencing more things or adding synths to the setup, I would highly recommend the digitakt, since it does everything the model:samples does but better and the only problems are 1. slightly more menu diving because it doesn’t have knobs-per-parameter and 2. a little bit easier to fuck up your buildup/breakdown because the reload pattern functionality is like, right next to the save pattern shortcut
the digitakt was my “I will never sell this” box until someone showed me how I can use my octatrack as a mixer and fx send, and I’m basically just using my octatrack as a glorified digitakt that I can send synths into and not have to lug around a mixer for live shows. the digitakt sounds really, really good and you have 8 tracks of samples AND 8 tracks of MIDI sequencing and they’re separate from each other so you’re not sacrificing tracks to sequence
unfortunately it being really good means the used market has not dropped the price very much so the digitakt is essentially twice as expensive as the model:samples. the model:samples is still really great! so it’s mostly a matter of what you’d like to do and this isn’t to warn you off of model:samples or anything. the fact that model:samples is exposing all of the parameters as knobs is very much a selling point, especially in live settings, so that’s something I’d take into account considering that your reasoning for going pure hardware is to get away from having to set things up
elektron stuff seems to hold value really well, which is good if you are unsure (but do have the cash) as you can probably sell it for close to what you paid. i actually sold my digitone for more than i paid.
oh I also forgot to mention that I liked the distortion you could get on the model:samples, it’s built into the level of the sample itself so if you go past 100 it’ll overdrive and sound nice
this is all super super helpful, thank you!!
also,
ah yes, the new erica synth module series, magic the gathering
actually thinking about it now it sounds more like a bastl thing
look, I know we talked a whole bunch about model samples but:
IT IS SO SMOL AND CUTE
very few knobs buuuut if you don’t mind adding a bit of complexity to your parameter changes it might satisfy your percussion needs @physical
it does samples! but also the classic roland machines! and fm drums! it’s tiny! and battery powered! so cute
