1010music Blackbox

blipson_old · August 27, 2019, 11:22pm

Version 1.1.1 includes the following enhancements:

• Internal resampling. This can also be used to generate a WAV file of your entire mix.
Look for the Resam input selection on the Sample Recording screen

panelist · August 27, 2019, 11:29pm

As an exercise, let’s zoom out and rephrase your argumuement: “sure the iPad has a touchscreen, but my MacBook with music apps just seems so much better and more versatile.”

blipson_old · August 27, 2019, 11:51pm

I’ve attached my copy of the manual that I edit to include firmware update info, an outline of bookmarks if your PDF reader will show that, and a few extra bits of info:

1010Music-Blackbox-min.pdf (1.3 MB)

elektrobot7 · August 28, 2019, 5:14am

Same here not making music on the tablet but now I’m using the iPad to check the BB new firmware and videos also read this thread! Thanks Nauts for all the great info.

circuitghost · August 29, 2019, 7:44pm

Okay, so here goes, @blipson_old and @ddiamond84 and the rest of you - just a brief something that might end up into a larger context:

circuitghost · August 29, 2019, 7:44pm

And another one, while we’re at it:

(I think I like this one better, actually)

Skintechnician · August 30, 2019, 2:01am

Cool jams @circuitghost !! Care to share what instruments you used to sample?

ddiamond84 · August 30, 2019, 3:56am

Yes! Thank you for sharing! I’m digging it. Would love to know what the process included

circuitghost · August 30, 2019, 4:38am

Thanks yep, sure. The first one’s a bassline from the Reface CS, recorded live into the Reface looper and then routed through a Sherman Filterbank 2. As I recorded the sequence into the Black Box, I tweaked it live while it was playing to get some variation in there beyond the one LFO the Reface offers. That low and slow lead that comes in later, is an eight bar sequence from a Tempest run through a Volante and recorded straight into the Box as well.

All drums are chopped and sliced samples from old funk and jazz records. I had a batch lying around so I put them in the Box, sliced them up and made the beats directly in the Box.

circuitghost · August 30, 2019, 4:40am

Thank you I think I covered most of it in my reply to @Skintechnician, but in essence, I made all drums and beats from within the Black Box, chopping up old vintage recordings into one shots which then went into the Black Box sequencer.

The rest are recordings played by me live, from a Reface CS or a Tempest, pre-played live into their both respective sequencers and then tweaked live as I recorded them back into the Black Box. I used a Sherman Filterbank 2 and a Strymon Volante for added flavour. While the Filterbank added a lot of character, I’m less sure about the Volante. Not that it’s not great, but what it added was so subtle that I wonder if I couldn’t have achieved the same with the Black Box internal fx.

ddiamond84 · August 30, 2019, 4:47am

I just re bought a CS for the third time (why do I do this?!) and I have a tempest too! Gonna get to work. I love the other demo you shared of a recording you did with the CS. Really like your stuff, I think it’s a step up from most jams people share.

circuitghost · August 30, 2019, 7:44am

That is so nice of you to say, I really appreciate it. Thanks

Yeah, the Reface is a lovely synth, it’s been one of my top boards since it got out. I keep coming back to it all the time. The one thing I’ve missed with it is that like with some other VA:s, it doesn’t quite have the body to fill up the room and even when you’re processing it, it doesn’t quite sit comfortable in a mix all the time.

The Sherman Filter took care of that, though. It adds just the flavour needed and now, I’m working with only the Reface for bass, chords, leads and whatnot for the moment. But the Tempest is bound to come out shortly again. That, too, is one beast I’ve had for years and don’t see myself ever selling.

OHEXOH · August 30, 2019, 4:50pm

I couldn’t resist the Labor Day sale Control Voltage is running and snagged one with $60 off.

circuitghost · August 30, 2019, 5:24pm

Good call

GovernorSilver · August 30, 2019, 5:45pm

The recent updates and posts from fellow Octatrack owners caught my attention.

I tried perusing the manual but still have some questions.

I don’t see mention of sequencer tracks, so maybe they used a different terminology. Can you have tracks with individual pattern lengths in the sequencer?
There’s no MIDI CC support at all, right? Only MIDI modulation sources are Velocity, Mod Wheel, and Pan?

Neither of the questions are indicative of potential non-starters - just want to better understand what to expect.

dBridge · August 30, 2019, 6:52pm

I just used the BB for my live show at Atonal. It answered the not wanting to use a laptop onstage question. As a standalone synced clip launcher it works really well. I had it synced to OT and DT. Be nice if presets could be loaded over midi, much like the bank changes, but manual loading was fast and unit stays in sync through the changes. A lot of ppl I’ve talked to are interested in it for that reason. Removing Ableton from the live scenario.

circuitghost · August 30, 2019, 7:36pm

1 - Yes. And then some. Each pattern has its own length and time signature and you can run them in parallell. It’s polyrythm mayhem.

2 - No CC or automation worth mentioning. It really is barren in that regard.

circuitghost · September 4, 2019, 5:05am

I’m working on a slightly more complex thing with the Black Box now, and noticing that the headroom in this thing is really great. One of the reasons I sold the Deluge was that it always seemed to struggle when you had more than a few things going on, the sounds just sat there in an uncomfortable way, but the Black Box seems to handle this really well. Work the filter, adjust the gain, careful with the panning, add some fx for flavour and you can get a mix sound really good just in the box. I think it approaches Toraiz territory in this regard, actually.

What’s your experience with this? To me, it’s becoming a significant factor but maybe it all resides in the room that’s in my head

Lech · September 4, 2019, 8:41am

Some questions about the Blackbox, hope someone can answer from experience:

It looks like all the 3,5mm jack connections on the back are really close together, do you have issues connecting all cables at once?
Can you record really long stereo wav files straight to sdcard? For example to record a live set from your HW setup or a DJ mix?

Lech

circuitghost · September 4, 2019, 9:03am

Not as of yet, no. But yes, they’re tight. I’ve had both midi ports as well as the line in and two line outs connected at the same time, with no issues.

Can you record really long stereo wav files straight to sdcard? For example to record a live set from your HW setup or a DJ mix?

Yep. Not sure if there’s a defined length, but I’ve recorded minutes long sessions with no hassle.

As you sample, you can either set the maximum length in bars or just apply the Custom value, which is basically you turning the sampling off when you’re done. Since it writes to card, I don’t see the difference between a minute or an hour, provided there’s space on the card. It hasn’t failed me or crashed during a recording yet, though I’d recommend not doing this on battery power. The Box starts to behave when the battery’s approaching drain, and one of the things it does is to go on and off then. Have had no issue with this when I run from a wall adapter, though.