Not ‘OP’, but I think the Circuit would be an awesome companion – drum parts, pads, synths and all.
Off the top of my head, sequence length is 128 max, with one step length selectable between sth like 1/32 and 2 bars, so your sequences could be mighty long, of course at the expense of note resolution.
And the drum pads are exactly what the BB needs, no fun drumming with a touch screen (mileage may vary).
I would love it if somehow a Circuit fell on my lap – probably won’t dish out the cash for it now, but it’s fantastic on its own, even more so with the BB, I’m sure.
Yep, though like @josker said, while the Blackbox is capable of some mighty long sequences, it happens at the expense of note resolution. With that said, you can still get a solid 1/16th resolution thing going over 128 steps, which is about what the Circuit can do, if I recall correctly.
Where the Blackbox sequencer falls short to some extent, compared to the Circuit especially, is that it’s nowhere near as immediate to shift things around, stretch and pull gate lengths, work with velocity and stuff. The Circuit is superior when it comes to programming nuances with speed, and the Blackbox just can’t do that. But its option to run sixteen sequences in parallell, all with their own time signature and step count, with individual start and stop cues based on quantisation, create ≥opportunities that not even some dedicated hardware sequencers offer So it’s no slouch. Just very specific.
Thanks, as always, for your insight
I should receive my BB tomorrow, so I’m at the stage where I’m thinking about the best way to integrate the devices I already have.
At this point it seems the best way to go about this would be to just send clock from the BB, handle the sequencing from the Circuit itself and sample the result into the BB, but I guess I’ll have to play around and see what’s best
Does the looping feature allow for overdub and undo? Wondering how this compares to traditional loopers. Or is the looping more like clips in Ableton and less like a traditional looper?
You can resample both through hardwired outputs and internally. It’s not overdubbing per se, put it is a way to condense multiple tracks into one. It’s quick and efficient, but not looper-immediate as far as overdubbing is concerned.
Can quantization for audio recordings be turned off? Like, if I want to record an instrument into it (guitar, etc). I’m a little confused on that. I saw on the 1010 forum that people are requesting an unquantized feature but not sure if they are talking about sequencing versus audio recordings.
Yes, audio recordings can be of custom length, where you simply turn off the automated ending point and keep at it until something ends - your SD card’s memory, your endurance or time itself as we know it I think people’s main bug about the quantization thing is the midi part of it. No way to nudge, play off grid or anything J Dilla-style.
Wait I think I’m confused (as usual). Maybe I’m assuming it’s more a DAW than it actually is. I assumed it has audio and midi clips, like Ableton. Or does it only have midi clips? Like, can I connect an external instrument, hit record, and get a loop of, say, a two bar clip going? Or instead is it more of a traditional sampler route, e.g., hit record, then stop, then name/assign it somewhere, etc?
Basically, I’d like to live-perform with external instruments into the BB - recording them in audio clips in real time and also be able play the external instruments through the BB too (applying BB’s effects, etc.)
Btw, it has no motion sequencing correct? I know no p-locks but wasn’t sure about motion sequencing.
It can record audio until the end of time or your SD card. So your long improvisations can be recorded as audio, no problem.
There’s also a midi sequencer in there, which you can use to launch samples. Your long jam sessions, just a one shot hi-hat, or both and anything else you fill the sixteen sample slots with.
The midi sequencer has sixteen patterns. Each pattern has its own time signature and number of steps. A pattern can control all sample slots, just a few or only one, if you like. It’s totally up to you.
String your patterns together with the Song mode, and you got yourself a song.
It has no automation or p-locking, but it does record midi velocity from either an external source of through some live tweaking with the velocity parameter. It’s a much requested feature in the 1010 forum, but hasn’t had any love so far.
You got a tape recorder. That tape recorder has sixteen reels. Each of these reels can be as long or short as you like. Record something to any reel. That’s your audio.
To launch a reel, or several, either just tap them from the sample slot screen, or put them in a midi sequencer pattern. The first is more live and DJ style, the second is more structured and for those who prefer control.
Once you got a bunch of patterns you like, string them together for automated playback in the song mode. If a pattern is a bunch of your reels in an organised pile, the song mode is all those piles assigned in order.
You’re welcome I recognise myself in your line of thinking, so I figured I’d do my best to spare you the pain, as I wish someone had done for me.
I had similar pains with the Empress Zoia and eventually just decided to get one to try it out, to understand what it was. Fortunately, I’m too daft for the Zoia so it went back to the store faster than my youngest changes diaper. And we change his diaper a lot.
I barely had time to take the little boy out of the box, put it in his new home (case I bought from Amazon) and started loading samples in the micro sd. Then I started looking around for synths I could get. Then I stopped to think about the money I spent in the last couple of months for an OP-Z, a Circuit and the new guy. No, no more gear for a while.
Though, I have an old iPad Mini 2 I thought I’d use to make music before I decided to scrap that idea since I do enough staring at a screen during the day at work.
So, is there some good app for sound design I could use to feed the Blackbox? Do you guys use an iOS device for this purpose?
