Groovebox for live performance

I’d imagine the Digitone would be awesome

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Get an Elektron Model:Samples and a Model:Cycles. That combo will check all of your boxes!

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They call it Syntakt.

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would be cool if it gets “hacked” with alternative firmware at some point. but I think the user base is too small

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I’ve done live sets with a few different groovebox setups. A couple of paired Novation Circuits, a single Circuit and a Circuit Mono Station, an MPC Live, even an iPad with groove apps.

But I’m currently very happy with my Elektron setup (DT/DN/ST). These boxes seem like the Goldilocks zone for me, even just in terms of live immediacy. I very much still prep my music for live performance, but in the moment during a performance, I can easily be playful and creative.

I didn’t get that immediacy with the MPC Live. Not that the MPC isn’t a beast. It is. It was just “too much” for what I wanted to do, and setting aside the DAW-in-a-box menu diving, I think all that ready-made content encouraged lazy habits from me. Yeah, I know, you get out what you put in, but I found to get unique with my sounds on the MPC Live, I had to get pretty deep in menu-dive territory, which led to frustration, which led to falling back on often using existing loops and other identifiable samples, which often led to less satisfaction in creating “my” sound.

All just personal experience, since others can and do certainly create amazing, unique music on the MPC. If you happen to gel with the Live, more power to you. Literally. :wink:

I did hold on to the Circuit Mono Station. I think it’s a modern classic, and I personally love its dirty sound, creative sequencing and knob-per-function workflow. In fact, the CMS is what drove me to pick up my first Elektron (Digitone). I wanted more of the creative pleasure I was getting with the CMS and found it in the Elektron Way.

This is all my long-winded way of saying I’m good with what my Elektrons give me for live performances (with a Keystep sometimes), and don’t have much of a reason to look for alternatives.

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damn, i forgot about it!

it happened for a reason – Syntakt is not so straightforward as MC-101 / Circuits when it comes to battery power (requires 3rd party adaptor to run off a power bank) – but yeah, it’s cool AF.

i must unshelve it since rolling blackouts here in Ukraine appear to be over.

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The Force is the ultimate performance groovebox.

However, the best groovebox is the one that you know best. That’s why I’m preparing for my first live performance since 2009 with an OP-Z plus a bunch of controllers.

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why? What makes it so performance suited?

The pad layout for clip/scene launching, knob macros, disk streaming, crossfader, ability to run plugins, built-in isomorphic keyboard with poly aftertouch…

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Here’s a suggestion out of left field, but have you looked at the Synthstrom deluge? It’s got a unique workflow, but I think it should be able to tick all your boxes in it’s own ways.

Ah they added it in an update I guess?

I guess a model cycles is a pretty straight forward groovebox, with all the controls easy to reach, and great for live performance, unless you need samples. An analog four also can work wonders, and I would also recommend an analog rytm in case you need samples. If you need long samples, warping loops, etc, you should better call an OT or even a Digitakt :wink: Any of those listed before can deliver full live on their own.

I’ve mostly employed an OT plus one other thing, though I’ve done shows with just the OT and a bass guitar. Probably had the most fun with OT + eurorack. Aside from being silly expensive, too many things can (and do) go haywire. I also think in the vast majority of cases, live eurorack jams are much more fun to do than to listen to :slight_smile:

Had a good run with OT + Cycles, OT + EssenceFM and currently OT + Syntakt. That’s a powerful setup. Also liked the sound of OT + A4, but I never got so fluid with the A4 to move quickly enough. Also did a whole set with just the Syntakt. It’s really fun to jam on.

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Yup, in firmware 3.1 back in 2021. I think it still hasn’t made it to MPCs for some reason though.

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I think the opposite. It depends on who you listen to imho. Eurorack techno set are much more interesting than the average hardware set.

The fact that you can access more parameters in real time and you can go deeper in sound design makes them much more appealing to me.

Of course eurorack is harder to master that’s why there Is a lot of garbage/improvised jam, but there are also a lot of gems difficult to replicare in a groovebox/hardware only set.

But I also think that an eurorack set needs the help of a groovebox/sampler/looper/drum machine

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Of course there are amazing exceptions for sure. And yes I’ve heard eurorack shine in techno situations. I still have and use eurorack and love it for jamming at home, recording said jams and using them for song parts later. Also, keep in mind I’m just speaking from my own experience.

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M:S and Digitakt are great for jamming live stuff. They hit that balance of fun and capability. My other favorite for live jamming is the Polyend Tracker. They nailed it with the Performance Mode on that box.

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Could you elaborate a bit more in the set up OT + bass ? I am always curious about how pairing the OT with a live instrument works.

Sure, but it’s quite basic (no pun intended). Once I get some percussion going, I’ll play bass into the OT and record various parts. Maybe through a pedalboard or just straight in. Once a few parts are sampled in, I can slice and mangle the basses to (hopefully) add interest as the jam develops. Some tunes are just bass mangled in different ways to morph into ‘percussion’ or ‘pads’ or whatever. Sometimes it even sounds like a bass :slight_smile:

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If your music and performance is like in the video, I assume that a MPC or a MPC like instruments are not best choice considering the workflow.

Just watch and compare videos of artists performing on a MPC. Quite different approach, which makes much use of the pads and sometimes virtuose finger drumming.

AFAIK the Electribe instrument familiy was made for Techno in the first place and the workflow and kind of performing are quite different compared to a MPC. Electribes have more “buttons” to tweak as well - particularly compered to a MPC Live - and for a performance I would prefer a box with more buttons than less :wink:

MPC / Electribe are species of two very different worlds, I would say.

Combining a MPC with a SP-404 MK II could be an interesting alternative or using a Force … or get an Electribe :smiley:

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