With or without the grid?
with a grid
If grid is important, maybe ZOIA is the closest, but even though has the same philosophy of āCreate everything you want from the ground upā it doesnāt have that developer-esque view in his design.
yeah zoia definitely a cool pedal but I sure wish there was a walnut grid that I could get with self contained mlr style sampling and sequencing, itās 2021 why havenāt Monome put out a unit like that 
Iāve been seeing this question asked for 10+ years on forums. I always though it would be cool. But donāt let a USB cable stop you from trying it out.
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I know ā¦sighā¦, it was probably me asking, I keep checking for itā¦ I just canāt take another usb cable lol; and I know weāve got a ton of geniuses out there who love to connect this that and the other to this that and the other but pretty please throw the rest of us a boneā¦
do you know if novation had of simply created this with one of their launchpads they would have sold more than all of their circuity groove boxes put together
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I hear you. A stand alone grid sampler would be the shit.
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Sorry if this has already been mentioned, or asked butā¦ would it be realistic to think of a script that acts as some sort of transition looper + dj mixer (maybe with some effects?)
In other words: Norns receiving audio on channel A > looping into a buffer on channel B (quantized to tempo, number of bars defined while sampling), with a crossfading option between the two (I think you know where this is going)
Then having a Low/Mid/High EQ with some sort of resonance control, and - if possible - a few effects to play around with.
Even if itās only playable with an external controller (which is kind of what I was thinking) it could be a really nice portable Octatrack replacement for transitioning between tracks without much hassle (and a really small footprint + extra uses).
EDIT: it does seem like thereās bits and pieces spread around different scripts that could make up for something like thisā¦ wondering how far you can push the CPU, although my specs arenāt too demanding, I think
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I actually had the same thing in mindā¦
Maybe MLR would do the trick (and more)?
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isnāt that, on some level, what the polyend tracker does?
after all these years without a combined product like that, my guess? because they wouldnāt use it themselvesā¦which sounds silly to some people but they reeeeeally never make or sell designs that they donāt use (or think they need) for their own music and performances
but that was actually the second thought i had
people complain about cost of everything they sell and my brain first jumped to the prohibitive cost of a device that combines their 128 button grid, screen, i/o ports, memory and software
basically sounds like norns + grid which, at full price in aluminum hardcases, ran for $1600 total
now that new grids are roughly $500 and something like norns shield is ~$300 you might be able to cobble something together nearer to a $900-1000 pricepoint
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I hope that is what polyend is doing with the new beat machine they are teasing right now, and regarding the tracker it is nice but quite different from mlrā¦but if I could get a stand alone from monome, in a walnut case that was as sleek as the polyend tracker I would pay handsomely for itā¦ itās true that we can just about cobble together anything these days but tbh Iām over that whole processā¦ Iām looking for convenience and willing to pay for it. ā¦right now my workflow convenience meter is set for the model samples/cycles and Iām judging everything by that bar
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i can understand that and kinda feel the same (why digitakt and some TE gear has been really useful to me lately)
frustrating in alot of ways but monome are way too small a company to make something as sleek and convenient as elektron M/S
the door is wide open for someone else to steal the idea 
well the tracker form factor would be the ideal but I would definitely settle for the current iteration of their monome, and the whole Norns setup isnāt too shabby in the design department so I think they have the chops but like you said if they donāt use it themselves then maybe it wonāt happenā¦ In the beginning of the whole monome trend it was kind of similar to how the octatrack garnered so many followers/ supporters for being so esoteric and rightfully or unrightfully so complex etcā¦ and it seemed like the more complicated something was the cooler it was but now that sheen has kind of worn off, at least for me and what I want is complexity made simple, and made portable, instruments that you can keep with you all the time and easily pull out and just dive inā¦
the iPad and iPhone are alright but not tactile, and a device with a bunch of usb cables and controllers sticking out of it is fiddly and really puts a dent in the joy of making music, especially on the goā¦ the deluge and the polyend tracker are seemingly perfect for this but no mlr inside 
whomever does finally do it will make a lot of money, people are willing to pay a lot just for the fun of mangling and flipping samples
Agreed
Btw itās slightly off topic but i just saw the Polyend proto you mentioned and it might be close to what we want
looks insane even in a brief glimpse!
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I think synthstrom could easily do it too, by just offering an alternative firmware, and it wouldnāt even be anywhere near as much work to develop as their current firmware, the deluge is a beastā¦ and they wouldnāt need to change their hardware
well keeping my fingers crossed for polyend
Mildly interested to know what makes mlr so special over the other two ?
Thatās a great question and itās difficult to describe. I donāt know if I really understand MLR in its current state on Norns anyway. Itās very much a work in progress and lacks some features which the MAX MSP counterpart had, which can make it somewhat difficult to work with.
Here are a few things that may contribute to the appeal of MLR:
- Daedalus famously used it to great effect!
- The grid controller interface which allows for quick overall control and excellent minimalist visual feedback.
- The sample cutting āpageā to create looping windows or re-trigger linear samples or loops along various points.
- The ability to record and playback automation of nearly all controls, quantized or not.
- The ability to reach bizarre territory with ease, in a somewhat Octatrack but more zen-like manner.
ā¦and I just realized I have no idea what the Deluge or Polyend really do, so Iām not sure what more to say. runs away and watches videos into the night
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canāt add much to that, but all three are different workflows
when I said polyend tracker and the deluge were perfect, I meant their form factors/ physical design, for example the deluge looks like a monome, but does different things as itās geared towards being an piano roll.
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Generative little jam with Dirtywave M8 Tracker and Monome Norns with o-o-o script. What a duo!
o-o-o from @infinitedigits is very very fun and quick for jamming. 
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Iāve had thoughts of making this out of 2 Launchpad Minis and my Norns Shield i.e. taking the Launchpads out of their enclosures and building an all-in-one device with the Shield mounted at an angle for ease of use and a high powered battery pack built in. Iām not sure when Iāll get around to it, though.
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