Yeah, with how much they keep trying to cram into the Deluge the lack of real screen is increasingly becoming a detriment to it. Then you look at devices like the Polyend Play or the Squarp Hapax that have a similar grid format and how they use the screen and the grids together and the Deluge just becomes a head scratcher.
But you could argue that those two devices wouldn’t have existed without the Deluge first. But a Deluge MK2 with better sound engine and one or two screens and more knobs (and flexible Fx routing) is desperately needed.
There’s also devices like the Matriarch or Norand Mono which could benefit from a basic screen like the Deluge has if not just to toggle on those “hidden” menu options. I don’t think it’s a good design to require the user to have to pull open a manual to figure out where some options are and have minimal feedback whether you executed the button combo to get that option toggled. (That said, the Norand Mono gives a LOT of feedback for an analog synth without a screen when you’re dealing with modulation).
Touchscreens are mostly a no-go for me but I love what was done on the Dirtywave M8 where you essentially just use it as an assignable Kaoss Pad and to quickly (and smoothly) adjust parameters. This is where the touchscreen becomes a tool to assist the workflow and not the central point of input for the workflow unlike…
The MPC and Force touchscreens which suck ass. I refuse to use a 1010 device because at that point I might as well just use my phone, iOS is a very powerful platform for making music whether hardware purists like it or not and my phone is more powerful than an MPC.
I have such a love/ hate relationship with my MPC One’s screen/ menus. For sample editing, FX, and seeing everything on a track at a glance through the piano roll, it’s amazing. But the moment I try to utilize the mixers, send/ returns, audio tracks and some other features, my head starts spinning. Actually editing on the piano roll is something I’ve gotten used to, but the touch screen is so awkward and imprecise that it takes way longer than it should.
Someplace between the Deluge and the Maschine+ is the sweet spot for me. I love the compromises on the Nord Wave 2 & the Polyend Medusa — both have small screens but plenty of knobs. You can play them by ear using knobs and faders, and get some additional feedback by glancing at small displays.
I like the Deluge approach, but I admit that I hardly use things like alphanumeric renaming, and finding samples by name is just awful for me.
The OP-Z does a great job with LEDs and no screen overall, once you learn it. The compromise to Bluetooth to a phone is an interesting one for people who want screens. I’ve never used it, keep saying I should try it.
It seems like touch screens are not only a real distraction from what you might otherwise be trying to do with a hardware device, they also seem almost completely unnecessary if you have good design. I am thinking of the clever way Elektron boxes use their encoders and screen layouts to get at a ton of features quickly and easily. Same with the Iridium. Tons of information on the screen, and no reason to touch it. I like a scene interface that puts you right where you need to be with the click of a button and the turning of a knob. I can remember that much easier then where some fairly important feature is in a submenu or some detail and location I have to remember on a screen.
important to remember that a touch screen does nothing more than turn your fingers into knobs and buttons which have been in use on instruments by musicians for many years…
the tactility sucks but that’s another issue entirely
Screen, always yes, but not without a fair amount of tactile controls as well. I love my iPad, but it just doesn’t feel right on it’s own. Still better than mouse and keyboard for sure.
Maybe… I’m just saying, how can I seriously compose my musique concrète symphonies on the same device that is used to play angry birds? I much much more prefer to use my modular system, which is screenless. But hey that’s like my opinion.
I bought the Super 6 for its direct, uncomplicated user interface (and fab sound). I’d still have bought it if it had a small display for patch names and global options, even though I hardly ever save patches and change global stuff even less often.
A small screen often means there is scope for tweaks, updates and the addition of features overlooked by the designer (either due to inexperience or a rush to market). No screen means you’ll need more key combos for that kind of thing.
For me it’s large screens I have more of a problem with, where I have to come out of my knobby/slidey world and start to move my eyes around a number of edit fields and start to think how to interact with them. Of course it depends on the gear in question and Elektron gear is pretty good in this respect. My Akai MPC One seems to have been designed by a lot of individuals who each did things their own way…
People don’t like menu diving, screens are used to facilitate menu diving.
People have learnt to not like screens because most instrument makers don’t make good UI or understand user experience. Companies like Elektron do and nobody complains about using a screen.
Screens are kind of a red herring - what people don’t like is bad UI.
