I feel like this aspect gets largely blown out of proportion. The unique interactions you can have via the touchscreen can be just as interesting as turning a knob. See Animoog, Borderlands, etc. I find using Drambo on an iPad very satisfying though a bit cramped on an iphone. Considering the other parameters set forth in the OP the iPad seems like the strongest contender.
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Ohw really! I will check it out, thank you.
I think the answer to this question is that you should try it for a while. I have piano and cello experience (and the occasional period of dabbling in guitar) and I enjoy using an iPad for music. Yes, a touchscreen knob isn’t the same, if you think of it as a knob. But there is a lot of flexibility in a touchscreen interface, and the better apps take advantage of it. In the Mononoke drone synth, for example, touching a key selects its pitch, but if you slide up/down while maintaining contact, it changes volume, and if you slide left/right, it changes pitch. That is arguably better than a fixed physical key on an electronic device, even with aftertouch or ability to rock. Fluss, which I’ve just acquired, lets one flick 1D or 2D controls so they continue to move, and one can adjust the “friction” so they maintain trajectory or slow to a stop.
What I find really limiting is using a QWERTY keyboard and mouse/trackpad, designed for a completely different kind of interaction. But that’s okay, it keeps me off my laptop when I want to enjoy myself (apart from the always enjoyable interactions here on Elektronauts!).
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ha!
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I have a wide range of gear like I stated in the previous post. Each one has aspects I like, and aspects that are not ideal. The DAW is super powerful, but to coax a better experience I have to hook up midi controllers like keys, pad grids, and fader/knob controllers.
I have a small knob per function mono synth, and it’s a joy to have that interaction, but it can’t save anything and lacks many features I have come to appreciate from other synths like my DigiKeys which needs a screen and some menus and related control buttons.
I have a bass guitar and regular guitars, a couple electric and an acoustic. I love the immediacy of the acoustic, but it lacks the effects chain and amplified sound I crave from the electrics. I have grooveboxes like the Akai Force, Electribes, and Digitakt. Each one does certain things really well, but each one lacks something the others excel at.
The iPad does some things really well. When I hook up my midi controllers to it at home, it makes apps like Koala, Drambo, and others shine. When I’m away from those controlllers, travelling or staying with family, I just use it in another way knowing I’ll get back to using it with midi devices.
I don’t feel anything about any one device holds me back. I have more than enough power, tools, and controls to express myself in anyway that need to musically and creatively.
But thinking about the OP, about daily travel, I just couldn’t see myself choosing one of my many portable options over my iPad.
I have traveled with my BlackBox and a small power brick - still need a case and cable and then you are left with something far less powerful than Koala app.
I’ve taken my Digitakt and sat at my
Parents house during holidays, click clacking away while tethered to a wall - far less portable and powerful that Drambo.
I’ve taken my Electribe or my Sp-404x2 - battery powered, some headphones, all is great but still a need for a case, and still less powerful and well rounded than what I can achieve on the iPad alone.
I now keep that stuff at home. I’m not a ‘in the coffee shop making rad beats’ type of guy. I spend far more hours making music in my apartment studio than on the road. The iPad is more than powerful and capable enough on its own no matter where you are.
This doesn’t mean everyone has to like it. I’ve tried and sold off lots of great gear that others love because it just wasn’t for me. On a train, give me the tablet, some headphones, and the ability to close it up and stash it in my backpack to disembark any day over any box with knobs and extra case to carry… day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day day after day after day …………….
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IPad is the quietest.
Model:Samples or Model:Cycles are the next quietest (never tried deluge).
OP-Z is next.
It’s no where near the clacking of a DT/ST. It’s got little buttons that do make a noise but again very quiet. I would consider this the limit of using a groove box in a quiet train car.
It’s quieter than most quiet (low height) computer keyboards. Anything louder than that I would think is too loud for quiet car train travel.
I have an iPad Pro M2 and rarely use it for music making anything. I don’t like needing an adapter for the headphones and rather use a groove box like OP-Z when traveling, mostly because it’s size and number of options.
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As others have said, model:cycles would be very quiet, particularly if you turn off velocity sensitivity on the six track pads.
It’s such an interesting instrument, that I could imagine using it for hours each day and not getting bored as well.
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I recently picked up an electribe 2 to jam on holidays, including on trains and planes. I have to say it’s about the maximum size for a train or plane, probably too big if busy. And just now on the sofa my wife watching Netflix gave me a mean look because of the noise. I was browsing presets by playing the pads and could possibly be quieter if I disable velocity sensitivity but I think you might need an extremely quiet device if you are already concerned. I really want to jam so I’m going to try again with altered technique.
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Model Samples is my pick.
Fill it up with a wide variety of sounds and make the most of the knobby interface and squishy buttons.
Edit the step sequencer versus playing the pads for velocity for an even quieter experience (I do this anyway as I prefer dialing in the microtiming).
I only wish it had its own compressor.
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Yeah. The only thing I could imagine using on a Japanese train is an iPhone and even then you’d have to use something without a lot of button pushes or you’d really annoy the people squeezed in next to you (standing or seated). I basically just read, listen to music, or watch YouTube videos. Even then etiquette requires headphones that don’t leak sound.
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It definitely depends on what kind of music you’re making, but here’s a tune made with just those four tracks on the MC-101. It depends on what your goal is with a groovebox. If it’s to produce full sounding tracks, I agree that four tracks can be somewhat limiting, even though the MC-101 makes up for it with its polyphony and sample playback capabilities.
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The build quality is meh, but most issues it has are either cosmetic or easily fixed (should ship with a can of Deoxit D5 for sure).
The buttons are really quiet, and overall it’s a portable beast. I have an iPad Pro with lots of software, yet I keep using it as an OP-Z display (plus for recording and mixing) because the OP-Z beats it easily in terms of fun.
You can try nanoloop on your work iphone.
for discrete one thumb action pretending to write important mails. I also have pure acid and stuff like drambo, even sunvox , but that‘s probably better on ipad ( don‘t have one).
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Not in Germany. Ipad basic 10th gen in apple shop is €579 / $615 incl. VAT 
So my question is: Which generation of Ipad basic version will be enough to run drambo or mitrack? I can still get 9th gen in store for €400. But maybe much older generations are sufficient for me, getting them in good but used condition…? I don’t know anything about the differences and the performance of these devices.
Watched the comparison between MC-707 and MC-101 by Loopop. The synth engine of the MC-101 is not enough for me.
Maybe it’s better to explain what I, personally, mean with “jamming”. It’s less playing a programmed song but more sound design and improvised live sequencing. I can imagine this on a Model:Cycles. Also on Model:Samples (single cycle waveforms and basic granular synthesis). And of course also an mitrack, even if the approach is totally different. And I tend to like the approach using mitrack because my wife hates cables and me too I don’t want to fall deep in that rabbit whole of modular electronics. It’s way to time, money and energy consuming at the moment. This way I can explore this area in a much more family friendly form.
I think I should watch a few more videos to get a better understanding of the workflow.
No, had a look on it, not what I, personally, am looking for. I simply want to be able to play melodies (if it’s a groovebox and not something like mitrack)
I’m actually not sure if I can install apps on my work phone. But I could try. Thanks!
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That video by loopop was done waaay before the 1.8 firmware update which massively updates what can be done with the 101 synth (the 1.8 firmware was what triggered me to buy it). You have access to all 4 partials, each with separate amp and filter envelopes. Each partial can be an oscillator, PCM or one of your samples.
However, with it’s limited interface, it may not be your jamming machine.
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For Drambo (also in combination with AUv3s) the 9th generation iPad is more than sufficient and also future-proof. For me, it is still the iPad with the best price-performance ratio, at least as far as music making is concerned.
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Recent there was a very promising beta firmware update for the blackbox with loads of improvements to the sequencer: 1010music Blackbox - #3263 by circuitghost
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Yep, as far as complete one stop production environments go, the blackbox is hard to beat with this latest update.
If you’re comfortable working with samples only - including then a very well implemented multi-sample algoritm, so you can easily make the blackbox into a synth with this approach, and record the results directly into the blackbox, OP-1 style - this box is my favourite among the singularity approaches out there.
If it ran on a lithium source, I’d say it would be damn near perfect.
If you’re familiar with 1010music, why not try the Nanobox Razzmatazz?
I know this box doesn’t seem to get a lot of love but it certainly suits my needs and I’ve been using it extensively when commuting on the subway to/from work (with a small power bank).
It’s a bit costly, but actually quite deep (contrary to what its appearance suggests). At the end of the day, you get quite a lot for the money, so I wouldn’t say it’s a steal.
And, importantly, when you feed it into proper PA’s, sound is pristine and it kicks like a donkey!
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