OP-Z or iPad would be my choice and I’ve used them on my train journeys.
Both pair up nicely also
OK, will have a look on a few more videos…
Nice, thanks!
Will have a on this.
OK, one more to think about.
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Are you intentionally disregarding a laptop with DAW or other similar environment from this equation?
Obviously a light weight laptop or tablet has far more power and ability to be a one stop production environment- all arguments of ergonomics and personal tastes aside.
For instance, if I had to choose between two of my touch screen devices, my BlackBox or my iPad mini for ‘one stop production environment’ - the BB is an empty shell comparatively.
This is no shade thrown at my BB, I’ve been happy with it since 2019 and will never part with it.
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It depends on whether or not you consider a laptop+DAW is a groovebox - I wouldn’t say it is, personally, for various reasons.
Maybe @circuitghost meant that, OTB, as a silent groovebox to carry around, the BlackBox is hard to beat as a complete environment?
I’m sure that’s what he meant, and his skill with the device has always prompted me to learn mine better.
The OP does keep stressing the want for melody, sound design, etc, and I’m not sure that I would choose my BlackBox solely for this task long term.
Edit - I would also immediately rule out devices like the MC-101 where all sound designing is through so many menus and small read-out display.
Then it’s back to portability, box-ey-ness of ‘groovebox’ style equipment etc.
I know I’m riveted and can’t wait to hear what the OP’s solution is, then updates on how it goes mid and longterm.
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Yes. But only because I thought the OP wasn’t interested in that direction. If that’s an option, then yes, the only reason not to go with an iPad or computer is personal preference on workflow.
If I ever became comfortable enough with computers and music, I’d go for Logic and never look back. I made enough productions with Logic to know it fills all my functional and musical needs.
It just doesn’t fill me up, though, if you know what I mean 
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Is your statement based on your own experience with the MC-101?
It seems so to me 
. Especially the editing of the sounds is ingeniously simple solved, because you always have four parameters in direct access. As I already wrote elsewhere: It is more a menu snorkeling than a menu diving.
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Making music on iPad/touchscreen can be annoying sometimes, but not as annoying as hauling around bulky hardware box when traveling. It’s also cheaper and more powerful than most hardware boxes, even the most basic 9th gen iPad, which still has headphone jack.
If you prefer hardware, something with rubber buttons should be pretty silent to use and there are some quite compact boxes like Models, Circuits, MC-101 (a bit fat but small), OP-Z…
Personally i’d go with iPad for traveling, even though I prefer using hardware. Or maybe even iPhone if you have good eyes and small fingers
Totes
I admire your positive outlook on things!
Hey there and happy new year to all of you. Don’t expect too much, even last year we said it can’t get much worse…
Okay, where am I?
Razzmatazz:
VERY interesting little box. Focused on simple FM synthesis but you can also load samples on every pad so I could prepare a bunch of sounds, load it into the machine and go on. For me the no-go thing is that I can’t play melodies without external device. And without paramater locks per step it is simply impossible unless I use one pad per note. And I don’t expect these two features to come with an update because this would too much attack the market of the blackbox. It’s a really nice little box, I believe some of you can make great things with it (even better than me on much more capable devices) but I need to play notes somehow.
Blackbox:
Still in the run for its nice features for sampling and granular (I like granular synthesis!). If 1010music is not working on a super powerful flagship device I can hope for some updates to come. If it would have at least parameter locks functionality I would go for it. I love the form factor and the build quality (of my bluebox).
Model Samples/Cycles
Still in the run because of the lovely sequencer. Limitations are known. Will spend a few hours on the M:C of a friend to get a clear view of what I can expect of the unit. As long as the Blackbox is in the run, the form factor of a M:S/M:C is simply not the best for my use case, simply because it’s plastic.
MC-101
OK, thanks for the input! Had a look on the new features which are really pushing this device on a new level! The synth engine is a big bang! Only thing is… I can’t help… this thing looks so much like a toy. Everything is blinking in so many colors. The cheap battery slot instead of a powerful internal battery makes it somehow looking cheap in my eyes. It’s available at a local store so I should have a look how it is seeing it in real. But so far I’m not a fan of it. Also as I understood: no parameter locks per step, right? And I don’t understand why I have channel volume faders when I can only adjust the whole drum track with one fader. The space would have been better used for more encoders maybe with individually defined parameter. Is it possible to turn off all knob and fader LEDs?
Circuit Tracks
Also still in the run. Maybe the only drawback of having only two synth tracks will in the end be the least annoying one compared to the other grooveboxes… ?
OP-Z
Still the question of build quality. I’m a more decent guy and I think it won’t be imperiled too much stress when I use and carry it. But from all what I heard I feel more safe to have it in my hands before I decide to buy it. I know no one having it. I live in the Berlin area, so maybe someone can help me here. OP1 field of course is a big thing but way too expensive just to play around.
Ipad
Still an option. As you said the basic version in 9th generation would be nice. My wife would also like to have an Ipad. Also in this case I’d like to get a feeling if it is really fun for me without any physical encoder.
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Knob and button LEDs can be dimmed but not turned off (scale is 1-10) on a system-wide setting. Fader LEDs can’t be dimmed or turned off, but you can select all colours the same. That’s a per-project setting.
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I know this is a hardware centric forum, but iPad with just a few key apps crushes any singular box you can name for this use case, especially small boxes like MC 101 that are intentionally limited by design.
In terms of design and capabilities, Koala is superior to the SP404 MK2. Drambo can at least hold its own with any Elektron box, if not surpass them. Grooverider GR 16 crushes current gen Roland grooveboxes, not to mention the Electribe.
In a package that is completely silent, where people will assume you are checking your email and future proofed for at least the next decade.
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Each mc101 drum pad has it’s own easily accessible mute, which might help on the performance side (doesn’t help with mixing obviously)
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Then you’re going to love the black edition of the bluebox 
Did I miss something? Never heard about.
In this point I’m not sure. A good friend (party and wedding DJ) spent hundreds of € for an Ipad for controlling this pioneer recordbox thing. After less than 1 year he needed an update of recordbox and the Ipad wasn’t running anymore. Too old.
I’m a fan of buying a dedicated device for one task. Every single one of the named grooveboxes may last ten or twenty or more years. I don’t need updates. I want to buy a suitable device for my needs and use it as it is. I still run the first firmware of bluebox and see no reason to change as long as it does what I intentionally wanted it to do.
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That’s a funny and accurate way of describing it. That said, it’s really the time you spend “under the surface” that makes the difference, not whether you’re diving 0.5 or 20 meters deep while doing so. I find that even the horizontal scrolling take as lot of fun out of the experience, but you certainly get used to it.
I touch on this, as well as the silence of the buttons, in a MC-101 vs Syntakt review I made last week.
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Yeah, Korg Gadget it’s way better than any Korg/Roland groovebox you can buy too.
iPad it’s the better solution to journey music making if you don’t want a laptop.
If you don’t want touchscreen, I will choose Electribe 2, cheap in second hand market, so quiet and battery powered
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