So now that the dust has settled and these both can be had for about the same price, which one would you fellow Nauts recommend? To me the SP-16 has a LOT more features on paper but bulky and fairly unsupported by Pioneer, while the Blackbox is stripped down on the surface yet seems quite capable, plus is ultra portable with unlimited (for the most part) sample and sequence lengths. Anyone have experience with both to directly compare the workflow and experience?
I d have to go SP 16 here.
The Dave Smith filters alone would be worth it over BB’s filters.
At this point the price range is about the only thing they have in common…
If you need a recorder and/or a looper and you have limited space available, you probably could lean on the BB, but that’s about it…
I wonder if people are going to maybe start selling their SP16 and AS-1 nowadays if they are frustrated by that lack of support, they could be a great value on the second hand market 
I think that has been happening for a while now. For me the AS-1 is a future classic, and once out of production I think resale values will probably double quickly. And if the next DJ Shadow or Dilla comes up using a SP-16 I predict the same
you’re right, they would have sold like pancakes have they been in the right synthfluencers’s hands…
been wanting to get a fair price on a AS-1 for years now, people in my area still want top dollar for it though…
I have both, I did briefly put both up for sale but decided to keep the SP16, both are very good and also quite limited, although the limitations of both probably contribute to their respective ease of use.
Main limitations of BB:
Only 16 samples (although you can use chains)
Limited fx
Only 16 sequences, but the playback implementation is very good, they can be any length and run concurrently
Not much in the way of sample editing
Main limitations of SP16
Only 64 seconds max per sample
Only 16 samples for 16 patterns, there are 16 pattern banks though
Limited sequencing, max 4 bars, all tracks same length
Limited song mode, only pattern and bpm
In summary:
SP16 is more suited to very nice sounding 4/4 stuff, it has a similar workflow to legacy MPCs but with a bit of modern stuff like PLocks (not as deep as Elektron though)
Blackbox is more suited to experimental stuff, or use in conjunction with modular.
Both are very nice IMHO. Both seem very stable too.
2 Likes
How useful is the analog filter on the SP for you? Do you use it for real-time performance or sampling or both?
Also, can a sample be “held” past the 4 bar loop to play a longer sample over two passes? As a way to cheat the limitation for 8 bar chord progressions, drones etc…
They are the same price? or the sp-16 double?
If the engine algorithm for time stretch samples was as rock solid on the BB as it is in the sp-16
maybe it was a great tool.
As the as-1 sounds great, but as a tool it lacks some knobs to use it fully.
Some top DJ/ producers use sp-16, but is a very specific tool for the average person.
The filters are great to do mix sweeps top, maybe the best out there. I just see on youtube
and read the forums, not a owner!
It sounds good. The resonance is pretty well behaved. Don’t expect it to screech too much.
Low pass is smooth. If you want character hit the overdrive levels. When you think of smooth think easy to transition between sounds.
I think the High Pass is actually more used for me. For example I am playing an 808 kick on one track and a mono bass on the other. With a good monitoring system you can hear the mud on the low end. The next thing I do is tap the low pass level by 1-2% at the time. From that point on I go to the mixer section and make adjustments. Depending on what I want to do I can adjust the HPF a little more. With the HPF a little goes a long way.
1 Like
I mean a mint used SP16 vs new Blackbox, basically the same price.
ok
1 Like
You can only apply the analog filter to one track at a time, correct? But you can resample as many times as needed as I understand…
1 Like
I dont know, but on this videos he uses the filters on the microfreak just beside the sp-16.
Yes. You will need to track out separately.
I myself am a lazy sp16 user. So what I do I gotta ur my samples into it and record the analog outs into my DAW. It’s funny that I am using it to process my maschine expansion sounds and recording back into my DAW. Maschine presets usually have an EQ or compressor at the master bus but the SP16 holds its own just at the output stage.
I want my drums and samples to hit hard like SP16. If I need grit I add light overdrive.
1 Like
Is it still the case that the only way to delete samples from the SP-16 is to connect it to a computer as a USB drive and do it in the computer?
Edit: Sadly, it seems this bizarre omission remains. This PioneerDJ forum post from Jan 2020 confirms it.
1 Like
(Aren’t you using the OT?)
Sometimes less is more, and that describes the Blackbox perfectly. Since it came out it keeps getting added functions. Who knows what it’ll do next? One thing for sure, Pioneer are in hyper sleep.
Also, I snuck the Blackbox in my girlfriends handbag a while ago and she didn’t even notice.
3 Likes