Wow, an actual product with the RZ/A1L. Kudos for sticking it out with Renesas.
Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
11–20 of 49 posts
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#12I've wanted one of these since release but couldn't quite stomach the $1400 price of entry as the synthesizer part of it - while very full featured - isn't the real use case at a Prosumer-Level and is a needless addition for me. Like most users who drop that kind of money on outboard, all I really wanted here was the 8x16 Sequencer/Sampler for controlling my CV and MIDI synths and drum machines, at maybe a $500-600 p…
PSA: launchpad-pro has official SDK
I've been a Novation fan since the Nova (and even stuck with them through their dodgy 2000s VA phase with things like the X-Station) but the launchpad-pro is crucially missing CV outputs for controlling my semi-modular stuff.
Ableton Push 3 allows you to send four CV signals using the footswitch jacks, and for roughly the same price as the Deluge I'd probably go for that given its value proposition: a full i3-1115G4 processor w/ 8GB of RAM and over 2 hours battery life, plus native audio interface.
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#13I’ve always wondered why these DAWless grooveboxes, with the exception of teenage engineering, don’t come with a built in keyboard.
Workflow and accessibility. Not to be reductive about it, but they're basically a massively reduced barrier to entry for tasting what 'real' production is like for the less musically inclined consumer.
Grooveboxes are essentially clip-launchers; they were basically incepted as a sort of sample-less Akai MPC utilising a built-in ROMpler and some basic Synthesis, some FX, and 'contemporary' presets to lure in people fiddling around in music stores - e.g. the MC-303 or to take it to its absurd conclusion, the DJ-XII.
The interactivity thereafter is about launching clips on the fly and fiddling with the resonance and cut-off for a lead sequence, and riding that master FX ping-pong delay like your life depended on it. The Dunning-Kruger DAW if you will.
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#14I’ve always wondered why these DAWless grooveboxes, with the exception of teenage engineering, don’t come with a built in keyboard.
A 8x2 grid of buttons can be used as a one octave keyboard. Space and buttons are scarce resources in grooveboxes, and grids of buttons are more versatile. You can always connect an external keyboard too, which will be much higher-quality than anything a groovebox can provide.
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#15I've wanted one of these since release but couldn't quite stomach the $1400 price of entry as the synthesizer part of it - while very full featured - isn't the real use case at a Prosumer-Level and is a needless addition for me. Like most users who drop that kind of money on outboard, all I really wanted here was the 8x16 Sequencer/Sampler for controlling my CV and MIDI synths and drum machines, at maybe a $500-600 p…
> There are plenty of far cheaper 'grooveboxes' for DAW-less fun
On the price/features criteria, I believe the Akai MPC One remains supreme. Others are superior in some areas, but as a versatile "do-it-all box" it is astonishing value for 700€.
Yes, a DAW has the same ability for less money (not including the computer one may already possess), but the ergonomics are a major part of what makes those Linux boxes feel like a music instrument.
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#16I’ve always wondered why these DAWless grooveboxes, with the exception of teenage engineering, don’t come with a built in keyboard.
You can't really beat inMusic on quality at the same price as their various brands' keyboards. A button grid though is useful and pretty easy to manufacture.
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#17I’ve always wondered why these DAWless grooveboxes, with the exception of teenage engineering, don’t come with a built in keyboard.
The deluge has a really clever keyboard mode that I find really musical to play with, especially coming as a guitar player as it stacks rows in intervals of a 4th
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#18[dead]
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#19Not to be confused with Deluge, the BitTorrent client :P
I honestly thought of that immediately. Deluge was one of the nicer clients I could ever find that was cross platform. As nice as uTorrent was, I preferred clients that were cross platform. qBitorrent became my favorite sometime later though.
Not to mention the bad reputation uTorrent gained with embedding ads and malware galore that followed.
Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler
#20I’ve always wondered why these DAWless grooveboxes, with the exception of teenage engineering, don’t come with a built in keyboard.
The keyboard takes away space you could be using for more buttons.