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Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

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Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#41

Post by blehn »

piltdownman wrote: post #3

I'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…

It's wild to me that there's still no dedicated hardware MIDI sequencer that's designed for making _songs_. Pretty much everything is designed for making lots of 16 step patterns. But then arranging those patterns is a mystery. I had the deluge and it's not great. The Roland TR-8S inexplicable has no song mode. The Squarp hapax seems close but has some serious flaws from what I've read. Ultimately using a DAW still wins.

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#42

Post by liotier »

misterbishop wrote: post #37
liotier wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 l…

MPC One/Live/X is an incredible platform. I would like to build an open source alternative.

An open source MPC ? Take a look at Zynthian ! Not much cheaper than an MPC One, but totally open source and leverages a ton of existing Linux music software... You might be interested if you feel frustrated by Akai's control of the MPC platform, are willing to exchange maturity for freedom of integration, and still want solid dedicated hardware.

https://zynthian.org/

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#43

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

rosmax_1337 wrote: post #26
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a program, at least not in the usual sense of that term. It's a piece of hardware. This is the firmware for that device.

Once again I was bit by not reading the link thoroughly enough. I hope I'm not the only one that's happened to. ;) Nonetheless, the problem of naming things actually stands. Trademark law aside, imagine if you tried to make a program like a torrent client called "Volvo". Names exist in a global namespace, and things will collide, and that's bad for everyone involved. Had I made the original hardware product, I would…

From a trademark perspective, things do not exist in a global namespace.

From a human perspective they sometimes do, but that can lead to excellent comedy, like the computer-vs-cleaning device question when the term "VAX" used to come up. I'll take comedy over a very inhuman insistence on a global namespace.

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#44

Post by piltdownman »

frakt0x90 wrote: post #39

I am lucky to have a friend who's less stingy than me. He bought one and let me play with it for a week. I loved it. It's intuitive, fun, and very powerful. I usually work in a DAW and have an Arturia Microbrute, so I thought it would be annoying doing everything in hardware. It was actually really satisfying doing everything with physical buttons and knobs. I still don't want to drop the cash for it but I thoroughly…

Microbrute is a lot of fun for the money but I really want to chop the keyboard off mine and rack it above my Neutron as the keyboard barely qualifies as a keyboard and is more or less useless. Filter and OSC are just different enough to keep around, but the Matrixbrute etc... left me completely cold as the sound was just a bit sterile or something.

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#45

Post by piltdownman »

blehn wrote: post #41
piltdownman wrote: post #3

I'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…

It's wild to me that there's still no dedicated hardware MIDI sequencer that's designed for making _songs_. Pretty much everything is designed for making lots of 16 step patterns. But then arranging those patterns is a mystery. I had the deluge and it's not great. The Roland TR-8S inexplicable has no song mode. The Squarp hapax seems close but has some serious flaws from what I've read. Ultimately using a DAW still w…

Yeah the TR-8S is very much geared as a live performance device to channel your inner-Jeff Mills (even though the 909/808 did have a song mode!). I will say you can get most of the way there with pattern chaining, and you implement a more fully featured ersatz song mode if you have something that will send it MIDI ProgramChange messages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P01V0I84P8k

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#46

Post by piltdownman »

dijksterhuis wrote: post #32
piltdownman wrote: post #3

I'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…

> couldn't quite stomach the $1400 looks at my elektron gear sheepishly

I've gone through stupid amounts of GAS in my time. With my current Behringer Pro-1/MS-20/Neutron Tower, their 303 and 2600 clones, a microbrute, a Triton 61 etc... I've more or less fleshed out my ideal hands-on rig. If I'm dropping 4 figures on something at this point it would have to be a Prophet-6 - and that's end-game territory.

Although saying that, I'd imagine I could get very easily into Eventide FX outboard if I let myself lol

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#47

Post by piltdownman »

munificent wrote: post #33
piltdownman wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah that's the problem with all these boutique sequencer stuff - out of the DAW live performance is tricky unless you buy into the Elektron ecosystem which I don't as a mostly analog purist. As a result I've cheaped out and when not using my beatstep to control the stuff via my DAW I have a Korg SQ64 but its a bit unintuitive flow-wise in terms of live jamming. I end up just using my TR-8S with the 2600 or 303 side-…

> unless you buy into the Elektron ecosystem which I don't as a mostly analog purist. Analog 4, Analog Heat, Analog Rytm...

No you're right, they've some competitive analog offerings nowadays which I keep forgetting about. Headspace wise I'm still stuck at the last time I was properly 'shopping' for gear when the Elektron holy trinity was Syntakt, Digitakt and Digitone.

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#48

Post by DennisP »

rosmax_1337 wrote: post #26
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a program, at least not in the usual sense of that term. It's a piece of hardware. This is the firmware for that device.

Once again I was bit by not reading the link thoroughly enough. I hope I'm not the only one that's happened to. ;) Nonetheless, the problem of naming things actually stands. Trademark law aside, imagine if you tried to make a program like a torrent client called "Volvo". Names exist in a global namespace, and things will collide, and that's bad for everyone involved. Had I made the original hardware product, I would…

If you don't want any collisions with your product name, then don't use a common English word as your product name.

Re: Deluge, a portable sequencer, synthesizer and sampler

#49

Post by munificent »

piltdownman wrote: post #47
munificent wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> unless you buy into the Elektron ecosystem which I don't as a mostly analog purist. Analog 4, Analog Heat, Analog Rytm...

No you're right, they've some competitive analog offerings nowadays which I keep forgetting about. Headspace wise I'm still stuck at the last time I was properly 'shopping' for gear when the Elektron holy trinity was Syntakt, Digitakt and Digitone.

The Syntakt also has multiple analog oscillators, analog noise, and analog drive in it.
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