I recently moved into a smaller apartment, and I currently do not have room for my usual hardware setup (model:samples, liven xfm, volca sample 2)

Because of this, I’m trying to figure out if there’s a decent groovebox that I could get to take over for all of my current boxes?

Right now I’m really digging the look of the mc101. Sampling, resampling, editing patches and sound design with zencore all sound great. I’d love to be able to use samples and occasionally create or edit custom synth patches.

Anyways, do y’all think the mc101 is a good pick? Is there another synth/groovebox that would do this for me?

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your time!

  • HucklebeeEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    So not really a synth advise, but have you checked out the app Flip? It seems to tick all the boxes you want. If storage is really a big issue, this is the way to go. However, if you want to get away from screens:

    They gear you mention has a pretty small footprint already. Maybe there is a smart way of storing them? Like placing them on a piece of small wood where they are detachable. Hang the wood on your wall or something. I don’t know your exact situation though, so this advise might be worthless.

    One general advice that is mostly true for all music gear: If you buy used, you can always sell it for around the same price again. That way, you can basically try gear without the worry of losing too much money. Buy a used MC-101, see if you like it’s workflow for a month or two, and sell it again if you don’t like it.

    Unfortunately have no experience with the MC101. If you look at Youtube and like it’s sounds and workflow, that’s a good indicator. Be aware though when watching youtube stuff: You don’t get the musical experience from the person you watch. So if someone makes a track you like, it is not an indicator that you yourself can make cool music with it.

  • Jackie's FridgeEnglish
    1•11 months ago

    I found the MC101 to be too menu-divey for my taste. It sounds great, though, and there’s no denying it’s capable. It doesn’t have sound input though, so it can’t sample.

    It doesn’t sound like your current hardware is overly large. I wonder if you could build a vertical stand for everything. Footprint-wise it would be as wide as the Elektron or Liven box, but tall instead of wide.

    If you need a small new device capable of sampling and synth sound design, it doesn’t get much smaller than the GameBoy-sized Dirtywave M8 - IF you can get into the tracker workflow. Used prices have come down now that the M8 Model:02 is on the horizon (both models offer nearly identical functionality). You can even try the M8 “headless” on a $35 Teensy 4.1 board using a laptop for screen/sound/input. While the Headless M8 lacks audio input, I believe you can sample via USB, since it acts as an audio device when plugged into a host computer.

    Apart from the M8 and the Synthstrom Deluge, I don’t know a single small device that offers on-device synths, sampling, and editing. Maybe an iPad with Koala, AUM, and a few synth apps.