X0X style input?

nym, those doepfer regelwerk/schaltwerk are supreme midi analog style merchants! very powerful.

wooo hooo! looks great! prolly too expensive tho.

Yeah, Yeah!
Make em add it.

alien_brain wrote:yeah nice.

im getting a doepfer schaltwerk i think... if i can get the guy to email me back.

I've used it in a friend's studio. For the price, neither of us was impressed with it's level of functionality. It also had a serious problem following external clock (doepher may have come up with a hardware fix for this but I can't remember) Production runs have been spotty lately probably because it's an old machine now and the hardware is going obsolete. I'm told doepfer had some problems with the coders they hired to write the software for it and updates were pretty nonexistent. That was a few years back, don't know if anything has changed but I doubt it.

The Zeit looks a little better than the schaltwerk, but not much (haven't used one). The guy I know with the Schaltwerk sold it and used the proceeds to buy a Latronic Notron MkII, which totally blows the Schaltwerk off the map.

If anybody has the money to invest in these type of devices, the best I know of are:

Latronic Notron -- Rare, and has some "kinks" to look out for since the company went bust before certain hardware issues could be sorted out (static sensitivity is a problem) but otherwise -- TOTALLY KILLER!

SND SAM-16 -- Totally expensive, but the timing and feel of this unit is second to none, and it does alot more than what the front panel appearance would lead you to think. No patch memory -- you have to use it with an external sequencer.

Genoqs Octopus -- This is the only one out of the three I haven't used yet, but the design is inspired by the Notron and the Notron users I know who have one are already pretty impressed. The OS isn't done, but the software is open source so once V1 is released anybody with the ability can add to or rework the code to make it do whatever they want. As long as you have one, it won't matter if the company goes bust or not! Nice -- hope to try one soon.

I already kinda do this sometimes with a Roland EF-303, so I use the sliders to control drums on the mpc. It's definitely fun, but not particularly accurate(I always forget which step should have which hit, and throw random notes all over the place and it sounds like crap, I bet this happens to most people, ).

I'm with the folks comin' out of the woodwork later in the thread, I prefer the mpc style.

Soothsayer wrote:I'm with the folks comin' out of the woodwork later in the thread, I prefer the mpc style.

If the only device of this type you've used is the EF-303 I could understand why. That's really more of an effect modulator than a "real" step sequencer. I don't "prefer" one type of sequencing to the other -- it's just different techniques to use based on the results you want to get.

Adding something like this to the MPC is doable, but they'd have to incorporate some kind of on-screen step-chasing cursor (I assume using the pads as the on/off "steps") and visually that just wouldn't be as good as having a chaser/active step light under or directly above the actuating device to let you know where you are at in the sequence.

elektrik_muz wrote:

Soothsayer wrote:I'm with the folks comin' out of the woodwork later in the thread, I prefer the mpc style.

If the only device of this type you've used is the EF-303 I could understand why. That's really more of an effect modulator than a "real" step sequencer.

You can sequence w/an EF-303, any external device, including drum machines, there's no modulation involved. It works just like any other step-sequencer, like a TR-909 or even the MC series(I've also used the 909 and an MC-303 and 505), just works on sliders, not buttons.

I stand by what I said about the accuracy. I understand that it's just a different mode of sequencing, I just find the MPC more exacting...

Huh...that's too bad. Anyway no problem with the accuracy here, but I don't use Roland gear. Not the new stuff anyway, too klutzy and inflexible for me. Hard to do anything accurate.

One thing I should note, though...

The EF-303 is really neat for sequencing synths, I love using the sequencer for that(great for acid lines, stuff like that), but not drums.

Soothsayer wrote:You can sequence w/an EF-303, any external device, including drum machines, there's no modulation involved. It works just like any other step-sequencer, like a TR-909 or even the MC series(I've also used the 909 and an MC-303 and 505), just works on sliders, not buttons.

I stand by what I said about the accuracy. I understand that it's just a different mode of sequencing, I just find the MPC more exacting...

i have to disagree-- comparing the ef-303 to proper x0x sequencing doesn't make sense.

As you said:: with ef-303 you get confused about which drumnote you have selected since glancing at the sliders isn't much indication.

With proper x0x you know exactly which beats are selected for a given drum, at a glance. That is a crucial aspect of it. It's perfectly accurate, within the 16th note grid.


btw, I own an mpc, a machinedrum, nanoloop, and I use my roommate's ef-303.

Putting x0x on the mpc would be roughly a cross between nanoloop-style and 909-style: we've got 16 pads already, its a natural fit.

elektrik_muz wrote:I've used it in a friend's studio. For the price, neither of us was impressed with it's level of functionality.

hows $400 for a unit with the latest os (v1.41)? is it worth it?

I've had a mc-307 for several years, and I do love the x0x style, esp for the fills and house/techo/insert rigid style here.... I don't think I've ever put beats together so fast... just memorize the kicks, snares, and hat as you rapidly flip through the measures. But like what was said earlier I bought the MPC specifically for the MPC style and swing...

why would the addition of X0X style sequence input take away from the reason we all bought the mpc? i think they can coexist in the same machine.

>DiGiT< wrote:

elektrik_muz wrote:I've used it in a friend's studio. For the price, neither of us was impressed with it's level of functionality.

hows $400 for a unit with the latest os (v1.41)? is it worth it?

That's better than what he paid since he got it new several years ago. I don't remember which OS it had, just that it still had problems and never got updated. Worth it? Up to you. It can do some things but getting into a list of pros and cons would be getting a bit too OT. Try the Analog Heaven archive.

I personally probably wouldn't buy one unless it was super, super cheap, like <$200 but that's really just me. Cool light show but it takes up alot of space that I know I could use for better stuff.

If the latest OS somehow turned it into the greatest step sequencer ever I take it all back but last I checked the development was goin' nowhere. They should really open-source that OS like they did with the Octo. Only problem is you can't do flash upgrades.

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