You can check out Nanoboxes in stores here or some alternatives that I can recommend. Affiliate links support the channel regardless what you buy at no cost to you. 1010music Nanobox EU: www.thomann.de/se/search_dir.html?sw=nanobox&smcs=2e56b8_1759&offid=1&affid=623 US: : bit.ly/3rQdCon (Perfect Circuit) US: sweetwater.sjv.io/GmoNXL (Sweetwater) UK: tidd.ly/3PSzJTl (Gear4Music) SMPLTrek from Sonicware (much improved since my review) EU: thmn.to/thoprod/550898?offid=1&affid=623 US: bit.ly/smpltrekPC Roland Compacts line-up is also interesting if you want a tiny portable synth EU: bit.ly/ThomannAiraCompact US: sweetwater.sjv.io/JzkJ5a There's also the Sonicware Liven series which are fun portable synths and samplers EU: thmn.to/thoprod/555755?offid=1&affid=623 US/NA: bit.ly/LivenLofi
The 1010 website won't ship the tangerine before November. Also I'm pissed now that my (far more expensive and powerful?) 1010 blackbox only supports 64x .wav per patch 😭
@@g3cd older tech and the processing power has to be spread across a far wider range of usages. this is much newer tech and much more focussed so it's really not surprising at all.
I can see this being really useful in a live rig where you just need to play back some multisampled instruments. This is basically what I’m doing in my current live setup, but since I’m also running the backing tracks from my laptop, I went with Ableton’s Sampler instrument and Sample Robot to capture patches on my synths. If you’re strictly a live keyboardist and don’t need the laptop, this looks like a great alternative.
They only listen when they feel like it. it appears they tend to abandon the less commercially successful devices which is mean to the people who supported.
The issue with internal batteries is that reduces the capacity for the device to be serviceable, as soon the battery dies your device does too, having an small external battery is way preferable than having a fixed internal one
except that for decades, electrical devices usually had a little compartment with a lid so you could swap out the battery. it's bizarre that people seem to have forgotten this ...
I have to clearly disagree with the firmware, as 1010 has shown through the masses of updates for blue and Blackbox what the further development of products means and always responds to features from the community. Which company specifically asks for the wishes of its customers and then usually implements them? Simply amazing. So to be honest, I think it's a bit unfair to criticize this or to share your concern, because in my view a leap of faith would be absolutely justified and the device is not being launched on the market incomplete. I'm already looking forward to having the Nanobox in my setup 😮😊
@@BoBeatsive just been using software. I'm using a combination of apples mainstage with it's built-in autosampler. So far I've been experimenting with sampling my subsequent 25, minituar and my monologue. I went with mainstage because it's cheap and I wanted to see if I enjoy doing it. I'm making them into decentsampler patches.
Hows your experience been? I have not used mainstage much. Worth testing? What I prefer with hardware samplers is that I can use the results immediately in my setup. But the negative is that the editing just isn't anywhere near as good as on a computer@@Grant82gc
This is very cool for live use and I love that it has automated multisampling built in. I've thought often it would be good to be able to swap firmware between them, as these micro boxes are all the same hardware right? Obviously I realise they'd like you to buy multiple units...
Hardware does seem identical to me and the CPU is identical. I think it would be hard to make money on FW updates/version so this is likely a more sustainable route for growing the business and product line / future developments.
@@BoBeats I think if each model is truly valuable and unique then it's likely people would still buy multiple units, but yes - I get it from the business perspective!
Hi Bo, I think you've missed the big picture here: this little box does something that is extremely rare, namely auto-sampling synths. All these other things about having more control on the sound afterwards, sequencers etc. are truly incidental compared to that. It means I can build a patch on my Arthuria MicroFreak, sample it, and play it with 24-voice polyphony, delay & reverb, with some time to make a cup of tea in between (sure, a filter would be nice). None of the top-end workstations can do that, and the equivalent software on the Akai MPC 61 is a pig to work with in practice.
Hey Rik, I thought me spending a majority of the vid on exactly the multi sampling would be sufficient to highlight how its the main 'thing'. I simply think that adding say a filter envelope or additional LFO would add to this experience making it an even better standalone device.
Just got one of these specifically to be able to chop breaks, loops, and stems for my hardware sets and be able to sync it with clocks. Seems perfect for that.
What’s always puzzled me about the nanobox series is the screens. The actual, useable space they’ve implemented is only about 70% of the screen size. I’ve taken to using a physical stylus to select and press the controls onscreen. It seems kind of odd not to push the interface closer to the edge to maximize the functionality of the UI. The use of a mono spaced font is also kind of cheesy to me, but that’s just aesthetics, so forgivable. Love that Polyend uses a proper font in their UI.
@@ruffark they do add stuff but these requests have been waiting for some time. The code is there so it really ought to get added. the Razz is superb as it is, but id like those elements and also proper ratchets and, non-quantised would be nice.
@@WillisZzz No. It's one of the things they frequently get asked to add. they have an annoyingly laissez faire attitude about this stuff, claiming 'it's not supposed to do that' and feeling they can ignore what is expected of a drum machine in this era. Obvs you can achieve micro timing by sending midi from another sequencer though. some other basic stuff missing like probability and proper ratcheting - you can only bake that in per sound there is no way to retrig per step. But it's very powerful in a number of ways, lots of modulation for creating sounds etc. you can tie velocity to all sorts of parameters then sequence velocity steps alongside the hits to create a lot of variation in sound beyond just volume. the sequencer is fast and intuitive. Overall I still think it's an underrated drum machine, the toy like appearance belies the power of it.
Hi! Here is a new comment about multi-sampling, I didn't see a similar question in the other comments... If I understand correctly, you need to plug the OUTPUT AND MIDI OUT of an audio source (hardware or software synth) to the AUDIO IN and MIDI IN of the Tangerine, and the Tangerine "cooperates" with this audio source to understand what the notes are (C0, C#0, etc.), and it magically becomes a preset in the Tangerine? Is there any other equipment that does that on the market right now? I didn't know such functionality existed. I think it's great! Thanks
The Tangerine plays midi notes, say C0, C1 etc and it knows which notes it plays. It sends these notes out thru the midi out, jack into midi in of the synth. Which then plays C0 and so on. Every note. Or with wider range between them. The audio is then sent out from synth into the Tangerine. Which knows which note has been played and sampled, and saves it with a name tag reflecting the note played and sampled. Other devices that can do this is for example MPC One/Live/X
Great insights Bo. Several of the nanoboxes catch my attention, but for me the pricepoint is a little too high for the feature sets offered. The reasons which you mention at the end would make this a peripheral piece of gear and not a core one. 400+ euro is too much for a novelty buy (for me).
Q. at around 22:21 - re the backoung music in this segment .. is that a digitakt arp and synth? i'm asking as it sounds very familiar/similar to a track by James Glew - (he uses elektron gear also) I'm wondering if it's a digitakt preset arp?
Nope, that is a much older beat I made and the arp is from the Minilogue. I don’t think its a preset, just some sound I threw together. But it could be that its a preset.
Seems pretty fun, definitely there's not much competition in the multisampling realm. I guess my main question as a Blackbox owner is - does this do any sort of multisampling magic that the Blackbox doesn't also do? Seems like the capabilities are the same, except for the polyphony and sample limits being higher on the Tangerine.
I don’t think it has any special magic sauce really compared to the BB. Its the small size, sample limits and portability that is likely to be the selling points. Otherwise very similar.
Yeh internal battery is a massive one. Also personally I think a sequencer is very important in a device like this. Else what is the point - you might as well use your DAW and a software sampler.
What's the longer in seconds it can reproduce a premade Ableton File? Can I use this for Backing tracks on my live set up? Would it sync with my other external Hardware devices? Thank you
So this can play 8 loops at a time, with start time in or out of sync, and different lengths? If it had overdub, it would make a great compact loop station.
hi there! wondering if there are definable key zones/ranges per pad to play say two poly sampled instruments across the one keyboard simultaneously? ie - pad and lead etc.. apologies if this was covered.
Cool idea. For not a lot more you could find a second hand MPC One and build all the Key Groups you want plus have everything else that box does so for that reason, $400 doesn't seem like a great deal. Still I'm glad this exists as an option.
It definitely fills a hole for me, lugging the mpc x between rigs is a faff and Thing 1&2 are always asking to borrow a mono synth or two for their little modest set up.
Mpc One has so-so looping settings as you can only set one start point and no loop start from where the loop begins. Say farewell to strings with attack. EDIT: I was wrong. Obviously the mpc series allows for a loop start. Just unclick loop lock and you can set a loop starting point different than the sample start.
Thank you for this great review! I purchased the Tangerine and have a question about the multisampling. In your video, you just played one note on the Polybrute and then let the box do the rest. When I do that, it starts recording, but it stops advancing at "recording 3 of...". It only advances when I play a new note. And the final results have been a little shaky. Some notes seem to have a slight ringing at certain frequencies that don't happen naturally in the synth I sampled. Have you experienced either of these issues, and might you have any idea how to resolve these issues? Thanks :)
Hey! I have not experienced this. I dont even have to play one note to multi sample. I just press start and it starts multi sampling. Sounds like some setting is wrong.
maybe it's not a beat maker. maybe it's more like a pattern mixer and arranger. create patterns on your favorite drum machines, synths, and of course seagulls. sample them and now you have them all next to each other on the little grid. hook it up with a controller with some knobs and faders, and you can start and stop the different parts you created, mix, filter in and out, and add an occasional reverb. This way your synths can be busy doing some more interesting things, while the main lines are repeated on the Tangerine. I already wish for some firmware updates: new effects, macro options for assigning multiple effects together (dj transition style), and mixing effects like compressor, then it could be an end-of-chain device for taking random jams to a whole new level. Does that even make sense?
@@JoeJohnston-taskboy me too. I think it's only entering the filenames that are too small. they did a very good job of the interface design - I suspect most of the people who say this havent actually used one.
I think toylike synths like these probably have a much broader market appeal and a better profit margin, considering what manufacturers have been doing over the last 5 years or so. (that said, i too would love an updated blackbox, yeah)
@@zbsfm I enjoy the dichotomy between what these boxes look like and what they can actually do. other than somewhat minimalist operating systems at times, they are very powerful and have excellent audio quality. They aren't toys at all.
No this is not possible on the device itself sorry i didnt say this. There is no automatic mapping of like loop points within a sample in a multi sample. You can however sample very long pad samples should you need too. I asked 1010 about this but didnt get a clear answer as to why its not possible. The settings available when multi sampling are the ones I show in the vid.
11:57 long time ago I saw that coffee jug featured in a scene. Remember now how that was what tied me to this channel. The coffee 😂 well, this little device would compensate for the monophonic limit of the Digitakt. If only the Nectarine was 8 part multitimbral it would sort of fill that gap fully.
oh yes sorry if I wasn't clear in the video. If you look at my setup example: It has 8 sample slots, and those can be assigned to 8 midi tracks. Making it 8 part multi timbral correct.
@@BoBeats ok, so the total polyphony is then shared among all parts in a equal fashion. Sounds like a companion for the DT, if only the Tangerine had the same sound sculpting abilities
Brilliant, now I can grab some of my fave made patches from some of my fancy Synths and take them elsewhere from just a midi controller keyboard ! ............ and for live performances it could be invaluable especially as you can leave some expensive bulky gear at home and this is kind of what the rig profiling function Kemper did for the Guitar rig market. I`d defo pay more for a version that had more memory as well if they made one ! ....... and I`d buy one of these when available for just the multi sampler part too ! ..................... and last of all you can grab an instance in time from a synth that has no presets, Synths that I have always avoided, hell I might finally buy an ARP 2600 if I had something like this and Yes Bo you are right more in depth modulation capabilities would also be a huge plus so thatr a unit like this can become more of a dedicated multi sample based Synthesizer engine in it`s own right
Hi! One question: the preset (is like project) contains 8 pads (like 8 tracks) which can be played across 16 sequences. Is it possible to change the sample on a pad depending on the sequence actually running? Lets say on sequence 1 on pad 1 I have a clip with loop A but when I change the sequence to sequence 2 I can change the pad 1 clip sample to loop B? Or I need to have the same pads’ samples setup across whole preset and sequences? I would like to know if its possible to have similar to Elektrons’ sound locks depending on sequence.
Really god testing and video in general. But the three critics are none to me. I think, more stuff like an Arpeggiator make the handling more complicating, more and deeper menues. I always enjoy simple and straight forward concepts. It increases the intuitivity. And then everybody might wish one more gadget until such boxes are overloaded with options... But that's me :)
So, this would serve as a sort of hardware alternative to Sample Robot? Can the Tangerine also multisample one's favorite virtual instrument/plugin so that you can play it without being tied to your computer?
That was my first thought as well; I would think that you could just connect it to a DAW with the audio out and run through a VST. I think Sample Robot would be more comprehensive with sample rate options for import/export as well as all the packaged up files it does to export samples to synths. Does look handy to stick in a bag though to grab samples from a synth on the go though, Might be a both/and situation with SR if one does a lot of this kind of thing (where you could grab all the samples on the go with the tangerine, take those WAV files into SR and then do whatever organisation and processing needed there before output.
Does anyone know if there is anything the Tangerine does that the BlackBox doesn’t do? I’m just trying to make sure the tangerine is a subset of the BlackBox (which is a great thing).
I dont know the blackbox well enough to answer but they aim the products at different demographics for sure. I believe BB can do most of what Tangerine can but perhaps there is some difference in terms of multi sampling limits? I am just beginning to use the BB so I dont quite know
Correct I double checked and the BB has the same limitation as the BitBox micro which is 88 samples max per projects, compared to 576 for the Tangerine, making the latter the true multi sampling power house of the lineup@@ukbloke28
While neat, I think it only works when in the context of the other nanoboxs', similar to how Pocket Operators work together. But compared to it's bigger brother, the BlackBox, especially at used price, this isn't very compelling as a standalone product.
I will keep shouting into the void that one of these modern samplers need to implement importing soundfont files. There is such a wealth of interesting sounds out there that no one seems interested in tapping into. That said, this box really interests me even on merit of being a portable automated multisampler alone.
This looks pretty neat. I usually bring my computer to gigs as I use arturias v collection. I'm using perhaps 6 of the presets that I never modulate. Do you think I could sample some of the synths into this and would it be possible to do keyboard splits?
It doesnt have splits as a function. I suppose you could load a multi where u have sound A going for half an octave and sound B going for half an octave. But it would mean having to rename the samples so the nanobox can place different sounds in one multi. A bit of work and not something I’d recommend
If the Tangerine is like 1010's Blackbox and allows you to assign each "pad" (instrument) to a different MIDI channel, there is another way you could do it. Some MIDI keyboards let you split by MIDI channel (i.e., lower keys send on channel A, upper keys send on channel B) and thereby control two different instruments.
Interesting device, I can totally see why people might want it; it looks like a perfect little no-frills device to save your analog patches without much trouble. And no I wouldn't want an arpeggiator in there (I have that in the MIDI controller that will drive it (or inside a DAW)), even the sequencer is a bit of overkill imho. Not having an internal battery also isn't really a con, as long as it can be powered by USB. The only concern: how much power does it draw? I previously owned the Black Box and the Blue Box, but I let go of both of them because they were drawing 1A of current (or even close to 2A in case of the Blue Box) draining even a beefy power bank within an hour or two. So that would be an important spec to check before buying. Thank you for the video.
Good points! As to the power bank. Its so difficult to say… i have a chonky anker and it doesn’t seem to deplete it very quickly. But honestly I havn’t done any sort of real test, my gut feeling is the device is energy efficient
@@BoBeats I looked up the specs at the 1010 website; they talk about 5V/500mA. I assume they mean that a 500mA adapter will be sufficient, meaning that it will draw less current then that. That looks more acceptable than the Black Box.
Guess there’s a niche here for people who want an ultra-portable multi-sample of a particular patch or set of patches. However, as with a lot of this line up it feels like it exists in a no-man’s land where one chunk of consumers would rather have a slightly bigger, slightly more expensive sampler with better features/UI, and the other chunk would rather go the smart device app route instead.
@@BoBeats I'm not a musician, even barely a hobbiest, and the market of portable/handheld, highly stylized, quality feeling musical hardware will always call to me haha. Something about the aesthetics, capabilities and sounds that some of these devices come with are so addicting to my brain.
Does anyone know of a similarly small product that will record sounds via a microphone and easily manipulate them to be used later in a drum machine or synth?
Is this basically a downgraded Blackbox. Except for price, why would the Tangerine be a better choice than the Blackbox? Thanks P.S. I have a digitakt 2 that I use with a Boomerange looper. I need something that will play bass lines or chord sequences. Thoughts on the best box for this?
Beside obvious physical differences the main difference is that this can do 576 samples per preset whereas Blackbox can only do 88. I don't work for 1010 but I assume their idea here is that Nanoboxes are these single focus devices and Blackbox is their larger more expensive workstation type device.
yeah I think this is something a lot of ppl would have wanted. 1010 clearly went a different route, wanting to make these into distinct products of their own.
how many musical devices or other consumer level devices have this? can you swap out the firmware on a PS5? I mean you can probably hack it to do that but few companies allow this. the only reason you are satying this is because in the past, 1010 were generous and allowed it on some products. but people should not be presumptuous.
@@ukbloke28 fair point.i just think it's bit overpriced and swappable firmware would make me consider it. But I agree about expectations - people then never have enough
I want to like these, as I really do like 1010 music and I like my blackbox and bluebox. But all these nanoboxes feel too redundant, and they are not inexpensive enough to justify the redundancy. A battery solution that could be applied to all of these so they can be used as a set, that would make this collection quite interesting. I get 1010 music might not be into making such a thing (it's not an instrument) but perhaps they might consider partnering with someone who does make that. for myself, buying 1 to 4 of these means I need 1-4 more electric outlets or portable batteries. No, I won't be doing that.
Well not everyone would want or need to use the blackbox for all it’s features… this seems appealing for some peoples setups. It has a nice size and look + feel to it, the black box is kind of clunky. As an owner of a blackbox I don’t even know how to use all it’s features yet it can seem quite complex! but for using it to sketch out ideas and triggering and playing samples and coming up with ideas and starting points for tracks is excellent. Plus the granular synth it has is good for creating interesting and ambient textures. Maby this Nanobox is simpler to use…. I’m guessing it would be quite cheaper aswell so it will be more accessible.
I think you explained it well Wil. I think 1010 aims the nanoboxes at a different demographic. Its more entry level and meant to be easier to use. If they succeed, well time will tell
according to 1010, the multisampling is way more powerful. its presumably much newer tech, given that the BB is getting on a bit in tech terms ... I think much more slices too.
It has a grand piano that I show off and a bunch of loops and one shot samples. And a few multi sampled synths. Beside the piano (it does sound good!) it wasn’t super impressive to me.
I don't think i'll be getting rid of my ipad using Koala just yet !. The problem i see with many of these reviews of samplers is that they always concentrate on sampling sounds to be made into beats or riffs, never for one shot samples were you might want to change the sound live or have multiple ones playing .
Koala is amazing. If he would partner with a company and make a hardware version with a great touchscreen and the size of an elektron box, i would preorder for any price!
1010's devices are cute but the prices seem too high. These are all just an embedded CPU with a touchscreen, a few knobs, and some analog and digital I/O. I just bought an ESP32-based box with a 4” touchscreen for $50. It may not have quite the horsepower, and it’s missing the A/D converters and MIDI, and of course 1010's software, but that doesn’t justify a $300 price difference.
These little boxes really ask the question - why make an entirely new box instead of adding features to the existing? When they only differ by plastic color and firmware. You'll know from the start that they are intentionally limited
The answer is likely that they want to make a distinct product line that appeal to more casual users. People like yourself who are knowledgeable and clearly into synths doesn’t represent the norm. The broad audience for instruments wouldn’t even understand that the Nanobox they bought had suddenly gotten new features (if it was just one box as you suggest). Just my guess as to why they are going this route and wether you like it or not its ofc up to you to decide.
@@VJFranzK Then you're not their target audience. Welcome to the wonderful world of things you want but cant afford. it's not like you're being deprived of water or food by 1010, is it? Myself and others find the prices to be fine.if you want unusual boutique devices, you have to pay for them. These things take a lot of work.
So what I understood is that it’s just a smaller, less capable BlackBox, which I considered portable, it just ran off USB. Internal battery just means it’ll die in maybe 10 years. And if you use multisamples with a whole MIDI controller, the blackbox is small enough beside it and bigger screen helps. I don’t see any benefit in having a much smaller device, especially when horizontally not a big difference. And price. I bought my Blackbox not long ago mint used for less than I would’ve paid for one of these. The idea is cool though. I just think why not just get a blackbox instead? If it was $299 that would be another story….
@@LordoftheBadgers I think you can map up to 4GB of samples. There a limit of 64 samples per pad and 80 pads per preset. If you run out, just navigate to a pad and pick New Recording, and that will clear out the loaded samples for the pad. I think the orange also has 24 voice polyphony vs 16.
@@AlbertSodylicious I can't visualise it really. For an extreme example - a full 88 piano sample with say 3 velocity layers I'm guessing is beyond the possible
i really like this in theory...i had a bitbox micro...but i couldnt gel with the tiny touch screen in the end. if they make a device with like a 7" touch screen i might be down tor that. this could be cool for playing backing tracks in a live performance though! this paired with something like a minifreak would be a great tiny live setup.
Humm… so they assume it should be a device that could be easily carried around, just in case one bumps into a synth that should be multi sampled on the spot…? Well I guess I’m not the targeted customer for this. And, as I own a Maschine+ I have a tool for this purpose, but otherwise I would use an app on a mobile phone or other device.
@@BoBeats yeah and then they'd go out of business. it's a entitled sentiment based on the fact that they did this with some of their eurorack stuff years ago, which they must regret like hell. their business model is obviously based on individual boxes, the software development cost etc folded into the cost of each. they are a really small company and can't offer the same economies of scale that the big corporations can. I wonder if the hardware inside is identical, too? Probably, but we shouldn't assume the internals are the same just because the outsides are similar.
Yepp UKBloke, I think you are correct. They would not be able to sustain a business by simply allowing people to swap firmware. I think for us who are a small group of hardcore synth entusiasts it makes sense to swap firmware, but for the general consumers it makes little sense. Most wouldn't even understand that there's new firmware for their device that you could buy, and 1010 could likely only charge a small amount for an update. Which in turn would hurt their ability to keep developing new products.
You can check out Nanoboxes in stores here or some alternatives that I can recommend. Affiliate links support the channel regardless what you buy at no cost to you.
1010music Nanobox
EU: www.thomann.de/se/search_dir.html?sw=nanobox&smcs=2e56b8_1759&offid=1&affid=623
US: : bit.ly/3rQdCon (Perfect Circuit)
US: sweetwater.sjv.io/GmoNXL (Sweetwater)
UK: tidd.ly/3PSzJTl (Gear4Music)
SMPLTrek from Sonicware (much improved since my review)
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/550898?offid=1&affid=623
US: bit.ly/smpltrekPC
Roland Compacts line-up is also interesting if you want a tiny portable synth
EU: bit.ly/ThomannAiraCompact
US: sweetwater.sjv.io/JzkJ5a
There's also the Sonicware Liven series which are fun portable synths and samplers
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/555755?offid=1&affid=623
US/NA: bit.ly/LivenLofi
The 1010 website won't ship the tangerine before November. Also I'm pissed now that my (far more expensive and powerful?) 1010 blackbox only supports 64x .wav per patch 😭
@@g3cd older tech and the processing power has to be spread across a far wider range of usages. this is much newer tech and much more focussed so it's really not surprising at all.
I can see this being really useful in a live rig where you just need to play back some multisampled instruments. This is basically what I’m doing in my current live setup, but since I’m also running the backing tracks from my laptop, I went with Ableton’s Sampler instrument and Sample Robot to capture patches on my synths. If you’re strictly a live keyboardist and don’t need the laptop, this looks like a great alternative.
I've been happy with the updates for my 1010 Bluebox - they seem to listen to their forum members.
Glad to hear it! I am very happy with the Bluebox myself its my main mixer nowdays
They only listen when they feel like it. it appears they tend to abandon the less commercially successful devices which is mean to the people who supported.
The issue with internal batteries is that reduces the capacity for the device to be serviceable, as soon the battery dies your device does too, having an small external battery is way preferable than having a fixed internal one
Yeah I prefer internal but this is a good argument for sure
Agreed nobody mentions this
except that for decades, electrical devices usually had a little compartment with a lid so you could swap out the battery. it's bizarre that people seem to have forgotten this ...
@@ukbloke28 that cool but the tab always broke
It's a "disposable device" philosophy which is not good long term
1010 makes some really nice gear, tiny sampler, not my thing but I can still appreciate what they've done.
Thx for the upload Bo.
Thanks for checking it out as always!
I have to clearly disagree with the firmware, as 1010 has shown through the masses of updates for blue and Blackbox what the further development of products means and always responds to features from the community. Which company specifically asks for the wishes of its customers and then usually implements them? Simply amazing. So to be honest, I think it's a bit unfair to criticize this or to share your concern, because in my view a leap of faith would be absolutely justified and the device is not being launched on the market incomplete. I'm already looking forward to having the Nanobox in my setup 😮😊
Great timing!! ive been autosampling/multisampling my hardware synths heaps the last few days.. might look into this!
What were you using?
@@BoBeatsive just been using software. I'm using a combination of apples mainstage with it's built-in autosampler. So far I've been experimenting with sampling my subsequent 25, minituar and my monologue.
I went with mainstage because it's cheap and I wanted to see if I enjoy doing it. I'm making them into decentsampler patches.
Hows your experience been? I have not used mainstage much. Worth testing? What I prefer with hardware samplers is that I can use the results immediately in my setup. But the negative is that the editing just isn't anywhere near as good as on a computer@@Grant82gc
I think it is time to review the Woovebox.
This is very cool for live use and I love that it has automated multisampling built in. I've thought often it would be good to be able to swap firmware between them, as these micro boxes are all the same hardware right? Obviously I realise they'd like you to buy multiple units...
Hardware does seem identical to me and the CPU is identical. I think it would be hard to make money on FW updates/version so this is likely a more sustainable route for growing the business and product line / future developments.
@@BoBeats I think if each model is truly valuable and unique then it's likely people would still buy multiple units, but yes - I get it from the business perspective!
The ending of this video. This was the biggest part for me. I hope companies are listening.
Hi Bo, I think you've missed the big picture here: this little box does something that is extremely rare, namely auto-sampling synths. All these other things about having more control on the sound afterwards, sequencers etc. are truly incidental compared to that. It means I can build a patch on my Arthuria MicroFreak, sample it, and play it with 24-voice polyphony, delay & reverb, with some time to make a cup of tea in between (sure, a filter would be nice). None of the top-end workstations can do that, and the equivalent software on the Akai MPC 61 is a pig to work with in practice.
Hey Rik, I thought me spending a majority of the vid on exactly the multi sampling would be sufficient to highlight how its the main 'thing'. I simply think that adding say a filter envelope or additional LFO would add to this experience making it an even better standalone device.
Just got one of these specifically to be able to chop breaks, loops, and stems for my hardware sets and be able to sync it with clocks. Seems perfect for that.
What’s always puzzled me about the nanobox series is the screens. The actual, useable space they’ve implemented is only about 70% of the screen size. I’ve taken to using a physical stylus to select and press the controls onscreen. It seems kind of odd not to push the interface closer to the edge to maximize the functionality of the UI. The use of a mono spaced font is also kind of cheesy to me, but that’s just aesthetics, so forgivable. Love that Polyend uses a proper font in their UI.
I wish they’d used the Bluebox/Blackbox format.
Yeah that screen is a tease. It already looks small and then you realize there are bezels. Too bad you can't hook up an iPad and control it that way
I hope they will now add the proper sample cropping in this to the Lemondrop and Razzmatazz. And chromatic playback etc on the Razz...
These are exactly the features that I miss in the razz, otherwise I would have bought it.
@@ruffark they do add stuff but these requests have been waiting for some time. The code is there so it really ought to get added.
the Razz is superb as it is, but id like those elements and also proper ratchets and, non-quantised would be nice.
@@ukbloke28the razz can't do off-beat micro timing?
@@WillisZzz No. It's one of the things they frequently get asked to add. they have an annoyingly laissez faire attitude about this stuff, claiming 'it's not supposed to do that' and feeling they can ignore what is expected of a drum machine in this era.
Obvs you can achieve micro timing by sending midi from another sequencer though. some other basic stuff missing like probability and proper ratcheting - you can only bake that in per sound there is no way to retrig per step.
But it's very powerful in a number of ways, lots of modulation for creating sounds etc. you can tie velocity to all sorts of parameters then sequence velocity steps alongside the hits to create a lot of variation in sound beyond just volume. the sequencer is fast and intuitive.
Overall I still think it's an underrated drum machine, the toy like appearance belies the power of it.
Hi! Here is a new comment about multi-sampling, I didn't see a similar question in the other comments... If I understand correctly, you need to plug the OUTPUT AND MIDI OUT of an audio source (hardware or software synth) to the AUDIO IN and MIDI IN of the Tangerine, and the Tangerine "cooperates" with this audio source to understand what the notes are (C0, C#0, etc.), and it magically becomes a preset in the Tangerine? Is there any other equipment that does that on the market right now? I didn't know such functionality existed. I think it's great! Thanks
The Tangerine plays midi notes, say C0, C1 etc and it knows which notes it plays. It sends these notes out thru the midi out, jack into midi in of the synth. Which then plays C0 and so on. Every note. Or with wider range between them. The audio is then sent out from synth into the Tangerine. Which knows which note has been played and sampled, and saves it with a name tag reflecting the note played and sampled.
Other devices that can do this is for example MPC One/Live/X
Once multisampled an iOS piano with the MPC, but even with different velocity settings, it didn’t sound well.
The preset on this device sounds better.
1010 Tangerine gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily - life is but a dream.
Great insights Bo. Several of the nanoboxes catch my attention, but for me the pricepoint is a little too high for the feature sets offered. The reasons which you mention at the end would make this a peripheral piece of gear and not a core one. 400+ euro is too much for a novelty buy (for me).
Sad but true!
That's also one of my favorite Polybrute presets. I've created multiple variations of it. 5:26
This Tangerine is a Dream, would like to have one...but the screen might be hard to press at that size.
Thanks for the awesome review! Quick question: can each of the 8 slots be assigned to a different midi channel?
yes
Q. at around 22:21 - re the backoung music in this segment .. is that a digitakt arp and synth?
i'm asking as it sounds very familiar/similar to a track by James Glew - (he uses elektron gear also)
I'm wondering if it's a digitakt preset arp?
Nope, that is a much older beat I made and the arp is from the Minilogue. I don’t think its a preset, just some sound I threw together. But it could be that its a preset.
sounds cool to me - nice one @@BoBeats
It should come with multisamples of the instruments used by Tangerine Dream. :P
Seems pretty fun, definitely there's not much competition in the multisampling realm. I guess my main question as a Blackbox owner is - does this do any sort of multisampling magic that the Blackbox doesn't also do? Seems like the capabilities are the same, except for the polyphony and sample limits being higher on the Tangerine.
I don’t think it has any special magic sauce really compared to the BB. Its the small size, sample limits and portability that is likely to be the selling points. Otherwise very similar.
yeah i wondered that too, BB mini
Thanks for the content. Always enjoyable and informative.
Thanks for watching!
Yeh internal battery is a massive one. Also personally I think a sequencer is very important in a device like this. Else what is the point - you might as well use your DAW and a software sampler.
What's the longer in seconds it can reproduce a premade Ableton File? Can I use this for Backing tracks on my live set up? Would it sync with my other external Hardware devices? Thank you
If it's like the Blackbox, there is no limit to length of sample. It streams the audio from your micro SD card.
So this can play 8 loops at a time, with start time in or out of sync, and different lengths?
If it had overdub, it would make a great compact loop station.
hi there! wondering if there are definable key zones/ranges per pad to play say two poly sampled instruments across the one keyboard simultaneously? ie - pad and lead etc.. apologies if this was covered.
Great demo! ❤
I'm really hoping they release a Fruit Box that has all the nano box engines built into the form factor of the Black Box and Blue Box.
As alternative I also see the Koala-Sampler on IOS. Amazing software! What is the price of Tangerine?
a lot less than an iPhone or iPad that you'd need to run koala.
@@ukbloke28 I assume no one buys an IOS device only for using Koala.
Will a sustain pedal work with it?
Cool idea. For not a lot more you could find a second hand MPC One and build all the Key Groups you want plus have everything else that box does so for that reason, $400 doesn't seem like a great deal. Still I'm glad this exists as an option.
It definitely fills a hole for me, lugging the mpc x between rigs is a faff and Thing 1&2 are always asking to borrow a mono synth or two for their little modest set up.
I get your point as an MPC One owner. But this is super portable
try put your MPC in your pocket and run it off a phone charge pack ....
Mpc One has so-so looping settings as you can only set one start point and no loop start from where the loop begins. Say farewell to strings with attack.
EDIT: I was wrong. Obviously the mpc series allows for a loop start. Just unclick loop lock and you can set a loop starting point different than the sample start.
Thank you for this great review! I purchased the Tangerine and have a question about the multisampling. In your video, you just played one note on the Polybrute and then let the box do the rest. When I do that, it starts recording, but it stops advancing at "recording 3 of...". It only advances when I play a new note. And the final results have been a little shaky. Some notes seem to have a slight ringing at certain frequencies that don't happen naturally in the synth I sampled. Have you experienced either of these issues, and might you have any idea how to resolve these issues? Thanks :)
Hey! I have not experienced this. I dont even have to play one note to multi sample. I just press start and it starts multi sampling. Sounds like some setting is wrong.
@@BoBeats thank you for the reply! I did a firmware update and that fixed the sampling issue :)
8:17 this is a great little track.
thank you Floyd!
Great video! What's the best software to mimic the way this performs automatic multi-sampling?
Sample Robot is good i hear
Looks great, thanks for the tip!@@BoBeats
Looks really useful but bloody expensive for what it is. When you consider the Korg Gadget2 for iPad is only £39.99 and does much more.
maybe it's not a beat maker. maybe it's more like a pattern mixer and arranger.
create patterns on your favorite drum machines, synths, and of course seagulls. sample them and now you have them all next to each other on the little grid. hook it up with a controller with some knobs and faders, and you can start and stop the different parts you created, mix, filter in and out, and add an occasional reverb.
This way your synths can be busy doing some more interesting things, while the main lines are repeated on the Tangerine.
I already wish for some firmware updates: new effects, macro options for assigning multiple effects together (dj transition style), and mixing effects like compressor, then it could be an end-of-chain device for taking random jams to a whole new level.
Does that even make sense?
I don't see any other reason to get this device
Is it like the 1010music Blackbox ? Thanks in advance
I wish they would make a bigger/updated version of the Blackbox/Bitbox instead of all those toys.
I think many feel like this
I love this form-factor and get a lot of use out of the Lemondrop in particular.
@@JoeJohnston-taskboy me too. I think it's only entering the filenames that are too small. they did a very good job of the interface design - I suspect most of the people who say this havent actually used one.
I think toylike synths like these probably have a much broader market appeal and a better profit margin, considering what manufacturers have been doing over the last 5 years or so. (that said, i too would love an updated blackbox, yeah)
@@zbsfm I enjoy the dichotomy between what these boxes look like and what they can actually do. other than somewhat minimalist operating systems at times, they are very powerful and have excellent audio quality. They aren't toys at all.
Creative drums around the 8:18 Mark
this synth sounds so beautiful i almost want to cry
somebody take my money and show me how to set up that intro synth , it will change my life
Would you consider sharing the multi samples from the polybrute, sh101 and obsx? They sounded great.
I will consider it but its presets i didnt make myself so its a bit tricky
Ah, no problem. Thanks for getting back. 🙂
Glad Bo grew his hair back. Seems more natural for him.
Thank you for that comprehensive insights!!!! 😊At autosampling, will it also automatic loop each sample, as this is important for pads?
My question as well, for long pads and drones.
No this is not possible on the device itself sorry i didnt say this. There is no automatic mapping of like loop points within a sample in a multi sample. You can however sample very long pad samples should you need too. I asked 1010 about this but didnt get a clear answer as to why its not possible. The settings available when multi sampling are the ones I show in the vid.
11:57 long time ago I saw that coffee jug featured in a scene. Remember now how that was what tied me to this channel. The coffee 😂 well, this little device would compensate for the monophonic limit of the Digitakt. If only the Nectarine was 8 part multitimbral it would sort of fill that gap fully.
I have to cut down on the coffee, but its still a big passion of mine
If the Tangerine is like 1010's Blackbox, it lets you assign each pad to a different MIDI channel, making it 8 part multitimbral.
oh yes sorry if I wasn't clear in the video. If you look at my setup example: It has 8 sample slots, and those can be assigned to 8 midi tracks. Making it 8 part multi timbral correct.
@@BoBeats ok, so the total polyphony is then shared among all parts in a equal fashion. Sounds like a companion for the DT, if only the Tangerine had the same sound sculpting abilities
Decaf?
Brilliant, now I can grab some of my fave made patches from some of my fancy Synths and take them elsewhere from just a midi controller keyboard ! ............ and for live performances it could be invaluable especially as you can leave some expensive bulky gear at home and this is kind of what the rig profiling function Kemper did for the Guitar rig market. I`d defo pay more for a version that had more memory as well if they made one ! ....... and I`d buy one of these when available for just the multi sampler part too ! ..................... and last of all you can grab an instance in time from a synth that has no presets, Synths that I have always avoided, hell I might finally buy an ARP 2600 if I had something like this and Yes Bo you are right more in depth modulation capabilities would also be a huge plus so thatr a unit like this can become more of a dedicated multi sample based Synthesizer engine in it`s own right
A good way to turn monophonic presets into polyphonic, right?
Correct
Does it feature MIDI Host support over USB?
Hi! One question: the preset (is like project) contains 8 pads (like 8 tracks) which can be played across 16 sequences. Is it possible to change the sample on a pad depending on the sequence actually running? Lets say on sequence 1 on pad 1 I have a clip with loop A but when I change the sequence to sequence 2 I can change the pad 1 clip sample to loop B? Or I need to have the same pads’ samples setup across whole preset and sequences? I would like to know if its possible to have similar to Elektrons’ sound locks depending on sequence.
Hey! No this isnt possible. You load the 8 pads with whatever you want, and the sequencer then plays back those samples.
@@BoBeats thank you for the answer ☺️ Still quite powerful pocket device even with its limitations.
Really god testing and video in general. But the three critics are none to me. I think, more stuff like an Arpeggiator make the handling more complicating, more and deeper menues. I always enjoy simple and straight forward concepts. It increases the intuitivity. And then everybody might wish one more gadget until such boxes are overloaded with options... But that's me :)
So, this would serve as a sort of hardware alternative to Sample Robot? Can the Tangerine also multisample one's favorite virtual instrument/plugin so that you can play it without being tied to your computer?
That was my first thought as well; I would think that you could just connect it to a DAW with the audio out and run through a VST. I think Sample Robot would be more comprehensive with sample rate options for import/export as well as all the packaged up files it does to export samples to synths. Does look handy to stick in a bag though to grab samples from a synth on the go though, Might be a both/and situation with SR if one does a lot of this kind of thing (where you could grab all the samples on the go with the tangerine, take those WAV files into SR and then do whatever organisation and processing needed there before output.
What Jason said 👍👍
Does anyone know if there is anything the Tangerine does that the BlackBox doesn’t do? I’m just trying to make sure the tangerine is a subset of the BlackBox (which is a great thing).
I dont know the blackbox well enough to answer but they aim the products at different demographics for sure. I believe BB can do most of what Tangerine can but perhaps there is some difference in terms of multi sampling limits? I am just beginning to use the BB so I dont quite know
@@BoBeats thanks for your time as always.
they say the multisampling is way more powerful, is one point.
Correct I double checked and the BB has the same limitation as the BitBox micro which is 88 samples max per projects, compared to 576 for the Tangerine, making the latter the true multi sampling power house of the lineup@@ukbloke28
Is there anything like this? I've been waiting for a while and looking for something like this that would replace an old rack sampler.
Got the other 3 Nanos.....love them.....but the the lack of chaining on the Razz's sequencer is annoying.....is the tangerine the same?
Yes
yes, we need chaining! its an excellent drum machine, underrated, it just needs a little updating.
@@ukbloke28 Yes I love it.....I even like the sequencer...but Channing is needed. It somehow works really well with my Rhythm Wolf....
@@666-Chaosynth the sequencer is excellent, other than only have quantised as an option.
wait you can't chain sequences you have to manually clip launch them ?
While neat, I think it only works when in the context of the other nanoboxs', similar to how Pocket Operators work together. But compared to it's bigger brother, the BlackBox, especially at used price, this isn't very compelling as a standalone product.
I will keep shouting into the void that one of these modern samplers need to implement importing soundfont files. There is such a wealth of interesting sounds out there that no one seems interested in tapping into. That said, this box really interests me even on merit of being a portable automated multisampler alone.
Chicken System Translator
*Can I use stereo samples with the Tangerine?* This would eliminate - I have a Digitakt, too - the mono sample-problem of the Digitakt.
Yes, stereo samples. Sorry if I was unclear. You can load stereo or mono samples.
@@BoBeats Thank you for your fast answer ;)
This looks pretty neat. I usually bring my computer to gigs as I use arturias v collection. I'm using perhaps 6 of the presets that I never modulate. Do you think I could sample some of the synths into this and would it be possible to do keyboard splits?
It doesnt have splits as a function. I suppose you could load a multi where u have sound A going for half an octave and sound B going for half an octave. But it would mean having to rename the samples so the nanobox can place different sounds in one multi. A bit of work and not something I’d recommend
Thanks bo ❤
So will the sampling still work the same linking it up to the computer? I.e sampling v collection synths. Sorry I'm a bit of a newb.
If the Tangerine is like 1010's Blackbox and allows you to assign each "pad" (instrument) to a different MIDI channel, there is another way you could do it. Some MIDI keyboards let you split by MIDI channel (i.e., lower keys send on channel A, upper keys send on channel B) and thereby control two different instruments.
I wish I could get this exact form factor and connectivity but as a USB audio interface
not a bad idea!
A great add for coffee 😀
Interesting device, I can totally see why people might want it; it looks like a perfect little no-frills device to save your analog patches without much trouble. And no I wouldn't want an arpeggiator in there (I have that in the MIDI controller that will drive it (or inside a DAW)), even the sequencer is a bit of overkill imho. Not having an internal battery also isn't really a con, as long as it can be powered by USB. The only concern: how much power does it draw? I previously owned the Black Box and the Blue Box, but I let go of both of them because they were drawing 1A of current (or even close to 2A in case of the Blue Box) draining even a beefy power bank within an hour or two. So that would be an important spec to check before buying. Thank you for the video.
Good points! As to the power bank. Its so difficult to say… i have a chonky anker and it doesn’t seem to deplete it very quickly. But honestly I havn’t done any sort of real test, my gut feeling is the device is energy efficient
@@BoBeats I looked up the specs at the 1010 website; they talk about 5V/500mA. I assume they mean that a 500mA adapter will be sufficient, meaning that it will draw less current then that. That looks more acceptable than the Black Box.
I wonder if there is there an iOS app that can multi sample like this?
I actually asked Jakob Haq about this and he said many use SynthJacker
Guess there’s a niche here for people who want an ultra-portable multi-sample of a particular patch or set of patches. However, as with a lot of this line up it feels like it exists in a no-man’s land where one chunk of consumers would rather have a slightly bigger, slightly more expensive sampler with better features/UI, and the other chunk would rather go the smart device app route instead.
I noticed the Lemondrop and Fireball was sold out in US stores a while, so perhaps there is a market for them?
@@BoBeats Seemed like the Lemondrop sold out much faster/more often than the Fireball.
@@BoBeats I'm not a musician, even barely a hobbiest, and the market of portable/handheld, highly stylized, quality feeling musical hardware will always call to me haha. Something about the aesthetics, capabilities and sounds that some of these devices come with are so addicting to my brain.
Lemondrop was definitely my favorite and its the one i keep recommending if you like the idea of a portable granular synth
what about an iPad with usb c midi sound card?
What about RAM for multisamples ?
How many voices polyphonic??
Can you record and play back midi CCs or PCs to trigger external hardware such as pedals? I cannot find a pdf manual yet
Not that I know of
No but whats (the source of) that first Hydrasynth patch?! 😳🙏🏻🙌🏻
Its a HydraSynth preset from the Explorer
@@BoBeats do you remember what it’s called? (I really should spend some more time with my Hydra!!)
sorry no
Does anyone know of a similarly small product that will record sounds via a microphone and easily manipulate them to be used later in a drum machine or synth?
Your phone?
@@edjefferson9175 Yes, but the quality sucks even with a good mic.
cool vid, as usual, having the blackbox I need the tangerine?
I would say no, unless you specifically need the more powerful multi sampling
thanks a lot @@BoBeats
How do you sample analog keyboards with no midi?
Then you would have to do it manually
Is it possible to play a one-shot sample chromaticaly and polyphonicaly?
yes, but it doesnt sound great beyond an octave since theres no time stretch algo for that like on the SP404
Is this basically a downgraded Blackbox. Except for price, why would the Tangerine be a better choice than the Blackbox? Thanks P.S. I have a digitakt 2 that I use with a Boomerange looper. I need something that will play bass lines or chord sequences. Thoughts on the best box for this?
But does it have built in drum synth ? Or just play samples if only the razz and this had a baby
no built in drum synth, only razz has this.
@@BoBeats same sequencer as the razzmatazz ?
the razzmatazz sequencer has one or two more functions I believe, but they are very limited on both devices
@@BoBeats thank you for the information
I don't understand how it differs in sampling from blackbox? Blackbox is also a multi-sampler
Beside obvious physical differences the main difference is that this can do 576 samples per preset whereas Blackbox can only do 88. I don't work for 1010 but I assume their idea here is that Nanoboxes are these single focus devices and Blackbox is their larger more expensive workstation type device.
I was hoping for a small and portable alternative to my Mpc Live keygroups (which also has auto sampling), but meh, this is too basic for me.
those really need to have interchangable firmware for the price
yeah I think this is something a lot of ppl would have wanted. 1010 clearly went a different route, wanting to make these into distinct products of their own.
how many musical devices or other consumer level devices have this? can you swap out the firmware on a PS5? I mean you can probably hack it to do that but few companies allow this. the only reason you are satying this is because in the past, 1010 were generous and allowed it on some products. but people should not be presumptuous.
@@ukbloke28 fair point.i just think it's bit overpriced and swappable firmware would make me consider it. But I agree about expectations - people then never have enough
@@jakubberan2720 I've got 3 of their devices. they are all excellent and I think fairly priced for what they are.
Lol
No
Reaaaaally makin me want to throw my sequencer built in puredata into a standalone little box...
I want to like these, as I really do like 1010 music and I like my blackbox and bluebox. But all these nanoboxes feel too redundant, and they are not inexpensive enough to justify the redundancy.
A battery solution that could be applied to all of these so they can be used as a set, that would make this collection quite interesting. I get 1010 music might not be into making such a thing (it's not an instrument) but perhaps they might consider partnering with someone who does make that. for myself, buying 1 to 4 of these means I need 1-4 more electric outlets or portable batteries. No, I won't be doing that.
So its basically the Blackbox which already exists, but... worse? Seems like such a strange move.
Well not everyone would want or need to use the blackbox for all it’s features… this seems appealing for some peoples setups. It has a nice size and look + feel to it, the black box is kind of clunky. As an owner of a blackbox I don’t even know how to use all it’s features yet it can seem quite complex! but for using it to sketch out ideas and triggering and playing samples and coming up with ideas and starting points for tracks is excellent. Plus the granular synth it has is good for creating interesting and ambient textures. Maby this Nanobox is simpler to use…. I’m guessing it would be quite cheaper aswell so it will be more accessible.
I think you explained it well Wil. I think 1010 aims the nanoboxes at a different demographic. Its more entry level and meant to be easier to use. If they succeed, well time will tell
I love their idea, but their prices seem a bit high
according to 1010, the multisampling is way more powerful. its presumably much newer tech, given that the BB is getting on a bit in tech terms ... I think much more slices too.
Thanks, Bo.
How are the onboard presets? Do they have any factory pianos, strings, choirs etc like the Liven Lo-Fi 12 did?
Watch the video.
It has a grand piano that I show off and a bunch of loops and one shot samples. And a few multi sampled synths. Beside the piano (it does sound good!) it wasn’t super impressive to me.
You only press one key and then The Nano Box did The Rest for you?
Technically you could just use the iPhone and Koala or other instruments auv3s. Especially the newer iPhone that has usb-c.
Can Koala sample multi sample?
I don't think i'll be getting rid of my ipad using Koala just yet !. The problem i see with many of these reviews of samplers is that they always concentrate on sampling sounds to be made into beats or riffs, never for one shot samples were you might want to change the sound live or have multiple ones playing .
Koala is amazing. If he would partner with a company and make a hardware version with a great touchscreen and the size of an elektron box, i would preorder for any price!
I think you'll find this device and the blackbox also excel at what you are saying you want.
Can it do multi sampling…?
Hold my sip of coffee! Where’s my jetpack? 😮
The BlackBox does all that with 16 channels, no?
Most of it. It doesnt have as deep multi sampling
Did you intentionally release this video on today's date, 10/10?
Yes, because 1010music had set the embargo date to 10/10. Cheeky huh!
1010's devices are cute but the prices seem too high. These are all just an embedded CPU with a touchscreen, a few knobs, and some analog and digital I/O. I just bought an ESP32-based box with a 4” touchscreen for $50. It may not have quite the horsepower, and it’s missing the A/D converters and MIDI, and of course 1010's software, but that doesn’t justify a $300 price difference.
These little boxes really ask the question - why make an entirely new box instead of adding features to the existing? When they only differ by plastic color and firmware. You'll know from the start that they are intentionally limited
The answer is likely that they want to make a distinct product line that appeal to more casual users. People like yourself who are knowledgeable and clearly into synths doesn’t represent the norm. The broad audience for instruments wouldn’t even understand that the Nanobox they bought had suddenly gotten new features (if it was just one box as you suggest). Just my guess as to why they are going this route and wether you like it or not its ofc up to you to decide.
that obviously wouldn't be a sustainable business model for them.
@@ukbloke28 It's not a sustainable purchasing model for us. ; - )
@@VJFranzK Then you're not their target audience. Welcome to the wonderful world of things you want but cant afford. it's not like you're being deprived of water or food by 1010, is it?
Myself and others find the prices to be fine.if you want unusual boutique devices, you have to pay for them. These things take a lot of work.
@@ukbloke28- well said 👍
Too many people expect something for nothing.
still not green, but seems like a cool box anyway!
Oh we want a green one? Nanobox Pear perhaps? Nanobox Lime!
Key Lime@@BoBeats
$1600 for the entire four module collection vs $1600 for one standalone synth.....hmmmm
I need a moment to think about this one.
So what I understood is that it’s just a smaller, less capable BlackBox, which I considered portable, it just ran off USB. Internal battery just means it’ll die in maybe 10 years. And if you use multisamples with a whole MIDI controller, the blackbox is small enough beside it and bigger screen helps. I don’t see any benefit in having a much smaller device, especially when horizontally not a big difference.
And price. I bought my Blackbox not long ago mint used for less than I would’ve paid for one of these. The idea is cool though. I just think why not just get a blackbox instead? If it was $299 that would be another story….
Does blackbox have the 576 sample limit or less?
@@LordoftheBadgers I think you can map up to 4GB of samples. There a limit of 64 samples per pad and 80 pads per preset. If you run out, just navigate to a pad and pick New Recording, and that will clear out the loaded samples for the pad.
I think the orange also has 24 voice polyphony vs 16.
@@AlbertSodylicious I can't visualise it really. For an extreme example - a full 88 piano sample with say 3 velocity layers I'm guessing is beyond the possible
autosampler alternatives - MPC one.
Yepp, think I mention it in the vid
i really like this in theory...i had a bitbox micro...but i couldnt gel with the tiny touch screen in the end. if they make a device with like a 7" touch screen i might be down tor that. this could be cool for playing backing tracks in a live performance though! this paired with something like a minifreak would be a great tiny live setup.
Amazing times
Humm… so they assume it should be a device that could be easily carried around, just in case one bumps into a synth that should be multi sampled on the spot…? Well I guess I’m not the targeted customer for this. And, as I own a Maschine+ I have a tool for this purpose, but otherwise I would use an app on a mobile phone or other device.
they missed the opportunity to make 1 box with swappable firmware and be heroes
Yeah I think that is a common sentiment
@@BoBeats yeah and then they'd go out of business.
it's a entitled sentiment based on the fact that they did this with some of their eurorack stuff years ago, which they must regret like hell.
their business model is obviously based on individual boxes, the software development cost etc folded into the cost of each. they are a really small company and can't offer the same economies of scale that the big corporations can.
I wonder if the hardware inside is identical, too? Probably, but we shouldn't assume the internals are the same just because the outsides are similar.
Yepp UKBloke, I think you are correct. They would not be able to sustain a business by simply allowing people to swap firmware. I think for us who are a small group of hardcore synth entusiasts it makes sense to swap firmware, but for the general consumers it makes little sense. Most wouldn't even understand that there's new firmware for their device that you could buy, and 1010 could likely only charge a small amount for an update. Which in turn would hurt their ability to keep developing new products.
Their modules do this (or used to, at any rate). Not sure if they still do.
@@BoBeats I like what they do and I want to support it. people are too spoiled ...