This Luddite Needs Assistance

I went a similar route as a guitar player with a lot of trial and error. I just want to quickly set up some drums, bass and sometimes a synth line - and ended up with two options: As hardware option I bought a Launchpad pro (had a Launchpad X before). It has a standalone sequencer that is powerful enough to control 4 different Instruments.

If you have an ipad or iphone I really recommend Xynthesizr. It has a powerful 32 step sequencer and works as a standalone synth engine with a pretty good sound. And its crazy cheap.

I also tried to use TouchOSC - which could be used as a sequencer in theory but is a pain to set up with the sequencer of the dwarf. You have to set up each note and use the mindi plugin to sync.

4 Likes

I’m not really into the idea of the phone/tablet solutions. Too much potential for frustration, too little upside with ease of use. And I’ve done the TouchOSC thing in a different context. It worked well after the initial headaches, but I’m looking for something more robust at this point.

I had originally glossed over the Launchpad Pro just due to the size. After watching Loopop’s video on it, it’s likely the one I’m going with. I wish there was a ‘pro mini’ version.

I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought if you hadn’t mentioned it, as I didn’t know it had a built-in sequencer. But now I think this is the route I’m going to go.

This is very interesting, it’s a perfect example of why I posed this question to you all - something I never would have found on my own.

Right now I’ve narrowed it down to either the Launchpad Pro or the Oxi One.

I absolutely love the size and pad layout of the Oxi One, but I’m not sure I need the extra power right now. I could see myself growing into it at some point, but the question I’m asking myself is do I spend the money on a more powerful tool now, or wait to ‘upgrade’ in the future.

This thread has been very helpful. Thank you all.

4 Likes

I use the Korg SQ-1 with the Mod Dwarf. It pretty much worked as soon as I plugged it in and routed the MIDI to one of the drum sound generators. I especially like that I can set up a sort of MIDI randomness with a MIDI Utility pedal inside the Dwarf, and then tweak just a couple of knobs or buttons on the SQ-1 to change the drum sequence and it sounds natural. I only use it as a drum sequencer, but I assume it would work equally well for bass or melody lines.

7 Likes

If you get that oxi one, can I please live vicariously through you?

That oxi one will replace most of my sequencers, and I happen to have a grand of fun money to play with. I’m just trying to be strong :frowning:

For reference, my current sequencer list:
Octatrack MK II (won’t sell)
Polyend Tracker (will sell)
Six4pix noodlebox (on the fence)
Korg SQ-1 (will sell)
Korg SQ-64 (will sell)
Arturia BSP Black (will sell)

This is my selling pile :smiley:

The OXI One, outside of the sampling stuff, will be far more powerful than any of the sequencers on my sell list lmao

This is a super hard thing to approach to be honest. I generally try to get the most featured sequencer, and then grow into it over time. The reason why I have so many, is because I am addicted to playing with new tech, and that’s largely my interest with music gear.

I don’t think Oxi instruments will be making a Rev 2 anytime soon, as they are working really hard on adding features and fixing minor bugs on the current unit. So in this instance, if you buy it, you’ll have the latest hardware for quite some time, and it will continue to add features as firmware comes out.

Regardless of you utilizing the advanced features, the basics are built in.

Edit: placed an order for the OXI with the case, no added accessories like the Pipe or Midi splitter.

This will be the total to ship to the US with the case. 748 bucks :frowning: (somehow still a savings over the polyend play :rofl:)

I should’ve just kept my preorder with the free case and pipe module lmao

4 Likes

Your decisiveness has inspired me to quit wavering and just go for the somewhat less exciting Launchpad Pro. After watching a number of videos, I think it will suit my needs very well.

I admit I’m a bit envious, the O1 is tempting.

Looks like we both have something to look forward to. Enjoy the new acquisition!

4 Likes

Hell yeah my man!

I’m glad you pulled the trigger, and you probably made the smarter choice for your situation.

I’ll let you know how that Oxi One is, it should be here next month or so.

Edit: sorry for the delay, parents were visiting lol

3 Likes

@FistfulOfStars great to hear. Please give a quick summary if you managed to get evertyhing working - i’m still using mine not as much i like to standalone with the dwarf.

@Elk_wrath the oxi one looks great - this is what I initially thought I’ll get when the LPpro was to fiddily for my process. Would be great to have short video with the duo and oxi one working together.

5 Likes

I’m pretty sure the O1 will be in stock in June.

I will definitely test it out when it arrives and let you know!

3 Likes

Also matey,

Welcome to the forum, and community!

2 Likes

Thank you!

2 Likes

Feel free to post in the “introduce yourself” thread, as well!

3 Likes

Total sucker, both too much for me and not enough. Unfortunate, because I remember liking some of the NI synths. Instant return, damn it really was a stupid deal, I totally deserve it :slight_smile:

4 Likes

Dang, that’s a bummer. At least you figured out it wasn’t for you while in your return window haha

4 Likes

@oeSmash Sorry to hear it didn’t work out. For me, it takes a few misses to even figure out what I’m looking for - and I’m the type that procrastinates on returns, only to be stuck with it forever. Don’t be like me.

But some good news: I got my new-to-me Launchpad Pro mk3 today. Got to play with it for about an hour and a half this evening and I’m absolutely stoked.

@spunktsch I seriously can’t thank you enough for the recommendation.

I am so glad I got something with a built-in sequencer rather than just a passive midi controller. Even though I am not yet 100% comfortable with the device, the workflow is so intuitive and fast that I’m already creating things that are expanding beyond my usual patterns. I was able to get a beat and backing synths going within literally 5 minutes and get down to creating. Normally I’d sit there for 30 minutes getting all that going. It may sound daft, but this is seriously a breakthrough for me.

I fully recommend an external sequencer to anyone like me who is trying to create their own “backing tracks” for playing guitar / songwriting.

Some “review points” that I feel need to be said:

  • I’m able to use, configure, and update the device firmware via Linux - their web app works just fine, though I had to use Chromium rather than Firefox. It appears to be class-compliant and works flawlessly just plugging in and running with it.
  • It also works flawlessly on the MOD Dwarf. Detected, enabled, and playing immediately. Set the dwarf to receive MIDI clock tempo, and it is working great. Transport works as expected.
  • The Dwarf is able to power the device properly via the USB host - RGB light show in-tact.
  • I stand by my desire for a ‘Launchpad Mini Pro’ version. Mini size with the sequencers and feature set of the pro. Please.

One plugin feature request that is immediately apparent (and may already exist, not sure):

A MIDI channel splitter - One midi input, [n] outputs (I’d use 4 with my LpP) - One (selectable) channel per output.

I needed to use 4 MIDI channel filter plugins to get the different sequencers and pages to only control the individual plugin I want. There may already be a better way to achieve this, but I am envisioning this being relatively simple to implement in one ‘channel splitter’ plugin.

I’ll stop yammering now. This is a great pairing with the Dwarf. Thank you all, I’m very excited.

10 Likes

I was going to suggest the MIDI Channel filter but then noticed that you got there.
In what way do you believe that a splitter could be better? You would always have limitations on the outputs and, I may be seeing it wrong, but what you would gain from having it all in one plugin, you would lose by requiring a bigger and more complex UI. Maybe I’m not getting it properly, anyway, I’m just trying to better understand the request in order to better map it :slight_smile:

1 Like

Sorry for the delay in responding to this, I’ve been pretty busy. But here’s an illustration.

It takes 68 clicks for me to configure this - adding and connecting 4 separate filters, and manually turning off the 15 unwanted channels on each. And if I want to set it up on a different pedalboard, I have to do the entire thing over again. And also it’s impossible change assignments on-device without the webUI.

There may already exist a better way to achieve this - if one exists please let me know - and my request may be too niche to take seriously - but IMO anyone who wants to simultaneously control multiple synths/drums via external MIDI would benefit from it.

My example is 4 outputs, but it could be as many or few as desired. In a real implementation I would make the text larger as well.

I’m imagining channel selection to happen similarly to the x42 sequencers - just scroll the wheel to make a selection (or assign to a knob on-device.)

I used an existing CV plugin for the base to use as a scale for a plugin that has 1 input and 4 outputs - so this is a realistic size comparison.

Edit: An alternative to this would be to allow assignable channels in the plugin configuration screen.

1 Like

i use the note range filter for this. You still have to put it on the pedalboard four times but it has a smaller footprint.

image

4 Likes

I already have such a plugin btw. 1 midi input, 16 midi outputs. basically 1 output per channel.

5 Likes

That looks like an improvement, thank you.

Is that available on MOD devices yet (beta or otherwise) or do you mean you have one included in kxs that could be ported?

Edit: I also just found the "MIDI 1 Channel Filter’ from x42 which is another improvement. Not sure how I missed that one honestly.

3 Likes

It is in beta already.
Though it looks quite crappy, needs a modgui and some tweaking to reduce padding between jacks, so it takes less space.

There are both MIDI Split and Join plugins. Split makes each input channel output in a different MIDI port.
The Join one will make all MIDI from a port automatically have their channel converted to the matching port.

5 Likes