Hardware Sequencers

I want to try getting my head out of software so bad and get some tactile music-making going on, but I don't want to sacrifice my control freak nature.

Show me your vids of interesting non-dance music on (preferably multitrack) hardware sequencers and give me your recommendations for hardware/setups.

Also, can any of these units do triplets? I would be very very sad without them.

This is what I've found so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62WJDyXdywM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJWMb4JhZg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRSQauVQ67U

there's a video of a guy whipping out a pretty bitchin cover of "i'm self employed" on an electribe emx... but that's all i really know. they seem like an affordable, reasonable entry.

i find my akai mpc 1000 to be nice in this regard. i can place it in between a midi-enabled synth and a knob box. i do live twiddles which the mpc records as they pass through. you can layer 10 tracks of twiddles, drop 'em in and out via mute, etc.

is not a step seq @ heart though... if step seq is your goal, just get a step64 or something

You might consider a MAQ 16/3

Yes it can do Triplets.

Those are some really inspiring EMX1 videos! I love the fuck out of mine and even when I don't use it, it's probably the prettiest thing in my room. I stare at it alot.

If you like spacing for 3+ hours with one pattern and never pressing stop, hell yeah, it's awesome. Just got myself an NI Maschine which is fucking awesome, but in ways I still prefer the EMX-1 for experimentation and tactile noodling. It's a very fun unit!

I will say however that demoing long patterns can be a pain in the ass since you can't loop say, just the last 2 bars of an 8 bar pattern, but hey, almost no hardware drum machines i know of can do that anyway, so if you want that kind of precision you want software.

Also the synths sound very "korg", kind of really quantized and robotic, but that can be cool.

I've tried many hardware sequencers over the years and the Monomachine is the by far the best for intuitiveness and power.

Cool. The Monomachine looks nifty, but it's pretty heavy in the price department.

The step64 and MAQ don't have built in synths or samplers do they? I'm aiming for that, as I don't have any other non-controller hardware besides a microKORG.

The Electribe's seem nifty as hell. Is the EMX-1 what everyone would recommend from that series?

Anyone played with a Roland MC-909?

The MAQ is voiceless.

I prefer the EMX-1 because I have software samplers, so I wouldn't need the ESX-1, and I want to play with step sequencing synths easily. Also, blue>red

Mine cost $300 on ebay in perfect used condition. Buuuuut if you really want a new one, korg is producing new units with extra memory. I wouldnt have any use for that personally, unless you make so many freaking patterns you cant control them, but the first emx-1's are fine IMO. (New models are identical to old ones, just have more mem).

Not to hijack your topic, but...

If I were to get, say, a x0xb0x, what other things would I need to be able to hook it into my laptop? I'm clueless about this whole hardware thing, and at this moment, broke, but I'm looking to start using hardware in the near future.

  On 4/30/2010 at 8:26 PM, Sprigg said:

Not to hijack your topic, but...

 

If I were to get, say, a x0xb0x, what other things would I need to be able to hook it into my laptop? I'm clueless about this whole hardware thing, and at this moment, broke, but I'm looking to start using hardware in the near future.

an audio interface and a MIDI interface or a combination of the two

  On 4/30/2010 at 6:40 PM, wahrk said:

Cool. The Monomachine looks nifty, but it's pretty heavy in the price department.

 

The step64 and MAQ don't have built in synths or samplers do they? I'm aiming for that, as I don't have any other non-controller hardware besides a microKORG.

 

The Electribe's seem nifty as hell. Is the EMX-1 what everyone would recommend from that series?

 

Anyone played with a Roland MC-909?

the MAQ16/3 is more for modular users and not really that great for dedicated note sequencing but rather a modulation source, the FR Orb/Revolution is better for live note sequencing

I've had the MC303 and the MC505 and both are total gash DJ toys, the MC-909 is the same but with a bigger LCD and sampler avoid!

a couple of mates have the EMX-1 and its a very capable groovebox and the would be my first choice for a budget all-in-one solution, the ribbon arpeggiator is very expressive too and I've read somewhere that changing the tubes can get a better sound

  On 4/30/2010 at 8:47 PM, soundwave said:

  On 4/30/2010 at 6:40 PM, wahrk said:

Cool. The Monomachine looks nifty, but it's pretty heavy in the price department.

 

The step64 and MAQ don't have built in synths or samplers do they? I'm aiming for that, as I don't have any other non-controller hardware besides a microKORG.

 

The Electribe's seem nifty as hell. Is the EMX-1 what everyone would recommend from that series?

 

Anyone played with a Roland MC-909?

 

the MAQ16/3 is more for modular users and not really that great for dedicated note sequencing but rather a modulation source, the FR Orb/Revolution is better for live note sequencing

 

I've had the MC303 and the MC505 and both are total gash DJ toys, the MC-909 is the same but with a bigger LCD and sampler avoid!

 

a couple of mates have the EMX-1 and its a very capable groovebox and the would be my first choice for a budget all-in-one solution, the ribbon arpeggiator is very expressive too and I've read somewhere that changing the tubes can get a better sound

So you're saying avoid the MC series all together?

  On 4/30/2010 at 8:55 PM, wahrk said:

  On 4/30/2010 at 8:47 PM, soundwave said:

  On 4/30/2010 at 6:40 PM, wahrk said:

Cool. The Monomachine looks nifty, but it's pretty heavy in the price department.

 

The step64 and MAQ don't have built in synths or samplers do they? I'm aiming for that, as I don't have any other non-controller hardware besides a microKORG.

 

The Electribe's seem nifty as hell. Is the EMX-1 what everyone would recommend from that series?

 

Anyone played with a Roland MC-909?

 

the MAQ16/3 is more for modular users and not really that great for dedicated note sequencing but rather a modulation source, the FR Orb/Revolution is better for live note sequencing

 

I've had the MC303 and the MC505 and both are total gash DJ toys, the MC-909 is the same but with a bigger LCD and sampler avoid!

 

a couple of mates have the EMX-1 and its a very capable groovebox and the would be my first choice for a budget all-in-one solution, the ribbon arpeggiator is very expressive too and I've read somewhere that changing the tubes can get a better sound

 

So you're saying avoid the MC series all together?

shit sandwich

This, on the other hand, is pretty delish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8U9vGMNAhY

  On 4/30/2010 at 7:28 AM, wahrk said:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJWMb4JhZg&feature=related

 

how is he muting/soloing the entire drum part section at once by pressing what seems to be just one button? this is something i've been wanting to do since for 5 years..

  On 5/1/2010 at 12:36 AM, uptown devil said:

  On 4/30/2010 at 7:28 AM, wahrk said:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJWMb4JhZg&feature=related

 

 

how is he muting/soloing the entire drum part section at once by pressing what seems to be just one button? this is something i've been wanting to do since for 5 years..

"Hold part mute and SHIFT then press any of the drum parts to mute all the drums or any of the synths to mute all the synths." - the comments on the video

This is a badass find too. That scared me a little to think that that wasn't possible, but low and behold, it is.

It's in the manual too, but I couldn't find it until I dug around on the video's comments and found out it involved the Shift button.

EMX1 makes for a great external gear midi sequencer as well. The sequencer i use most often in conjunction with my doepfer/blacet/plan B modular rig is my Korg Electribe. It's really fun sometimes to just jam out with the ribbon controller as an arpeggio while putting it through a scale filter. Not very much hardware has a chromatic note value quantizer like this, scale filter is great for improvising on the fly.

Well I think I'm sold. Now I just need 300-400 clams. :/

used to do that with an EA-1 controlling a K2000.. it was great for stuff like that. the new ones seem a little gimmicky for my taste.. used to have an EMX but sold it for an XL-7 which was a much, much more in depth and better sequencer. but, for the money, this is not bad at all.

mpc is where it's at.

mpc-500 is about the same price.

Man I'd love to have one of those.

  On 5/1/2010 at 11:37 AM, slightlydrybeans said:

mpc is where it's at.

Sample-based, not much visual feedback for the sequencing. Not really feeling it.

Got any videos/tracks to change my mind?

  On 5/1/2010 at 12:53 AM, wahrk said:

  On 5/1/2010 at 12:36 AM, uptown devil said:

  On 4/30/2010 at 7:28 AM, wahrk said:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJWMb4JhZg&feature=related

 

 

how is he muting/soloing the entire drum part section at once by pressing what seems to be just one button? this is something i've been wanting to do since for 5 years..

 

"Hold part mute and SHIFT then press any of the drum parts to mute all the drums or any of the synths to mute all the synths." - the comments on the video

 

This is a badass find too. That scared me a little to think that that wasn't possible, but low and behold, it is.

 

It's in the manual too, but I couldn't find it until I dug around on the video's comments and found out it involved the Shift button.

awesome, this is an even better find than holding the shift button while cycling through patters or samples to skip 10 at a time instead of just 1. thanks for tracking that down

No prob. Saw a dude play beats behind my buddy Emcee Eats today using a EMX, a mini kaoss pad, a kaossilator, and a Korg rhodes piano. Shit rocked.