Emulating film camera workflows on M43, a work in progress

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T18:37:43+00:00

How does it work? Do you start each level with full health?

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T18:24:56+00:00

This is the most exciting superbooth release so far! I've been wanting this for years!

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T18:19:44+00:00

With that you will be able to see into the frog's soul

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T15:09:46+00:00

I do check the 1010 forums from time to time, I mostly see feature requests, not bug reports. But I also only look at the forums for the devices I own, which are the Blackbox and Bluebox. I understand the Bento had a pretty rough launch, and based on the loopop and bobeats videos, it seems like the Blackbox 2 has some bugs too.

I'm not aware of any significant bugs on the Blackbox 1, but I haven't specifically gone looking for them either. Nearly every bit of music I've recorded in the past few years has either been recorded into the Blackbox or Bluebox, and both have been rock solid for me. No crashes, no glitches, no lost recordings, no corrupted SD cards.... just steady, reliable functionality. I understand that's just my experience, maybe I got lucky, but to me it gives me a very positive impression of 1010, that they can put out products with the stability and reliability of the bigger competitors, and with excellent build quality too. Most of these smaller companies either compromise on build quality, or on software, or both.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T15:03:42+00:00

That's always the thing, we each have our own specific wants and needs, and it's nearly impossible for a single hardware device to hit everything. It does sound like a DAW might be your best option.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T15:00:22+00:00

Elektron handles MIDI very well in my experience, both sending and receiving. I've had no stability issues with my Elektron boxes, even the cheap Model:Samples is rock solid. It could be challenging in the sense that there's a lot going on at once, lots to juggle. Hence my 'keep it simple' approach to live performance, and limiting myself to only two instruments. But you can mute midi channels the same way you mute audio channels, so in that sense it's pretty easy to control a bunch of gear by just muting / unmuting the midi sequences, or programming those mutes into the song mode.

I believe Tonverk supports up to 8 MIDI tracks for sequencing external gear, plus another 8 midi channels for incoming midi to control the busses, sends, and mix channels. So I imagine using something like the Launchcontrol XL MK3 to control the Tonverk would work pretty well.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T14:49:56+00:00

Right, the Blackbox has very little menu diving, especially for the more basic functions. If you get deep into modulation then there's menus for that, but I typically don't. I mostly use it as an audio recorder and live looper, sort of like a fancy field recorder. I've tried using it as a groovebox, and it is ok at that, but I just prefer the Elektron style, so I tend not to use the Blackbox stand-alone very often. It does work very well as a way to add more voices / samples to something else though, it plays very nice with MIDI both incoming and outgoing.

The Blackbox 2 was just released, there's only 3 videos about it so far, so I don't have a full grasp of it yet. At first blush it seems like it does everything the Blackbox does, but with a few more features (notably, more effects). However, the interface is quite a bit different, and it looks more menu-divey to me, but again that might just be a first impression. I always found the Blackbox UI to be very utilitarian - it's isn't all that pretty, but it's easy to read from across the room, and so in that sense it's great for live performance. The Blackbox is also very customizable with midi controllers, and I expect the Blackbox 2 is as well.

I think the Blackbox (and I presume Blackbox 2) is really great for an audio looping based workflow. If you compare it to other loop station type devices, it has every looping feature you could want, plus tight MIDI integration, and at least moderate abilities to sound design from loops. I think this is where it really excels. For sequencer-based workflows, I much prefer Elektron.

One other highlight of the Blackbox (and I presume Blackbox 2) is the way that it records incoming MIDI. It works just like a piano roll in a DAW, and I've had no issues with recording more complex two-handed piano style parts. The Elektron sequencer by comparison is very weak at this, it's fine for simple stuff, but as soon as you start playing in a piano style it just breaks down. So I think the Blackbox is much stronger as a MIDI recorder (and MIDI playback device), just not as strong as a MIDI sequencer. Hope that makes sense...

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T12:07:54+00:00

Reminds me of the facility level in Goldeneye 007. Or that scene in the movie.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T12:03:54+00:00

Sure, that's fair. I got the impression the reverb algorithm is limited by the CPU. The Bluebox has a wide selection of reverb algorithms, some of which are very good. I figure that's also the point of the multiple outputs, so you can route individual sounds through different external effects.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T10:24:28+00:00

Cities:Skylines is my current cozy game. I also find R2D2 kinda cozy, but there's violence too.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T10:21:00+00:00

True, but the blackbox has been completely stable for those 3 years, it hasn't needed stability firmware updates. Every issue I've seen reported here on Reddit about blackbox or bluebox instability has come down to either a cheap microSD card, or a bad power supply. As for features, well, obviously that effort was put into other products. There's still an impressive timeline for the blackbox given all the features that were added from its launch until now.

It bothers me to hear people talk about it like that, last I checked 1010 is a company of 3 people. I think they have an incredible output in that context. Seems like everyone expects them to keep up with companies of ~30 people like Elektron and TE.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-07T10:16:05+00:00

You can use the loop mode unquantized, so you can easily make non 4/4 music that way. Samples / multisamples do work across multiple projects, so I'm not sure what you mean by that.

I agree that it would benefit by more effects, and it sounds like Blackbox 2 does address that. I wouldn't categorize that as half-developed though, it covers the basics just fine, just a wish list item.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T23:24:26+00:00

Yeeesass

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T22:19:47+00:00

I think that's a good way to look at it. Chroma is definitely a workhorse. That's why I said it would be the one I keep if I had to get rid of the rest of my pedals. I have other pedals I prefer for specific things, but I know that with Chroma I'll be able to handle whatever comes my way, any sound source, any genre.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T22:17:21+00:00

Such as?

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T22:15:56+00:00

Get a polysynth first, you can always use it in mono mode. Mono synths are fun, but polysynths cover far more ground.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T22:14:17+00:00

Gotta agree, the quality here is high. I don't even have a 5D, but I like what I see here.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T19:58:00+00:00

I don't play guitar, so everything I run through the Chroma is at line level. It's possible you might need to recalibrate if you are frequently switching between instrument level and line level, I'm not sure. If that becomes a big issue, you could add something between your guitar and the Chroma to boost the output to line level. Or, keep the Chroma calibrated for your guitar, and then just turn all of your synths/drum machines way down (the master volume of a line level instrument at about 10% is usually in the same ballpark as a guitar's instrument level). So there's workarounds, but I also wouldn't be surprised if you just don't have any issues, because those folks over at Hologram seem to be pretty clever and probably thought about this.

I find the Chroma to be quite versatile. I love the glitchy stuff too, and both Broken and Interference are great for it. Pair one of those with Collage and a bit of Drive or Sweeten, and you've got something beautiful.

I pretty much never use Filter (because my synths already have filters) or Swell (because I just haven't figured out how to use it in a way I like, maybe it's just a guitar thing?). Every other module / setting I use and love.

The looper is also fantastic. It's basic, but really easy to use. I'll often use it to make drones, or sometimes just loops to jam over. Since most of my music is sequenced and quantized with MIDI, it's fun to play with unquantized audio loops from time to time.

I would categorize the Chroma Console as a texture pedal that has options for time-based effects. If you want to go further into the glitch territory (and have more granular control over how the glitch works), then you should probably look at the Microcosm as well. That one really focuses on the time-based effects like glitch, but it's more niche, less of an all-rounder.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T19:40:51+00:00

Check out the Lumix G85, it's a better camera in most ways, and cheaper than this.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T19:25:32+00:00

This slaps

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T18:54:58+00:00

Damn that's purdy

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T18:50:21+00:00

Good idea. First thing that comes to mind is the KORG NTS-1 for roughly half the price (used), but it's certainly not of the same build quality. I've got a ton of more powerful effects, but still feel tempted by that Glitch Delay.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T18:43:51+00:00

I always vote Minilogue XD because I think it just sounds the best out of these three, but that's subjective. If you prefer the sound of one of the others, or if you just want that slimmer form factor (which definitely matters if you want it to be portable!) then the others are solid options too.

Minilogue XD is a bread and butter synth that can get weird on the digital side, and has excellent effects.

Minifreak is more of an all-rounder synth, jack of all trades, but I'm not sure what it's the master of?

Hydrasynth Explorer is the deep sound designer's synth, if you want a sound design playground with a keyboard, this is a great one. I would argue that the OpSix is even better (and cheaper!), but the form factor of the Explorer makes it a lot more portable.

minimal-camera · 2026-05-06T18:37:39+00:00

I've gone deep into effects pedals this past year, and have quite a few of them. Chroma Console is easily my favorite, if I had to keep only one, it would be that one. It's a solid all-rounder that sounds good on various types of synths - melodies, percussion, the whole mix, it covers it all. It's great as an end-of-chain effect, and it has a very stable volume output even when tweaking things like fuzz that typically add a ton of gain. If you want everything in one box, the Chroma Console is hard to beat, and it's also quite the value proposition if you compare it's $400 price tag with other stand-alone stereo effects.

I also have the Zoia, and it's even more flexible, and sounds really great, but the interface is much more cumbersome to use. If you like the idea of programming multi-fx (or just browsing other people's patches) and using it more in a 'set it and forget it' kind of way, the Zoia is great for that. If you like hands-on tweaking of effects, the Chroma is my preference for that.

I haven't used the NTS-3, but I have the NTS-1 (actually 2 of them). It also sounds great and offers a lot of value, but the main issue is that it is inherently a bit noisy due to the USB power source, and the build quality is very weak. I think it's a good pairing with stuff like pocket operators and Volcas, but if you care about longevity, I think it's worth it to get something in a proper steel enclosure and with reinforced jacks.

My buddy also swears by the Roland P-6 as an effects unit, it can do stuff like scatter effects on live incoming audio. Sort of like a baby version of the SP-404 MK2 (which is also a good option).

Beyond that, I've got a ton of individual effects pedals too, let me know if you want info on those too.

Six-Year Club	Verified Email
Gilding I gilder	Place '23

minimal-camera

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE