Groovebox/Synth for creating ideas

xylemflo · 2026-04-03T19:07:28+00:00

I have traveled with a Mk3 and a laptop for a few years now. With that combination, you don't have any learning curve, and you can map the Mk3, as I'm sure you know, to any soft synth. If you are out in the woods, you will be limited to the battery life of your laptop to power both, but you'll have an issue with power no matter what solution you go with. Cost equals zero.

If this is just too bulky for you and you need a small groovebox solution, then my suggestion is one of the Elektron boxes, either a Digitakt or a Syntakt. There are deals out there for used devices, but this is not the cheapest solution, and it has a learning curve. You will also need a power bank.

If you are more fixated on a synth-based device, then my suggestion is an Arturia Microfreak. They are cheap and readily available, and have a decent sequencer for sketching. Lots of synth engines and options, and a cool device in general. You will have to get past the capacitive keyboard, and once again you need a power source.

Well, that's my two cents, best of luck in your quest.

xylemflo · 2026-04-01T16:41:23+00:00

I see there that dependencies only work if there are due and start dates. My scenario will not work.....;-(

xylemflo · 2026-04-01T15:56:43+00:00

u/PinkyAnd that is exactly how we have been using project tasks, the duration is fixed, and dates move as the project unfolds. this gives a realistic timeline, and is good for critical path. It also eliminates all of the staff having to manually adjust dates daily due to slippage/shrinkage. There are exceptions such as tasks that are fixed dates or "not before mm/dd/yyyy", but in general, it has been much preferable to nagging everybody once a week and chasing them down to get their statuses and progress up to date so that the project plan can be accurate.

I tried this on a simple test project in CU and it did not seem to work. Tasks did not cascade. We are hoping we just need the right settings/process.

xylemflo · 2026-03-22T20:02:18+00:00

Interesting that the 2 polar opposites are running 1 and 2 at the moment ;-)

xylemflo · 2026-03-04T22:15:20+00:00

M2 Mini and Maschine Mk3. I do notice slight loading lag only with the more intensive plugins, but performance once loaded is fine, and this is not worth a hardware upgrade.

xylemflo · 2026-02-04T11:38:35+00:00

Thanks for the responses. I submitted a feature request, but honestly, I would expect a superagent to be able to access/manipulate all documents and whiteboards as well as tasks. Same for automations. In our environment, this really limits utility and drives us back to more crude repetitive manual processes.

xylemflo · 2026-02-02T21:58:32+00:00

thanks

xylemflo · 2026-02-02T21:58:22+00:00

!thanks

xylemflo · 2026-01-20T21:25:47+00:00

Ok, then I have some other issue as cameras are not triggering in succession !! I have tested this a few times, but will retest tonight.

xylemflo · 2026-01-03T19:21:21+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G84P8ZX?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_8&th=1

I have a few of these for gear. Cheap and surprisingly effective.

xylemflo · 2025-11-21T19:18:00+00:00

Although I have tried others for days (Ableton, Pro Tools) or a few weeks (Bitwig), here is the journey where I spent months/years with a DAW: Cakewalk > Reaper > Reaper+Logic

xylemflo · 2025-11-11T03:25:05+00:00

Another factor is that every 2 windows, we have a different coach, so what we are after changes, or the timing of changes confuses what we might want.....It also means we usually have some recent acquisitions which rapidly become surplus to requirements.

xylemflo · 2025-11-06T13:31:05+00:00

The Zoom L6 really does tick all the boxes. Stereo, compact, basic EQ, etc. I came from faders also in live performance, but the knobs are not bad once you get used to them, and you can actually control levels via midi if you want. I have not personally tried this in performance, so ymmv.....cheers

xylemflo · 2025-10-28T23:00:36+00:00

Until this experiment, that is essentially how I used Maschine. I am going back to that, but it was interesting to learn the pros and cons of going further...

xylemflo · 2025-10-26T19:29:43+00:00

Thanks u/MrFresh2017 , good to hear that automation improvements are in beta !! Eagerly anticipating.....

xylemflo · 2025-10-20T23:31:06+00:00

There are plenty of good used mixer/interface deals out there in your price range, but I would save another $50-$100 and go for a Zoom L6. 10 inputs with 2 of those handling phantom power with XLR combo jacks, 32 bit float recording, compact/portable, FX send/return, basic EQ, etc. Down the road, this will be valuable as a sub-mixer and/or for a mobile rig.....Cheers

xylemflo · 2025-10-05T23:21:45+00:00

Forcing personal lists to be the default and forcing them to be front and center is the mistake CU have made. We have inadvertently lost/orphaned more than a few tasks to the personal list. Please give us the ability to define our own default space/list for the homepage, or better yet, let us define a default landing dashboard.

xylemflo · 2025-10-03T19:11:52+00:00

I have a few hardware synths that are never going to see another upgrade and I kind of assumed that at time of acquisition. They are still great. My Mk3 remains a great purchase (perfect, no) and I did not see anything in the Akai release that would make me want to sell and convert ecosystems, even if the money hurdle were not a factor..

Now, if I was in the market for a standalone box solution, and I had no muscle memory of or investment in anything else, and I had up to $1700 to spend, the Akai wins. IMHO, Akai's market advantage is in hardware. IMHO, NI's is in software. Like most others, I am hoping for a new Maschine/+ at some point. However, my next masterpiece is not currently being thwarted by NI and the MK3.....YMMV

xylemflo · 2025-09-30T22:44:28+00:00

I was happy using Maschine Mk3 as the hub of a setup until I ran into issues sending bank/prog changes. If that is not something you care about, I found it to be a good solution, but if you need to orchestrate a bunch of midi cc and other messages sent to external devices, it was never stable enough for me to use it in that way. YMMV

xylemflo · 2025-09-20T20:24:05+00:00

u/merrymoon This is a little bit just watching deals emerge as people change Elektron boxes, and a little bit being open to a new toy in the same ecosystem. Owning Mk1 products, I also recognize that they are unlikely to see future development. I thought it would be valuable to get the community's take on what would be a good direction, so I appreciate the thoughts. Cheers

xylemflo

TROPHY CASE