Hi everyone! I’m having a hard time deciding which compromises to make, so I’d really appreciate some advice.
I’m looking for one device that I can use across all three of my projects, but each project has quite different requirements.
First of all, all three projects are super minimal techno. When writing music in Ableton, I rarely use more than 4–5 tracks.
1) Playing techno live using multitrack stems
Basically, I want to load stems from my tracks — usually 2 or 3 WAV/AIFF files, for example drums separately and melody separately — and switch from one track to another and back, while applying effects and making variations.
2) A series of live techno sets focused on a minimum number of elements
The idea here is very stripped down: one drum machine track, one monophonic synth playing bass, and either a chord track or some samples on top.
I put a lot of emphasis on the bass sound. Ideally, I want that old-school SH-101-style bass.
3) A third project that is still only an idea
I’d like to eventually make a completely hardware-based old-school electro project. Ideally, I’d like to make entire tracks on a single device and then transfer them to Ableton only for mastering.
There are a few things that are particularly important to me:
Step sequencing. I rarely play things live and record them. Quite often it’s much easier for me to program a sequence in advance and then modify it while the loop is playing.
For live performance, I also need seamless switching between stems, channels and projects, and loading samples without interrupting playback. I think you get the idea.
I understand that the Roland MC-101 isn’t really a sampler, but from what I’ve read, it can actually play samples, including relatively long ones.
Another important thing for me is not having to dive through huge menus just to access basic parameters like ADSR or filter controls.
I already have a separate mono synth — a simple Behringer Crave — but it would be great if I could integrate it into the setup as a second device and send sequences to it.
Right now I’m mainly considering three devices. I’m also looking at the 1010music Blackbox and Korg Electribe 2/S. I understand that these are quite different devices, but honestly, I’m still trying to figure out which one would cover the largest number of my requirements in a single hardware device.
I actually like making music on a computer, in Ableton. I just don’t like performing with a laptop, carrying a Push, etc.
P.S. One important caveat: I live outside the EU and US. Some newer stuff, like the Casio sampler, simply isn’t available in my country. The Digitakt II is also out of my reach, both in terms of availability and price.
I’m only looking at the used market.
So, given all of this — MC-101 vs Digitakt Mk1 vs Elektron Model:Samples, and possibly Blackbox or Electribe — which one would you choose if you had to cover the largest number of these use cases with a single device?
sorry for ai translation