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Small, portable mixers with lots of stereo inputs are relatively rare. That plus the Teenage Engineering "tax" (think Apple tax but for synth-heads) is driving

by pmags 4y ago

Small, portable mixers with lots of stereo inputs are relatively rare. That plus the Teenage Engineering "tax" (think Apple tax but for synth-heads) is driving the price. A cheaper, but slightly less tactile alternative is the 1010 Music Bluebox: https://1010music.com/product/bluebox https://1010music.com/product/bluebox

elliotlarson 4y ago
Yeah, I have a BlueBox and it works great. You can also add tactility with an external controller like: https://intech.studio https://intech.studio, and you're still in the ballpark of like half the price of the TE mixer. I mean, I still want one, though. LOL.
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halfnhalf 4y ago
Bluebox doesn’t have a digital interface and can only record to an sd card. USB is only for power :/
- pmags 4y ago
  Indeed I do occasionally wish the bluebox also acted as an interface, but I also really like the fact that the Bluebox is a stand alone recorder (unlike the TX-6). I often don't want to be sitting in front of a computer when I'm jamming and making music. There are two USB interfaces on the bluebox -- one for power, the other USB midi devices.
LegitShady 4y ago
Most synth heads I know don't like teenage engineering and see them as overpriced underengineered nerd tech. I own an op-z and used to own some pocket operators. They will be the last teenage engineering products I own. Everything they release seems more ridiculous all the time. Just the ob-4 is enough for me to say "these are not products for synth people but tech nerds who want synths"
- pmags 4y ago
  As with all things, YMMV. I've had my OP-1 for nearly 10 years and I've gotten a hell of a lot of use out of it. As a super portable, battery powered instrument with lots of different synth engines and diverse FX it's been great for travel, noodling on the couch, and jamming with friends. I also have to give TE props for their long term support and updates on the OP-1. I mean, just last fall they added USB audio in/out on a 10+ year old synth! Few other major synth manufacturer I know of hav as good a track record (Novation is actually pretty good in this respect as is Elektron, but for the most part they're fixing bugs not adding new features). Compare this to another boutique synth outfit like DSI/Sequential -- my DSI Pro2 purchased in 2014 only got about 4 years of support before they dropped it like a hot potato. Tempest suffered a similar fate. Never buying another DSI/Sequential instrument again...
dimatura 4y ago
I'm a bluebox owner, was happy to pay the extra $ to get something that wouldn't take up a large chunk of my desk. Gets the job done, no complaints.

by pmags 4y ago

elliotlarson 4y ago

Yeah, I have a BlueBox and it works great. You can also add tactility with an external controller like: https://intech.studio https://intech.studio, and you're still in the ballpark of like half the price of the TE mixer. I mean, I still want one, though. LOL.

deleted 4y ago

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halfnhalf 4y ago

Bluebox doesn’t have a digital interface and can only record to an sd card. USB is only for power :/

pmags 4y ago
Indeed I do occasionally wish the bluebox also acted as an interface, but I also really like the fact that the Bluebox is a stand alone recorder (unlike the TX-6). I often don't want to be sitting in front of a computer when I'm jamming and making music. There are two USB interfaces on the bluebox -- one for power, the other USB midi devices.

LegitShady 4y ago

Most synth heads I know don't like teenage engineering and see them as overpriced underengineered nerd tech. I own an op-z and used to own some pocket operators. They will be the last teenage engineering products I own. Everything they release seems more ridiculous all the time. Just the ob-4 is enough for me to say "these are not products for synth people but tech nerds who want synths"

pmags 4y ago
As with all things, YMMV. I've had my OP-1 for nearly 10 years and I've gotten a hell of a lot of use out of it. As a super portable, battery powered instrument with lots of different synth engines and diverse FX it's been great for travel, noodling on the couch, and jamming with friends. I also have to give TE props for their long term support and updates on the OP-1. I mean, just last fall they added USB audio in/out on a 10+ year old synth! Few other major synth manufacturer I know of hav as good a track record (Novation is actually pretty good in this respect as is Elektron, but for the most part they're fixing bugs not adding new features). Compare this to another boutique synth outfit like DSI/Sequential -- my DSI Pro2 purchased in 2014 only got about 4 years of support before they dropped it like a hot potato. Tempest suffered a similar fate. Never buying another DSI/Sequential instrument again...

dimatura 4y ago

I'm a bluebox owner, was happy to pay the extra $ to get something that wouldn't take up a large chunk of my desk. Gets the job done, no complaints.