1010music blackbox Reviews

The best for me!

I was looking for something small and capable of many things like drum machine, midi sequencer, sampler, ...etc...and I found this little thing with a robust housing and very well thought design and usability. Thank you 1010music!

This thing is fire.

First of all: great sound quality and very well built

Packed with features. It's just amazing given the form factor.

1010music committed and release new firmware from time to time with bugfixes and new features. Good communication in their forum.

Capable, versatile, sounds great but the user interface may not be for everyone

It is built beautifully, it is incredibly versatile and it sounds great but unfortunately after about two weeks I just didn't feel compelled to use it anymore.

**** see thoughts after 3 months below ****

**** initial review ****

For me the main issue is the sequencer. While the screen is good (as far as screens go), I don't like tapping in sequences as I have to manually adjust the velocities afterwards to add dynamism. The step sequencing screen is very fiddly and I find editing to be a pain, especially as the sequencing lanes are so small and the different shades of grey are hard to see.

While it can be sequenced externally, this is not why I bought it. It also has a looper function but I have other devices for that too. I bought this as a portable groovebox (with a powerbank) and because of the interface, I don't find it inspiring.

Another issue for me was that it momentarily paused when saving.

*** update after three months ***

I decided to try this as an alternative to my Akai Z8 sampler and my Pigtronix Infinity looper pedal.

My thoughts on it when sequenced externally - - - - - - -

Loading samples is easy enough and and I have had good results sequencing with Cirklon. I still find editing samples a bit fiddly but everyone else seems to think editing is easy so maybe it is just me.

However, even following a brief test, I decided immediately that is much quicker to use than the older Akai so I sold the Z8.

My thoughts on it as a looper - - - - - - - -

I tried this just before the window to return it expired and this is where is shines for me.

When playing my modular, I send copy of my master signal to this and I can easily grab a loop and then cross-fade to this loop before changing what is going on in my modular. The sound quality is much better than the Pigtronix pedal and the loop customisation is easier.

I now have 16 loop slots so it's very easy to fade back to an earlier part of my set. As soon as I figured out this feature, I put my Pigtronix looper up for sale.

Final thoughts - - - - - -

I still don't think it is great as a standalone groovebox, mainly due to the touch-screen. If the 8 tiny pads were velocity sensitive and could be repurposed for adding beats or notes, it could be a winner.

Even though I bought it as a groovebox (and almost returned it), its other strengths are why I kept it. I have got some decent grooves going with it but it doesn't inspire me as a standalone device. Considering how versatile this is and how easily it can do different things, it really should be worth considering.

Niche product

Let me start by saying, I’ve bought this item twice and I still can’t find a place for it in my set up. As a stand-alone unit it works ok but lacks solid midi integration when connected to my Elektrons.The sound is excellent, the effects less. I’ll keep this one on the off chance I may need it.

Small sampler, huge list of functionality

Love the compact form factor and build quality, yes It's a tank! New firmware introduces LFOs. Which is great. Very versatile piece of gear.

The only thing to keep in mind are your cables. The blackbox and bluebox ins and outs are very close to eachother, so you need cables with thin ends.

This gear rocks!

Small, durable and portable piece of audio equipment. Sampling and sound design at it's finest. It can be sampler, it can be loop player, it can be sound mangler. 100% worth.

Portable, versatile, inspiring

Fabulous tool for creativity. Extremely intuitive. Endless Possibilities in music making. On the go or in the studio. Comes with a huge library of sounds. Great selection of audio and midi ports. Nice sequencer. Small size is a definite plus. Touch screen works well. Sequencer is a little small but it's easy to zoom in. I'd recommend this for all kinds of musicians. This is not just a sampler this is an ausio sketch pad. I haven't even scratched the surface of what is possible. There are certain limitations compared to the big boys like AKAI and such but this is a different animal. Looking forward to an update of software as I believe there is room for more effects. I would recommend getting a battery pack straight away. With a set of nice headphones this makes air travel pass in the blink of an eye. Did I mention I like this? :)

Certainly NOT a groovebox

Bought this as a replacement for my ancient Korg Electribe ES-1 and was very disappointed when I realized how easily the unit would start stuttering when pushed a little further. And it doesn't take much.

Can't help thinking I could do MUCH better with a laptop or even a phone if I added some external hardware; and likely for a fraction of the price.

I want my ES-1 back :(

This is a genius little thing that makes my life so much easier. Very inspirational device that helps me create stuff I wouldn't otherwise think of making in a traditional DAW environment. I even use it with my post-rock band (where I mostly focus on the guitar) to trigger sequences and samples and send click to all bandmates. Thanks to this I've been able to completely remove laptop and audio interface from my stage setup. It's built like a tank and survived some falls on stage without any damage and with nearly no scratches. The OS is being updated quite regularly and new features are being implemented based on fans suggestions. Very intuitive and easy to use. The touch screen is very reactive and a surprisingly great way to control the machine.

AWESOME AWESOME

This is pretty much the perfect sampler to match with my modular setup. I am using a Midi Fighter Twister to adjust the Volume and Filter. I wished 1010music will come up with something similar so I can have more handons control with the Blackbox

box of magic

I use in two ways - one as a portable standalone unit to make full tracks fast and two, as the centre of my set up with all my other synths and equipment and acting as a sampler and sequencer.

Pro's

Very fast and clear workflow to get tracks down quickly.

Great sample manipulation

Practically unlimited memory (i use a 128g sd card)

Excellent online community (1010 forum)

Great sampling capability

Enough presets to get you going

responsive touch screen

So portable (plug in to a battery via usb), take anywhere

Good connectivity options

Everything just works as it should

Cons...

Exporting stems not yet optimal (doable but just could be faster), but expect to be fixed in next firmware update

Amazing

It's even smaller than I thought, amazing features and sound, and the firmware gets frequently updated, and 1010Music listens to customers' suggestions.

It's kinda like having Ableton Live with a multitrack Poly sampler in your pocket, all in sync. Midi and CV (!!!) aside from audio loops.

And 3 stereo audio outputs, plus a Headphone OUT that can deliver the click track.

The heart of my live setup from now on!

Magic

This box is just awesome

Little wonder

It's tiny but/and great. Built like a tank. Very easy to use. And the team behind it is great: they listen to the customers and keep adding features with new firmware updates.

I switched from the Electribe 2 Sampler to the blackbox and I'm glad I did. Yes, the Electribe has more features, but the blackbox has no gaps between patterns and no sample time limit. And it's sequencer is so much faster to work with.

I'll get my sounds and effects from other gear/sources. All I want my sampler to do is record and play samples in a fast and easy way without limitations. And that's exactly what blackbox does best.

GREAT IDEA but the step sequencer is a Disaster

This is could have been a great IDEA but at the moment it is just a missed opportunity .

it is not a groove box because is not performative like a groove box and the step sequencer is a disaster far more primitive even compared to the groove boxes of the 90s

you can not record live unquantised sequences ,

you can not perform basic features like note repeat ,

there is no swing ,

there are massive bugs on time stratching, launching clips is a total disaster only clips that are perfectly 1 bar l, 2 bar etc long will play in time ,

Black Box will not detect automatically the pitch of a sample and everything that is not in C will be distributed wrongly through the octave of the keyboard , so you will need to put only samples that are in C differently it will be a nightmare tuning everything in than saving on a PC than bringing it back to the blackbox , the company doesn't have a customer service , the customer service is managed by avarage users of the forum that very often answer without having tested the issues .

to reassume at the moment with so many bugs and the lack of basic features this is just another amateur bedroom fun device not a professional one, may be a firmware upgrade can fix the issues but I m not sure the company behind is interested to do that!

Wow!

I bought this sampler due to its small size and portability. It turned out to be extremely easy to use and it sounds great.

The hardware is sturdy and it features plenty of connections: usb, midi and audio ins and outs on mini jacks. The touchscreen is incredibly responsive. It has 4 handy encodersand 8 high quality backlit buttons. The software UI looks beautiful and it's easy to learn.

It may lack some of the most advanced sampling features, but the 1010music team is constantly coming up with new software updates. Personally, I'm able to do anything I need with it and it is a joy to use, plus the price is not extremely high in comparison with other samplers on the market.

I'm satisfied with my purchase and if you are looking for a sampler, I recommend you try the blackbox!

Finally ...

... the sampler everybody has been waiting for to get rid of a computer. Great for recording the ideas, jamming and also for a live performance. Still missing some features as an EQ, filter resonance or possibility to save pads/clips, etc. however it's just matter of time till it will get perfect as 1010music team is heavily working on updates and they are really listening users requests!

Lacks processing for me

Super interesting machine but lacks processing capacity for me - I intended to use as the brain of a live performance but quickly got to the limit of processing. If it's intended to be used as an extra element or a place where you write new ideas, I think that will be perfect. The workflow it's really simple and straightforward . I only whined it had more processing capabilities.

Brilliantly easy to use and learn

It is so much fun, just watch loopop’s video. Super support with with fixes and new features through firmware updates. It just received granular synthesis! Build like a tank. Been carrying it everywhere powered by a usb power bank.

A few idiosyncrasies to consider though before you purchase it:

- output is as stated 5v, so you need to handle that through either an external mixer or by reducing the sample volume internally

- it is difficult to get good loops because there is no easy way to fade in&out/hit transients

- it is prone to noise if you route something out of it and back in, especially if you use the same power supply *power bank, power strip etc*

Portable sampler .. streams direct from mini SD card

I have it 2 months, quit amazing box.

it a sequencer, sampler reads from sd card .. playing full tracks is possible, able to trigger 16 sounds, loops or songs . Adjust pitch volume, filter and add a delay or reverb, you can play 1 sound on the keyboard and trigger others, switching complete programs goes fast ....can be controlled by a padcontroller for starting sequences and sounds , tempo clock & timestretch..(something the 404 not had), .. theres 3 stereo or 6 mono outputs + headphones.. sounds loud and clean ! and it have a stereo sampling input! , .. i now hope for the next update midi cc control will be added to control all from any external drummachine or keyboard ..then it is the best compact .livemachine groovebox ever ,.. it went down in price hmm .. but i love it so no regrets .and last update : granular option on sampling .. . its straightforward easy recording and playing, connect a powerbank and you can take it anywhere .. . -- highly recommended!