Blackbox Compact Sampling Studio

What a lovely little box. As with all of 1010music's gear, they have taken what are usually complex and tedious things (syncing, recording, editing, placement etc.) and simplified it down to a very easy, very inspiring little interface. The ability to send MIDI to other devices as a master clock and record incoming audio from said devices into pads is terrific and the ability to set specific timing to start recording/step lengths is awesome. You can jam, record a loop on the fly, have that loop play back instantly and move to the next pad to record the next part. It's like a mini Akai MPC but actually easier to use. Built in effects are terrific and the company is always updating the software to add more features. Amazing sampler.

This is an instrument you can get totally lost in – in a good way. It’s definitely one of the easiest to use pieces of electronic musical gear I’ve ever owned, and over the years I’ve owned a lot of stuff. The blackbox comes with a nice Quick Start guide, and there’s a good amount of additional online documentation and tutorial videos, yet this thing is so well laid out that I got a big smile on my face after just a couple minutes of noodling. Since the blackbox works exclusively with samples, you’ll probably be tempted as I was to just ignore much of the content included on the supplied micro SD card and start loading up your own sample library, but I’m glad I resisted that impulse in favor of exploring the factory supplied presets with one shots and clips (especially presets with clips) – the supplied content has some variety and is fun, and exploring this content gives you a good idea of the tremendous creative potential this instrument offers. Pros: Gorgeous sound potential, depending on your tastes and the samples used. Rock solid construction – metal case, responsive touch screen, sturdy and precise knobs and buttons. This is important because while the device has just a few physical controls, you will be using most of them frequently. Very small footprint that will still reasonably accommodate most people using it in standalone mode. Lots of connectivity options, so if you want to connect a separate USB controller, you’re covered, if you want to use a USB power bank you’re covered, if you want to use conventional MIDI connections, you’re covered. Versatile audio ins and outs. It can play alone, or be an integral part of a bigger setup. Samples are streamed via micro SD card – they include a 16Gb card containing the factory content. I updated the firmware (piece of cake) using an otherwise blank 128Gb that mounted with no problem. So the blackbox should be able to handle even gargantuan sample libraries easier than other sample based instruments like the Elecktron Digitakt. Logical workflow, especially if you’ve had experience with software and hardware sequencers, but also “newbie” friendly compared to a lot of the other standalone gear currently on the market (again, the Digitakt’s steep learning curve comes to mind). Probability setting for the sequencer steps. More gear is starting to feature “conditional” options which add variety – it’s great that they included a probability setting option on the sequencer steps. Impressive as it already is, 1010Music have offered a steady stream of firmware updates since launch, so additional features and improvements to the blackbox are always possible. Cons: If you expect to extensively ‘mangle’ your samples just using the blackbox, be aware that it has far fewer effects than something like the SP404mkii. With firmware updates vs. processor limits, this may or may not change. As long as you’re not an onboard effects freak, the blackbox’s current feature set is still awesome & inspiring, and of course, you can always use outboard effects. Given its diminutive size, I think they did a great job with the touchscreen layouts – still, be advised that onscreen abbreviations are implemented here and there. This is a personal gripe of mine – some electronic gear forgoes a physical “On/Off” switch, and unfortunately 1010Music went this route with the blackbox – it powers up (and down) by connecting/disconnecting the power source. Ugh. Don’t care for it, especially for an audio device of this caliber. Price. For the sound, build quality, clever interface and portability, the blackbox is certainly worth it, especially considering it’s a ‘boutique’ product. But granted, it ain’t cheap. It’s one heck of a piece of kit, though. :)

Right out of the box I was impressed with the build quality of this workhorse music production device! The quality doesn't stop there! This thing is a dream come true, especially if you power it from a power block, making it completely portable. I love it and highly recommend it. It has totally exceeded my expectations and is a breeze to work with. The sound quality is absolutely stunning. It maps multsamples beautifully! When you sample with it you will experience a WOW factor and fall in love. The touch screen works like a charm, and it comes with 32 gb of memory. It is a technological marvel!

A great portable mini synth.

This little power-house can unlock a plethora amount of creativity for your creative juices.