1010music Blue Box

[Jay Vaughan]

> On 21.11.2021, at 07:39, Tony Scharf <tony.scharf at outlook.com> wrote:
> 
> Curios about this little mixer/recorder.  Planning some travel next year, and I’d like something I can track a few small bits I plan to take with me.
> 
> Anyone had a play with one?
> 

Yes me, I love it.  Its truly a delightful mixer. WTF though Tony, I’ve been raving about it for months .. had it at Joosts jam in summer, but didn’t play with it much because of the room full of gear that  Joost provided ..

These days I have my portable/mini- studio centered around the Bluebox, with a Neutron, MicroFreak, Skulpt, Craft, UNO Pro, Deluge, Zynthian, and NORNS all getting their own channels. (iPhone too, for Endlesss.). Since I don’t have space in my house for music gear these days (coz: teenagers), I’ve committed to a portable rig that has replaced my 19” rack as my main outlet for music-making .. the rack is in a studio in the city, but my portable rig goes with me everywhere, and the Bluebox is the key element.   I’ll probably sell my rack off soon enough .. my portable rig fits in a rolling suitcase and is pretty much the bees knees these days.  All I’m missing is a rompler, but the Zynthian fills that slot nicely.

The Bluebox is one of those bits of kit you wonder how nobody else is making something like it, its that revolutionary. Plus, 1010music are awesome, a husband and wife team committed to making revolutionary products.  Their recent update for Blackbox (the sampler in the same form factor) added granular synthesis, which was huge.  (Come to think of it Peter, you  may want to look at the Blackbox for your wavetable-synthesis needs, too…)

Nothing quite as comfortable as setting up my rig, turning on the Bluebox, pressing RECORD for the session, and forgetting about it .. until you pop out the SD card and have *everything* individually recorded on their own tracks, stems and all, as if you had a massive  multitrack studio in your pocket.  The multiple outs are awesome, makes it really easy to integrate straight into the jam session mixer, while also having my own local monitor (Marshall Stockwell II).

The effects are surprisingly decent, and while the interface doesn’t give you easy access to everything like a proper mixer would, its suitably laid out that once you get into the flow you can find things when you need it.  I have mine set up already, and rarely need to adjust anything .. it just sits there, doing the job for the session, sounds great, captures EVERYTHING in a way that can be easily worked on later.  My music buddies all get a bit jealous of it, but I quite like their Zoom mixers too, which are another option if you need more channels - but not nearly as portable/cute.  

Definitely worth getting.   Also be sure you get a proper cable breakout set - the 12 channels are only accessible as individual mono channels if you have splitter cables .. I got the set from Tendrils cables recently - very happy with this rig.  (https://tendrilscables.com <https://tendrilscables.com/>). Otherwise its 6 stereo inputs.

Also note, my entire portable rig is battery powered - every device has its own power pack.  Makes for a heavier case, but not having to ever worry about power is a real delight, and ground loop noise is ancient history.  1010music gear works great - although there have been a few buggy releases, they usually get fixed real fast.  Reminiscent of the heigh days of other manufacturers, where they would push features out almost monthly.

Just get it Tony.  You won’t regret it.  And if you do, I’ll need another one soon enough anyway, so you’ll have the option to sell it on right here on the -bar ..

j.
—
Jay Vaughan
ibisum at gmail.com



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