Dirtywave M8 Review: Enter the Grid

[@Dirtywave]

The battery will hold a charge just fine if you update your firmware. It appears to be a very old version. :) (No on-screen keyboard, pre 2.0.9... we are now on 2.7.6)

[@nikn3760]

Start selling in Russia please🙏

[@ruslanr.6171]

@@nikn3760 pfff, not happening

[@alecsbuga]

Lol Gabe, update it man, you're totally missing out a lot of good stuff. Also the rattling is normal. It's the Power Button.

[@timothylamb7861]

@@alecsbuga If there is rattling like an egg shaker, it is the metal stabilization bars inside the keys.

[@alecsbuga]

@@timothylamb7861 I opened mine up out of curiosity. And the power button and keys are the only shakey things. Which is normal if you ask me

[@monoraildj]

The intro and the entire aesthetic of the video are on point! Great and informative review of this tiny monster, thank you sir!!

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Dude that intro was incredible🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@PaulOrtiz]

Stop making me want things. I’m serious.

[@rorz999]

The legendary Chimp Spanner! I'd totally recommend the M8 dude!

[@jjurksztowicz]

This thing is so good it will kill your gear acquisition syndrome. King of all music gear.

[@neonvoid]

as a veteran tracker user (since the c64) this thing seemed to be purely mazochistic for me. but then again people do amazing music with it. so it might just works very well

[@Dirtywave]

*Also a veteran tracker user since Amiga* … M8 appears impractical at first glace coming from traditional trackers with a full-size keyboard, however the LSDJ style of workflow is designed differently and very fast none the less.

[@neonvoid]

@@Dirtywave i'm constantly amazed by how amazing / fantastic music comes out of this device from the clearly enthusiastic and happy musicians who bought it - and i was always a tracker person (just bounded to full size keyboards and screens). at this point i was going to order one already if it wouldn't be sold out at the moment. :( congratulations for building this fantastic device. and for the record, i love the visual design of the op1 (nice tribute to the casio vl-1 :), but the tape recording concept is a huge red flag for me, i'd take the M8 over the op1 any time, hands down.

[@artephank]

Veteran tracker user from Amiga and then PC here… m8 is magical. Never used that Gameboy tracker that the general structure and layout is inspired by, but oh man. This thing is fast. No other device or software allows me to make changes so fast. Idk, but the whole idea just clicked with me and I build muscle memory in couple of days. And the idea of chains and tables makes this tracker way more flexible than regular pattern based trackers. I use mostly samples but having built in synths is also great. A little marvel.

[@OIP_1]

it's so fast. legitimately fastest workflow of any device i've ever used

[@neonvoid]

@@artephank no need to convince me anymore... the moment it becomes available again, i'll definitely buy one.

[@Jimantronic]

Nice shirt! Appreciate the commitment to the Tron theme 👍🙂 2 things: 1) The touch screen is great, just hold down the edit key on any setting and swipe the screen left to right for quick and easy changing and setting values. Works good as a performance tool. 2) worth mentioning that the Macro synth voice is a port of the Mutable Instruments sound engine from their Braids eurorack module. It's a brilliant bonus to have that included

[@feintcircles]

Stellar editing and aesthetic Gabe! I don't think the M8 is for me but I really enjoy what you and others are able to do with the device.

[@WhiteWulfe]

That was definitely a nice intro. Insert obligatory request for commentary of it versus the Polyend Tracker for use, workflow, limitations, etc.

[@jsieb]

That opening is hell a dope! I love the M8!

[@Death_By_Media]

Plopped down the “big bucks “ for a teensy and have been running the headless firmware . Takes me back to my Scream Tracker II / Impulse Tracker days , but with that very slick sounding Mutable Instruments dsp built in its nostalgia meets modern so the Tron theme is apt. Anyway easily the best $25 I’ve ever spent on music production which is absurd to even type . Cheers .

[@Longstride]

Gabe, you’re fast becoming one of my fave KZbinrs! Great work! I appreciate your honest views!

[@artephank]

No problem with holding charge on mime. M8 is my dream come true- supercharged tracker with gr8 synth capabilities and sample manipulation tool that fits in the pocket.

[@monsterlogostudios]

Great video. You can actually record live on a single channel via MIDI input, including cross-phrase performances, as long as the chain is pre-populated with phrases to meet your length needs.

[@GabeMillerMusic]

100%, I should have specified that I meant when it's by itself, which is my go-to use case.

[@benjaminsteele332]

Tron Legacy was an amazing Daft Punk album weirdly associated with an okay movie.

[@unclemick-synths]

Love the Tron thing! 👍 I'm not a huge tracker fan but in this format it seems to have mojo (apart from the battery).

[@jaredf6205]

Hoping mine arrives in the next couple weeks!

[@shatteredsquare]

i wish polyend would put even half this stuff into tracker. tracker is so gd fast and easy to sketch stuff out with 'fill' and 'auto name' (auto name should be industry standard!), and the ability to jump instantly around a hundred patterns with your fingers, and octatrack-style perform effects, but it's so feature barren inside the actual tracks it feels like a $600 good idea. It's probably $200 worth of hardware, no way is it $400 worth of capability. Dirtywave M8 is straight up $500 worth of coding enlightenment and dude just sells the hardware as a delivery system at a loss...

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Yeah I tend to think of the PT as a souped up sampler with a weird interface, whereas I treat the M8 more like a handheld synthesizer. They're both hardware trackers, so comparisons are inevitable, but I think the actual user experience and prime use cases are very different.

[@rorz999]

Totally agree, the PT feels really underbaked, which is a shame because the hardware UI is perfect. I'd love the M8 software inside of the PT to take advantage of the bigger screen, 4x12 pads, encoder etc

[@pti-jmbourget]

The rattle is definitely the switches. These low profile switches have each a stabilizer inside of them. These stabilizers are optional because the keycap is not super large 1U (normally we use stabilizers on switches holding a 2U+ keycap). You can remove them if the rattle is bothering you.

[@DrJ3RK8]

Just had to mention (as others have) just how ridiculously good that intro was! Oh, and the sawtooth wave on your poster is double the frequncy of the others. :P

[@Two-Eyed_Boy]

I built the headless M8 and moments into booting up it only confirmed that I was ready to drop $550 for the real deal!

[@artephank]

Did the same. Only wasted one teensy and an evening. Should have been bought it at the first batch (it was also a bit cheaper then:)

[@Two-Eyed_Boy]

@@artephank so have you made the jump to the M8 proper, or are you waiting for them to come back in stock? 🤣

[@artephank]

@@Two-Eyed_Boy I bought it the when they appeared in late last year. The best spend money ever:)

[@rorz999]

I got my hardware M8 a week ago (I was using the headless version before that). It's my favourite piece of gear I've ever owned, tied maybe with the SP-404 MK2. I'm going to use both as a combo (the 404 for FX, M8 for almost everything else), and pretty much none of my other gear is going to get a look-in

[@krazywabbit]

I’m purchasing some sample packs/stickers in support of that intro and to thumb my nose at copyright. Your heart was in a good place!

[@adamjlipper]

@GabeMillerMuisc Great overview. Could you run through the Lead pad sound you bring in at 00:00:33

[@BrentODell]

Just ordered one of these. From the videos I've seen, the work flow seems very.... linux-ish. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it.

[@RedHedDes]

I saw the title and immediately thought of the Tron OST. Great overview of the M8. Cheers.

[@RedHedDes]

Also, appreciate your commentary on the OP-1 comparison

[@anstef1485]

Wow Gabe. Full on Tron mode! Got an M8 on order.... will see if I like the interface and controls...

[@synthseeker]

Great intro. Love it! I'll be humming that tune days now.

[@chuecoxx]

This is picking my interest, great video. And I really dig the whole tron ambient/costume! Make up included 👏

[@Akira71]

That little musical idea of yours sounds a lot like a 8-bit version of Deadmou5's The Veldt. Love it

[@_P_M_]

Nice job on the Tron intro. I recently picked up a 1010Music BlackBox. You probably need to check these out. Seems like this would be up your alley.

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Thanks! The Blackbox is not super high on the list, but I'll probably get to it one of these days.

[@InfotoxIn]

A few people notice that rattle every now and then and it's always actually just been the mechanical keyswitches and nothing to worry about.

[@combobreaker449]

Very excited to get my M8 sometime in September

[@RSKT_music]

Man I'd love to get my hands on one of these someday. Great video as always mate! (No pun intended)

[@kalixzee7505]

Great review. This is definitely going on my buy list (the list I have for when I get rich haha).

[@sinewaymusic]

Really nice production! 👌 How about a Polyend Tracker vs M8 video? And, later, a Polyend Tracker Mini vs M8 video of course. 😊

[@NevilleHayfield]

Get on my Man 💪✊🔥 I was wondering if You do doing this one Gabe 🔥🔥🔥

[@SimonWollwage]

Would love to see your thoughts on all the stuff that happened to the firmware since the version you are using. So much has happened since then.

[@adventureStaley]

Great vid! How is this for a TOTAL NUBE? Non MUsican. Can I figure it out?

[@NetvoTV]

Is it possible to make non 80s, non video game like and syntheave musics with it because most musics I listened made by it on KZbin has sound from these I mentioned, I like these but don't want to make only these, and if the community of it is mainly filled with people from these genre you will feel not connected and able to find help that much, even if it's possible, is this M8 Tracker idea to make not these genre of musics? I like it's small and the graphic but OP-1 feel like it's actual mechanical while M8 is just keyboard with screen so you still feel like you are using a computer? Should I just use iPhone with some apps if music making for now it's just hobby for me

[@ryandevore8064]

I thought mine would rattle but I'm pretty sure that's just the keys. The only thing on the inside I think that could move around is the battery which has a little padding around it.

[@elsantoproductora]

Having those synth engines inside an op-z or circuit would be awesome. The M8 looks great but I wouldn't want to use a tracker again to be honest.

[@rustnepoteter]

the intro is sooo sick

[@yodabe882]

I like the part at 7.20 where you played (Rock/) Rap Superstar by Cypress Hill

[@MeerkatMuzic]

Great intro even better review cheers Gabe.

[@sweepstakes]

You are missing out on some seriously awesome firmware updates. Please grab 2.7!

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Will do!

[@iamsimonmorris]

Hey Gabe, Just checked my M8 which has been sitting unused for a couple of weeks(sick) It read full charge still!!!! apparently.

[@iamsimonmorris]

I did update the firmware so might be all you need to do

[@miselhere3375]

i've heard the M8 is the "op1 killer", how true is that and how does both workflows compare?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

I talked about exactly that near the end of the video!

[@miselhere3375]

@@GabeMillerMusic oh just watched it, great take on their overall difference, i've had an MPC for almost and year now but its too close to a DAW to be enjoyable for me, so i think maybe the op-1 still stands supreme for more creative and immediate sounds

[@EaselCat]

The OP1 is trash next to the M8

[@0Fdigital]

They're totally different and both great imo. OP-1 is great for quick, spontaneous ideas. M8 is great for going deep into sequencing and making polished songs.

[@miselhere3375]

@@0Fdigital yeah fr, i've been looking tho and ik the m8 is made by one guy that unfortunately is suffering from a circuit shortage but the prices are insane, is there anywhere where i can buy this thing for less than triple the amount asked?

[@SonicVibe]

Only been 2 years and still sold out maybe if they make a ver 2 it will be available they harder to find the a sp 404 mk2 Which is on back order still

[@avrilcadabra]

It's not that hard to get one, you order and it comes a few months later.

[@FirstContactX]

@@avrilcadabra Not currently available to order. All preorders are closed. Supposed to be a general release in November however

[@blkrbbt]

Production is sooo fuckin dope

[@FJness]

Whoa what are those lights you have on tripods? They look like they change colors to music

[@GabeMillerMusic]

I don't remember exactly what model they are, but they're RGB video/photography lights. Not particularly dynamic/reactive as far as I know.

[@C0llinsW0rth.]

Awesome Intro!

[@jjurksztowicz]

M8 is pure genius. If you can get your hands on one, do it.

[@citadelunion2013]

Great video thanx

[@Jason75913]

cool other vids make this gadget look rad, but I cannot imagine myself using it Also, are you wearing eye liner? The lighting plus that gives you a somewhat villainous and gross look, why did you go for that?

[@zoukoupomme2]

Hi Gabe Miller, Can you tell me which power bank you use with the M8 ?

[@lonelymusic8607]

lol. i love the intro sequence

[@lonelymusic8607]

paused to write the last comment and after continuing realized its not just the intro sequence. nicely done

[@ildafons]

I think M8 will become your favorite pretty fast...

[@SonicVibe]

Any device with an internal battery is always a bad idea because when the battery goes bad now you just have a really small device you have to leave it plugged in And the rattle would drive me nuts

[@TheChessGiant]

Niiice intro

[@FirstContactX]

I'm having a really hard time deciding between this and a polyend tracker. The workflow on the tracker looks perfect for me, but only has the granular and wavetable synths. Where as this has multiple synth engines, is even more portable but the workflow isnt quite what i think would work for me. Chopping breaks on this seems like a potential nightmare.

[@jjurksztowicz]

I’ve had both, and while neither is the wrong choice, the m8 is the right choice. Chopping breaks is easy.

[@jjurksztowicz]

@@artisans8521 polyend is great, I really liked mine, and to be fair it’s live performance fx are much better. Still would pick m8 every time, best music device I’ve ever had.

[@0Fdigital]

Chopping breaks on M8 is a breeze imo!

[@manslaughterinc.9135]

One think that you kind of glossed over is that the macrosynth is a clone of the Mutable Instruments Braids. It's not the M8, it's totally separate.

[@Klocaine237]

Your transition is going flawless.

[@DavidDeLuge]

I've not had an issue with my battery losing charge when left unused. It's an awesome bit of kit. Here's my latest M8 song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ml7NXoWsZ5t1l6c

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Good to know!

[@robinr22]

@@GabeMillerMusic might be worth getting in touch with Trash80 on the M8 discord. Mine holds a charge just fine and he does excellent tech support. If its a faulty battery, I'm sure he'd replace it (it's basically a standard cell phone battery so easy enough to replace.)

[@nathanksimpson]

Opening, Gunship vibes... totally.

[@Death_By_Media]

It’s a cover of The Tron OST’s / Daft Punk’s The Grid , but Gunship is the tops in synthwave so had to comment. Looking forward to LP III . Cheers !

[@nathanksimpson]

@@Death_By_Media Hahah, yeah I didn't wait till the end of the intro to make that comment :P Clearly the musical referencing for both Gunship and this track go toward the same source.

[@Death_By_Media]

@@nathanksimpson The second piece falls under some Gunship like production so no sweat , not an online contrarian. Just pointing possible good , unexplored tunes for peeps and the shared love of some other great music . P.S. if you didn’t know aside from the debut , and Dark All Day LPs Gunship have a few tracks not tied to the records that are great . Video game championship, Cthulhu, and Veil of Shadows which was a nod to stranger things and D&D which brings me to a further tangent ... I’d recommend SURVIVE which half of are the ST ost writers : for anyone who’s a fan of Gunship’s cinematic mods to 80s sci-fi and horror soundtracks . Cheers .

[@synth-studio]

Loved it, Gabe. +1 for your take on M8 vs Polyend Tracker. Personally, I find Polyend's Tracker much easier to use because they 'break' the classical tracker methodology by introducing new-to-tracker concepts like instruments, track names, and song mode. I think the M8's die-hard-tracker approach makes it harder to use. For example, my biggest gripe is that you have to memorize a number for everything... a specific chain is "31", but a specific instrument is also "31", and you can't give any of them unique names. Tons of forced memorization happening. Whereas with Polyend's Tracker, you can customize each track name, for example "hats", "synth lead" etc, and the instruments by default take their sample file names, but can also be renamed. So I'd categorize the Polyend Tracker as far more easy to learn and use compared to the M8. If it only had the same portability!

[@rorz999]

Are you sure you can name tracks on the Polyend!? I have one and have seen the option to do that

[@synth-studio]

@@rorz999 Yep, here's how to do it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2HSpmprpdxqpKM

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Fair enough, starting with the PT definitely made learning the M8 easier for me. Although the sound engines on the M8 are way more fun for me personally than the ones on the PT.

[@synth-studio]

@@GabeMillerMusic good call... you rightly point out the M8's sound engines and design capabilities in your video, and I think that's one of the big areas where the M8 really outshines the Polyend Tracker. It's arguably more synth-focused, as opposed to PT's more sample-focus. Although both of them are pretty capable in both areas.

[@robinr22]

You can name instruments. If you follow some general rules ie use the same numbers for chains as for tracks ie 10, 11, 12 on track 1 and so on. I tend to use track 1 for kicks and snares and it becomes a lot easier to follow in your head.

[@bsmootalicious]

Please update to the latest firmware, it will fix your battery issues and there is A LOT of new features!

[@akdm82]

I’ve been intrigued by this device for a while because I love portable music making devices. As much as I love general purpose machines like phones, tablets or computers, I have a nostalgic love of discrete single-purpose devices. That said, after spending tons on those types of devices I’m having a harder and harder time justifying it when I already have my iPhone, that is much smaller, more portable, has better battery life, and has a TON more capabilities when it comes to making music. If I want real controls, I can carry my tiny Korg Nano MIDI controls. What makes this very hard to get $550 device with short battery life worth it? I’m being serious because I’m fighting GAS really bad right now. 😜 Keep in mind too that I have pretty much every good piece of IOS software for making music. Korg Gadget 2, FL Studio, Cubasis 3, Korg Module, every Audio Kit app, almost every Bleass app, Koala Sampler, etc. and almost all the IAP on all of these

[@rorz999]

Well, there's nothing really like the M8 on iOS. It feels like an instrument in its own right, although it's also so much more than that. And I doubt any apps on iOS have as deep a sequencer as the M8 does

[@sinewaymusic]

If you love to make music on portable devices, you're probably better off with the stuff you already have. Based on your list of apps you already own, it sounds like this is indeed GAS. With that said, what is it that you are missing on the iOS workflows, other than perhaps that nostalgia? Getting to the bottom of that might help you understand whether the M8 is for you or not. Me, I also loved the *idea* of portable music making, but after a ton of trial and error (pocket operators, MC-101, FL Studio Mobile, Caustic, etc), I've come to learn that nothing is better than getting *really* hands on with music making. To me, that means larger and more tactical devices. I have since doubled down on the MPC Live 2. It's technically portable with its (decent!) built-in battery and speakers, but it's heavy and big. And, IMHO, it more than makes up for it by being so immediately accessible with excellent pads, knobs and buttons. I carry it around the house, I use it in bed, outside at the patio, and in my home studio. I obviously don't take it with me on the train. For that use case, I'm better off just editing the songs using the MPC2 software on my laptop which is always with me when traveling to/from work anyway. It's a nice bonus with the MPC ecosystem that the projects can be edited both on the computer and in standalone on the MPC itself. The M8 tracker honestly looks masochistic in comparison. I would never be able to use it other than as a pure sketch pad, and for that, FL Studio Mobile is honestly so much more immediately available since I carry my mobile with me everywhere I go. Would you really carry a bag with ju all the time just to fit the M8? Even the MC-101 is quite portable, but I'd never consider taking it with me when traveling since it'd take up the lunch box space. And besides, using its sequencer gives me endless headaches.

[@robinr22]

IPhone requires a touch screen to use. Touch screens suck for music making. You need adaptors to make them workable with external gear. And you have to carry the gear too. And they kind of suck for sampling too. The M8 has an incredibly quick and powerful interface tightly integrated with the OS - that's the key to it - it is like lightning to use. It samples very well and fits in my pocket. I think the fact that you have so many apps on your iPhone kinda proves the point - you wouldn't have so many if they were doing it for you, right?

[@akdm82]

@@rorz999 what about SunVox? It seems very much like it.

[@akdm82]

@@sinewaymusic thanks for taking the time to share. I’m already in a good place with what I want to use and I’ve gotten over my GAS issues. My question was posted to make others think about it before taking this route as well as to satisfy my own curiosity as to what others think about these different approaches to mobile music making.

[@heres_the_sauce]

10:11 that's the maraca feature

[@50_Pence]

Impulse tracker on an sx33. Yep that's a 33mhz cpu.

[@goldensyrupgamingshow2978]

8:28 Sounds like something a dentist might say

[@ildafons]

You can connect the device to computer screen.

[@A_Force_Truly_Evil]

Waaaaaooo!!!

[@GabeMillerMusic]

🤘🤘🤘

[@thejoshuathomas]

I came for the copyright claim, lol.

[@jaredf6205]

There’s a scammer leaving replies on your video and pretending to be you to get peoples info.

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Damn, they've come for me too. Thanks for the heads up.

[@henninghoefer]

Making a review with ancient firmware seems a little unfair to the device. 😟

[@GabeMillerMusic]

It's an oversight I reeeaaaally wish I hadn't made, but pretty much everything I said is positive and will apply regardless of which version of the firmware we're on (other than the battery, which, like I speculated about in the video, was because of user error on my part).

[@henninghoefer]

@@GabeMillerMusic Don't worry too much, mistakes happen. Maybe make a short followup vid just on the firmware improvements?

[@jalocin]

I have to watch to advertisements before I am able to watch this video. the first one is 2:30 min long the second on e minute. This really is getting ridiculous.

[@streetlife20]

$600…… I’ll pass

[@greyarea7689]

How to get the tracker its sold out forever