1010Music BLUEBOX Review // Is it the new king of synth mixers?

[@truecuckoo]

A big YES from me. Great overview Loopie! Thanks! I think 1010 has made a big hit, provided that the audio quality is good. Hey Loop, how is the clipping sounding? Nasty cut, or more like a drive? What’s the noise floor like? What’s the latency?

[@loopop]

Thanks my friend :) 1. I couldn't get it to clip with regular audio (it accepts eurorack levels so line level isn't going to do it) 2. Noise is there if you push up gain, but at reasonable recording levels (full volume on a 6S) I saw no noise on the sample. Perhaps they have a noise gate on the recording, I didn't perform a detailed noise test after that. Noise is a problem with ground loops of course like I mention in the video. 3. I didn't make detailed latency tests either, but I looped a send to an input and then the second send to another input and there was very minimal comb filtering, nothing that sounds like a delay, so, latency seems very low

[@truecuckoo]

@@loopop thanks mate! Sounds very promising! Can’t wait to order!

[@Rustik1722]

This little company has found its niche! Sort of the next gen of what the ELEKTRON boxes did a generation ago...similar styles multi uses overlapping interests and utilities.......GENIUS!

[@jonaseggen2230]

@@loopop I'm not going to pretend I understood all of this. I'm a newbie when it comes to music, synths and eurorack. That said, (or out of the way as you would probably say,) to me it seems like the main advantage of this Bluebox to a more classic mixer is its size, and that a bigger mixer is somewhat easier to operate. But then again, this one seems to have really good effects where you have more control over their parameters and also the ability to record onto a card in the box itself is not something I've seen in many mixers if ever at all. For some the workflow here might be easier or better than using a "normal" mixer. IDK. I have a few questions that I got some trouble to entangle in my head and that I do not expect to get any answers to here. I put them here anyway for people to read as questions often leads to new questions etc. -Makes me wonder if, and if they ever make a eurorack version of this, that such a module would or could be used for different things or have different functions in a rack as one often do with other eurorack modules? Like mixing CV for example. I'm also impatient to see eurorackers in the near future use this mixer here on YT. -Whit the recording function, I wonder if maybe it would be nice or make sense to have clocking and or simple sequencing to play around with the tracks, channels, loops or whatever. Either in the unit itself or inputs for such? -If this mixer could be used as an instrument in itself like playing on feedback and such that I've seen several people do? Or is this only possible with analogue mixers? Not to complain or anything but we didn't get a "happy little" (Bob Ross reference) jam at the end this time. From what we heard during the demo, it sounded surprisingly party compared to what I've heard from you before. Thanks again for a inspirational demo that gave me more to google.

[@loopop]

jonas eggen thanks - I don’t know about their future plans. Yes you can have some fun with the delay though it isn’t an analog style one. Re the jam - yeah not enough time for one this video...

[@shualiko]

Watched this AGAIN after finally getting myself the bluebox. You're videos are so useful, coherent, nicely paced and informative. Thanks again!

[@Sousless]

For live use this is perfect! At home I don't have any problem with using full size mixer, but I don't want to bring it for live performance, because it's big.

[@adam_volt]

this definitely needs a method of moving play-head for scrolling in timeline, loops and multi-takes... otherwise its quite limited for real usage. next thing i would recommend to them is to have possibility of recording the automation of paramters into separate mix sessions and bounce. that would make it "mixing station" on the go.

[@Talentocubano]

I am sold with this unit, thank you 1010 music for the midi in and out great feature for syncing my FA-08.

[@MrBasic]

Oh yeah! This new device makes an easy decision in my case. I was planning for the Tascam Model 12 which is lovely, but this is even more appropriate for me.

[@sickmonkeyrecs4187]

Cheers, you just solved a ground noise issue with my TR6S, removing bus power from PC and plugging directly into power sorted, thx!!

[@tinaaspiala4779]

They should follow the design language of the OP-1 and have the knobs be different colors that would match elements on the screen interface

[@okeribok]

Yes! Finally a compact mixer with stereo fx sends! Much cheaper than a mixpre, only tiny bit more expensive than radial key largo and double the number of tracks! Win!

[@tamersallam5833]

This is great - solves a lot of problems I have in a very small package. Timeline view to start/stop recording on the fly would be killer!

[@els1f]

OMG this is amazing! I've been obsessing non stop over a new mixer for this exact purpose 🙏😁

[@inthefade]

This is very cool. If Akai adds external audio i/o support to their Force and MPC lines they will do all of this by themselves, which would solve all my problems, but I think I might need this cool toy.

[@cesarsjogren]

Akai is right on the cusp! I feel like they are so close to that

[@RundFyrkant]

im looking att you Elektron. Where's your mixer? ❤️

[@stuartmccallum91]

I mean... the Octatrack is their mixer no?

[@RundFyrkant]

@@stuartmccallum91 yes like the amazing octatrack without the sampler but added i/o channels like a cross between this bluebox and analog heat kind of unit. Roland MX 1 Elektron style. That would be something 🤔🙂

[@the_pontian]

I was thinking this same exact idea not too long ago! I hope electron comes out with a dedicated mixer for its devices, similar to Roland’s

[@onkelberra3166]

I mailed them about that. They said they have gotten requests about it and that they like the idea. A mixer to link their products. Send em a mail so they see its high demand

[@Space_pulse]

I’d like an Elektron mixer! I was really excited about this Bluebox, until I finally got one this week and have not been able eliminate ground loops. I have tried most of the tricks. Everything is plugged into one outlet on a power strip. The only thing running off of USB power is the Blue Box. And still almost everything I plug into it has terrible ground noise. Even the channel sends have terrible ground noise when I am using just the one device that miraculously has no ground noise on the BlueBox input. Maybe I got a bad unit? Or is it a design flaw? It seems weird to me that a mixer doesn’t have a properly grounded PSU.

[@Ycros]

I'd really love a per track compressor, that's the only big thing it's missing for me IMO.

[@RundFyrkant]

noise gate would be useful too

[@sketchdashaman]

i want "tanh" type overdrive per track

[@frankie5671]

Colombo strikes again "just one more thing" great as always legend

[@HauntedLabs]

Hi. I like the 1010 Bluebox and the comment "and the asd you just skipped" has me rolling 🤣😂🤣❤️💙🖤

[@nebula0697]

These 1010Music boxes and modules are just killer. Thanks for the review. I'm still maybe going to go for the Tascam Model 16 as a recording mixer with analog goodness and less menu diving but very cool little boxes.

[@aljen9611]

Why not use both. :) I am driving both Tascam DP-24 and bluebox, which sits neatly upon the part of Tascam I hardly use. Looks like it was a bespoke solution. :-)

[@trevorbrown8737]

Great video! I've always been surprised why there aren't more mixers this small on the market!! Even to the extent where they could be built into to a midi keyboard so if you are a hardware person you get a built in mixer into a midi keyboard without having to purchase a separate mixer? I've only been into synths and stuff for about 3 years so if there is something like that out already then I'm still naive!

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

same here and the current offerings are limited and weak. This looks like a real game changer.

[@MayenMusic]

Another choice for my 40th birthday gift coming up 😂

[@atomicafro]

If it was an audio interface -> No brainer pickup. At the moment...hmmmm I just don't have a strong use for it personally.

[@swillm3ister]

Same here

[@mynameistechno]

Imagine this thing with something like Overbridge in it. A built in USB Midi-Hub to sync and record all the gear where audio gets streamed through usb.

[@ebraltazar3498]

Thanks for the clear overview Loopop! Really looking forward to this one. This will probably replace my Roland MX-1 and I will gain lots of space :) Good move from 1010music!

[@wilfamis]

Niiiice, but really this is the ideal box for easy multichannel/quadraphonic mixing since with a touchscreen you can use x, y pads to pan in 2 dimensions instead of hardware restrictions of panning knobs, and they have plenty of outputs. So yeah hope they think about adding that

[@Space_pulse]

Well, you could set up a quad mix pretty easily having two sets of stereo outs to different speakers but some kind of applet that would let you cross fade different channels to different stereo mixes for spatialization effects via x,y pad would be legit!

[@agusbleuville5830]

an updated version of this video with the new firmware would be cool! Thanks

[@ndguardian]

Finally got one of these. I'm in an apartment with limited space, and even more limited desk space. Freed up so much space on my desk. That alone made it worth the cost. All the functionality with it as well just makes it that much better. One thing I would like to see in terms of functionality is the ability to set a default track configuration for for new projects. My desk is pretty static, so not having to set the tracks up again every time I create a new project would be a time saver.

[@1010music]

Try the new Save As Template feature, which should help you out.

[@ndguardian]

@@1010music yep, I saw that. Can't be happier! Phenomenal work!

[@Djpuzzle]

Thanks for the video as always. I just got my Bluebox and so far it's great. Just waiting for OS 1.0 then I'll publish something. Cheers!

[@harveytherobot]

Finally! A dedicated synth mixer (well, other than Roland’s).

[@lostipod12]

Hey, which Roland mixer are you referring to?

[@eleven_live]

this is 4 times smaller than the mx1

[@tolgatuvay8489]

@@lostipod12 mx-1

[@lostipod12]

Thank you all.

[@pontram]

Well, correct me if I am wrong, but the Roland mx-1 has only 6 analog track input channels (4 mono, 1 stereo), the rest are AIRA, USB and digital channels. AIRA host ports are only for AIRA machines, so, it is in my opinion a kind of a partial eyewash. It has though a working audio interface (18 channels) to the PC.

[@cold_fashioned]

This is very interesting. I have been entertaining the idea of simplifying my mixer setup lately. Timely. Getting used to the 1/8th inch jacks is probably the biggest hurdle. However, half of my synths already have that as their outs anyway.

[@stefrance2]

Love my blackbox from 1010 ! Would have loved they release this bluebox before I purchased a mixer with bunch of XLRs I do not care about ! Nice review as per usual !

[@yellowcrescent]

I feel like this thing would be perfect if it could act as a multi-channel USB audio interface. Would be cool if it could get added by a firmware update, but not sure if they already have the required DAC/ADCs on board to accomplish it. Still a cool idea though.

[@UNSCPILOT]

To be fair, if it can record to SD, it could send audio threw USB, it's already gone threw the nessisary ADC/DACs, only limiting factor is the USB connection and how much data it can handle because 12 high bitrate streams would be a *lot*, likely needing USB 3.0 at minimum to be reliable

[@yellowcrescent]

@@UNSCPILOT you're right. I guess I didn't realize it could record them all at once. Re: bandwidth, USB 2.0 should have plenty of bandwidth without needing USB 3.0. I have one of those multi-track mixers that can send/receive all channels + master mix over USB class-compliant audio (Soundcraft 12MTK), it has 12-in/14-out at 16-bit/48kHz and uses USB 2.0. Even for 24-bit/192kHz streams, it should be able to handle up to 10 of them (up to about 42 channels for 16-bit/48kHz). [edit: if you are curious where I got the max numbers from, EDN already did the math -- search for "edn fundamentals of usb audio" and they have a great explanation.]

[@ricardomilice2470]

Thanks you covered all key points. I hope they watching, because this Bluebox already needs a update. Like how you don’t have a power button 🙄. I was seriously interested in buying this because I love compact hardware stuff. You spend good money to at least have it right. Well looks like I’m sticking with my IPad music work flow.

[@MrGeoffashley]

This is exactly what I wanted for my Volcas/Boutiques (and my pre-ordered TR-6s when they ship)/PO’s!! And I just got a microcosm as well, so it’s cool to see how well this integrates with most of what I’ll be using. I hope they do a future firmware upgrade to plug in usb midi only devices...either to use midi through the 3.5mm in the front..or just for clock sync. I have the Zoom Arq 96 and it’s usb midi only, and it never gets to play with other gear because I don’t have a computer or host box

[@enge1966]

I was looking into getting a small sub mixer to add inputs to my MX-1. I think this would be perfect but use the MX-1 as the sub mixer. Great review by the way.......love your work

[@seederiektdg8492]

This is what I always needed. If only it were a bit larger, had faders and 1/4" inputs / Outputs. I get their signature design and sizing, but the I/O setup will require a lot of new cables / splitters.

[@paulrigby001]

Yes - my thoughts exactly.

[@eleven_live]

there are loads and loads of mixers with exactly the features you are wishing for from almost every manufacturer on the planet, for many years. this is very small and fits into any live rig/case-that is exactly its selling point. i'm afraid your comment has no point.

[@seederiektdg8492]

@@eleven_live Don't be afraid, it's only an opinion. :)

[@g3cd]

I WANT THAT! Here are some questions for an additional video: Is is possible to connect it to an external controller with knobs and sliders like the Novation Launch Control XL MK2? How does it integrate with the 1010 blackbox, what would a workflow with both the bluebox and the blackbox look like?

[@tobintechlv]

One thing I’d like to see in these small synth mixers is the ability to stack or link multiple mixers together to expand the system it could use the DANTE or MADI protocol to route the audio throughout the “system” Yes I know it means adding Ethernet ports to this but it would also add the ability to interface to a studio and pro audio systems in the field

[@blueingreen6043]

awesome reviews, well structured, complete and objective. thank you so much!

[@seanhenriques808]

Sold! I’m tired of staring at my 24 track monster mixer with xlr connectors and so many knobs I never use. That thing takes 1/4 of my desk! Sayonara!

[@rexcellencemagee6729]

lol, I feel the same way, although I need the24 track, I just ordered this because the desktop is getting awful crowded!

[@rockfebres6601]

I never understood from the beginning of time whenever I began to incur in music; why monopolize the cables if the ideal would be to encourage industry rather than sales - - I'M S♡ GLAD T♡ SEE THIS COME TO FRUITION; PEOPLE NEEDED A BREAK FROM SPENDING $500 on cables JUST FOR A HOBBY!! 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇

[@dualtrx]

Oh man. This is something everybody needs with small setups. I own a Bitbox, and is great. Glad that 1010 is getting bigger and bigger. :D What i'm missing in this box is an ADAT in/out, that would make the bluebox compatible as an expansion to other cards, or add more inputs to the bluebox computer. 6 Stereo is great. Also a compatibility with iPad would be nice and PC ofcourse, like any other multitrack mixer.

[@thagerty]

Totally agree regarding ADAT out, I think that would be super useful to a lot of people, maybe even more so than it having standalone capabilities.

[@SyntheticFuture]

Ooh yeah, this would be an amazing ADAT option for synth users. And it's a nice format. You can put this next to your synths, 1 ADAT to your interface and everything is nice and neat. Keeping an eye on how this develops 👌🏻

[@Divya-hn4ol]

this!

[@hypebeastdad]

I see myself tracking beats on this and then using it live to play back beats

[@earlsfield]

This has potential to be a great device. Looks like synth - dedicated device, focusing on needs that many of us who do not need phantom power and high z inputs. It is small, it is portable. However, the fact that it is not audio interface (jet), is a huge downside. No faders, means menu diving. I guess for now it is a good end point of a dawless or a hybrid setup, since it has record feature. However, for me, this would be going back to something I had 20 years ago. When tape recorders were swapped for relatively cheap digital multitrackers, it was a great thing. Affordability, portability no fuss with tape etc. However, the workflow was more less the same - computer for midi, recorder for audio. I started recording audio into DAW around year 2000. and all of my setups to this day are focused on AD conversion and recording into computer, with a timeline etc. So, until they convert this into audio interface, I dont see it unlocking the full potential. Plus, there is a cheap way of obtaining 16 inputs with mic preamps - Behringer UMC 1820 and ADA2600 connected via adat would cost you less than this box. Still portability and features might be selling points.

[@Dolores5000]

That’s what I’m thinking too Hopefully there will be revisions

[@fattyboombatty7736]

You're a bad boy - I've just emptied the wallet on one! One firmware upgrade I think would make it a no-brainer is the channel compressor you mentioned (especially with side chaining), I'd happily sacrifice an EQ band if necessary.

[@LostStylus]

Wish they continued to support it. Fast forward to 2022 - still no audio interface, no spectrum analyser and no looper for live jamming.

[@eimermusic]

We may soon get those additions now, matching the new “eurorack” variant of BlueBox…

[@robertsyrett1992]

Wow, this is so tempting! Great product with big promise, good job with the overview :)

[@iqi616]

Very handy. This would be nice for jamming live without taking up too much space. A preamp like the DMP3 would handle mic inputs. For DAW-free recording of jams I'm using my Korg D1600 (8 mono tracks) so this would be a step up with the current functionality (though transfer from the SD card to the computer via USB would be preferable).

[@jdanielcramer]

Glad to find this review, the Sonicstate review left me baffled! 🙀🤪 on top of USB computer interfacing I’d love to see it be able to host a multitrack recording over USB from a class compliant mixer or interface with USB multitrack output. 👍

[@hovermotion]

it's the Zoom L8 or the Blue Box for me...50/50 ...not sure I want to change most of my cables to 3.5mm for the Bluebox...Great detailed review..

[@squishmusic]

does the zoom have MIDI? Their R12/24 does not and thats a dealbreaker for me

[@syrupcore]

Great overview, thank you. One additional firmware wish for the recorder: include the track name (or number) in each take's file name. If everything remains "RC00{N}", probably going to be a nightmare to reassemble in a DAW.

[@1010music]

We agree

[@Pianet]

I think an adat version would make a lot more sense for most people. It would let you use better converters and you wouldn't need to do a ton of plugging and unplugging to get switch between tracking on the device and tracking in the daw.

[@martinogrady9239]

I recently scoured the internet looking for something like this. Best I could find was TC Helicon Blender. Its good...but this is exactly what I was looking for.

[@slakk5093]

Same as me.. I nearly bought the blender. Glad I didn't now

[@sulate1]

I bought the Blender - it's a bit plasticky (though not really anymore than my Modal Craft 2.0 - but it does give me 6 x stereo inputs to Cubase. No sends or FX either. If the Bluebox could act as an audio interface I would buy it tomorrow.

[@slakk5093]

@@sulate1 yeah blender is decent, but I prefer to have disk recording over USB audio. Only reason I was about to buy the Blender was because of its function as six channel stereo mixer which is my 1st priority. I wouldn't of ever used it as a soundcard. The BlueBox having disk recording is just gravy, and 4 band eq, reverb, delay 😍 also I have a blackbox and it has very good sound quality so I expect the same from BlueBox. The ability to have mono channels is great too because I have a few mono synths, and also the 3 outs with different sub mix is really nice for send FX to my guitar pedals.. BlueBox ticks all the boxes for me

[@kellymerrill8024]

If it can send MIDI via USB that would be amazing. I use my Expert Sleepers FH-1 as my main CV clock, everything could be clocked and recorded to separate tracks. Seems more practical for my needs compared to the ES-9.

[@JimHast]

Hey! Great Review! Im getting one now. Wich cables/adapters would you recomend? Thanks for your work!

[@BigFknRobots]

interesting! echo your requests for SD card reader over USB / Audio interface features..... I was hoping it would have sidechain / ducking built in.... That would be an amazing addition if it's ever possible - currently seems like a challenging thing to solve for a hardware setup with synths and drum machines.

[@lostcrow]

After updating the firmware you can use it as an audio interface with your computer... however, because of the fail design its actually useless for 2 reasons. 1. Whenever you connect the blue box direct to usb to power (pc or laptop) you get ground noise! 2. Connecting USB direct to pc or laptop, Sometimes the screen freezes and can even crash the bluebox completely. Best solution, only connect usb via a direct wall plug. Despite having so many useful featues the blue box fails at the very basic level... ground noise and no power on / off switch. I sent mine back.

[@loopop]

FYI - it needs enough power and most computers don't have it - you need to get a USB splitter and power it from an adapter (I'm not saying it's a good thing BTW)

[@lostcrow]

@@loopop I had to have it powered via wall mains, that was the only way to stop the ground noise. As I said, the firmware update enabling it as an audio interface is a nothing burger lol.. great videos loving your channel btw

[@floppydisk921]

ooohhh this might be something i will buy. i do have a massive mixer, but getting something like this will be great for on the go stuff.

[@leroyjenkins4017]

Great video as always, excited to see you using Microcosm as it was made by my friends here in Knoxville. Can we expect a full review of it??

[@loopop]

Thanks! Probably not a detailed review because I have a bunch of things coming, but it is in fact quite awesome and I do want to explore it further

[@davidbanner9001]

I really like it overall, seems a good solution for smallish setups. A compressor per track would of been really nice. My only other concern is that although it uses small 3.5mm jacks there seems to be very little space between them (as per loopop's comments). I would of liked a "slightly" bigger box and therefore space between inputs/outputs.

[@PaulBoos]

Great look at this upcoming mixer - on my radar!

[@Tolognabullets]

Please please let this usher in a new era of active desktop mixers 🙏🏽

[@jeansebtremblay]

HOURA ! I have waited forever for something like this.

[@neurofanaticyt157]

waiting for something like this for 5 years now BUT it also is the complete opposite of what I want now. What I want now is a compact, pure analog 4 channel mixer with 4 inserts, 4 sends / 4 returns, and individual outs WITHOUT a computer in it nor touchpad on it. You do not achieve simplicity with build-in operating systems but with flexible routing options

[@jonaseggen2230]

Something like this? www.signalsounds.com/qu-bit-electronix-mixology-eurorack-stero-mixer-module-black

[@neurofanaticyt157]

@@jonaseggen2230 sry for my crappy english.. nope, 4 sends per channel with mix AND mute button. but I was a bit strong with my judgment there, it would be very nice to have AD/DA to plug in an I pad. key part is flexible routing. there is one new toy for this out now, it is a big 8x8 matrix but without digital support.

[@neurofanaticyt157]

i currently use an audio interface plus a patch bay to route all the analog sound processing I need, but produce and mix sound in AUM on Ipad. I would love to be able to perform and mix on the physical unit but to also send at least 4 separate tracks from the ipad to it. I pad could produce sound, send it to the mixer, mixer routes to processors and lets me master the signal. that would be perfect simplicity, separating digital from analog.

[@rdean150]

That combination of features would make it expensive and big enough that being limited to only 4 input channels would be a dealbreaker for many. But I've never seen a 4 channel mixer with 4 send & return channels. I guess the sends part is just a matrix mixer.... But it would require, what, 8 ins, 4 bidirectional TRS jacks, and at least 9 outputs (10 for stereo main mix out). Not to mention the many knobs. At that point you're committing to a big boy, you might as well make it 8 channels. But if you're ok with only 2 send & return channels, the WMD Performance Mixer satisfies all of your other requirements and then some. It will need 2 expanders (1 for mutes and another for individual PFL channel outs via DB25 connectors) and will cost over $1K if bought new tho.

[@neurofanaticyt157]

@@rdean150 uh damn, that's very close!

[@joshuaroland6446]

I don’t remember latency being mentioned, maybe I missed it. If using it as a straight up mixer with a few effects etc...

[@SELEKTROw]

great review, looks like a great product, ticks more performance/mixer/recorder boxes than many larger and more expensive digital mixers. Only bit i wanted to know more about/ I assume is the built in effects are recorded baked into each individual channel, or are they just on the master channel? It has to be per channel right in 2021!? Also as you have ability to do multiple overdub takes it looks like these are all saved and named on the SD, could it possibly record a separate 'take' file pre and post int fx? so if you are jamming all your hardware and you twerk your sends maybe a little too much you can use the clean one?

[@aljen9611]

Instead of whining in advance, take a closer look at the bluebox. You will realise that it actually can do things you thing to miss. First, the fx are actually recorded per track if you tell the bluebox to do so. There are the usual routing options at your disposition, too. Let alone the compressor, which is actually hardwired to the master - on the other hand, it's up to you to switch the compressor off by default/in template, record all clean and compress in the post.

[@SELEKTROw]

@@aljen9611 whining or just asking questions? I took many a close look and it wasn't obviously possible 11 months ago but I do know theres been firmware updates by now. Thanks

[@Voyagermusix]

Seems like a great product. I think going with a breakout-cable would‘ve been a considerable option though

[@gatorgoforth3097]

Still hoping for a Roland MX-2

[@brumd]

A "mixer that you always hoped someone would make.". What an accurate description. For the last months I have been looking at the smallest possible mixer, with 3.5mm jacks, operating at 5V, only to find that the thing I wanted wasn't being made, so I was already buying parts to build what I need. Et voila! There it is! It's exactly that and a bit more. The only drawback is that (Jan 4, 2021) the Bluebox isn't shipping yet. I guess I have to be a bit more patient. Hurry up, will you!?

[@1010music]

Sorry for the delay. We expect to receive units here in the US by January 8, 2021. We will ship to retailers after that.

[@brumd]

@@1010music Thanks for the update! It's okay. I'll get an automatic email as soon it becomes available at my retailer (JustMusic, Germany. Be sure to send them a few.. ;) ).

[@patricemartin5652]

Such a perfect compact jam or live hub for electronic musician. Well thought product. and good review ;)

[@kowalskymann]

would be superb , if it would multitrack into DAW in the future , anyway a small device on desk, not drawing dust inside faders etc ,

[@Volcaniced]

Maybe a stupid question but really important for me: is it possible to connect this to a smartphone and record Audio + Video synced like the Roland Go Mixer Pro does?

[@ArchieFunker]

My prayers have been answered. I was pining over a Zoom L12, but the size was really putting me off. This doesn't have the physical faders that I'd like to have, but not having all the extra mic inputs and whatnot taking up so much space will be a perfect solution for me. Now...to find out, the price, and if I can even get my hands on one. :P And of course, thank you for the great vid, as usual.

[@ArchieFunker]

On second thought, the price they are asking for this is too high. The Zoom L12 still ticks more boxes for me and it's a full blown USB interface to boot.

[@danpreston564]

Feels like they just wanted to utilise the Black Box cases they have for something different and that forced them down the line of those 3.5mm inputs.

[@Gainn]

Yeah, it's a nice start though. Maybe a bigger brother will come if this one sells well enough. I'd happily put up with a double-wide version if the I/O was improved and a bigger screen added.

[@blakecasimir]

And no USB power please. Use a filtered switching mode PSU with USB c or barrel connector!

[@doublebass]

Doubling the width with a slightly wider screen like the new mpcs would still be small and leaves space for implementing the improvements you mentioned.

[@williamolsen20]

I like it as a mixer, but I was hoping it would be an alternative to an expert sleepers ES-8.

[@GuidoAlonso]

A per-track tuner would be nice (I'd use it with eurorack). That and per-track LFOs, I would personally find super useful. Some additional effects could be handy as well. I'm saving for this as is anyways.

[@loopop]

Agreed regarding the tuner! Please email 1010music so they hear it from someone else too... (lfos too but I think that’s a stretch considering the goal of the device)

[@GuidoAlonso]

@@loopop it's definitely a stretch, but I can only hope. Will email them right now, thanks!

[@dpotta]

awesome, that's a lot of value in one box for a eurorack user.

[@drumnotdrum9262]

Love how the blooper is just tossed in the corner!

[@ShaighJosephson]

Passive aggressive treatment... Lol...

[@jjrusy7438]

Ya the mixer conundrum. they all have too much or not enough for my rack of synths. this is a good start. If i was designing a synth mixer, it would have 12 mono/stereo line channels and 2 standard mic/hi-z channels. it would also have 4 mono/stereo aux(effect) sends and returns for effects chains and not much else. Like if Mackie made a VLZ-1604, except they converted 12 of the 16 channels to stereo line ins and got rid of the mic pre's on those 12 channels and just left 4 of them as is, THEN make the 4 aux outs stereo or mono. right now those little xenix mixers are the best small mixer for me. it has 4 monos and 4 stereo ins..but no effects loops. but at least you can connect 8 synths to it.

[@beatsbylanstarr]

I knew this vid was coming when I saw 1010music announcement IG post yesterday

[@jshell]

Oh man, I just got a Tascam model 12 which is a great mixer and recorder, but my two big gripes are size (I have a very small space) and all that wasted xlr/mic mono channels. This might have been a better fit. Dammit!

[@saluddiaz]

Thanks for the video! Great as always! I was wondering, the modular case you have there (intellijel) do you have a list of all components in there? Is there a video of yours with this box? Thanks!

[@loopop]

My pleasure - see details in the description

[@fakshen1973]

Keith McMillen also has a compact mixer recorder that would be great for comparison. Though it doesn't have a. LCD screen.

[@loopop]

Do you mean K-MIX? It is nice, but don't think it records

[@davidholmes3776]

@@loopop If the KMix did have SD recording it’d be phenomenal! I wonder if KMI are considering a mkII...

[@JustinUrban1]

And once again, your videos convinced me to buy another piece of gear.

[@KordTaylor]

You’re videos are great! I just need to let you know. 😀

[@pietruh13pl]

If they add audio interface option I will buy this instead of some Focusrite. For the time being not for me, but really nice box.

[@oiartsun]

Same. I was considering a Keith McMillen K-Mix, but it requires an additional expansion dongle-ish piece of hardware for standalone MIDI functionality. This Bluebox has the MIDI but not yet the interfacing capability. So, like you, for the time being I will just wait and see.

[@elekktrikk_home_video]

Great review! :) I did not find the manual online. Is it possible to do regular bouncing like with the old HD multitrackers? Let's say bounce Tracks 1-6 to 7 and 8 stereo while setting EQ, Pan, FX live? That would be great.

[@MartinRuss]

The Zoom L-8 has (almost) everything this has, plus lots more 'knobs per function' (but not for the channel strip), and is cheaper... (Ok, it is bigger!)

[@Soundtrackloops]

Is there MIDI sync on the Zoom? MIDI sync for me personally is a huge must have. Zoom has more tactile control true but as you said much bigger therefore the Bluebox can get a lot of that done via touchscreen which the zoom doesn't have. This could come in handy when editing waveforms. Focus here is size though, for $200 more you get a much smaller more portable device with MIDI sync.

[@MartinRuss]

@@Soundtrackloops Nope , that's where the Bluebox has an advantage if you need MIDI sync.

[@CO5MA]

You’re right but the FX part on the Zoom is somewhat average (delay and chorus are awful, reverb is correct with the good settings)

[@MartinRuss]

@@CO5MA I wonder what the L-8 would look like if it was designed now... I'm also very aware that it was designed for a very different purpose (live recording of bands, podcasting, etc.) and just happens to be achingly close to what synthesists and keyboard players have wanted in a synth/kbd mixer for ever. I've tried approaching various companies (Output, Arturia, Modal Electronics...) with concepts for this potentially huge market, but have got no replies... The Bluebox might spur more discussion and more development in this space. I'm intrigued that the comments here don't mention any of the amazing things that you could do with the Bluebox if only it was designed from the viewpoint of a 'live mixer for synths' instead of 'hey, we can take the Blackbox hardware and rewrite the firmware to emulate boring conventional mixer'...

[@MartinRuss]

@@CO5MA Effects age very quickly!

[@ktreier]

The eBook is reason alone to become a Patreon supporter of this channel!

[@loopop]

Thanks so much for the comment and support!

[@ToyKeeper]

If this was an audio interface, it'd be a home run... like a cheaper K-Mix with more inputs.

[@LucIndustries]

That would have massively increased the unit's size, I think. Since you need most of the space in those boxes for transformers.

[@LucIndustries]

Im still amazed at what they have been able to fit into their two tiny boxes. I think a full audio interface would have been overkill.

[@ToyKeeper]

@@LucIndustries It's already doing everything it needs to be a USB audio interface... except sending the data over USB. They could probably add that feature in a firmware update.

[@LucIndustries]

@@ToyKeeper as far as i know a audio interface is mostly the pre-amps and a dac. While that thing would be mostly processing units and storage. Im not sure we are talking about the same thing when referring to "audio interface". Do you just mean any human interface device that lets you control software? Because im pretty sure you can. But you can control software with almost everything, that does not make it an audio interface. I recently bought a A&H zed14, does pretty much what an audio interface does and has more than enough space but still is only able to do 2 track usb.

[@ToyKeeper]

@@LucIndustries What I mean by "USB audio interface" is a device which interfaces with external audio over USB... a USB sound card, basically. It gets sound into and out of a computer. I mentioned the K-Mix above as an example of the type of device I was referring to. It would need to convert analog inputs to digital, which this device already does... and transmit that data over USB. Then for playback, it'd also need to go in the opposite direction, converting digital to analog... which it already does too. Even just 2 in / 2 out would be enough... though of course it'd be nicer if it had 12 in. That would likely depend on how much processing power and bandwidth it could spare. In any case, it's already doing most of the work of a USB audio interface... except it transmits data to/from disk instead of sending it over USB. Modifying a device to use USB instead of a disk generally only requires software changes. However, it's not clear whether it has a full USB client chipset inside or if it only has enough to receive power. So that could potentially require hardware changes.

[@GirlfightClub]

Some of these features should be in Blackbox. Too bad they don’t follow Poly’s lead to let you switch between Digit and Beebo OS’s

[@blackout2able]

best youtuber seriusly

[@Jason75913]

looks ideal for a Volca setup niche thing, but seems badass

[@elekktrikk_home_video]

Wow, finally a mass produced 3,5mm TRS mixer. I guess it will save at least 200 EUR in those expensive 3,5mm - 6,3mm cables. :) The audio I/O multitracking DAW feature would be really great. Do they consider that feature? Well, multitracking on SD and then export should be a valid workaround. :) Thanks a lot for a great review!

[@intrascendente]

I've been using a couple of ART SPLITMix4 in order to solve my lack of stereo channels. The ART SPLITMix4 (66 USD) is a passive 4 channel mini-mixer (each channel can be used as mono and/or stereo), and since it is a passive unit, no ground loop noise gets into the mixer and/or audio interface. I know it is not as fancy and pretty good looking as the BLUEBOX, but works flawlessly and saved me a few bucks. BTW, the ground loop noise can be reduced to zero using iFi iDefender+ (50 USD) or Nobsound ADUM4160 (17 USD). Thank you loopop! Since I do not watch TV, your reviews are like my weekly GoT!

[@loopop]

Thanks very much! Honestly that's the best I can aspire to - the weekly synth show ;)

[@duncan-rmi]

midi control over mixer parameters by CC or NRPN would be nice. also recording its midi input & playing this back (unedited) would be useful, either to automate itself or simply to repeat a live midi performance. at that point, it becomes reaper-in-a-box.

[@1010music]

You can control most parameters via MIDI CC. You will need to use an external sequencer for automation.

[@brekbeatattack7038]

If they added looping and maybe even sequencing functionality this thing would be a complete gamechanger. Then it might literally be the most useful peace of gear out there for DAWless music production.. I feel it would also make a lot of sense to implement these funtions for with as many people going analog as there are atm

[@seanhenriques808]

Looping and sequencing is via the black box. The blue box is their mixer. They look nice side-by-side lol

[@SwedishSynthLab]

Great review, thanks!

[@nightcitywanderer]

wonder if there any plans to add more effects types. when I first saw this I was hoping to be able to apply different fx per channel. a 12-input minijack mixer is exactly what I want, though, so this is super promising. especially if they can manage to add multitrack audio interface support

[@smartassrecords]

One thing i know for certain about Aaron and 1010 music is that there will be upgrades and updates , so i would bet serious money that more fx and other things are in the works .

[@girlinagale]

Just bought new one Feb 2024. Not sure which firmware but on FX page the B button doesn't change to reverb types. edit: firmware was not new, updated, all correct.

[@Frylund]

The blackbox made more sense to me as a handy small thing with a clear purpose *I love my blackbox*. I am not convinced that the small form factor makes much sense in a mixer with all the compromises. No AI, midi on the front = cable mess, need breakout cables on the back = more cable mess. Having said that, I think it is great that they made it. Compare it to something like the Keith McMillen K-Mix that is not much larger with full size TRS, balanced etc. at the same price point, but that does not have the screen so... but I hope you get my point.