The Best Groovebox For Your Music Production Workflow | Ultimate Groovebox Guide 2021 

Another fantastic "DAW in a BOX" is the AKAI Force. A Mix of the MPC Live series and Ableton Push.

My favorite groove generator is by far the Roland TR-909. I am a simple man. I turn it on, program a couple of patterns and time just flies... Love that machine 😍

This is exactly the video I was looking for! Big thanks that you made this tutorial, it really helped!

Great topic! I'm glad you brought up the mc 101! I absolutely love mine. It's such an underrated device with a lot of strengths. I will say the look and tiny screen throws many off but it has been one of my favorite devices to take anywhere with me, with a great battery life, and also can be used as a sequencer too!

You’re right, the Circuit Tracks is a great box, and for many reasons! So portable, and the two sequencer lanes with audio back in really enhances it!! Even having one, I’m probably going to treat myself to an MC-707 before the end of the year (was trying to hold off until January, but may not make it!). It just seems like it has a great workflow to get into music-making quickly and easily.

Great video! Its a hard topic to cover. I think you did a good job touching on the strong points of these devices.

I can confirm what you are saying about Akai mpc vs Maschine. I love the arrangement workflow of the maschine and it’s plugins, but Akai is king in sampling.

I’d like to see a video for people considering groove boxes that aren’t on the market at the moment! (I would have loved to see the mpc 500 make your list, I’m really enjoying what this little thing can do lately!) Good day to you!

Such a good video, I subbed!

MC-707 + Push 2 = Huge Power House. Just for the clip launcher. I only use Ableton for the FX in that set up, but just for the Valhalla plugins it's worth it. It's really the best of both world.

Fantastic talk, I subscribed and thank you.

Hello, i came across this video as I was looking for a groovebox (obviously). While checking the description box I stumble on a sequencer call the Toraiz Squid. Since, I've been checking videos on this amazing piece of hardware and it's actually ticking all the boxes of how I want to produce music. I wanted to thank thee honorable gentleman. Take care.

Wow. Rock solid video, man. Really, really good. First one I've seen from you, and possibly the one I liked best as far as a comprehensive overview of the current state of all things groovebox. I'm just trying to decide on one now. Trying to move away from the computer as my "brain", as so many people seem to be, and onto a more hands on sequencer to control my hardware. I'm going to go watch your Deluge video now, as this one just hit me radar today. Thanks again for the great vid. Cheers.

Both elektron model series should be mentioned, imo. Easy to connect with gear or daw, they have their own battery, they can be centre piece if no other option is available. But great recommendations overall

Enjoyed every minute of this video.

Great video !!

Ayy, thanks for the shoutout! Great roundup!

Great video! I would add the Roland MV-1 Verselab to the category "daw in a box".

I love that you have a kraftwerk poster in the background, I wonder how many people know their music and pioneering in synthesis

Great video with a lot of good experience shared. I'm in the process of rebuilding my studio after a few decades off and budget is #1 consideration. So far my primary devices are model:samples, model:cycles (elektron FTW!), 1010 bluebox, and a behringer neutron. I'm thinking there's a space to be filled and the circuit tracks is probably closest to fill it in the price range I'm looking at. Something capable of polyphony and controlling an iPad soft synth. Maybe I'll give in and move to another elektron box like a digitakt? We shall see.....Regardless, I'm subbing now and will definitely be viewing more videos to pick up on your wisdom. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the video! Would love to hear your take on the Polyend Play.

🤪collect them all 🤣that’s a lot of learning! Interested if you use them together? Interested in the performance aspect of each groove box, as well as it’s vibe. M+ is a powerhouse, MPC’s are flexible, Circuits are fun, and the deluge is magic. Never had any elektron gear. Thanks for the solid comparison vid.

The Akai Force seems to be doing it for me.

Sehr gut !

Roland MV1 is a DAW in a box. Support vocals pretty well too and integration with a DAW if you like, you can create a full song in the Mv1

Great elaboration! You didn't mention TE - OP-Z, which I think is more suitable to be among these others as a complete groovebox than the OP-1, has one of the most powerful sequencers, slightly better than the Elektron machines, in my opinion. Also, a great contender along the MPC's is Zynthian V5, based on RaspPi4, x2 cheaper and more portable than MPC's. Keep your great channel going. Greetings from Macedonia!

Daw in a Box! and you didn't include the Akai Force? I would go as far as to call it Ableton clone in a box.

How dome o mention of the korg electribe 2 ? i use this in my setup on my channel its also the brains of the system

Methinks the Akai Force is also a DAW in a BOX since it mimics Ableton Live.

great great great video!!!! thank you so much for working on this and making things so clear. i own a deluge and i am trying to expand my system. i was hoping for guidance! i like making progressive house, trance and techno... as of now I am using the deluge as a brain but i was wondering about changing that to an octatrack. i have several midi controllers and an ASM hydrasynth. I want to expand but get lost in all the wonderful options. maybe you could give some ideas on how to grow/expand a system once you have the brain. that would be so helpful!!!! love your videos!

Thanks 🙏🏽

The Akai Force has a Daw built in that makes its #1 in my book.Check the specs.

Wish I saw this a few months ago, I bought the MPC One since it seemed so powerful and really is a bargain if you get it secondhand, but I'm not huge into samples outside of drums, and prefer to sequence things. For sequencing alone, I preferred the Circuit Tracks that I sold to buy the MPC. Looks like the Deluge is the best thing to get as an upgrade from the circuit tracks.

nice vid surco, as always. I am looking for a groovebox where I can program melodies (lead/bass) controlling the size of the notes (wholes,1/2 1/4 etc), and visulaize it as a kind of piano roll or some sort of it, I have in my short list the deluge and the polyend tracker. Is there any other option that is not just a sequencer?, maybe the maschine +, but the size look biger than dely and polyend tracker

Nicely summarised. I’m also curious about the Akai Force and how it fits into the rest of the lineup. From what I’ve seen, even though it seems to use the same underlying OS as the MPCs, the workflow is very different. The MPC workflow broke my brain but the Force clip/arrangement flow looks much more intuitive for me.

Just got MPC live II and as a long time Deluge user song mode as of MPC 2.10.1 is not even a toy compared to Deluge arranger. I definitely need to spend more time and learn the MPC way, plus as long as Akai will keep up with the updates probably they will have more mature arranger.

Thanks for an outstanding video! I'm in the market for a groovebox and I'm trying to decide which one. Deluge has been no. 1 so far but the hassle with import makes me doubt. So I'm assessing possible alternatives. One question that I have is why Analog Rytm never or almost never is mentioned. Seems like a very capable possible centerpiece. Would you steer away from it? All in all the Elektron gear seems like it could well be the gear I'm looking for. My music is basically electronic & techno.

MPC-X is of course also a DAW in the box. Same software as the Live2

MC-101 is a great little device... I would venture to say that it is the best small and affordable groovebox you can buy. My next purchase will definitely be the great Deludge. OP-1 is a bad joke on this list... hype for that overpriced toy passed away a long time ago ;) Now the Dirtwave M8 is a king of a pocket grooveboxes/daws.

I am waiting for that tax money to get a Deluge. I find the idea of buying directly from the guys making the product pretty cool.i know it's not perfect but it's pretty unique based on the videos I've seen! . Digitakt will have to come after lol. Thanks for the video!

Hmm, I wrote a long comment about my experience with the MPC, Digitone and the Digitakt, but for some reason it's not showing up. I won't write it all again so here's the tl;dr: the MPC One is amazing and there really is a dramatic difference between a computer DAW and a DAW-in-a-box. They're very different beasts and I'm having so much more fun with the MPC than I ever had with Reason 10.

I can’t imagine going back to not owning an Octatrack.

Are there any good apps to use a tablet or phone as ultra portable groovebox like the orba? It doesnt seem like a very complicated system and a tablet should be very capable of doing so. There are some DAW apps avaliable but for a complete begginer even those seem like a monster. The orba and pocket operator is in a category that unfortunatly is not very explored, at least to my knolege. If anyone has good sugestions they are very much apreciated! And awesome video by the way!

Interesting video, thanks! I wonder, why you haven't included the Korg Electribe 2 and the Roland Verselab MV-1. Are they that bad, in fact both of them have nice sequencers. :)

Awesome Groovebox Guide. As a beginner, looking to purchase a unit soon, this was extremely useful. Thank you! I have a couple of synths and an Electribe 2 (synth version), and, now looking for an overall Groovebox with higher capabilities than the E2. As I mentioned, I consider myself a beginner and use these devices for my own personal (and friends) entertainment. Plus would like sone great drum sounds (as, for example, Roland TR-8S or MC-707) with the unit. I believe that the Deluge is more expensive than the MPC One, so, struggling with what to zoom into. Note: Not currently married to any particular workflow, will need to learn any device/new brand.

Good stuff but I would put the MPC One in the portable category, simply because it is smaller and can run off of an external battery. If you run it off a battery, it basically turns it into a smaller Live. Plus I would put the Roland MV1 on the DAW-in-a-Box since it is very much designed to record audio along with sequencing. Interesting that you didn’t mention the SP 404 or the OPz.

I have watched so many videos on grooveboxes that my conclusion can only be: There is no best groovebox for me out there 🙃 It feels like there are only two scenarios. Scenario 1: they don't do everything I need them to do: they are good at sampling, but complex sequencing is tedious, they are good at sequencing but not at sampling, or they don't do polyphony, or no midi etc. And the other option: Feature creep and convoluted workflows to the point that I might as well use a proper DAW? The closest I've come to what I'm looking for is an iPad and AUM with a Launchpad Pro, but of course it's dongle hell as soon as I want to record something external.

I don’t see many DAW less multitrack recorder that can replace final step of recording everything on separate tracks with options of multiple takes, simple edits, copy paste. The only thing I found being close to it is either 1010music bluebox (but it still need some firmware updates to do it well) or deluge and it’s audio clips that can be also used in arranger. Zoom live tracks are only good for recording your live performance only once then it’s really forcing you to go to DAW, no midi sync, and destructive overdub Tascam Model 12 got midi but not sure is it for recording sync. Am I missing any devices that can do that ? I Used Yamaha AW4416, was quite good but sold it… Not really sure is the persist of digital tape deck with editing capabilities is really worth it, it goes down to having DAW. Especially that I cannot find any still produced candidates for that

So, everybody Wins! Yeah!!! Mostly joking. Love your content, TY!

Good video. I feel the Akai Force should be added to the DAW in a box category. Also, the iPad Pro could be included somewhere in this area due to the vast amount of apps that can do grooves, DAW, synths, etc.

deluge vs octatrack. a lot of people would like to see that comparison

Emx1

You forgot about Akai Force ;) With the latest update its a powerhouse :D

Love the video. I started with the maschine not knowing that I was a synth guy. Now I'm op-1 but a deluge haunts my dreams. 1000 dollars after 1200 dollars. Ugh. Why

Used MPC One a lot. To me it’s not inspiring at all :( When I take MPC it’s like I’m taking a cutted computer to do a boring work like polishing finished song (in a not convenient way). Why? Cause not all functions are under my fingers like it is in Elektron devices. Some functions of MPC buried in bunches of menus 😕 I think Akai forgot what MPC created for originally - it’s drum machine & sampler, & it’s doing only these 2 things well.

Hi I found your Video very helpful but do have some questions if you have the time. I am a home studio composer and writer and have been playing, and working with DAWs for many years now but I am trying to Modify the way that I write music. (I won't bore you with a life story just get to the Point. I am trying to get more spontaneous workflow into my writing so I can Jam out Ideas in a more natural way. Everything you do in a DAW has to be planned in advance from guitar performances to keyboard to synth and drums. Even with midi control you still have to decide in advance what you want to do Spontaneously so you can map the right controls. I am trying to set up and outboard side to what I do so I can be more hands on with writing music so I am working in that direction. While researching this I have watched a lot of DAWless Jams and noticed the use of groove boxes to activate scenes and sent on the fly messages to pieces of gear that fascinates me and is definitely something I could use. I am running guitars and Vocals and miced instruments through loopers in a similar way. But the groovebox concept is a very deep well. Alot of what they do I can do better inside the DAW and don't need to be able to dive deep into sound editing. I want to be able to capture ideas (a scetchbook if you will) in a more Live setting. But figuring out how best to achieve this without spending alot of money on things I don't need and will never use is difficult to figure out. I need to get each individual track into Cubase. To work on once I have the tracks figured out. Any advice you could offer would be helpful. Thanks Douglas

Hard to find one that plays well with live vocals . Sp404 is cool (wish I could find a Mk 2 lol)

I would suggest holding off on the Deluge because the software has severely outgrown the hardware...

You mentioned some great devices here, it was interesting video. I am curious, is there a reason why you didn’t talk about korg electribe? I know it came out a few years ago and some people claim it is somewhat dated in 2021 but on the other hand there is a great amound of users making music on it, both on synth and sampler versions. Also it is battery-powered and kind of portable, although they would be in that bigger backpack category. ;)

Hello Currently Iam thinking about selling my Deluge... I use it for atmospheric sounds ,soundscapes and some vocals but it just doesnt fit for live performance... What would you suggest please? (Iam using Deluge, Digitakt for drums and Circuit Mono Station for bass)

Great video as usual. Thanks. What are your thoughts on the Akai Force?

Forgot 1010 music blackbox elecktron model cycles and samples more powerful then novation also poleyend tracker m8 tracker pocket operators Behringer line is also pretty good on price blackbox is super underrated also all the sp family mkII or sp 404sx/a

I feel octa has a place on its own and with no rivals. Its not a groovebox in my head is whatever you want it to be and has a powerful onboard clock sync and sequencer. Mpc on the other hand ive found it to be good for sampling vinyl and finger drumming apply some good fx and your typical sound hip hop oriented library. Weaker sync needs an erm or smth and a weird sequencer. All that on on a very hard learning curve and a 300euros more price... Mc707 is shame how r/and keeps going backwards... One ive found extremely interesting if paired with a rytm and an octa is that toraiz. So underated. Whatever works for you better tho always.

power to portability to price ratio: yamaha QY-70/QY-100....... hands down

The Deluge is ultra portable? Hmmmm

Ugh I am so far down the rabbit hole with all of these devices. I am going to be living in Tokyo again soon and rarely home. I just don't want to be reliant on my heavy personal laptop (and multiple MIDI controllers) for Ableton etc. as I will already be carrying a work laptop. I already own an OP-1, but I like the sounds it makes more than it being the "centerpiece". I'd like something full featured yet portable that I can use to turn out as complete of a track as possible. MPC Live 2 seems great, but I won't really be making hip hop or finger drumming. I'm more into the techno, synthwave, glitchy realms. Budget isn't too big of an issue. I'd love a great sequencer and clear workflow. I thought the Polyend Tracker was going to be great for me, but seems too limited and underpowered. Elektron gear always looks great, but not sure if they are too complicated for me. Same with the Deluge. I want to throw my OP-1 (mostly for sound generation), a Empress Effects Zoia (for effects processing), and the unnamed (center)piece of kit (for sequencing, recording, editing, sampling, performing), into one of my many sizes of bags and be able to sit wherever I'm at and go to town. Sorry this is so specific, but hopefully you could lend me some of your insight. Thanks so much for the great video.

Lol @ orba in the thumbnail

It feels to me that you forgot the op-z. Ultra portable, really powerful sequencer, synth, sampler and also great midi controller, 2ins, 2 outs usb audio.

A video this long would really benefit from time stamps.

music production gear reviews without a de esser on the recorded audio 🙃 Little effort ! Big difference for the listen/watch experience