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Drambo or GR-16?
I'm considering GR-16 as a kind of musical sketchbook, alongside or alternate to my OP-Z.
What would be the key benefits of GR-16 to someone who owns Drambo, but hasn't learnt sufficient to be in the flow with it yet?
Is there an immediacy with GR-16 that would be beneficial over Drambo? I always had a fancy for a Digitakt or other groove box, and figure that GR-16 could be the Digitakt in my pocket, both on my phone and iPad.
Or are there any Drambo templates that might make a good starting point learning point for me? Is there an argument to use both, for different purposes or reason? If so, what are the arguments?
Comments
I haven’t looked in a while, but I imagine there are multiple groove box templates for Drambo on Patch Storage. I would look there before you invest in a new app, if you already have Drambo. Drambo would make an excellent musical sketch book once you have a template saved that fits your workflow.
Buy Grooverider and host it in Drambo 😉
There’s a Digitakt style patch for Drambo that may be of interest
https://patchstorage.com/digitakful/
Exactly. Templates are everything when using Drambo as a quick sketchbook.
I've used GR16 a lot before but Drambo's sequencer and clip launcher are more efficient for me now, plus the ability to sample and record audio inside the app.
GR16 is a very particular workflow, in that it replicates a Korg Electribe.
My experience is that Drambo is much easier to use, and that clips and scenes can be created and edited far more quickly. Since Drambo came out, I haven't used GR16 at all.
Is Patchstorage the main, or the only place for Drambo templates and patches etc? I pulled up Drambo on my phone a little while earlier, and suddenly found it quite intuitive.
This sounds like just the ticket!
One question, where, besides YouTube videos, will I find the best resources for learning Drambo, especially in an ambient context?
I've already watched some of @echoopera's videos, and they're so helpful, and I know there's a guy called Ben something or other, but I'm not sure who would be best to focus on for learning. Also, as I actually learn well from written word as well as video, is there a particular book, ebook, manual, or online resource that I would find helpful, especially, once again, in a new beginners context, and also from an ambient point of view?
I wish SynthDawg would create a Drambo handbook. I have his OP-Z notebook, it's great.
I have to admit that I find myself wanting the answer to be Drambo, and to finally find a strong enough motivation to learn it. I guess I've always been afraid I would try and fail to learn, and that the tech would get in the way of the music.
The funny thing is that why I was wondering about GR-16, was because I wanted the simplicity (I know it's not simple) of working in a single app for simplicity of the creation process. Whilst the fact that Drambo has more power and potential, in exchange for the learning effort.
It seems like Drambo could answer so many of my questions. I see why it crops up on the forum so often.
Regarding Drambo. I found the old PDF manual for V 1.1 online, but I can't find the manual for the latest version. Can someone drop a link here for me? Thanks.
SoundForMore has some of the best getting started videos on Drambo. He’ll get you up to speed in no time.
The Drambo Playlist:
Scroll to the bottom:
Thanks @echoopera! I knew you'd have some links to help. Thanks for showing up.
I actually really love both apps. GR-16 feels the most like a classic/real groovebox on iOS to me because it’s all on one page. Drambo is the more powerful one for sure but there’s something to be said about both.
Koala and GR-16 are more similar than Drambo. I make music faster in those two rather than Drambo.
I think Navigating tracks and sequencing on GR-16 is a bit faster than Drambo but… maybe after 12 hours regular use with Drambo it will not matter.
I find If I haven’t used Drambo for a while, remembering how to switch between clips, Sequencing, Track selection a small issue.
Making beats.. picking some samples and shaping a kit.. its nice and fast on GR-16.
As said by others, If you used templates so you are not starting from a blank page, Drambo is quite fast.
But you will maybe have the problem of too many options in Drambo.
GR 16 is closer the philosophy that many users have with an old Electribe, MPC or SP404..
Work with what you got, and if it don’t do it, so what, do something it does do.
You could apply that philosophy to a Drambo template though.
As Drambo does clips and hosts AUV3s, I find It very hard not to recommend it.
It does the job well, It’s not lacking in features for making electronic dance music.
But I’m also a fan of Jim Audios stuff and would recommend GR-16, Pure Acid and Poison to anyone making music with roots in Detroit Techno and Acid.
If i was going to make some raw hip hop or jungle beats and some bass whiles not worrying about perfect high end production, I’d reach for GR-16 to do the job.
Hi I think that if want to have the feel of a physical groovebox it is GR-16 that you need as for groovebox users the learning curve quick. Drambo is not a groovebox , even if it can be used groovebox, it is far more powerful, versatile and based on modular. Drambo learning curve is more difficult than GR-16 but as said compare GR-16 to Drambo is not a good approach to my opinion.
+1 . I will also add that you can get some very nice songs or song-like things out of GR-16. It glues sounds together really well.
I will plax here devil’s advocate 👹
Honestly - i really tried love Drambo and incorpoeate it into my workflow (especially becsuse i have few Elektron boxes and i LOVE them - and Drambo is obviously very insoired by elektron workflow, especially by Octatrack).
But i realised there is need too much think and way too much “prepare” (in terms of wiring stuff) before i can start really do music - which especially in groovebox type of app (or quick sketchpad) is in exact opposite of what i would expect from such app. And i think i am pretty advanced user / sound designer - but as groovebox / quick sketchpad, GR16 or Electribe Wave works for me waaaay much better - simoly because their closed given architecture, clean straightforward controls. I just run them and i can start imeddiately make music and utilise muscle memory for controls.
Drambo for me is lot more about experimenting, connecting components, searching for sounds - but as soon as i started to have more complicated stuff connected there, i realised miRack works much better for this for me anyway.
So as quick sketchpad - my suggestion goes to GR16, Electribe Wave or even Novation Groovebox
@dendy +1 to what @A_Fox said.
You're not writing new firmware for your elektrons before you start jamming, are you?
Its probably a good thing I can’t 😉
How about both? Afterall, if my dusty memory serves proper, GR-16 can be hosted in Drambo as an AUv3. 🤫 Shhh, don't give away the secret.
I’d go one step further, and say it’s a brilliant evolution of a Korg Electribe, but your point still stands. I love it for what it is, but I wouldn’t use it for your application.
Plus, I don’t think it hosts au’s.
Indeed, and there's a good reason to do that: To add sampling from live or streamed audio to GR-16! 😊
Add Flexi on a track above GR-16 and sample something in Flexi.
In GR-16, hit WAVE => Samples => Import Samples and drag and drop the sample from Flexi to the GR-16 folder, then select it.
The Flexi sample will now be the new oscillator waveform in Groove Rider.
Nope, but it can be hosted as an AU. Then again, this thread makes me want to play around in GR-16 now. 👍
That's sick! I gotta try that!
It's fun, also for getting (processed if you like) web radio snippets into GR-16.
And the samples will be available in the GR-16 standalone too.
😳🤯 Amazing! Once I finish up some more "serious" works and this art commission I'm working on, I'll be sure to give this a go in my free time!
A little late to the game here but I use GR-16 in live performance all the time. It is very stable and I think the audio quality is better than Drambo. I've had Drambo crackle many many times during performance (on an M1 ipad pro).
One nice thing about GR-16 is the fact that it is all in one and does not support AUs. When you bring in AU instruments/processors/etc. into a live performance you are at the mercy of the quality of the AUs you are using. Yes it's limiting but that's a strength to me. If you really need to bring in an AU, use GR-16 AU in AUM and bring in the other AU instruments and midi effects in other channels in AUM. That does it for me.
Like Drambo, GR-16 is also great for sound design with plenty of options for processing, modulations, and effects. In a live set up, I use GR-16 along with a few hardware synths as well.
I love Drambo too and use it a lot but I wouldn't trust it in a live session.
@reezygle Please report these issues to info at beepstreet. com. The details about your exact iPad model, iOS version and Drambo project are important too.
Audio crackles should not happen, we're quite a substantial team of beta testers and audio crackles were very rare in the past but I remember that iPad Pros have had the most audio issues, not only with Drambo.
@rs2000 will do. Again, I LOVE Drambo and will do what I can to help. Just FYI, I am using an M1 iPad Pro (12.9”, 5th generation) with 8GB RAM. The crackling is random. And it happens with AUs that don’t have the same problem in AUM. I will send a full report if/when it happens again.
So full disclaimer I don’t have Drambo. I do love beepstreet apps though. The reason I don’t have it is at least in all the videos I have seen I find the interface so drab and uninspiring. I’m not sure exactly what it is about it, but I haven’t been able to click the buy button because of it.
On the other hand, I love Jim Audio’s stuff. That began with Pure Acid, but continued into GR. It just looks like it’s calling me to come use it. And like pure acid, it sounds phenomenal as well.
I’m sure Drambo is excellent, as all of their apps are, but for a groovebox, GR is the absolute best. Even the IAP packs are awesome. Like if I’m bringing an app to a small party, I’m bringing groove rider.