lemon just purchased. thanks for review. i used to have a gr-1 granualar synth which cost £800. at half the price the lemondrop is well worth the cost and appears to be much easier and more fun to use. looking forward to it arriving on my doorstep :)
I definitely will get a Lemondrop. Looks so awesome, and I have been looking for something that can do granular for a while! I'm also a bit of a fan of 1010music, I do love the bluebox.
Personally, I'd probably go for the Lemon Drop, but just because I already have a couple of wavetable synths. They both sound great, though, and the size! I actually really like the tiny footprint.
Before stating my preference can I just commend you on your production of this video. As ever absolutely superb and wonderfully detailed. I think Lemon Drop for me, purely on the soundscapes it can produce. Yes, £300 may seem a lot for such a small synth, but the effects and sounds it can create in my mind are worth the price. An informative review. Thanks Bo.
My Poly Beebo can cover what the Lemondrop can do, and a little bit more. But, I love exploring granular synthesis so I'd probably get a Lemondrop some day as a dedicated granular synth.
I am in favor of using a power bank for portability over batteries. Batteries may leak, I can't leave them in the device anymore since I'm suspicious of the build quality of batteries nowadays.
If these synths have the same output and DACs as the BlackBox don't let the size fool you, these are VERY BIG sounding synths with the best sound possible. I own a BlackBox and I was completely shocked on the high sound quality of the samples I played in and manipulated then output via a keyboard.
I’d like to see a comparison of Lemon and black box for granular. I know there is overlap, but not sure how much overlap since granular is a smaller feature of the black box.
So could I sample from a vinyl record into lemon drop then use the output to feed into my pedal board? I actually really like my micro Korg but not sure if that could be a keyboard controller for lemondrop
@@zoiksandmorezoiks2719 The microKorg has a standard MIDI out, should work fine, the adaptor is included with the Lemondrop, you'd just need a standard 5 pin MIDI cable. As far as sampling vinyl, the Lemondrop can only process input audio in real time, you would have to pre-record your samples and drop them onto the micro SD card. Finally, running the output of the Lemondrop to your pedal board shouldn't pose any problems, I've been processing line level synths through pedals for almost three decades without any issues, only thing, you may need to turn the synth volume down a bit to avoid clipping, unless that's what you want, lol!
Actually ok with the price on the Lemondrop, sounds super interesting as an FX unit alone. Fireball isn’t bad, just surprisingly not that unique sounding? Curious to see where these go in the future
Since 1010 music has a history of offering multiple types of firmware to change the functionality of their devices (like the 1010 Bitbox Mk2) and since the fireball and lemon drop are identical in hardware except for their color, I wonder if you buy one, if they will (in the future) allow you to switch The device FW with the SD card so in effect, you get two different devices on one hardware platform..
There are so many synth reviews on youtube these days. Funny though, when I want to get the real deal, I think 'I wonder if Bo has done a review of this'. And Lemondrop? more like jawdrop... sounds amazing.
I would wish for future versions of those synths a USB Device connectivity, so that you can plug in a USB keyboard (I think of Qunexus or other tiny things). Since both are little computers (Raspberrys ?) that should be easily possible, even on the current hardware, if the USB port is internally not detached. We could then connect via an OTG connection or something like that.
Yeah the Lemon thing cool but $400? For just 200 more one could have a Polyend Tracker... Which is like the Lemon+Black Box, all in one box for $450 less... Sorry but what is it that I'm missing here there makes the 1010 worth that much more?
They are cute!since very short I have the bitbox micro module and it can do some granular stuff along regular sample playing. It is a good alternative to the yellow one if you’re into eurorack.
Granular on the Bitbox Micro is painfully unplayable without a lot of tedious work. This Lemondrop live input is a complete game changer. I can't wait to get mine.
Such a big sounds from that small boxes, incredible! Just one thing that I immediately thought of - no possibility of stereo expansion. I would love to use that synths in pair with some stereo enhancment and saturation pedals.
Wish they sold the hardware in optional colors, and the software separately at much lower cost.....seems wasteful, although it's true you couldn't then use the fireball as a sound source for post processing on the lemondrop...
Love your vids Bo and this is another great review! Unfortunately I personally don’t see these as a great product. Although I’m sure I would have fun with them the price doesn’t make any sense. There are many phone apps that do the same functions even better than this for a fraction of the cost. Now I would much more enjoy something like this but it has to offer something more unique and the price should be at the most 150. The Bastle boxes and the Pocket Operators and similar products may be on a different level when it comes to production quality but that’s the charm of them and at there price range it’s hard to resist. There is so many other things I’d like to get at that price range. Like the sp 404 mkii or the 2 new eurorack Buchla modules. Plus the colors and design are really not very appealing at all. I’m glad you reviewed this though because I think it’s worth getting a good look at first before making a decision!
Thank you! I am glad if I helped you see that its not for you. I think this product might have a small audience that really wants the small form factor and sound, but it definitely doesnt have the mass appeal of some other synths.
I was ambivalent about both of these - cute, but pretty basic looking. But I may be sold on the Lemondrop. I don’t have a granular synth outside my modular, and the price, size and feature set are right.
Ahhh I'm super torn, I really want one to pair with my Polyend Tracker as a chord/poly synth on the move, lemondrop is more unique but I do love a wavetable
Lemon would be my pick. Not sure if I heard correctly but it sounded like there was an additional oscillator besides the granular sampler. One of the very last sounds was very brass like and I wonder if the attack portion utilized that second oscillator or whether it had the initial transient preserved using the parameter you mentioned. I'm most interested in how this could be used with a wind controller and although it's not a typical module for that application, if I could get a breathy attack like from a flute or horn and have that trail into the granular voice... well I think that would be cool. But sure is pricey.. particularly without battery operation... and no master volume.. and there's no USB MIDI or audio... though I prefer DIN/equivalent if I have to choose. Excellent demonstration! Cheers!
Great video as ever, Bo, and these two devices look class. How would you compare the Lemon to the Digitakt? Worth considering the former if you already have the latter?
@@BoBeats Sorry, I'm quite new to all this. I was thinking it's sample-based, like the Digitakt, so I was thinking they were broadly similar, but I'm obviously mistaken.
So could I sample from a vinyl record into lemon drop then use the output to feed into my pedal board? I actually really like my micro Korg but not sure if that could be a keyboard controller for lemondrop
I keep meaning to buy a field recorder whenever I go back home to record cicadas but I never do they have solved it for me 😂💸 How does it compare to tasty chips? I am quite attracted to it's portability..
I have the Tasty Chips, it looks like you can do what the Lemondrop does with it, but not vice versa. The Tasty Chips has a left to right slider where you can manually move the grain scanning bar across the sample, which is endlessly satisfying. It also lets you use up to 4 samples at once. If you just want to play grains with keys like a synth, the Nanobox looks great, I'll probably buy one to try. You can get a similar sound with Native Instruments Pharlight by dropping in custom samples (the presets are great though).
@@Eli_B3000 Cool yeah the tasty chips seems much more on what I want to do and I know me I would want 4 samples for sure!! Better start saving then!! I also have my eye on the cheaper microgranny which I know it is slightly different but also granular.
are they a little expensive not to have sequencer and they also only have 4 voices? sound might be great but they seem a little limited for the price. if they were £100-£150 I would be really interested
399 for something you can do with an open source puredata synth seems a bit absurd.. especially since they are SEPARATE ?! At this price point you could buy an ipad and run these and everything else. Disappointing since the black box is so cool.
@@BoBeats it almost certainly does, the big let down is the software lock out. When you charge 399 and lock out the software (which almost certainly takes less computing power than an average VSTi) then it starts to feel like they're just charging because of the novelty.
I think in general products are not made for the small group who would want to say switch software. My guess is that this is such a small % of consumers. Instead most companies seem to focus on launching distinct products that are easy to explain what they are. Oftentimes this annoy us hardcore users (say cobalt vs argon firmware) but makes sense as far as products and branding goes.
im think Lemondrop is nice there. I only know GR-1 and Bastl Microgranny as hardware competitor (I think some more big synts has this as option, but it can be too expensive). Bad to 1010music whey don't deliver to my country, so I have to search other options to get it - it will be more expensive and time wasting deal. And I'm interested - why 1010music didn't make it in bluebox/blackbox formfactor - as yellowbox and redbox - it could be more useful, bigger screens, more controls...
I really don’t get the form factor. I like small synths, but this is taking things too far. The main advantage of hardware these days is the interface they come with for quick sound design, but this is really basic in terms of its interface.
Agreed but then I’m heading in the other direction where I want one knob per function. But those are uncomfortable to carry around and play with on a bus.
im thinking about doing something like that. its a little risky because apparently people have started to scam whenever a youtuber does giveaways, so thats a bit unsettling
Unfortunately none of them are for me. Maybe if it costs half of the actual price. For this money you can buy Korg Wavestate or BOTH MicroFREAK AND Behringer Neutron. Small size is not essential for me. I'll stay with my Bluebox and Blackbox .
interesting comment...im yet to pick up a synth outside my tiny eurorack rig and was looking for more pad sounds. The microfreak is one of my top options but I like the fx and 8 voices of the fireball. I also dig the lemondrop features but I guess its what is most needed feature wise. The plinky checks all boxes but is unavailable 😕
Internal batteries will reduce the lifespan of the products. No internal battery is fine for me. I wish they would have kept the Blackbox/Bluebox form factor. Would have made it a nice set of components and still very portable. I absolutely hate the design and the size of the nanoboxe although I have to confess that they sound impressive.
The granular actually gave me a little bit of GAS, missing some of those sounds in my setup today, and this is way more accessible than the GR-1. Nice review as always, tåpp nåtsch
Sorry, but an 8-Voice Wavetable Synth for 399 is hilarious. The only reason I would get this over a wavestate was if my studio has the size of a closet or if this was the only way to hide it from my wife...
@@wendigo2442 vst in a box has to do with offloading cpu usage along with several other factors like latency for recording. Vst is fine, but after layers start adding up it’s not as efficient.
yea, that's unfortunate. Compared to Fred's Lab buzzzy! or the Korg NTS-1 the price is a bit much. I really need to buy more lottery tickets it seems ;-)
These are absolutely adorable. But for that price you can buy an iPad (US$329 for 10” 64GB base model) and have money left over to buy several great music apps like Tardigrade (granular), NanoStudio (wavetable / VA / samples / sequencer / DAW), Mononoke (weird Lyra-8-like) … No hardware knobs or buttons, but the screen is much bigger and higher resolution, it’s got way more storage, and obviously you can install zillions more music apps most of which cost under $20. So I really don’t see the value in one of these, sadly.
I would have to agree with you. These things like they're geared towards someone that REALLY just wants something as specific as one of these and has deep pockets. $400 a piece... Geez...
You see.. an iPad is a DAW and if you are seen using one LIVE, it undermines your legitimity as an artist. People might think that maybe all the sounds come from it. 400 dollar colorful little boxes are the legit option.
@@TRUEiMPROrecords I think your comment is sarcastic? Many artists I know use their laptops with Ableton Live. Ableton live is made to be played Live. There are people who choose to go without a DAW, but gear would have to replace it anyways.
@@TRUEiMPROrecords So, you spray-paint the iPad yellow and glue some little knobs along the bezel... Or even better, use an iPod Touch so the size is closer to the real thing.
Great comparison video! They both sound very polished. I guess I am more the wavetable guy, so the Fireball? But seriously 1010? 450 EUR??? You can get a Polyend Tracker for that money which offers a Granular AND a wavetable synth. At 199 EUR this would be kind of a good deal.
Polyend tracker’s “granular” is shit bro, not even real granular. 1 grain granular is just a sampler. If you want a budget granular I’d waitlist for plinky tbh. IMO the only true hardware granular synths out atm are the tasty chips GR-1 and the microgranny (really Lo-Fi and budget).
@@Frozirra Thats right, it's only one grain but you have the sequencer with loads of possibilities with it. For granular I use the Clouds module atm. Works fine for most purposes.
Lemondrop is a no-brainer if you want hardware granular synthesis and aren’t willing to up your budget to GR-1 level, or if you’re size-constrained in the studio. My Tracker has made me curious about granular synthesis, so I may well get a lemondrop. Fireball is fine, but there’s a lot of wavetable options, so not so compelling.
What a time to be alive... Just yesterday I was impressed with that small pocket sized pad control, seems that it would be a great combo with these 2 units 😁
Lemondrop baby!!!🍋 Granular is my jam. Great review Bo, this format, the editing, truly so polished, fantastic video I really enjoyed it and tons of value packed in here. I like the form factor and everything of these. Do I need them, no, but putting granular into hardware at this price and easy to use UI, I really like this 🤗
Curious how would you compare the Fireball to the Microfreak as a first time synth. I like that this nanobox synth includes built-in fx and is also an 8 voice machine. They are about the same price as well. Appreciate your expert feedback. PS I am also loving the lemon drop lol
@@NoirEtBlancVie Hey, appreciate the expert feedback. Citrus lol. The more I listen to it the more excited I get. It sounds so massive and shimmery and well, just glorious. Wish I could afford both.
Great video. These two are enticing, I really like the small form factor. But the price in europe is outrageous. Also 7:37 Don Henley wants to know your location :-)
The lemondrop seems interesting, but the price tag for sucha small unit .. is a bit steep I think. I already have an Argon8, so there is no need for the Fireball to me.
24:50 yeah seriously I'm getting so sick of companies making extremely portable audio production devices and then providing no solutions for internal battery, and all the fan-boys of said company are always like "just use a huge heavy floppy mobile battery that turns using a tiny portable device into an absolute not-portable mess of slippery expensive things that dangle around each other and threaten to come undone and smack on the ground at the slightest mishandling" I wonder if people who think a third-party mobile battery is justification for product designers making something tiny, portable and handheld, yet then not providing a battery solution, also think that boats will move easily through the water while dragging an anchor around
are you a Lemons or Fireball kind of person?
They look like the same hardware, can you switch between the firmware?
@@SynthSoundscapes no I asked about this and you can’t.
@@BoBeats Great minds think alike! Thanks for asking =).
lemon just purchased. thanks for review. i used to have a gr-1 granualar synth which cost £800. at half the price the lemondrop is well worth the cost and appears to be much easier and more fun to use. looking forward to it arriving on my doorstep :)
@@markashley6859 can you tell me a bit about your GR-1 experience? Since I don’t have one I am super curious!
I definitely will get a Lemondrop. Looks so awesome, and I have been looking for something that can do granular for a while! I'm also a bit of a fan of 1010music, I do love the bluebox.
Personally, I'd probably go for the Lemon Drop, but just because I already have a couple of wavetable synths. They both sound great, though, and the size! I actually really like the tiny footprint.
Before stating my preference can I just commend you on your production of this video. As ever absolutely superb and wonderfully detailed. I think Lemon Drop for me, purely on the soundscapes it can produce. Yes, £300 may seem a lot for such a small synth, but the effects and sounds it can create in my mind are worth the price. An informative review. Thanks Bo.
I do not have a purely granular synth in my arsenal, so Lemondrop is on my radar.
Lemondrop get's my vote it's just different to whats out there at that price range...a lot of fun.
Thanks BO. As always, a profound and helpful review! Love your channel.
My Poly Beebo can cover what the Lemondrop can do, and a little bit more. But, I love exploring granular synthesis so I'd probably get a Lemondrop some day as a dedicated granular synth.
The quality of the video is nice and vibrant
I am in favor of using a power bank for portability over batteries. Batteries may leak, I can't leave them in the device anymore since I'm suspicious of the build quality of batteries nowadays.
Almost lost a Volca that way.
If these synths have the same output and DACs as the BlackBox don't let the size fool you, these are VERY BIG sounding synths with the best sound possible. I own a BlackBox and I was completely shocked on the high sound quality of the samples I played in and manipulated then output via a keyboard.
Yeah nothing wrong with the sound quality at all
Amazing sounding video, Bo! My cat was like "whoh"... I would go with Fireball first.
I’d like to see a comparison of Lemon and black box for granular. I know there is overlap, but not sure how much overlap since granular is a smaller feature of the black box.
same!
So could I sample from a vinyl record into lemon drop then use the output to feed into my pedal board? I actually really like my micro Korg but not sure if that could be a keyboard controller for lemondrop
@@zoiksandmorezoiks2719 The microKorg has a standard MIDI out, should work fine, the adaptor is included with the Lemondrop, you'd just need a standard 5 pin MIDI cable. As far as sampling vinyl, the Lemondrop can only process input audio in real time, you would have to pre-record your samples and drop them onto the micro SD card. Finally, running the output of the Lemondrop to your pedal board shouldn't pose any problems, I've been processing line level synths through pedals for almost three decades without any issues, only thing, you may need to turn the synth volume down a bit to avoid clipping, unless that's what you want, lol!
@@kvnvk8947 that’s really helpful thanks! will have a think..seems lovely bit of kit but serious price tag too.
Actually ok with the price on the Lemondrop, sounds super interesting as an FX unit alone. Fireball isn’t bad, just surprisingly not that unique sounding? Curious to see where these go in the future
Since 1010 music has a history of offering multiple types of firmware to change the functionality of their devices (like the 1010 Bitbox Mk2) and since the fireball and lemon drop are identical in hardware except for their color, I wonder if you buy one, if they will (in the future) allow you to switch The device FW with the SD card so in effect, you get two different devices on one hardware platform..
Definitely a lemondrop kinda guy here. I can see a great combination with a keystep pro and a microfreak .
Same, another Microfreak owner who loves to sample weird things with my Zoom H1N + contact mics and my Soma Ether, the Lemondrop looks *perfect*
I wish they would release a more affordable version of blue box. Small mixers with built in effects are almost unheard of.
Totally agree. Or make the blue box a class compliant audio device. Then the price would be justified in my opinion.
I’m really digging the little yellow beast!
There are so many synth reviews on youtube these days. Funny though, when I want to get the real deal, I think 'I wonder if Bo has done a review of this'. And Lemondrop? more like jawdrop... sounds amazing.
Glad that you checked out the vid! Still a big fan of the Lemon. Fireball not so much :-)
399.00$ for a generic digital wave table what a joke even the microfreak is a joke but at least you get more then a box
I wonder what the Fireball would be like running through the Lemondrop??
I would wish for future versions of those synths a USB Device connectivity, so that you can plug in a USB keyboard (I think of Qunexus or other tiny things). Since both are little computers (Raspberrys ?) that should be easily possible, even on the current hardware, if the USB port is internally not detached. We could then connect via an OTG connection or something like that.
Yeah the Lemon thing cool but $400? For just 200 more one could have a Polyend Tracker... Which is like the Lemon+Black Box, all in one box for $450 less... Sorry but what is it that I'm missing here there makes the 1010 worth that much more?
They are cute!since very short I have the bitbox micro module and it can do some granular stuff along regular sample playing. It is a good alternative to the yellow one if you’re into eurorack.
Granular on the Bitbox Micro is painfully unplayable without a lot of tedious work. This Lemondrop live input is a complete game changer. I can't wait to get mine.
Such a big sounds from that small boxes, incredible! Just one thing that I immediately thought of - no possibility of stereo expansion. I would love to use that synths in pair with some stereo enhancment and saturation pedals.
The output is stereo. All you need is a TRS minijack split to two TS big mono jacks
I love the lemondrop. Thanks for this review
What about a third orange one with both specs 😅 Sweet demo for sure, nice little devices.
Wouldn’t micro granny and micro freak both be less money?
Microfreak is a good alternative absolutely. But microgranny isnt close to the Lemondrop for granular synthesis
The form factor is super attractive. The fireball is for me.
The Monk patch for the Lemondrop sounded absolutely stunning. I might have to sell some gear and buy it...
The Lemondrop seems very rad. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for a used one.
Wish they sold the hardware in optional colors, and the software separately at much lower cost.....seems wasteful, although it's true you couldn't then use the fireball as a sound source for post processing on the lemondrop...
I liked both. I think it would be a great set up: both run by a keystep pro. If I had to pick it would be the lemon.
Nice synths! But the price… I would add some euros and buy a hydrasynth explorer for example
Not a bad choice
Great review, Bo! I love this form factor... (much less "vybe-I" this year, is that a deliberate choice?)
gotto get some more vybe-i in there!!
Love your vids Bo and this is another great review! Unfortunately I personally don’t see these as a great product. Although I’m sure I would have fun with them the price doesn’t make any sense. There are many phone apps that do the same functions even better than this for a fraction of the cost. Now I would much more enjoy something like this but it has to offer something more unique and the price should be at the most 150. The Bastle boxes and the Pocket Operators and similar products may be on a different level when it comes to production quality but that’s the charm of them and at there price range it’s hard to resist. There is so many other things I’d like to get at that price range. Like the sp 404 mkii or the 2 new eurorack Buchla modules. Plus the colors and design are really not very appealing at all. I’m glad you reviewed this though because I think it’s worth getting a good look at first before making a decision!
Thank you! I am glad if I helped you see that its not for you. I think this product might have a small audience that really wants the small form factor and sound, but it definitely doesnt have the mass appeal of some other synths.
while the fireball perfectly fits within my sound, that might be the reason I'll go for the lemondrop instead. IT'S GRANULAR BABYYYY
I was ambivalent about both of these - cute, but pretty basic looking. But I may be sold on the Lemondrop. I don’t have a granular synth outside my modular, and the price, size and feature set are right.
Both are cool, but, the Lemon is my Weapon of choice.❤️✌️
This is what happens when you teach computronium how to synth, and wrap it in a candy shell. It makes a tasty little sonic snack.
Why not as apps for your phone or iPad? Would make much more sense.
OMG!! Use a de-eser! I like your videos tho.
Ahhh I'm super torn, I really want one to pair with my Polyend Tracker as a chord/poly synth on the move, lemondrop is more unique but I do love a wavetable
Lemon drop is more for me😊
Lemon would be my pick. Not sure if I heard correctly but it sounded like there was an additional oscillator besides the granular sampler. One of the very last sounds was very brass like and I wonder if the attack portion utilized that second oscillator or whether it had the initial transient preserved using the parameter you mentioned. I'm most interested in how this could be used with a wind controller and although it's not a typical module for that application, if I could get a breathy attack like from a flute or horn and have that trail into the granular voice... well I think that would be cool. But sure is pricey.. particularly without battery operation... and no master volume.. and there's no USB MIDI or audio... though I prefer DIN/equivalent if I have to choose. Excellent demonstration! Cheers!
Yeah its 2x granular or wavetable + 1 standard ”VA” oscillator for each of the synths
Both?
Can't decide between Microfreak or the Nano Fireball... I'm looking for a compact poly synth for lush pads and sounds...
Great video as ever, Bo, and these two devices look class. How would you compare the Lemon to the Digitakt? Worth considering the former if you already have the latter?
Since the lemon is a synth it pairs well with the Digitakt!
@@BoBeats Sorry, I'm quite new to all this. I was thinking it's sample-based, like the Digitakt, so I was thinking they were broadly similar, but I'm obviously mistaken.
can the red one morph/sweep through different wavetables?
se the section where I make a sound with the Fireball. Short answer: Yes
Cute boxes!
Is it me or is the "nanobox" text sloping down?
I feel like I already have this synths in my Microfreak for a quarter of the price
But maybe I'm wrong
So could I sample from a vinyl record into lemon drop then use the output to feed into my pedal board? I actually really like my micro Korg but not sure if that could be a keyboard controller for lemondrop
I keep meaning to buy a field recorder whenever I go back home to record cicadas but I never do they have solved it for me 😂💸
How does it compare to tasty chips? I am quite attracted to it's portability..
I have the Tasty Chips, it looks like you can do what the Lemondrop does with it, but not vice versa. The Tasty Chips has a left to right slider where you can manually move the grain scanning bar across the sample, which is endlessly satisfying. It also lets you use up to 4 samples at once. If you just want to play grains with keys like a synth, the Nanobox looks great, I'll probably buy one to try. You can get a similar sound with Native Instruments Pharlight by dropping in custom samples (the presets are great though).
@@Eli_B3000 Cool yeah the tasty chips seems much more on what I want to do and I know me I would want 4 samples for sure!!
Better start saving then!!
I also have my eye on the cheaper microgranny which I know it is slightly different but also granular.
are they a little expensive not to have sequencer and they also only have 4 voices? sound might be great but they seem a little limited for the price. if they were £100-£150 I would be really interested
How did you load the sample? I’ve put mine into the sample library but it doesn’t appear in the list on the LD
I’m getting both. Not sure when, but they sound too good to pass either up.
How does the granular synth compare with the granular tools in Blackbox or Bitbox?
If you could choose one for the OPZ and Deluge, which one would you choose?
Fireball is cool. Next analog (digital) synth 8 voices with 3 osc and two filter??? 😂👍👍👍👍
u can also just get airwindow granular stuff
399 for something you can do with an open source puredata synth seems a bit absurd.. especially since they are SEPARATE ?! At this price point you could buy an ipad and run these and everything else. Disappointing since the black box is so cool.
iPads start at 329 🤣 come-on now these digital synth makers getting a bit out of hand with their prices
I can only speculate that recent price increases and small scale manufacturing factors into it, but you are totally right: its hard to beat an iPad
@@BoBeats it almost certainly does, the big let down is the software lock out. When you charge 399 and lock out the software (which almost certainly takes less computing power than an average VSTi) then it starts to feel like they're just charging because of the novelty.
I think in general products are not made for the small group who would want to say switch software. My guess is that this is such a small % of consumers. Instead most companies seem to focus on launching distinct products that are easy to explain what they are. Oftentimes this annoy us hardcore users (say cobalt vs argon firmware) but makes sense as far as products and branding goes.
for a poly thing 1010music forgot to put aux output thats the nice thing on their blackbox blue box products
Lemon drop 🤤
so dope
I see they’ve done it with much better enclosure
I may have missed it but can you save patches?
Yes
im think Lemondrop is nice there. I only know GR-1 and Bastl Microgranny as hardware competitor (I think some more big synts has this as option, but it can be too expensive).
Bad to 1010music whey don't deliver to my country, so I have to search other options to get it - it will be more expensive and time wasting deal.
And I'm interested - why 1010music didn't make it in bluebox/blackbox formfactor - as yellowbox and redbox - it could be more useful, bigger screens, more controls...
thanks for this review lemondrop is for me.. do you know if it be can used with a power bank ? that's the only thing missing for me ..
Yes they work with powerbanks
Discount Link for disrokid
Could the lemon drop be used with the Mpc one
I really don’t get the form factor. I like small synths, but this is taking things too far. The main advantage of hardware these days is the interface they come with for quick sound design, but this is really basic in terms of its interface.
Agreed but then I’m heading in the other direction where I want one knob per function. But those are uncomfortable to carry around and play with on a bus.
midi CC for the main controllers?
Yes. I show the learn function
@@BoBeats midi program change?
Lemon 🍋
Not a great value at $400!!! 😵
Look cool sound great but my hands are too big. I would get frustrated easily
That is it...am buying a circuit tracks....
Also, well done vid.
I'd pick the lemon but no way at that price.
Any chance of a giveaway when you reach 100k subscribers?
im thinking about doing something like that. its a little risky because apparently people have started to scam whenever a youtuber does giveaways, so thats a bit unsettling
@@BoBeats, i hadn't heard people are scamming in this manner. Sign of the times!
Stay safe.
But...how the hell are these 500€....makes very little sense.....300-350....tops.
Agreed. Pricey
Unfortunately none of them are for me. Maybe if it costs half of the actual price. For this money you can buy Korg Wavestate or BOTH MicroFREAK AND Behringer Neutron. Small size is not essential for me. I'll stay with my Bluebox and Blackbox .
interesting comment...im yet to pick up a synth outside my tiny eurorack rig and was looking for more pad sounds. The microfreak is one of my top options but I like the fx and 8 voices of the fireball. I also dig the lemondrop features but I guess its what is most needed feature wise. The plinky checks all boxes but is unavailable 😕
Internal batteries will reduce the lifespan of the products. No internal battery is fine for me. I wish they would have kept the Blackbox/Bluebox form factor. Would have made it a nice set of components and still very portable. I absolutely hate the design and the size of the nanoboxe although I have to confess that they sound impressive.
Agreed on the blackbox/bluebox size! Would have been cool
The granular actually gave me a little bit of GAS, missing some of those sounds in my setup today, and this is way more accessible than the GR-1. Nice review as always, tåpp nåtsch
Interesting... I was looking at the GR-1..... and not sure really now lol
400 dollars?!! I think I’ll pass…
Sorry, but an 8-Voice Wavetable Synth for 399 is hilarious. The only reason I would get this over a wavestate was if my studio has the size of a closet or if this was the only way to hide it from my wife...
Love the hide it from my wife... Fantastic 😂
No u don’t get it bro when u put the vst in the box it sounds warm and lush and pad and
@@wendigo2442 vst in a box has to do with offloading cpu usage along with several other factors like latency for recording. Vst is fine, but after layers start adding up it’s not as efficient.
I actually want a lemondrop for that reason (wife won’t notice)
the wavestate isn't a wavetable synth
Great demonstration!
First I thought 'why not both?', but then you mentioned the price and I was like 'oh, in that case I'll take the green one...'
🤣. Yep.
yea, that's unfortunate. Compared to Fred's Lab buzzzy! or the Korg NTS-1 the price is a bit much. I really need to buy more lottery tickets it seems ;-)
lol
😂😂😂
Love it, but I think I'm going to wait for the $150 Behringer copy.
thats a 2020 meme right there, gotto move on buddy
@@BoBeats Maybe I'm serous.
Hahaaha
Or Korg to expand the NTS-x range. I think you're spot on about the pricepoint. Slightly more than an NTS-1 seems about right.
Lol😂
Before Bo says the price I am going to say I'd pay 220 bucks for one of these.
Nicely specific price idea. Agree that around 200$ would’ve been ok... but 400? What do think now that you know?
@@leifahnland43 A big NOPE for 400 bucks.
Both look great. A drum machine/sampler with a few extra sequencing channels in this format would also be killer.
Arrived
These are absolutely adorable. But for that price you can buy an iPad (US$329 for 10” 64GB base model) and have money left over to buy several great music apps like Tardigrade (granular), NanoStudio (wavetable / VA / samples / sequencer / DAW), Mononoke (weird Lyra-8-like) … No hardware knobs or buttons, but the screen is much bigger and higher resolution, it’s got way more storage, and obviously you can install zillions more music apps most of which cost under $20. So I really don’t see the value in one of these, sadly.
I would have to agree with you. These things like they're geared towards someone that REALLY just wants something as specific as one of these and has deep pockets.
$400 a piece... Geez...
You see.. an iPad is a DAW and if you are seen using one LIVE, it undermines your legitimity as an artist. People might think that maybe all the sounds come from it. 400 dollar colorful little boxes are the legit option.
@@TRUEiMPROrecords I think your comment is sarcastic? Many artists I know use their laptops with Ableton Live. Ableton live is made to be played Live. There are people who choose to go without a DAW, but gear would have to replace it anyways.
@@TRUEiMPROrecords So, you spray-paint the iPad yellow and glue some little knobs along the bezel... Or even better, use an iPod Touch so the size is closer to the real thing.
iPad apps faze out and don’t work with new iOS. A piece of hardware lasts indefinitely if you treat it well.
Great comparison video! They both sound very polished. I guess I am more the wavetable guy, so the Fireball? But seriously 1010? 450 EUR??? You can get a Polyend Tracker for that money which offers a Granular AND a wavetable synth. At 199 EUR this would be kind of a good deal.
Polyend tracker’s “granular” is shit bro, not even real granular. 1 grain granular is just a sampler.
If you want a budget granular I’d waitlist for plinky tbh.
IMO the only true hardware granular synths out atm are the tasty chips GR-1 and the microgranny (really Lo-Fi and budget).
@@Frozirra Thats right, it's only one grain but you have the sequencer with loads of possibilities with it. For granular I use the Clouds module atm. Works fine for most purposes.
@@suga4all idk to each his own I suppose, but the tracker can’t flume nearly as good
A pair or rather almost 3x CraftSynths 2.0 instead for this price? ;)
And both granular AND wavetable on the Poly are garbage. What a deal!
Lemondrop is a no-brainer if you want hardware granular synthesis and aren’t willing to up your budget to GR-1 level, or if you’re size-constrained in the studio. My Tracker has made me curious about granular synthesis, so I may well get a lemondrop. Fireball is fine, but there’s a lot of wavetable options, so not so compelling.
Lemon drop is deffinitly on my wishlist, especially to pair with my microfreak and habit of "sample hunting" with my H1N and Soma Ether
What a time to be alive... Just yesterday I was impressed with that small pocket sized pad control, seems that it would be a great combo with these 2 units 😁
Offgrid midi controller... Remember now 😅
I'm getting sucked in these tiny setups universe more then I like to admit 🌌😁
Lemondrop baby!!!🍋 Granular is my jam. Great review Bo, this format, the editing, truly so polished, fantastic video I really enjoyed it and tons of value packed in here.
I like the form factor and everything of these. Do I need them, no, but putting granular into hardware at this price and easy to use UI, I really like this 🤗
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Curious how would you compare the Fireball to the Microfreak as a first time synth. I like that this nanobox synth includes built-in fx and is also an 8 voice machine. They are about the same price as well. Appreciate your expert feedback.
PS I am also loving the lemon drop lol
Actually now that I've listened further, I'm tending more towards the Lemondrop...hmmn
@@verdielg Some of the sounds I heard from Lemondrop really impress. Plus, I like citrus…so, heavy bias towards granular and lemons 😅
@@NoirEtBlancVie Hey, appreciate the expert feedback. Citrus lol. The more I listen to it the more excited I get. It sounds so massive and shimmery and well, just glorious. Wish I could afford both.
Lemonbox looks a lot more interesting, too many other wavetable synths out there with more functionality
Agreed
Its actually called Lemondrop...
Just bought a Blackbox, looks like 1010 will be getting some more of my love and money!
Although the Blackbox already contains a granular engine, so some overlap here.
Great video. These two are enticing, I really like the small form factor. But the price in europe is outrageous. Also 7:37 Don Henley wants to know your location
:-)
Price is ridiculous
Love them both! Ironically just purchased a Blackbox the other day. Thanks for the video!
The lemondrop seems interesting, but the price tag for sucha small unit .. is a bit steep I think. I already have an Argon8, so there is no need for the Fireball to me.
24:50 yeah seriously I'm getting so sick of companies making extremely portable audio production devices and then providing no solutions for internal battery, and all the fan-boys of said company are always like "just use a huge heavy floppy mobile battery that turns using a tiny portable device into an absolute not-portable mess of slippery expensive things that dangle around each other and threaten to come undone and smack on the ground at the slightest mishandling"
I wonder if people who think a third-party mobile battery is justification for product designers making something tiny, portable and handheld, yet then not providing a battery solution, also think that boats will move easily through the water while dragging an anchor around