Aturia Spark Hardware/Software Drum Machine

[Stab Frenzy]

Looks pretty cool to me, kind of like a more Electribe-y Maschine with more knobs. Sounds good too.

[pricklyrobot]

I wish someone would apply the Nord Modular concept (in-depth editing on computer; actual sound generation—and more basic editing—on standalone hardware) to a drum machine and/or sampler.

[Zarith]

Looks pretty cool to me, kind of like a more Electribe-y Maschine with more knobs. Sounds good too.

Looks cool indeed, but it's just a USB controller. And a rather expensive one...

[silikon]

Looks cool indeed, but it's just a USB controller. And a rather expensive one...

I think it's quite more than a USB controller. The controller is designed to operate the instrument as Maschine, Origin, etc, in that it's a plugin with a custom controller that maps directly to the interface.

I've been part of the beta testing of this thing, and it's not too shabby; it's at beta7, and Arturia to their credit have been super responsive with remediation of bugs and taking input from the users doing the beta to tweak the interface.

I don't know if their end result was to compete with Native Instruments, or simply to complement their Origin synth (which is a plugin with custom controller like Spark), but it sounds pretty nice, and the interface seems fairly straight forward. I guess we'll see how it all ends out when they finally release it in June...

[Stab Frenzy]

Looks pretty cool to me, kind of like a more Electribe-y Maschine with more knobs. Sounds good too.

Looks cool indeed, but it's just a USB controller. And a rather expensive one...

It's a USB controller and software. For the integration it's priced fairly in my opinion.

[Mush]

The price is fair. I would give it a go, if I wasn't in love with the Maschine.

[Ashe37]

I don't know if their end result was to compete with Native Instruments, or simply to complement their Origin synth (which is a plugin with custom controller like Spark), but it sounds pretty nice, and the interface seems fairly straight forward. I guess we'll see how it all ends out when they finally release it in June...

The Origin is a standalone synth and will function and can be used as such without a computer. The Spark is a paperweight without a computer. They aren't the same thing.

(if you're saying the computer is built in to the Origin, well, technically every non-analog synth made these days can be classified as such...)

[silikon]

The Origin is a standalone synth and will function and can be used as such without a computer. The Spark is a paperweight without a computer. They aren't the same thing.

Right, I get that. Sorry, I misstated and generalized. My point of the original comment was that the spark was more than just a USB controller, because it's defined as a controller for the software. Yes, it's not much without the software, but I suppose that's not the intended purpose in the first place. If you buy spark, you're buying the software AND the controller.

And Yes, in essence the Origin would house DSP hardware and other things of a computational nature, so you could say the Origin (and the Virus TI, etc) are built with the 'computer' on the inside. Arturia essentially took the guts of their current synth software offerings and stuffed those bits into the origin. Isn' t that essentially what most VA's do? Essentially computing hardware that has software built in to emulate (through various methods) what analog hardware does?

[tryan225]

taht's one sexy lookin dude

[Ashe37]

I will say however I'm interested at least somewhat in Spark, but want to hear its drum machine emulations.

(and my bandmate wants an Origin.... )

[balma]

I love it's concept. They are softsynths based, but still being a hardware synth.

Now, it's plenty of controllers and the interface seems very intuitive, I love the circular set of controllers at the top right.

And the price is f**k fantastic. Novamusik on 549

[griffin avid]

kind of like a more Electribe-y Maschine with more knobs.

This is a perfect summary.


The Arturia Analog Factory is a wonderful piece, barring the fact that you can't tweak the full engine and/or add more sounds. The price for that is incredible seeing that controller is so wicked. $250 gets you a ton of presets and sexy controller. If they had released that earlier , like when all the Arturia emulations were all the rage, and there weren't so many 'moogy softs' to choose from, I would have grabbed one without hesitation. Aw truth is, I still stare at them on the wall and think about grabbing one.

And so looking at this, I think it's a very cool idea. Not sure about how far I can go on the sounds or if they'll be a way to get "my Sounds" into the unit and if I can trigger Other Stuff with that controller. Like everything on VSE...if only it had MIDI.....ha.

Price is an issue too- like it really needs to be a main piece and not a fun option.

[krzeppa]

I got this thing at Sweewater GearFest, and I couldn't be happier with it. I thought it looked cool when this thread was initially started, but I never thought I would actually get one. Then I saw it demoed, and thought I had to have it. Plus they were selling it for $450, which I thought was great price for something brand new.
The emulations sound amazing to me, but it is the ease of use that I really like as well. It is pretty much just a plug and play machine. I really haven't had to look at the manual to figure too many things out. It is very easy to use, which I like. Also, it has midi so it can be used to control other devices as well. Something I have yet to try, but may consider doing. You can also load your own samples, which is something that makes it enticing to me as well.
Overall, I say it is pretty much a no brainer to get one of these if you are you looking for a drum machine that it easy to use and sounds great.

[griffin avid]

"...it has midi so it can be used to control other devices as well...
You can also load your own samples"

Sounds perfect. How is the physical build?
Plastic, brushed aluminum? Metal chassis...a combination?
How do the pads feel? (comparatively speaking)

[krzeppa]

"...it has midi so it can be used to control other devices as well...
You can also load your own samples"

Sounds perfect. How is the physical build?
Plastic, brushed aluminum? Metal chassis...a combination?
How do the pads feel? (comparatively speaking)

The build quality is pretty good. I wouldn't go throwing it across your studio or anything, but it doesn't feel like it is going to fall apart. I like the pads on it. They have a nice feel to me, and I also like the feel of the knobs. Overall, it just has a good feeling that makes me want to use it.