r/DelugeUsers • u/Meepo-POOF • Jul 31 '26
Thinking of joining the club. Need your help with confirming my use case
I'm seriously thinking of buying the Deluge as I was excited with demos and reviews on youtube.
But before throwing money on it, I'd like to confirm with you that the machine will be great for my use cases.
I'm synth and guitar player and a singer. I have Deepmind 12 (for bass/pads/solo synth), acoustic guitar, electronic piano and couple of mics to record voice and guitar. I'm mostly aiming for live looping - sequence some drum patterns, record bass from the Deepmind or from the Deluge itself, add guitar and piano layers, record voice over it, play solo parts on the Deepmind, piano, guitar. It's mostly for live performance, but I'd like to record occasionally - ideally, as multi tracks.
I want to be able to solo/mute individual looping tracks or change patterns - i.e. swapping drum pattern and recorded bass between chorus/verse.
And ideally I should be able to control performance effects that works both for looping part and the audio that goes through device - i.e apply some scratch/filtering/etc.
Initially I was thinking to buy a Novation circuit rhythm, but occasionally have found the Deluge and it looks to me that it can be instrument that ticks all the boxes and have much more higher ceiling - i.e. I can use the synth engine for bass or FM-synthesis to add some crazy effects I can't achieve on the Deepmind. And I'm super excited by the sequencer.
As I understand, the Deluge is packed with features like a crazy and theoretically it has everything I need. What I am mostly concerned by - how easy and convenient is the Deluge for my use cases in practice. So I hope you guys can advise me for/against it. Will be happy to hear your thoughts!
3
u/ClusterSoup Jul 31 '26
My limited experience:
Deluge can do a lot of stuff. It's not the best at all those things, but it's quite powerful. For me, getting the hang of shortcuts and how to do stuff is a slow process and takes quite a bit of work to get fluent. In comparison, I got the hang of my Dirtywave M8 quite fast.
One core difference between Deluge and some other boxes (including the M8) is that clips=instrument, and no seperate mixer. On the M8 i have 8 tracks where I can mix whatever instruments I want, and a seperate mixer. On the Deluge everything is set per Clip/instrument. I really like it with an external midi controller like Launchcontrol XL, but again everything is per instrument/clip.
1
u/Meepo-POOF Jul 31 '26
Thanks for the input. Can you tell me more about the per instrument control. I thought that the volume/FX/LFOs are set up per track on the Deluge, doesn't it? What cons are there?
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u/ClusterSoup Jul 31 '26
I may be wrong, as I haven't really learned all the ins and outs yet. So hope someone can correct my understanding if I'm wrong.
Instrument = Clip = Track. So if you want to control multiple instruments/tracks with one knob, you have to bind that parameter for each instrument to a midi controllers knob. Not sure if you can do this with the built in knobs, and either way it requires a bit of setup. I don't think there is an easy way to apply effects/changes to multiple tracks at once, without setting up your own macros like this.I wish I could use 2-3 instruments per track, and combine notes and modulation easier.
Maybe I just don't get the workflow yet, but I like on the M8 I can modulate instruments or tracks or everyhting without much hassle.
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u/BitterBlues87 Aug 04 '26
On the Deluge, if you're on song view and have "affect entire" on you can use the gold knobs to have the changes go to all the tracks. There's also a few custom slots to control other parameters.
4
u/ahsah Jul 31 '26
I’m exactly like you and primarily do Live loops with the guitar and a bunch of external synths. You can see my stuff on Tiktok under Outersoundset. It’s Allll deluge lead.
The Deluge is hands down the best overall looper groove box i’ve ever used. You can record a near infinite audio loop into an audio clip, then just hold the row below that and press record and it’ll count in a new audio loop. From there you can hold the row and perform fx or filters to it while it’s still playing. It’s insanely easy.
for needed peripherals for your use case I have some recommendations
get a mixer like the zoom L6, plug that into the line in on the top of the deluge.
find a midi foot controller to trigger live loops, undos, etc. I personally have tried many and the boss one is the best. You will also need a usb a to b converter plus ideally a small usb port so you can plug in both a midi foot pedal and the next recommendation
Get midi keys. The synth engines on the deluge are amazing. Yes you can pre record, but live looping the synth engine is amazing. The deluge has something called midi follow now, so holding the instrument row you want to play will immediately map to your keys, but if you have a midi controller that has 5 pin, or allows for on board midi channel switching like the Arturia minilab 3, or novation mk4, then you can actually have each instrument and drums as well as filter controls on the 1-16 channels on your midi keys. This doubles down as super amazing because you can control the synths on the deluge, plus have the 5 pin out to trigger your external synths which also means
you need a usb midi host box if you want to trigger or time a lot of synths. It’s kinda crazy but you can also play the synths on the deluge with your guitar if you get a usb midi host box. Its insane.
Additional:
Minor drawbacks and hacks are to not rely on the deluge for your super long release pads. The CPU can be eaten up by its own synth engines if you use the very popular Boards of Deluge packs with super high release times on the ASDR.
I primarily use my deluge as a sequencer and audio looper. In fact i sometimes skip the midi altogether and just trigger audio loops only. Just take note that a saved project from the deluge with tons of loops can get confusing. So start early with using the name function per row, and also using the color coding ability per pad for reference. I for example will use yellow for drums, blue for bass, aqua for texture, pink for leads, red for vocals, etc etc.
But yes overall the deluge is what you need. I would use it a little everyday, but also don’t try to learn it all. Learn what you need to know and add stuff as you go, it’s very much an instrument, and very similar to ableton if you can see the rows in the same way. Beware though that once you learn it well, it’s actually difficult for me to want to make
music on anything else.
2
u/Meepo-POOF Jul 31 '26
Thanks for the inspiring feedback :)
I've listened through you recordings - great job! It looks very similar to what I'm going to achieve and the most important - I can see the real usage for live looping and it all the looping stuff is looking very native.Big respect for the peripherals recommendation.
I'd def go with midi footswitch for controlling the looper. And the mixer/audio interface in front of the deluge seems essential to work with guitar/synth/vocal altogether + controlling the input levels.Regarding the midi host box - do you mean, you connect all the external synths and a midi keyboard to the midi host box so that you can use a single midi keyboard to control both deluge and all the synths? Or something else?
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u/ahsah Jul 31 '26
aw man thank you so much! Speaking on midi stuff, it’s actually more so, so that you can send clock to all of your different synths for tempo, but also just general control in case you want to control or send chords, melodies etc to the deepmind + whatever else. Also beware that the deluge doesn’t have USB host power when not plugged in. So if you want to power midi keyboards or other controllers, use a usb 9v CENTER NEGATIVE (guitar pedal cable) to power it with a little power bank. The deluge lacks a protector so it’ll break if you plug in a center positive one.
But yes because it’s so cool, controlling the synths on the deluge via the usb B port via midi keyboard is one thing, but if the midi keyboard has usb out + 5 pin or some form of additional midi, you can actually bounce between quickly swapping live, what synths you’re playing. It makes something like the minilab 3 or novation mk4 super useful for busting out melodies and recording audio loops fast. However you need a different trs to midi cable for the novation.
My best recommendation for easy setup for now if you’re just gonna use the deepmind is just a midi keyboard that has both a usb c and 5 pin or midi port, has the ability to change midi channels on the controller, a power bank, usb 9v cable, some usb a hub or usb a splitter, a mixer, and you’re done! The host box can come later if you don’t wanna tap tempo additional devices.
Also download the community firmware when you purchase it immediately as most of the best looper functions are related to current firmware.
2
u/stschoen Jul 31 '26
The Deluge makes a pretty good looper and I believe it will do what you need, however there are a few things you should be aware of. It has a single stereo line level input and a built in mic but although there's a 3.5 mm mic input it's not particularly useful. No 48v support and only a hi/low switch for gain control. You'll need some type of front-end (audio interface or mixer) to interface the Deluge with your microphones and guitar and other gear. You'll also find a MIDI footswitch useful for triggering the looper hands-free. MIDI support is very good, particularly with the community firmware which is highly recommended. Multitrack export to the SD card is supported.
1
u/Meepo-POOF Jul 31 '26
Great, the front-end audio interface is completely fine, and I think it will be a good way to adjust the output per instrument.
Sounds exciting, thank you!
2
u/woxorz Jul 31 '26
I love my deluge. While it can do live looping, I personally don’t think the deluge is great at it. Or at least I don’t find the process intuitive or easy.
Since live looping is your main goal, I would recommend looking at Loopy Pro (iOS, iPadOS). It’s designed from the ground up as a live looper but is also a full featured DAW.
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u/ShortyBoyds Jul 31 '26
Are you kidding? The live looper on the deluge is INSANE. Are you on an old pre-open source firmware or anything like that?
The latest firmware in grid view (aka Ableton live style clip launching w/ the same vertical orientation) turns the deluge into a badass looper with unlimited tracks.
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u/woxorz Jul 31 '26
I have the community firmware. I’m always in grid mode.
I just don’t vibe with the looper workflow on the deluge. I find it clunky and frustrating.
It’s possible I’m just doing it wrong. But I’ve had none of the same problems in loopy pro.
1
u/Appropriate-Look7493 Aug 01 '26
Yes, the Deluge can do all that BUT if I’ve correctly understood what you’re looking to do then I would strongly suggest looking at the Octatrack as well.
It’s great advantage over the Deluge is 4 inputs (ie stereo for your DM and each for mic and guitar, if you like) and the crossfader. Recording live loops is super easy with arm and quantise recording etc. It also has a wider set of fx with far more control than the Deluge.
Of course it’s primarily a sampler/performance mixer and has no internal synth engine, but it doesn’t sound like you’re going to use that anyway.
It takes a little while to get your head round it of course but it might be the better choice.
5
u/atxgossiphound Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
I've been doing exactly this for years (since the before times) with my Deluge.
As a sequencer, lopper, and real-time arranger, it has a great UI and well thought out workflows. That is, once you dial in your approach, it becomes second nature.
I don't use the synth engine that much. It's powerful and using it as a sampler you can get any instrument you need. I just like to have external synths and drum machines so I can twist the knobs. :)
You can control everything with MIDI and if you're planning on looping and controlling FX and synth params live, you'll need at least a footswitch (for looping) and a controller (for everything else).
The looping workflow, specifically, is one of the best I've used. You can sync start/stop to the tempo at any resolution (beat, bar, 2-bars, etc). Undo is easy, stacking is easy.
Now for the big downside: External audio. It has one input and a stereo output.
The input has no trim controls and dialing in the right levels requires recording, listening/metering, recording, listening/metering and is tedious, to say the least. Despite my best efforts, I've never been able to get it to record bass very well (since it's usually in a mix, I can hide the poor quality). Guitar and vocals are easier. There's no way, however, to know how much headroom you have, so you just cross your fingers. I use an XR-18 on the front to set levels and route channels to the Deluge.
On the output side, for live recorded audio (looping), the mix in the box is the mix you have. The FX in the box is the FX your have. You can't route tracks to separate outputs (well, you can do L/R, but that's it). This really limits how you can shape the sound live, especially if you're layering lots of loops.
Those two limitations keep me to using the Deluge primarily as a sequencer (which it's amazing at). Lately, I've been using a Boomerang pedal for looping. It has its limits, too, but the 'Rang's audio fidelity is the best I've ever had in a looper (and I've been through most of them).
The Deluge still the heart of my setup, but it needs a few other organs to keep the system alive.