Blackbox Quick Start Guide

Blackbox by 1010music is a compact sampling studio. With

blackbox, you can record and play samples, sequence
those samples into patterns and riffs, and then record
those sequences into sections, which together can form a
song. You can further refine your sound by applying FX to
pads and by mixing the sound levels and stereo effects. Use
blackbox to record complete compositions from the
comfort of your studio or, with the help of a USB power
block, from the seat of your train or the park bench. You
can also use blackbox to create materials to play in the
background while you sing or perform with other
instruments. We can’t wait to see what you create with it!

SETUP
To get started with blackbox, insert the microSD card in the front slot,
plug it in, and connect it to speakers or headphones. The microSD
card slot is along the short front panel. The power jack and audio
outputs are on the back panel. To start, we recommend connecting
external speakers or headphones to the PHONES jack, since all
outputs are routed to the PHONES jack. Blackbox streams WAV files
from and saves your work on the microSD card.

IMPORTANT: To avoid erratic behavior, use a USB Cable that is rated to carry power, like the
cable provided, and use a USB power supply or battery that provides 2 amps of power.

Record WAVs & assign samples to pads

PADS
OVERVIEW Trigger pads
Choose a musical element to control by Play pitch shifted samples
pushing one of the white navigation buttons.
KEYS
Trigger sample slices
You control playback and recording of clips,
Record & edit sequences
sequences and songs using the black
SEQS
transport buttons. Select and trigger sound
Turn sequences on and off over time
elements and configure parameters using
Record sequence on/off events as sections
the touch screen and the knobs. The INFO SONG
button allows you to drill into an item on the Play and loop sections
screen to edit more details. Push it
Configure reverb and delay effects
repeatedly to access additional information FX
about the item. Some pages have tabs across See which pads are mapped to each effect
the bottom to access more details. Push the
Adjust level of each pad
white navigation button to go back to the MIX
main screen for the current functional area. Pan each pad independently

Open presets - 60 are preloaded

PSET
Create new, save and rename presets

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SCREEN LAYOUT
The black bar at the top of the screen provides information about timing and recording context. The
recording context is a useful way to see if you are in Song mode or Sequence mode. We’ll talk about that
more later. The blue progress bar in the top right displays the current progress of the sequence or section
that has recording context.

The individual cells on some of the screens will have blue progress bars when they are actively playing. This
bar will be white when the element is waiting for a quantization break or waiting for you to push PLAY to
start playing.

PRESETS
You can explore the available functionality of blackbox by trying out the preloaded presets. Push PSET, and
then use the knobs to select a preset. Touch Load to open the selected preset. We will use the preset SL
BLASS MUSIC KIT as our example in this guide.

NOTE: Blackbox does not automatically save your changes to Presets. Use the File menu on the
Presets screen to save your changes.

PADS
Touch the PADS button to go to the Pads screen with a grid of 16 WAV files.
Touch a pad to trigger it. Depending on how the pad is configured, the sample
might play all the way through each time you press it, it might play only while
you are touching the pad, or it might play until you touch it again. A blue
progress bar appears at the bottom of the pad while it is playing. You can trigger
multiple pads at once. Because they need a clock for synchronization, pads in
clip mode won’t start to play until you push the PLAY button. The white bar at
the bottom of a clip pad indicates it is armed and will start when you push play
Pads
or at the next quantization break.

The pink box indicates which pad is currently selected. Use the touch screen or a knob to select a pad. Push
INFO repeatedly to drill into the WAV screen and parameters screens for the selected pad. Touch the name
of the WAV file at the top of the waveform screen to select a different WAV file for this pad. Please select
one of the pads labeled SY Chor so we can have fun with it on the Keys screen.

KEYS
With SY Chor selected on the Pads screen, push the KEYS button. Blackbox
displays a keyboard on the screen. Touch some of the keys on the keyboard to
hear the selected pad play pitch shifted by key. You can adjust which octave is
playing by touching the arrow buttons above the keyboard or by turning a knob.
The C keys are numbered so you can quickly identify which octave will be
playing.
Keys
SEQUENCES
On the Sequences screen you can record and play back musical sequences. Push SEQS and you will see a
grid of sequences. The currently active sequences have white frames around them. Before we push PLAY
to hear the sequences, let’s make sure we are not in Song mode. Push SONG to display the Song screen.

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Note the Song button at the top of the touch screen. If it is blue, touch the on-
screen Song button to deactivate Song mode. Now, push SEQS so we can watch
the sequences as they play. Push PLAY now and you will hear the selected
sequences play. A progress bar at the bottom of each active sequence cell shows
you the play state of that sequence. Touch a sequence cell to activate or
deactivate it. If you push PADS you can see the pads that are being triggered by
the sequencer over time. The sequences will play in a loop until you deactivate
them or push STOP. If any pads remain playing after you push STOP, you can
end them by pushing STOP a second time. Sequences
Playing sequences is fun, but recording your own is even better. The pink square
is the currently selected sequence. You can see the sequence number of the
selected sequence at the top of the screen both on the Sequence and the Pads
screen (as long as you are not in Song mode). Select an empty sequence cell
and we will record into it. Push PADS to go to the Pads screen. Hold down the
REC button while you push PLAY to start recording a sequence. After the 4-
beat count down, tap some pads to create a sequence. By default, the sequence
is one bar long. Blackbox will play the sequence in a loop as soon as you finish
recording it. If you tap some more pads, you will add more pad triggers to the
Piano Roll Editor in
sequence. Push REC to stop recording while the sequence still plays. You can
PADS View
choose different sequences to record into while the other sequences are playing.
Press STOP when you want the sequences to stop.

You can view and edit the sequence by pressing INFO with the sequence cell
selected. Toggle the piano roll mode between PADS and KEYS view by touching
the view selector to the right of the grid icon. You can touch the screen to add
notes, and turn knobs to select and adjust the length of notes. In PADS view,
each row represents a different pad and each bar represents a trigger of that
pad. In KEYS view, each row represents a note on the keyboard and the bars
represent note events. The black and white bars on the left side of the screen
represent the notes on a keyboard and the Cs are numbered to show you which
octave you are in. Use pinch and stretch touch gestures to zoom in and out on Piano Roll Editor in
the piano roll. Push INFO to cycle through more sequence parameters, such as KEYS View
Step Length, Step Count and Quant Size. The top left grid icon reminds you
which sequence you are editing and allows you to quickly switch to a different sequence. In KEYS view, the
top right grid icon shows which pad is currently controlled in the piano roll. Touch this icon to switch to a
different pad if you want more than one pad in the sequence.

Before we move on to song sections, go back to the sequences screen and touch OFF on the lower right.
This will deactivate all sequences.

SONG SECTIONS
Song sections allow you to record a series of on and off events for sequences. You can record multiple
sequences simultaneously, with independent start and stop times for each one. To hear a song section by
itself, make sure all of the sequences are deactivated first. Then push the SONG button to view the Song
screen. Touch the on-screen Song button to toggle the Song mode state to active (blue) if needed. Turn off
Loop mode by touching the Loop button as well. Now push the PLAY button and blackbox will play back a
previously recorded song, section by section. The currently playing section is highlighted in pink. In Song

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mode, the context display at the top of the screen now displays the name of the
current section, e.g Section 1. On the Sequences screen, you can watch as the
song section turns sequences on and off, and you can activate additional
sequences. If you want one section to play in a loop, select that section and
touch Loop to activate loop mode. Touch Loop again when you are ready to fall
through to the next section.

Once you have a few sequences recorded, you can create your own song section.
A new preset starts with one song section and you can add more up to a total of
16 sections per preset. Touch Edit, then Add to insert a new section after the Song Sections
currently selected section. When you are in Song mode, the PLAY button will play both the current song
section and any active sequences. The REC + PLAY button combination will record sequence on and off
events into the currently selected section. Please note that Song mode only records sequences. It does not
record anything played on Pads or Keys screen. But you can use Pads and Keys to play along with what you
have recorded.

The Song screen also allows you to change the BPM of the internal clock, and alter the length of each song
section. The current BPM is displayed in the top left below the bars and beats counter (75 in the
screenshot). Turn the top left knob to adjust the BPM. Select a section and push INFO to view and change
the number of bars in this section. Back on the main Song page, use the Edit menu to manipulate song
sections.

TOOLS
The Tools screen is the home for global settings that apply across presets. This is
where you can adjust the Headphone volume and turn on the metronome,
configure global recording settings, and select MIDI options. Push TOOLS and
then touch the tabs across the bottom to access the available settings pages.
Turn a knob to adjust the value of the nearest setting.
Tools
MIDI DEVICES
Blackbox is designed to work with MIDI devices to offer a more tactile input mode and a bigger keyboard.
Plug your MIDI input device into either the Device USB jack or the MIDI In TRS jack. Blackbox supports the
Type B standard for mini TRS jacks. Use the MIDI adapters provided to connect to devices that use an
alternative standard for these jacks. For more information about the TRS connection for MIDI, please read
the Mini TRS Audio Jacks for MIDI Connections Compatibility Guide on 1010music.com. See the full User
Manual online for more information about working with MIDI.

UPDATING YOUR BLACKBOX

We highly recommend that you check for firmware updates when you receive your blackbox. You can find
firmware updates and instructions for installing them at forum.1010music.com. You must be a registered
member of the forum to see and download the latest firmware. Register for free at forum.1010music.com,
and then scroll down to the Product Downloads forum. Your Blackbox displays the current firmware version
in the top right corner of the TOOLS screen.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This quick start guide introduces the basics to get you started. If you want more information, including the
full user manual, you can find it on our website at https://1010music.com/blackboxdocs. Join the
conversation about blackbox on our forum at forum.1010music.com and on the 1010 Blackbox Users Group
on Facebook.

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