Review: 1010music nanoboxes
Although they fit in the palm of your hand, 1010music‘s super-compact Nanoboxes promise concentrated sound power through Granular or Wavetable Synthesis.
These small boxes come in bright yellow and red, and the names were chosen to match. Lemondrop is a 4-voice polyphonic granular synthesizer: WAV files can be loaded via microSD card, which can then be processed with the granular engine. Fireball, on the other hand, relies on 8-voice wavetable synthesis. For post-processing there are multimode filters, LFOs, modulation sequencers and two multi-effects. The operation is done via two encoders, four buttons and a touchscreen, which can also be used as an X/Y pad for live performance.
Ultra compact with touch display
The nanoboxes are compact without question, with dimensions of just 95 x76 x 38 mm. In contrast, even the 1010music Blackbox, which can technically be considered the mother of the two Nanoboxes, looks quite large. Unfortunately, the Nanoboxes don‘t have the robust metal case of the Blackbox, they are only made of plastic. On the other hand, they weigh no more than a small bar of chocolate at 112 grams each.
They are operated via a 2-inch touch display, which responded very accurately and reliably to manual inputs in the test. In addition, there are two plastic endless controllers and four rubberized buttons for navigation, which have a very pleasant feel and did their job reliably in the test.
Connectors with adapter
On the back are the inputs and outputs for MIDI and audio, as well as the analog clock input. They are all 3.5mm min-ijacks, so you may need to plan for adapters to connect to other hardware, mixers and audio interfaces. An adapter for MIDI is included. If all connections are fully utilized, the ultra-compact character of the Nanoboxes is also a bit lost due to all the adapter cables.
USB only for power supply
The USB port‘s design in the modern USB-C format is praiseworthy; an adapter cable to USB-A is included. We were somewhat surprised that the USB port is only used for power supply. Neither MIDI nor audio can be picked up using this port. Maybe this can be added via firmware, as it has already been done by other manufacturers like Dreadbox?
We recommend using a USB power adapter for the power supply anyway. This is not included, but most people probably have it around at home anyway - thanks to smartphones and the like. The computer can also supply the power, but we experienced massive USB noise at a volume that made professional recording impossible with both studio computers.
No internal battery options
Instead of a power supply, a USB powerbank would also be an option for on the road, since battery operation is not provided for the Nanoboxes. A slightly larger casing including battery slot and built-in speakers would have made jamming on the balcony easier. Finally, the slot for a microSD card should be mentioned, as it serves as sound storage. Fortunately, a suitable card is directly included.
Color touch screen
In the absence of a power switch, the Nanoboxes start immediately after connection to the power supply and welcome the motivated musician with a colorful high-resolution touchscreen. The start screen shows the name of the selected preset; below it the waveforms of the two main oscillators, as well as selected parameters. If you turn the two knobs, this is also visually displayed on the screen this is very practical, since with encoders
you can‘t read the current value from the physical position. We also liked the animations that visualize changes and modulations.
Keyboard and X/Y pad
The highly responsive touchscreen is integrated in many ways. Filter Frequency and Resonance are displayed graphically and can be adjusted together by touch. Or you can use the entire touchscreen as a mini-keyboard or even as an X/Y pad to modulate several parameters simultaneously with your finger. LFO and envelopes, unfortunately, don‘t currently offer direct touch control, this has to be done a bit more awkwardly using the two knobs. Nevertheless, we got used to the concept quite quickly even without looking at the manual and were able to operate the Nanoboxes smoothly. We did not notice any serious stumbling blocks. 1010music has some experience with compact sound generators.
Identical subtractive synthesis
Both Nanoboxes feature the same Subtractive Synthesis, which is connected downstream of the oscillators. With two filters, two ADSR envelopes, two LFOs, a modulation sequencer and two effects (for modulation and Reverb/Delay), the Nanoboxes are quite lushly equipped. Equally impressive is the sound that we hear when we play the well-programmed presets for the first time. It doesn‘t sound small, cheap, lo-fi or plastic; on the contrary, it sounds quite big, expensive and elegant. In terms of sound, the Nanoboxes don‘t have to hide from their hardware competition, which is larger at least on the outside.
Wavetable or granular
The big difference between the two Nanoboxes, aside from the color and name, is the basis of the sound generation. Both synthesizers have two oscillators each to play samples. Fireball, however, uses Wavetable Synthesis, which means that it can pick up the waveform at different points in the sound progression and this starting point can also be modulated. Lemondrop, on the other hand, uses Granular Synthesis, in which the sample is divided into its smallest components (grains) and can then be reassembled. Since Granular Synthesis is technically a bit more complex, Lemondrop offers a maximum of four voices, while Fireball can be played polyphonically with up to 8 voices.
Samples only via SD card
You can use the numerous samples included on the MicroSD card or import your own samples. Unfortunately, the import is only possible via SD card; an import via USB or even a direct sampling option is not provided. The audio input is only used for looping another audio source into the effects of the Nanobox, which turns the compact box into an interesting small effects unit with touch control.
Integrated effects
Two effects are possible at the same time. FX1 offers Distortion, as well as the classic modulation effects Chorus, Phaser and Flanger. FX2 is specialized in time and space and can generate Reverb and Delay. The effects sound very good, merge with the digital sound generation, and are an important part of the convincing overall sound. It‘s just a pity that for pearly arpeggios or wide pads and drones, the Delay and Reverb cannot be used in parallel.
Supplementary VA oscillator
We have omitted the third oscillator, a relatively simple virtual-analog example. This is used to supplement the Wavetable or Granular sound with a sub-bass from a sine or square wave or to provide additional harmonics with sawtooth or noise. The VA oscillator is identical in both models.
Digital sound at its finest
The sound is designed according to the motto: Digital and proud of it! The programmers have not even tried to make the Nanoboxes sound „analog“by any tricks, but concentrated solely on the advantages of digital sound generation. This applies both to the selection of waveforms and the filters as a sound-shaping element, which can intervene with sober-analytical sound, surgically clean in the output signal generated by the oscillators, and shape it according to your wishes.
Conventional or experimental
The results are clear, transparent digital sounds in any form; some of them sound very complex due to the extensive modulation options. Lemondrop naturally offers more possibilities for experiments with its Granular Synthesis, while Fireball is a bit more conventional with classic wavetables. But both synthesizers impress with a wide sound spectrum and a nice width and depth in the sound; whether it’s pads, leads, arpeggios or effects. And by importing your own samples, the sound can be adjusted in any desired direction.
Alternatives
With a current street price of 449 Euros each, the Nanoboxes are no bargain, which is why it is worth taking a look at alternatives. If you own a smartphone, especially an iPhone, you have access to a lot of also very potent digital synthesizers with sophisticated touch controls and very good sound. You would only have to do without the two controllers, otherwise this would be an interesting alternative for on the go music making including an integrated power supply.
And for studio use, there are already complex digital synthesizers like Korg Wavestate, Opsix, ASM Hydrasynth Explorer and Modal Argon8 with significantly more controls and correspondingly more direct operation, as well as classic connections without adapters for about 100 Euro extra. Or you can use plug-ins like Steinberg Padshop or Arturia Pigments.
Unfortunately, there are no hardware polyphonic granular synthesizers in this price range so far, which is why Lemondrop is the more interesting of the two Nanoboxes for us; despite the halved number of voices. Here, the Microgranny with direct sampling option at a significantly lower price should be mentioned as an alternative, but it can only be played monophonically.