Beat Thang

[PHeMoX]

For the dreamers amongst us, let that fact be a serious warning, as it's not worth 1 grand.

It gets worse, the list price is 1.299$, which is clearly outrageous. :p

[ellaguru]

i received an email from them, the price in september was 999 usd...but it not still sorted this machine, isn't it?

[PHeMoX]

Last thing I heard was that they aren't going to make their last known deadline at all and are probably going to release the hardware sometime in mid-January.

Having said that, the price maybe subject to change, but I think it won't.

Also, don't bother pre-ordering anything, as that seems a whole lot like a scam to me. They're talking about getting notified about when 'it's back in stock' by email, but it hasn't been released yet.

Anyways, I'm still mildly interested in the machine, but I'm certainly not going to jump on it once it's out there.

[ellaguru]

i asked them what was the price of a used one, and they dont answered me.....why?

[chemisferio]

For a third of the price you can get an EMU Command Station. I wouldn't bother waiting for the Beat Thang, it is way too overpriced and seems like it will be a complete failure when it comes out. It's an extremely crippled computer with audio IOs and a poorly designed user interface (I would be embarrassed if someone saw one of this on my studio desk), nothing more. All the work is done by software, which almost surely means endless menus, a counter-intuitive workflow and a sh*tload of unnecessary functions. Maybe I'm wrong and it turns out to be the ultimate beat production machine, but I wouldn't pre-order one, for sure.

[Lazyfoot23]

the name and the way those guys market it only makes me puke. they're like: "yeah buy this ish man, this thing gonna pop out beats in no time, super easy super cool 50 cent beats niiice!!! da real deal."

c'mon I better trust linndrum 2 than this THANG, because I know that linndrum is designed by a person who is responsible for one of the best drum machines in the world.

it seems they are targeting at wannabee beat makers that don't understand a thing on how to make music so they try to appeal to them with super easy learning curve, blue lights, custom grills etc etc.

even if the machines comes out nice, I most probably won't touch it with a ten foot pole because of it visuals and the name.... the fuckin' name... as cartesia already said I really hope this is a joke and they come up with a better name than it is.

I CONCUR!!!!!! enough said.... "LinnDrum 2" the hype is bananas,AHHHH!

[HxC]

Still don't see why this thing makes people want to kill babies-
It's basically like a 606 with ASR-X pads= dope on paper.
In America the type of slang used in their marketing would raise no eyebrows whatsoever to the target demographic. Ever hear a super-whitey parent get all mad when their kid uses a little Hip Hop slang? That's what some of the criticism reminds me of. Maybe they can make a 'uptight' version called the BK-2222 and replace the grill with stucco and have the guy from the original MPC5000 video doing the promo .

btw rumor has it the Kangz reached out to Roger Linn in the early stages but Linn had a thing with Dave Smith, now the Smith/Linn partnership is a wrap and the Thang is closer to coming out that the Linn2.

I think their biggest misstep was to come out and say they were an "MPC killa". If your stuff is good you shouldn't have to mention the competition at all.

I'm still holding out for an SP-666 or MV-4400 myself.. or how 'bout an SP-MV ?
What the hell does MV stand for anyway?

[PHeMoX]

Yeah, but that's the whole thing, the slang marketing doesn't appeal to the entire target demographic at all.

Most people are actually okey with the use of slang, but these guys're trying so hard to be cool that they look quite ridiculous!

That in itself can't do their product no good man, that's all I'm saying.

Anyways, that's entirely irrelevant when their product is above average or even able to compete for a bit with the MPC1000.


Hhaha, yeah, even Roland Japan doesn't know what the MV stands for, as is evident from their product lists that usually do include some sort of semi-explanation. There is none for the MV. :p

I agree though, an SP-666 or MV-4400 or better yet a new MC would be a good move! The MC-808 sort of fell short of its expectations and has some interface/work-flow issues, so if I were Roland I would perhaps just drop it and release a remake / successor, or fix the software side of things and release a very clever OS update to save what's left of it.

Oh, and Roland Connect dot com has that timer till NAMM 2010 going on again!

It might be actually time for them to release a new MV or another SP upgrade/update. I was one of the few who actually appreciated the new SP-404sx, as it's also an indication of Roland not giving up on samplers just yet. I still think software slowly takes over.

[HxC]

Yeah I hear ya. I actually haven't been viewing much Kangz promo since they first splashed but it does seem weird the hardware prototype appeared first, now they seem like they're pushing the virtual- maybe that's all it'll ever be. Maybe Roger should get to work on the Linn2 virtual.

I'm very happy with the sound creation gear I have now, but I always keep an eye out for the new- especially Roland.

It would even be cool if they released another Handsonic model with sampling. I had a chance to play with an HPD-15 and damn that thing is sweet- the presets and velocity sensitivity are excellent on that thing- it even has an octave to play melodies with.

Products drop into 'legacy' status and now the 'tabletop' tab on Roland's site is looking pretty light:
http://www.rolandus.com/products/produc ... arentId=84

[Dj_just_jeff]

In the new Wax Poetics (Nov/Dec) they have an ad for the beat thang virtual, but no hardware. They seem to be pushing the angle that it comes with a big sound library.

[PHeMoX]

In the new Wax Poetics (Nov/Dec) they have an ad for the beat thang virtual, but no hardware. They seem to be pushing the angle that it comes with a big sound library.

Not sure if you guys have missed or if it has been posted here already, but they also got a 30.000$ beat battle going on. Only Beat Thang Virtual or Beat Thang hardware allowed and only stock sounds. I think they' re focusing on the software because the hardware got delayed yet another time. Pretty awkward actually knowing they had a pretty well working prototype some months back already. I think the keyword are ' lack' ' of' and ' investors' . :p

Maybe Roger should get to work on the Linn2 virtual.

Yeah you're right. I believe the VGA output and mouse/keyboard connectivity might be proof of how they do plan something like that though to go along with it. But definitely not as a separate package.

[hurlingdervish]

Pretty awkward actually knowing they had a pretty well working prototype some months back already.

i bet it had laptop guts inside of it


and max msp.


and cost 3000 dollars to make.

[cartesia]

beat thang can beat my wang

[fauna]

there are a few cats on the mpc forum who pre-ordered the thang, and a few others (maybe the same guys ) who bought the software.

the pre-order (around $1000) seems CrAzY to me, esp when these guys have videos where they're mocking dudes with the "its gonna cost you" bullshit, and, as pointed out, they've got very little market cred other than the sampletrak.

there are also significant knocks on the software as well....if I remember correctly, there's no sequencer for it (or maybe its ONLY got preset patterns), the software ran really glitchy, and the support was less than stellar.

but again, i'm paraphrasing stuff from mpc forums. i'm sure if you did a search over there you could find some cats who sunk in some money, and check out their first hand opinion

weirdly (to me) when emailing with these guys they're pretty reasonable, and then all their 'promotional' stuff is hyperbolic and insulting to their audience. its a mindfuck for sure, and makes me feel like the box will have great, but unrealized, potential.....or at least (as someone ^^ said earlier) a 606 with ASRX keyboard that looks great on paper but not-so-great after you drop a grand.

[formal]

Fauna - I take offense to that!! (sampletrak is my baby) HAHAHA! The Beat Kangz didn't have anything to do with the SampleTrak. Zoom just asked them for sounds on the SB-246 drum machine (it's a hiphop geared drum machine like the DR202). As far as I know they weren't involved with the product design at all except for maybe the tacky font choice scribbled all over it


PS - I think main issue people were having with the Virtual Beat Thang at first was it would crash when you would sample in your own material *WTF!? I think that was fixed with an update, but I've read of many other issues people have had. It does have a sequencer, but I think the midi aspect is kinda screwed up. It's like 8 channels virtual and 8 channels you can control external gear with. You can not do like 10 and 6, it has to be 8 and 8.

On a side note, I have heard some good stuff come out of the Beat Thang Virtual that used no stock sounds. If I can dig up the video I'll post it.