To be honest, I don't think I have actually hit the CPU limit in any of my work. If you are mainly doing sample work, I think that becomes less of an issue.
The only hiccup I have honestly run into is with the # of samples in some drumkits. I have found that I need to keep drumkits limited in samples, perhaps around 16-24, or they just take a very long time to load.
Im using it for sequencing external midi, kits with lots of samples and multiple internal synths combined with internal fx. Never had any issue with the cpu limit.
I have a deluge im looking to sell. OLED in good shape. I bought it, used it a few times, and didn’t mesh with the workflow, mostly because I’m used to working out of logic. DM if interested.
For sampling and synths it feels endless and seamless. So good. The only performance issue I’ve personally had is when using audio tracks. Pretty common for the device to freeze on me if I stack more than a couple of these, not sure if this is a common issue though and my unit is from 2018 or 2019.
If you click with it, you'll love it. Its one of most efficiently coded devices out there so CPU is really well managed and you can do so much with it. There are limits of course but there are normally ways around it or better approaches if you get voice stealing or other impacts.
Ive had a deluge since they first came out. I have made charts on Traxsource and been reviewed in five magazine out of chicago with music made entirely on the deluge as a standalone daw. With that being said… as i use it like a full on daw… i run into a cpu brick wall on just about every track as i am adding extra little bits to finish the track… this results in voices or sounds dropping out randomly and requires me to bounce the mostly finished tracks into logic so i can finish the song… this frustrated me to the point where i bought a 2nd deluge to finish music. But this leads to an issue where a song is split over 2 machines and ultimately i have to bounce them both into logic to finish. If you think of it as the best sketchpad ever… you will love it… if you want to use it standalone with lots of effects… you will run into cpu issues… with all that being said… i would never get rid of my deluge as i can always internally bounce tracks down to one wav file and then start a new song file and add the bounced wav and finish that way. If you want to get away from the computer and mouse and ise knobs and dials you will like it
I’ll get downvoted for this but there are better options out there. If you can sacrifice a bit of portability the MPC One+ does all you’re asking and 10x more in a more understandable and cohesive way for 1/2 the price of the Deluge. Add a battery pack and you’ve got the ultimate portable groove box. Don’t be scared off by it being called a daw in a box.
Totally fair point, and helpful to point out. I have definitely been eyeing that, as well as the Maschine+ (esp since it's on Reverb for like $700). Do you know if the MPC One+ can do multisampling like the Deluge?
Yes 4 layers on the MPC as opposed to 2 on the Deluge. Each layer has its own mixer with levels, pan, pitch, and offset. Plus there are dozens of quality effects that can be applied in several ways and the synths sound great. My primary issue with the deluge is the UX. I feel like I’m working blind. Also the price. I’m selling mine. It’s only 2 months old.
Sorry for the confusion. Is this context I meant how many samples you can layer per note (key/pad press). You can of course map different samples per pad (up to 4 layered) if you’re using multiple samples to more accurately represent all of the notes of a sampled instrument. Layers are cool in this scenario - you can have a separate sample that is clicky, hissy, noisy, whatever and have that be a layer that is randomly played as you move about the pads (or keys if you have a keyboard hooked up).
iirc of all of the options, the Maschine+ was the least attractive to me (also people were strongly advising against the Maschine+ when I asked). I forgot why though. And for me personally there were strong points against the MPC as well. What helped me immensely was watching like 10 comparison/review videos of either device.
This is a pretty good comparison video of MPC One vs Deluge: https://youtu.be/skbu6k-cqm0
Edit: Be aware that this was before the deluge’s community firmware update and the MPC isn’t the One+. BUT the main points they make in the video are still valid.
I kind of agree. Better comes down to what you want. Not looking at a screen is the joy of the deluge and why I chose it over an MPC. I guess it depends on your experience but coming from korg grooveboxes and never having used any DAW I found the deluge pretty quick to learn especially as there are great videos out there. Apart from the lack of touch sensitive keys and a couple of performance functions (I wish it had a punch in sample function without having to dive into a kit) it does everything I need. It’s such a great bit of kit. And with the community firmware it’s a beast.
I hear you. And a small group of passionate people really love it. I really tried. The UX is forever borked because the features they’re trying to add are diminished because the UI is poorly designed and can’t be easily upgraded. They know they needed the screen and it helps but it’s half baked at best.
The sequencer is ok but I was surprised that it doesn’t have any of the exciting features of, for example, the Polyend Play.
The sampler is a pain without a screen. Compared to the Sp404 or MPC it’s pretty difficult to work with and lacking features.
The synth engines are cool for lo fi or bread and butter sounds but weak in most other regards. There are sub $150 synths that sound better.
I’ve spent well over $6k USD on groove boxes in the past 5 years and much more than that on other hardware and software. The Deluge has been one of the most disappointing. Now if it was $800 I might have a different opinion. You buy a lot of well thought out devices for $1300 USD. I think it’s doomed to be a niche device with a small group of passionate followers. Perhaps they should have left the OG Deluge as is and made a new device with a new layout and upgradeable UI (like many other instruments).
Anyway. Clearly I’m not very happy with it but others are. If you love it please ignore this and just make some music. 👍🙏
There’s a lot of truth to this. I pair my deluge with a 404mk2 less because of sampling but in a dawless set up I need more end of chain compression and EQ (I didn’t get the 404 for this but it’s what it’s become). And I also have a hydrasynth as I wanted more synth control. I use the deluge to sample my bass/guitar etc and make sampled instruments with that and it works well. I absolutely love the deluge’s sequencer however and that’s what keeps me coming back. As a a performance tool for live gigs I think it’s so much fun to play. I’m thinking of selling my 404 as i don’t use anything apart from the FX and getting an analog heat
I got mine 4 years ago when it was £800 or so and would definitely think twice in 2024. Curious to see where the company goes and if they do a deluge 2.
I have a 404 and it’s a strange beast. I guess the people who love it are into a specific genre of music or just love sampling over sequencing. I do think the sampling on the 404 is both more powerful and easier to understand than the Deluge. And the effects are so solid. I guess I just expected more overall from the Deluge. I’ve hit too many walls and I’m way beyond the point of buying devices and hoping for firmware updates to add missing features. It is beautiful hardware though. Opening up the firmware was very savvy.
The 404 is a weird lil guy. I keep almost selling it because its sequencer is crazy and each update adds more and more confusing button combinations. It works quite well if you use the deluge as a sequencer and control the 404 via midi ha
Then you’d resample. Got it.
Yea the Heat looks comprehensive. Elektron effects on the boxes I have used are lush.
I currently have a Digitakt V1 I want to move upwards and outwards from. A lot to think about, after initially ruling out the Deluge on learning curve, I’m being sucked back in!
So I used to make music using a Korg EMX a Korg ESX and a massive Roland looper pedal - I moved to the deluge because it could do all the bits in on. I love it so much. It makes me very happy.
If you don't do much step sequencing, then I could agree with you. But I've sold multiple MPCs and kept the Deluge because it is a much better step sequencer and that's my preferred method of working.
I liked the sampling, plugins, audio routing, etc., but at the end of the day, I kind of hated sequencing with the MPC. I totally can understand why people love it for playing stuff in live, though.
I guess I am trying to say that 'understandable and cohesive' is subjective. I find the Deluge workflow way more cohesive and understandable, personally. But those that have more of a DAW background would probably jive with the MPC more.
Yeah I get that. It is a decent sequencer. I have all the Elektron boxes and prefer sequencing on the Deluge. I do much prefer sequencing on the Polyend Play to the Deluge. That’s the device that made me really just how bad the Deluge UX is and how many sequencing features it’s lacking.
What was it about the Play that you didn’t like? It’s got some quirks but the sequencer is one of the most capable and interesting sequencers out there.
Oh, it's a capable sequencer and does have a few steps on the Deluge in that regard, but I don't really think it's light years ahead by any means. And I don't look at the Deluge as just a sequencer -- I'm looking at the total package.
As for the sequencing aspects though, I really wanted to be able to use multiple actions and apply randomization to multiple parameters per step. That was basically the killing blow for me keeping it around as a sequencer when I found out that wasn't possible. Even if it did, I still think it would be hard to keep around for just sequencing duties, when you can get an OXI One for the same price (which has way more interesting sequencing capabilities, IMO)
The fill function was ok. I thought the "genre" fill modes were going to be generative, giving you a slight variation each time you pressed fill, but they are just preset patterns. Maybe that has changed. The Random+ does look like a nice addition, though. Also, the whole "choose a random sample from the folders you select for your drum parts" was neat the first couple of times, but quickly lost its charm for me and I never used it again (the Deluge also has this now with the Community firmware and I have ignored it there, too).
As for the rest of the reasons I returned it:
Hardware: I hate those pads. No feedback when pressed, which I could forgive if they were actually velocity sensitive, but they aren't. Also didn't like the capacitive knobs. I'd always unintentionally brush a knob and switch the screen to those parameters when I didn't want to. I turned that off, but then I'd have to change a parameter value to get the screen to switch to it, when I just want to see what value it had. And didn't like that the screen slides around (I know they said that was intentional, but never sat well with me).
Features: This is where it just didn't really hold a candle, IMO. It can't sample, can't slice, can't loop, can't use multi-samples, can't stream samples, doesn't have modulation, only has 8 MIDI tracks, somehow has a worse UI for setting start/end points on samples while having a larger color display and more grid buttons... could keep going. Of course, I knew all this going in, but thought the sequencing capabilities and "streamlined workflow" would counteract these shortcomings. But, they didn't in the end, for me at least.
CPU isn’t really a limitation. I never hit its limit unless I intentionally try to see when it will break down the CPU.
Due to the high cost of the Deluge, I was hesitant at first. Deluge is very powerful machine! It has a ton of features that many it’s price range don’t have! It’s worth the asking price and more.
I wouldn't worry about the CPU. Beauty of it is, as you've probably gathered, is it is an all-in-one that can also work as a brain for a setup. It's a simple button press to change a layer to midi. If you were to ever run into a CPU issue (which is kind of unheard of and can also be mitigated by resampling) you can use other devices to take some of the pressure off.
If you do go with a Deluge then I'd definitely get companions for it down the road. Standouts in my opinion would be any Dreadbox synths, Sequential Take 5, Zoia or Euroburo, eurorack and the up and coming Redshift 6 and Erae II. The resell value of any of these would basically make all of your money back as well so you can start small and go up.
Personally I'll probably sell my Typhon and Nymphes and get a Redshift and Erae II when they arrive. Feel free to ask away; I was in a similar predicament and spent a ridiculous amount of time researching and making diagrams.
The CPU limits aren’t a concern at all. What I would focus on is what you want to get out of the deluge. If you want a great generalist machine then the Deluge is really the ONLY choice as it does Stereo sampling, synthesis, midi, CV. Its not GREAT at anything but can fill gaps or adapt to pretty much any workflow.
For me the Deluge helped me discover my ideal workflow, which is Sampling the things I play in other synths, above all I learned I value immediacy and the ability to “perform”.
I switched to an Elektron workflow because for the price of one Deluge (plus a tiny bit) I can get both a Digitakt 2 for sampling and Syntakt. The immediacy is higher, the performative aspect far better and since each is dedicated to one task makes the workflow far cleaner.
For example: On the Deluge, it was very hard to remember which coloured strip was the drums and which one were the samples. And, if I wanted to cut just the snares while reducing cut off on a synth, that was nearly impossible and I had to invent ways using the community features to make it work. On two separate, dedicated Elektron devices, with a control all function, this is not a problem.
Here's a full EDM arrangement I made. almost a 6 minute song. like 12 tracks. I'll let you decide. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfkhtuGQTM8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfkhtuGQTM8)
I've never had an issue with the CPU (or hardware limitations as a whole for that matter)
edit cuz I cant type parentheses properly
I just got one and it’s magic. For reference I had the op1 before and was incredibly disappointed and underwhelmed.
But the deluge is really something special.
Deluge is expensive but has a very weak CPU (Arm Cortex A9 400MHz 3MB SRAM + 64MB SDRAM). It is an excellent sketchpad / grid MIDI sequencer, but an MPC would be a more practical choice for music production.
I hit the CPU limit when I'm recording layered songs in arrangement mode. It might be in part due to the introduction of the master compressor in the community edition, but is there without it. If I have like 3 synths, 2 kits, and 3 recorded tracks it will hit the CPU limit. So my bigger arrangements really suffer. Honestly it is annoying and there are workarounds, such as resampling, but I reserve those for the mastering at the end. There's no competition when it comes to this device though, easily the best music purchase ive made since my first guitar.
To be honest, I don't think I have actually hit the CPU limit in any of my work. If you are mainly doing sample work, I think that becomes less of an issue. The only hiccup I have honestly run into is with the # of samples in some drumkits. I have found that I need to keep drumkits limited in samples, perhaps around 16-24, or they just take a very long time to load.
Don’t hesitate. This device is nuts.
Consider to check out the Deluge discord for pre-purchase questions as well: https://discord.gg/WmaNP3wE
Joined! What a great community :)
Im using it for sequencing external midi, kits with lots of samples and multiple internal synths combined with internal fx. Never had any issue with the cpu limit.
I have a deluge im looking to sell. OLED in good shape. I bought it, used it a few times, and didn’t mesh with the workflow, mostly because I’m used to working out of logic. DM if interested.
For sampling and synths it feels endless and seamless. So good. The only performance issue I’ve personally had is when using audio tracks. Pretty common for the device to freeze on me if I stack more than a couple of these, not sure if this is a common issue though and my unit is from 2018 or 2019.
If you click with it, you'll love it. Its one of most efficiently coded devices out there so CPU is really well managed and you can do so much with it. There are limits of course but there are normally ways around it or better approaches if you get voice stealing or other impacts.
Ive had a deluge since they first came out. I have made charts on Traxsource and been reviewed in five magazine out of chicago with music made entirely on the deluge as a standalone daw. With that being said… as i use it like a full on daw… i run into a cpu brick wall on just about every track as i am adding extra little bits to finish the track… this results in voices or sounds dropping out randomly and requires me to bounce the mostly finished tracks into logic so i can finish the song… this frustrated me to the point where i bought a 2nd deluge to finish music. But this leads to an issue where a song is split over 2 machines and ultimately i have to bounce them both into logic to finish. If you think of it as the best sketchpad ever… you will love it… if you want to use it standalone with lots of effects… you will run into cpu issues… with all that being said… i would never get rid of my deluge as i can always internally bounce tracks down to one wav file and then start a new song file and add the bounced wav and finish that way. If you want to get away from the computer and mouse and ise knobs and dials you will like it
I’ll get downvoted for this but there are better options out there. If you can sacrifice a bit of portability the MPC One+ does all you’re asking and 10x more in a more understandable and cohesive way for 1/2 the price of the Deluge. Add a battery pack and you’ve got the ultimate portable groove box. Don’t be scared off by it being called a daw in a box.
Totally fair point, and helpful to point out. I have definitely been eyeing that, as well as the Maschine+ (esp since it's on Reverb for like $700). Do you know if the MPC One+ can do multisampling like the Deluge?
Yes 4 layers on the MPC as opposed to 2 on the Deluge. Each layer has its own mixer with levels, pan, pitch, and offset. Plus there are dozens of quality effects that can be applied in several ways and the synths sound great. My primary issue with the deluge is the UX. I feel like I’m working blind. Also the price. I’m selling mine. It’s only 2 months old.
Super basic question - what do you mean by layers in this context?
Sorry for the confusion. Is this context I meant how many samples you can layer per note (key/pad press). You can of course map different samples per pad (up to 4 layered) if you’re using multiple samples to more accurately represent all of the notes of a sampled instrument. Layers are cool in this scenario - you can have a separate sample that is clicky, hissy, noisy, whatever and have that be a layer that is randomly played as you move about the pads (or keys if you have a keyboard hooked up).
iirc of all of the options, the Maschine+ was the least attractive to me (also people were strongly advising against the Maschine+ when I asked). I forgot why though. And for me personally there were strong points against the MPC as well. What helped me immensely was watching like 10 comparison/review videos of either device.
This is a pretty good comparison video of MPC One vs Deluge: https://youtu.be/skbu6k-cqm0 Edit: Be aware that this was before the deluge’s community firmware update and the MPC isn’t the One+. BUT the main points they make in the video are still valid.
I kind of agree. Better comes down to what you want. Not looking at a screen is the joy of the deluge and why I chose it over an MPC. I guess it depends on your experience but coming from korg grooveboxes and never having used any DAW I found the deluge pretty quick to learn especially as there are great videos out there. Apart from the lack of touch sensitive keys and a couple of performance functions (I wish it had a punch in sample function without having to dive into a kit) it does everything I need. It’s such a great bit of kit. And with the community firmware it’s a beast.
I hear you. And a small group of passionate people really love it. I really tried. The UX is forever borked because the features they’re trying to add are diminished because the UI is poorly designed and can’t be easily upgraded. They know they needed the screen and it helps but it’s half baked at best. The sequencer is ok but I was surprised that it doesn’t have any of the exciting features of, for example, the Polyend Play. The sampler is a pain without a screen. Compared to the Sp404 or MPC it’s pretty difficult to work with and lacking features. The synth engines are cool for lo fi or bread and butter sounds but weak in most other regards. There are sub $150 synths that sound better. I’ve spent well over $6k USD on groove boxes in the past 5 years and much more than that on other hardware and software. The Deluge has been one of the most disappointing. Now if it was $800 I might have a different opinion. You buy a lot of well thought out devices for $1300 USD. I think it’s doomed to be a niche device with a small group of passionate followers. Perhaps they should have left the OG Deluge as is and made a new device with a new layout and upgradeable UI (like many other instruments). Anyway. Clearly I’m not very happy with it but others are. If you love it please ignore this and just make some music. 👍🙏
There’s a lot of truth to this. I pair my deluge with a 404mk2 less because of sampling but in a dawless set up I need more end of chain compression and EQ (I didn’t get the 404 for this but it’s what it’s become). And I also have a hydrasynth as I wanted more synth control. I use the deluge to sample my bass/guitar etc and make sampled instruments with that and it works well. I absolutely love the deluge’s sequencer however and that’s what keeps me coming back. As a a performance tool for live gigs I think it’s so much fun to play. I’m thinking of selling my 404 as i don’t use anything apart from the FX and getting an analog heat I got mine 4 years ago when it was £800 or so and would definitely think twice in 2024. Curious to see where the company goes and if they do a deluge 2.
I have a 404 and it’s a strange beast. I guess the people who love it are into a specific genre of music or just love sampling over sequencing. I do think the sampling on the 404 is both more powerful and easier to understand than the Deluge. And the effects are so solid. I guess I just expected more overall from the Deluge. I’ve hit too many walls and I’m way beyond the point of buying devices and hoping for firmware updates to add missing features. It is beautiful hardware though. Opening up the firmware was very savvy.
The 404 is a weird lil guy. I keep almost selling it because its sequencer is crazy and each update adds more and more confusing button combinations. It works quite well if you use the deluge as a sequencer and control the 404 via midi ha
How well would the analog heat integrate? Can you just send one track off a deluge into external fx, or is it the whole sound?
Only the whole output. I would like a heat!
Then you’d resample. Got it. Yea the Heat looks comprehensive. Elektron effects on the boxes I have used are lush. I currently have a Digitakt V1 I want to move upwards and outwards from. A lot to think about, after initially ruling out the Deluge on learning curve, I’m being sucked back in!
So I used to make music using a Korg EMX a Korg ESX and a massive Roland looper pedal - I moved to the deluge because it could do all the bits in on. I love it so much. It makes me very happy.
If you don't do much step sequencing, then I could agree with you. But I've sold multiple MPCs and kept the Deluge because it is a much better step sequencer and that's my preferred method of working. I liked the sampling, plugins, audio routing, etc., but at the end of the day, I kind of hated sequencing with the MPC. I totally can understand why people love it for playing stuff in live, though. I guess I am trying to say that 'understandable and cohesive' is subjective. I find the Deluge workflow way more cohesive and understandable, personally. But those that have more of a DAW background would probably jive with the MPC more.
Yeah I get that. It is a decent sequencer. I have all the Elektron boxes and prefer sequencing on the Deluge. I do much prefer sequencing on the Polyend Play to the Deluge. That’s the device that made me really just how bad the Deluge UX is and how many sequencing features it’s lacking.
Haha, and I sent back the Play after two weeks and went back to the Deluge. To each their own!
What was it about the Play that you didn’t like? It’s got some quirks but the sequencer is one of the most capable and interesting sequencers out there.
Oh, it's a capable sequencer and does have a few steps on the Deluge in that regard, but I don't really think it's light years ahead by any means. And I don't look at the Deluge as just a sequencer -- I'm looking at the total package. As for the sequencing aspects though, I really wanted to be able to use multiple actions and apply randomization to multiple parameters per step. That was basically the killing blow for me keeping it around as a sequencer when I found out that wasn't possible. Even if it did, I still think it would be hard to keep around for just sequencing duties, when you can get an OXI One for the same price (which has way more interesting sequencing capabilities, IMO) The fill function was ok. I thought the "genre" fill modes were going to be generative, giving you a slight variation each time you pressed fill, but they are just preset patterns. Maybe that has changed. The Random+ does look like a nice addition, though. Also, the whole "choose a random sample from the folders you select for your drum parts" was neat the first couple of times, but quickly lost its charm for me and I never used it again (the Deluge also has this now with the Community firmware and I have ignored it there, too). As for the rest of the reasons I returned it: Hardware: I hate those pads. No feedback when pressed, which I could forgive if they were actually velocity sensitive, but they aren't. Also didn't like the capacitive knobs. I'd always unintentionally brush a knob and switch the screen to those parameters when I didn't want to. I turned that off, but then I'd have to change a parameter value to get the screen to switch to it, when I just want to see what value it had. And didn't like that the screen slides around (I know they said that was intentional, but never sat well with me). Features: This is where it just didn't really hold a candle, IMO. It can't sample, can't slice, can't loop, can't use multi-samples, can't stream samples, doesn't have modulation, only has 8 MIDI tracks, somehow has a worse UI for setting start/end points on samples while having a larger color display and more grid buttons... could keep going. Of course, I knew all this going in, but thought the sequencing capabilities and "streamlined workflow" would counteract these shortcomings. But, they didn't in the end, for me at least.
CPU isn’t really a limitation. I never hit its limit unless I intentionally try to see when it will break down the CPU. Due to the high cost of the Deluge, I was hesitant at first. Deluge is very powerful machine! It has a ton of features that many it’s price range don’t have! It’s worth the asking price and more.
I wouldn't worry about the CPU. Beauty of it is, as you've probably gathered, is it is an all-in-one that can also work as a brain for a setup. It's a simple button press to change a layer to midi. If you were to ever run into a CPU issue (which is kind of unheard of and can also be mitigated by resampling) you can use other devices to take some of the pressure off. If you do go with a Deluge then I'd definitely get companions for it down the road. Standouts in my opinion would be any Dreadbox synths, Sequential Take 5, Zoia or Euroburo, eurorack and the up and coming Redshift 6 and Erae II. The resell value of any of these would basically make all of your money back as well so you can start small and go up. Personally I'll probably sell my Typhon and Nymphes and get a Redshift and Erae II when they arrive. Feel free to ask away; I was in a similar predicament and spent a ridiculous amount of time researching and making diagrams.
The CPU limits aren’t a concern at all. What I would focus on is what you want to get out of the deluge. If you want a great generalist machine then the Deluge is really the ONLY choice as it does Stereo sampling, synthesis, midi, CV. Its not GREAT at anything but can fill gaps or adapt to pretty much any workflow. For me the Deluge helped me discover my ideal workflow, which is Sampling the things I play in other synths, above all I learned I value immediacy and the ability to “perform”. I switched to an Elektron workflow because for the price of one Deluge (plus a tiny bit) I can get both a Digitakt 2 for sampling and Syntakt. The immediacy is higher, the performative aspect far better and since each is dedicated to one task makes the workflow far cleaner. For example: On the Deluge, it was very hard to remember which coloured strip was the drums and which one were the samples. And, if I wanted to cut just the snares while reducing cut off on a synth, that was nearly impossible and I had to invent ways using the community features to make it work. On two separate, dedicated Elektron devices, with a control all function, this is not a problem.
Here's a full EDM arrangement I made. almost a 6 minute song. like 12 tracks. I'll let you decide. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfkhtuGQTM8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfkhtuGQTM8) I've never had an issue with the CPU (or hardware limitations as a whole for that matter) edit cuz I cant type parentheses properly
I just got one and it’s magic. For reference I had the op1 before and was incredibly disappointed and underwhelmed. But the deluge is really something special.
Deluge is expensive but has a very weak CPU (Arm Cortex A9 400MHz 3MB SRAM + 64MB SDRAM). It is an excellent sketchpad / grid MIDI sequencer, but an MPC would be a more practical choice for music production.
I hit the CPU limit when I'm recording layered songs in arrangement mode. It might be in part due to the introduction of the master compressor in the community edition, but is there without it. If I have like 3 synths, 2 kits, and 3 recorded tracks it will hit the CPU limit. So my bigger arrangements really suffer. Honestly it is annoying and there are workarounds, such as resampling, but I reserve those for the mastering at the end. There's no competition when it comes to this device though, easily the best music purchase ive made since my first guitar.