I would not recommend getting the Torso S4
QUICK EDIT: I don't recommend getting this device if you want a sampler first. This is a really fun FX box, but it is a very buggy sampler.
For the last 4 months, I have done my best to get value out of my Torso S4. The latest firmware update promised fixes to multiple bugs and I was excited to finally have a texture sampler in my gear rotation.
Sadly, this gear is still unusable, and way too expensive for what it can actually do.
The S4 is missing features that you would expect on any gear over 500 dollars:
- no metronome
- no countdown on recordings
- no way to edit sample names
- no way to update track names
- no dedicated way to time stretch samples
- no way to limit recording length before recording starts
- no way to fix the sample volume
- no way to zoom in on waveforms
- no way to change sample pitch before it goes into the next fx route
- no way to auto save samples
These are some examples of a long list of missing features that just add to the large list of bugs spread out through the machine. It feels like I purchased an alpha build of a real machine. In the past week, I encountered so many bugs that I put the Torso back on the shelf:
- sample waveforms do not show up
- recordings stutter when using midi as a master clock
- the torso randomly pauses recordings
- recordings start 1-2 bars late after the play button is pressed
- samples can become "corrupted" and break, leading you to re-record them (this is even on the manual).
I hope these issues are fixed soon, but it seems like we have been waiting for months now. For now, I would stay away: this machine is in alpha and definitely not worth the price tag.
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