I’ve been eyeing the T-resonator for a while, did it come with swappable plugs for US power or did you just grab a universal?
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I had a universal adaptor around. Phew!
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I took advantage of renewed interest in older gear/samplers and basically upgraded all my gear this year. Sold an Mpc2000 classic, Sp202, sp404, Roland VSynth, Red Sound Darkstar Xp2, Yamaha Qy70, and Yamaha Rm1x. Also bought/sold a deluge.
Hits:
Octatrack mk2 grey, my first elektron, I’m a fan of creative sampler and this one had been on my list for nearly 10 years. I’m sad I waited this long. P locks and lfos have been awesome for making interesting evolving patterns.
Division Department 01/IV, drum synth module, four channels of knobby drum synth, built like a tank with skull crushing sound, I wanted to offload some drums from ot to free up tracks
Analog four mk2 in black, my second elektron, fell in love with the idea of an analog synth directly controllable by elektrons p locks and sequencer, very flexible synth and sequencer makes it easy to program quickly
Vermona Perfourmer, complements the analog four very nicely, great low-end chunky sounds with knob per function format.
Vermona Retroverb, spring reverb analog multimode filter overdrive unit, awesome sounding multi effects unit
Miss:
Synthstrom Deluge, great sequencer and deceptively deep polyphonic sampling features, purchased because I was looking for something to fill the gap of basic digital poly synth and poly sequencer, piano roll sequencer was great for drums, chords and melodies, initially worked great as a solo groovebox but I had trouble integrating another sequencer into my setup also sound/sampler engine features werent as easily accessible as I would have liked, spent too much time hunting for buttons or thinking about button combos, sold to fund the perfourmer when one finally came up, I use the ot to sequence the perfourmer and 01/iv
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Had a few things arrive over the year. Almost all hits.
Klark Teknik EQP-KT pair - Doing super nice things to the Machinedrum, and Monomachine. Had low expectations but the ears disagreed. Low and top end sweeteners indeed.
Deepmind 12D - Enjoyed some of the demos, and wanted a solid analog for 2 hands and midi guitar. Good deal came up, Played with it for days. Sweet sounds, efficient interface. Only criticism is the IOS app isn’t working any longer.
Elektron Analog Keys - Absolute steal for the prices they go for these days. No detail required here of all places. Though why didn’t Elektron sort out using a standard A4 as an expander though?
Behringer SD16 - 16 input expander module for the X32 rack. No glory, but just works, daily.
Waldorf Microwave XT - Hero purchase. Did not expect this one to come along, but it just appeared unexpectedly. Sometimes plans are irrelevant. A lesson in keeping rainy day music gear fund for the unexpected.
Korg Z1 - Purchased as a spare and do-er upperer. Something about the 90s Korg sound always evokes musical ideas and for organic house and real world instruments with a twist, this will always be a bit of a secret weapon.
JBL PartyBox 110 - Packed up the dining room PA and dj setup, and needed hassle free speaker upgrade for the camper van. This sounds great, both bass and volume, 10+hrs battery portable sound and with the line in, means impromptu setups anywhere are a possibility.
Gamechanger Light Reverb - Super creative spring reverb, that doesn’t work on everything, but where it does, its sweet and lofi goodness.
Other stuff I have landed this year, are a Tascam X9 dj mixer, which intrigued with its parametric dj style eq’s and dual samplers / fx. Sounds good for its time… and a Yamaha FX900 rack fx unit which was a better condition unit than the one I have had for 25 yrs. Both hits for my expectations. Also started subscribing to Reason again. Sounds way better than I remember but mostly been used to export stems from old old tracks.
Lastly, the Akai Force, owned since March, which came with high hopes but just hasn’t quite hit the spot… yet. SO good in some ways, but had some issues and limits for my use case. Been waiting for the firmware to mature in a way which I feel I can trust to just work. Beta team still hard at it, but its been a long road. I will give it until March next year and see where its at then, otherwise goodbye.
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Same. Looks fantastic! Seems a bit like adding Evolvers dual filters & feedback paths to any synth you like
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Hits:
Nord Drum 2
Don’t use it very often but when I do, it just cuts through everything and just has this very particular sound that is very hard to replicate. It’s sounds super digital and analog at the same time.
Arturia FX Collection
I’m a big fan of this company and this collection just makes a lot of fun. It’s also beautifully designed and feels alive, just like their virtual instruments.
Misses:
Not finishing enough songs.
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Miss: QU-Bit Bloom… the fundamental concept of this sequencer is really cool… but the implementation is really lacking. It was some time ago I had it but I remember selling it being really underwhelmed… the controls were sluggish and the branching was really uninteresting…
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Hits:
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Strymon Iridium … a bit too expensive (Miss) in my opinion, but it´s
exactly what I expected. Very simple and it sounds pretty good.
Had/have most of the Amps and Cabinets in real life and I am very happy
not having to mic up tube amps anymore. -
Waldorf Blofeld … not new, but I haven´t used it at all for many years. I´m really happy now that I didn´t sell it. I have a lot of fun with it recently again.
I always think about to buy a Norddrum… for jamming/performing and for producing. How does it sit in a mix?
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I still want a a Blofeld. I have no “need”, I have a Virus Ti which must cover the same ground, but still the big display and the sound design/third party patches draw me in…
Hits:
Nord Drum 2 -> its sensitivity to velocity is incredible, pairs especially well with Patterning 2 as sequencer
Norand Mono -> Too much fun and inspiration for a single box
Analog Heat mk2 -> does everything it says on the tin, although Overbridge can go do one
Desmodus Versio -> What a most excellently strange and funky reverb
Misses:
Analog Rytm Mk2 - It’s a beautiful machine but i find its sound uninspiring, not ready to sell it yet though as I might simply be suffering from gear overkill
Arturia Minibrute 2s - Why did I buy this? It’s way too big, I can’t put it anywhere. Took it out of its box, concluded I’m an idiot, then put it right back. Will keep it for later for when maybe I have more space
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Again, that’s subjective and 100% personal, you only have to read this thread to see that.
Cluttered workflow to me was the Octatrack mk2 that I just hated… it annoyed the sh*t out of me so I sold it… but I know others really dig it… I think I’ve realised recently that I don’t really like the Digitakt either… but I adore my Digitone, Analog Four mk2 and Rytm mk2.
It took me a while to connect with the MPC and understand the workflow, but it’s now my favourite standalone sequencer by a mile in terms of workflow and getting tracks moving/done. I feel rewarded by the time spent, and I’m still learning/figuring bits out too.
Funny though, a friend of mine recently grabbed an MPC One on my recommendation.
3-4 days after he got it he was saying ‘I really don’t think this is for me!’.
I told him to bring it to my place and I’d go through some things with him… I’ve got the MPC Live 2, and me trying out the MPC One I was back to that ‘hang on, where’s this? how do I do this?’ stage instantly, and I realised that it’s not just the MPC I’ve connected with, it’s specifically the Live 2 layout.
I’ve got no doubt if I had the One for a few weeks I’d get to the same position, but it was a good reminder of the importance of muscle memory/workflow familiarisation.
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Hits:
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Toraiz Squid… I’d been through a few hardware sequencers - MPCs, Pyramid, DT etc. - and had never really found anything super-creative and inspiring. The Squid plays nicely with all my hardware and repeatedly leads me down unexpected paths. For melodic sequencing it just clicks with me the same way Elektron sequencers do for drums. It’s also the first sequencer I’ve felt I can perform with rather than just program.
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Pro 2… The release of the Pro 3 made me re-evaluate what I thought of the Pro 2. I briefly owned one when they first came out but didn’t, at that time, have the skills and knowledge to really know what to do with it. Very much a lockdown purchase this time around but it’s just such a weird and creative synth. Why spend a fortune creating the ultimate mono-synth in eurorack when the Pro 2 does it all and more?
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M1 MacBook Pro / Bitwig… Best laptop I’ve ever owned and Bitwig runs so well on it. A night and day difference between it and my old Mac mini.
Misses:
- Analog Rytm mk1… This could be drum machines generally. I’m getting more enjoyment from my A4 for drum synthesis and getting creative using only 1 or 2 tracks (with sound locks). I’m sure I’ll come back to the AR when I feel the need for a change in workflow but it feels very redundant right now.
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Bought a bunch (Covid, having my buddy who I live with to play new stuff with) and because the second hand market is just very forgiving when it comes to buying and selling. Its like going to a store to test stuff but being able to take as much time as needed. I learn along the way.
HITS:
- analog rytm 2
Won’t sell my digitakt but this is now my centerpiece. Very lovely sounds, hope they add some of the DT 1.30 stuff though.
HITS but sold due to wanting to downsize
- Moog Subsequent 37
Amazing tactile mono but since I was downsizing to just one synth it couldn’t be a mono. Lovely sound and easy to tweak and very inviting. Will repurchase further down my musical journey - Nord drum 3p
Very responsive and cool. Surprisingly easy to make sounds and replicate sounds. Cool to do weird percussion. Sold due to buying an AR on a whim and I mostly sequenced it with my DT. Very cool though. Prefer having one machine for drums, forces me to go deeper. Do miss some of the sounds already!
MISSES:
- DX7-IIFD sounds great and lush but its just not tweakable at all for me. Of course FM is notorious for that but the interface is just outdated. Very much love the sound and had it for half a year.
Now buying a DSI REV 2 keyboard version to place under my scale poster. Excited! Should be enough knob per function for mr
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The only thing I’ve bought this year I think is an upgrade to the keystep 37, which is a definite hit, it’s a massive improvement for me. Only thing I wish for is that the hold key worked outside of the ARP and in the same way, so it holds legato played notes until the next set of keys are played and replaces them. It’s an essential hands free sound design and jamming feature. The keys aren’t very level, but I’m not bothered, my original keystep has some uneven keys as well.
OK, I’ll play.
Three hits, in this order:
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M8 Tracker. What everyone else has said about this thing is true. It’s fast become my couch noodling device. I’ve already put up a couple of Bandcamp tracks with it, and have a couple more in the offing. It’s immediate, sounds good, and is very flexible. I love the tracker workflow.
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Synstrom Deluge. Traveled with it on vacation, and the only reason it doesn’t get more use right now is because I’m in love with the M8. Will probably take it with me on vacation during spring break in January. I need to figure out how I want to use the M8 with it. Both are strong sequencers, but the Deluge sounds a little thin, except for its effects, so I may sequence it using the M8.
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1010music bluebox. Great little portable mixer and recorder. It does exactly what I need.
A couple of misses:
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Presonus StudioLive ARC8 Mixer Nothing wrong with it; it just didn’t click for me.
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Polyend Tracker I wanted to love this, but I’m not as keen on working with short samples in a tracker as I thought I would be. It’s good as a tracker, and I haven’t sold it, which says something. I keep debating I should loan it to my son and see what he thinks.
I should remark that I currently work at 1010music, but I bought the bluebox a while before I started there, and am emphatically not shilling for it. In tact, it and the blackbox were what encouraged me to apply when I saw the job posting on their forums.
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The first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of my ND2 is how great the velocity response is. It’s so dynamic and full of character.
Uh oh - now I know who to ping for help re all things 1010 . . . Bluebox update coming soon? 
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Tracker workflow has been tempting me - I had been hoping the nerdseq portable would release this year, then I learned about the M8… but for now I need to be happy with my octatrack, else I’ll never learn it.
Hits:
Ibanez SR1200 fretless: used to play the upright bass in the school Jazz band, so a lot of skills have translated - & no need to unlearn frets! It’s been a joy to practice an instrument again, I definitely missed it after focusing on hardware for a few years. Going to keep this one for life.
Machinedrum: my first ebay purchase. If I had paid more than 1k id be sad - it’s a beat up first gen, 32 step no sampling, knob H doesn’t even work… but the immediacy and flexibility this devices offers is really inspiring. Love the assignable outs and ins. It’s a keeper, I’m going to try and fix it up after the holidays. would only really sell to get a MD mkII or MNM
Zoia: lately I’ve been working with just the zoia, OT, and a keystep. It’s a lot of fun to set up a synth patch and sequence it from the OT. There’s a lot of options there, using zoia as a groovebox or poly synth, you could use one channel as synth osc & mixer section, send that to OT for filtering, then send it back out to the other channel for zoia’s FX… There’s a lot just these two can do.
Octatrack mkII: I got the OT in the first third of 2021, but GAS has kept me from going deep with this device. My second Elektron after a Cycles in 2020, it was pretty daunting to learn. Once I explored the MD I felt a little more confident with the OT’s workflow, but it has a lot of potential I still need to explore. A hit, but it will take time to understand it…
Faderfox uc4: haven’t done the work with this one yet, I’d like to use it alongside the octatrack and zoia once I better understand them.
Chiral: I got away from software this year, but Chiral was inexpensive and fun. I would rather avoid the laptop, but there are times I boot up Ableton just for this.
Missed:
Shruthi: I like this mono synth for the sound, but it’s interface isn’t great for creating those sounds. I’ll try to keep it through 2022 to see if it grows on me, maybe use it with the faderfox.
PO Arcade: fun, dinky. Don’t want it lying around forever, will try to gift it off to a friend or something
A better year than 2020! I suspect a lot of the stuff I got then (minilogue XD, Hermod, Morphagene, po33) will get sold before '22. Good gear and I feel I got my money’s worth, but Octatrack has taken the place of at least three of those devices, and I’m looking to simplify the setup.
