Another hit for me this year: Korg MS-20 FS
I missed having a MS-20 around after selling the Mini I had 5 years ago but did not miss the build quality of it. The FS feels solid (maybe that’s what FS actually stands for), even compared to other quality synths I’ve used. Very glad to have it in the mix again, and I’m even more excited by its sound this time around.
I bought a shit ton of gear this year, basically starting again from scratch after a long absence from creating music. Long-term plans to move abroad had to be abandoned due to the… ahem, “pandemic” and I needed to put my focus on something else to compensate for the loss, hence…
roughly in order of purchase. mostly hits
OB-6. What can I say?. A dream synth. It sounds absolutely wonderful and I can’t see myself ever selling it. I got a good deal on a secondhand but virtually new intrument, still within warranty. It is a bit expensive considering the build quality, some of the knobs feel a bit loose, the cutoff knob surprise surprise, which is annoying but I’m not gigging it so hopefully it won’t develop into a problem.
AR2. Slightly used but only a few months old and in near-mint condition. It took me a few days to get to grips with the Elektron sequencer… I didn’t even manage to program a beat until day two and lost some work along the way whilst learning to use it which I think happens to everyone. I reckon I could use this machine for years and still be only scratching the surface. I haven’t even tried using performances or scenes yet or parameter slides and have barely dipped a toe into what’s possible with trig conditions. Pads aren’t the greatest but in practice it doen’t affect things too much.
Behringer Neutron. If i had a young son I would buy him one of these for Christmas. It reminds me of one of those chemistry sets with a bunch of experiments that you can do with it. It even looks like a toy. It does kind of run a bit hot but the distortion circuit can be bypassed. I intend to use this a lot more in future, especially for bass and sfx.
Nord lead 3 and Novation Nova
Two synths that I used to have back in the early 2000’s. I know the Nova inside out and still have my old patches. One of the best bang for the buck synths ever made.
The NL3 was probably the greatest of the leads in terms of what it’s capable of. I don’t know why people rag on the filters, I can’t hear much difference from demos of the NL2 on youtube. I think maybe a lot of people were thrown off by the additional filter types and the fm aspect but I could be wrong. Sounds fine to me, I love the cutting sound of the Nord.
Modor NF1m. I bought this after watching a demo on yt and I had to have that sound. It’s a bit of a bugger to use… it took me a very long time to work out how to save and rename patches which seems unnecessarily convoluted imo and it takes some effort to program but it’s capable of some really beautiful and very cold, creepy and disturbing sounds. I’m hoping that Marcel does a bit more to develop its capabilities. Oscillator panning would really make it twice as good and morphing between filter types would be nice. Definitely worth persevering with this one.
Digitakt X2. Bought a used DT after I decided to send the AR2 back to Elektron for repair as a couple of the pads were less sensitive than the others and producing sudden jumps in velocity output relative to how hard the pads were hit. It was still within warranty so I thought it was best to get it looked at… Fell in love with it and then we got the massive update and I loved it even more, even considered selling the AR2 for a while which was boxed up for a couple of months. I bought another secondhand DT when the first one lost its eye when the NL3 fell on it. DT number 2 is currently in its box under the bed.
Behringer Pro 1 and Model D. Bought secondhand. No complaints. Haven’t used very much but they have the sounds that the originals are famous for and I will use them more.
NI Maschine Mikro3. I got this for finger drumming and haven’t used it much yet but it’s perfect for the job except for the annoying USB only lack of midi outs aspect . Very responsive to nuances in velocity. I tried using it with the Maschine software but the pc struggled with the workload and I didn’t want to get into learning another program just for the sake of it.
MISS
Presonus 1824C. I realized I needed more inputs and didn’t want to buy a mixer due to space constraints so got one of these after reading / watching good reviews. I noticed something lacking in the sound as soon as it was set up. Music I was currently working on didn’t sound the same, some of the things I was expecting to hear just weren’t there anymore. Put my old soundcard back in (Audiophile 2496) and the sounds were back again. Sent it back the next day and bought a Delta 1010lt. I won’t go near Presonus again.
HIT and MISS
Meris Polymoon. Bought secondhand. Love the sound but hate the interface. So many annoying aspects to this pedal, the lack of visual feedback… is the patch saved?, the inaccessibility of the Midi aspect and the incredibly stupid unplug it and plug it back in again to access the settings functions with the speaker shattering thud that entails. I would have happily paid another £50 for an lcd screen and a switch. Why, Meris… why?
more hits
Behringer MS-1. I got a refurb from Behringer on ebay. It’s got that early Autechre sound and more besides with the filter fm ability. Absolute bargain and surprisingly well built and heavy. I was expecting it to be all plastic like a Casio but it has a metal base and it feel solid throughout although the keybed is very light which is nice too, in its own way.
OTO. Bim, Bam, Boum. An extravagant purchase but I had to have them and have no regrets. Going to use on everything.
Behringer Deepmind 12d. Bought secondhand in excellent condition. I’m blown away by how good this is. Absolute bargain.
I don’t plan to buy anything like this much gear in 2022. I’ve pretty much got all I need now.
On a side note, I really wanted to love the UDO Super 6 but I’ve watched every demo I can find and don’t get the hype and it isn’t exactly cheap. Sure it’s premium quality but It just sounds kind of too flat and normal to me… there is a kind of airyness about it but it lacks something somehow, it doesn’t seem to squelch. … likewise the Hydrasynth, there is something squared-off about the sound, maybe they both come to life in the right hands but so far I’m not feeling either of them.
My 2021:
MicroMonsta2: Mega hit! Love the sound, love the UI, love the size
BitWig: Bit hit. Never opened Ableton again.
Dirtywave M8: Played around with the headless version a lot, just got the real unit and loving it.
Numark Mixstream Pro: Bit hit. Love to be able to do some “DJing” without being bound to my Notebook and my Desk.
AKG K712 Pro: My old headphones broke, bought new ones. Like them
MPC One: No hit but no miss also. I use it way to less, but have fun jamming it from time to time.
Circuit Track: Miss. It’s still a Circuit. Sure, the Midi part is an enhancement, and I like the new form factor more, but it is still not for me
Biggest of all hits in 2021: Bought a dog. I knew that I missed something all the years of not being able to have one, but my lord, did I underestimated how much I missed.
Are you sure, you weren’t just hearing some bad mix decisions, made with your old interface?
absolutely sure, sounded like mud
Ok. Weird for them to screw up so badly.
It’s not a case of bad mix decisions. I’m generally dissatisfied when I listen to mixes later on. It’s a simple matter of sounds just not being there anymore. There were details in the bass, slight distortions and movements that were just absent with the Presonus and overall the sound just wasn’t as good, had less sparkle and seemed uninteresting.
I really want to get a cat but I’m scared the government has plans to take pets away at a their discretion… I’m not even joking. Having a beloved cat taken away is a fate worse than death… worse even than losing a girlfriend. I couldn’t bear having a beloved cat taken away.
Dunno in what country you are living, but why should the government do that?
I think you should get a cat. You’ll both be fine.
Unsure:
Model:Cycles - Bit of an impulse buy when it when on sale. I think it’s fun but it hasn’t had a lot of use since the weekend it arrived. The single LFO and lack of attack envelope kind of kills it for me. I quite like the sound though so maybe a Digitone would be fun? I find the form factor and the complexity of the Digitakt to be a real sweet-spot.
Sony TC-377 Reel to Reel -Watched too many ambient tape videos on youtube so I caught the portastudio GAS real hard. The prices on those are pretty silly to me though so I went for the cheapest 2-track on Facebook Marketplace.
It might be my unit but it’s quite fiddly and generally a bit of a pain to use. Tried doing some sound on sound looping which was a pretty frustrating experience. Going to keep trying, though!
2022:
Still going to keep an eye out for a portastudio.
Considering a DN but I generally use samples way more in my music. Which brings me to the Octatrack. I really, really want an OT - but I’m worried about spending an irresponsible (for me) amount of cash on something so polarising. Someone convince me, please!
I really enjoy reading this thread (didn’t think I would at first), so here is my contribution. I’ve been back into making music in 2020-2021 after a several years break, so quite a lot of fun rebuilding the studio so to say.
Hits :
Elektron Machinedrum. A while ago I had a mk2 UW/+Drive and didn’t click with it (I was then the eurorack kind of person). I found the sound was a bit cold and sterile, as some people say. Used it on a track or two and sold it (mostly for chopped voice samples, so…). A few months ago, I was lured into the Machinedrum again when I heard of os X, and found a mint mk2 (no UW). What an great device. I love the sound (this time), the user experience is perfect. I agree with what is often said : it really feels like an instrument, more than a tool. Because of this, I don’t really feel it has any « limitation » (a violin sure cannot sound like a piano, but that is no limitation), as compared, for example, with my Digitakt, which feels like a (formidable, I think) tool, with some annoying limitations. The two works very well together (thank you Digitakt’s conditionnal trigs and stuff, thank you Machinedrum song mode). Also, I realized that, though I am a lot into synthesis, for some reason I have always been relying on samples when it comes to drum sounds. Well, this is over. Took me some time. Plus, this has freed my Digitakt for more creative samples mangling / texturing.
Nord Modular G1. I don’t think it’s necessary to explain how great that is. In the past, had three micromodulars, a nord modular rack. I am happy I found the keys version. Also, pretty cute. I am still wondering why the nord modular concept don’t seem to have any legacy. It seems to me people would jump on it, but I might be wrong.
SSL Six. I didn’t think that I would ever think of a mixer has one of my favorite piece of gear, but that happened. Indredible flexibility, ease of use, like everyone says.
Ferrofish Pulse 16 / RME Digiface combo. Works well with the SSL Six. I don’t know how people can do without Total Mix.
Moog Subharmonicon. From times to times I think : well, I don’t know, maybe it’s a bit limited, etc. ; end then something beautiful and unexpected comes out of it. I am thinking I should get a DFAM.
Norand Mono. Kinda the opposite of the Subharmonicon sound wise. Screaming and raucous, modulate everything. Filter FM. Probably a bit expensive, and I think I am not a fan of the envelopes shapes, but still. Designed in Vannes where I spend my holidays by the sea.
Not sure :
Sonicware ELZ 1. There is a lot to love about it. Nice form factor, portable, some curious synth engines (very well laid out FM engine, where the succession of the algorithms makes sense, for once). But, despite the numerous firmaware upgrades, still lacking in the modulation department. That with the fact that it doesn’t respond to midi cc’s makes for quite a static / not very expressive sound generator. Wondering if I should sell it. On the other hand it does some sounds that my others synths don’t. Though I think I don’t love 8 bit that much. Oh, well.
No real definitive misses for me this year. End of 2020 miss, though : Polyend Tracker.
You bought a dog? From a breeder?
May I ask what kind of dog it is?
Hits
Misses
I am all for golden retrievers.
My hit for 2022 will be people not turning every thread into a post apocalyptic rap battle about who’s the rightiest.
Yes, but does it have aftertouch?
And a new hit
Torso t1 - only just got this but after an hour with it this morning I think it will be my last minute hit for 2021. Very hands on and already worked out the basics. Feels like it goes a lot deeper though
Model cycles - again, this has just arrived and was using it sequenced by the t1. Early days but I like the sound and hands on tweaking of each track.
I did exactly this this year, I think I forgot to put it on my list. It sounded fine, but covered everything below where the RAT started. If I wanted to warm it up a bit and add a sight crunch then fine, but I’m more of a sonic annihilation guy, so RAT it will be, always.
top combo, I got the same. I sold my mixer when I got this, I mix itb. intrigued about ssl mixer.
may I ask how the mixer fits into your setup? thanks