M1 Macbook Air - Wow I was such a computer hater for the longest time, what was i thinking. All i needed was a 10x better computer at budget prices. Great time to be alive.
Prophet 10 - Great reason to get some consumer debt and not go on vacation for a couple years. Wouldnt trade it for anything.
Rhodes MK2 with Retro Flyer preamp- So much gas was just compensating for not having a rhodes, which i hear prominently on like 75% of the music i enjoy. This has quieted the demons in a big way for now.
Morphagene - For the longest time i avoided it because everyone seemed to have one. I was a fool, the reason they all have it is because it sounds insane and endless fun can be had splicing mcdonalds salad commercials
Beads - the reason everyone has/wants one is because it rules. everything i love about clouds and units like the eventide pitch shifters. great sounds, nice surprises. ill probably keep it forever
Hit:
Allen and Heath zed 14 , just wow.
Midi solutions Quadra thru, why on earth didnt I get one of these years ago?
Analog Heat. Saved up and its worth every penny.
Miss. Dore usb Midi host. Cheap as chips, but too jittery and laggy for me. Shame.
On the fence: Bought the Behringer 303, Its a 303 it does what it does and for the price zero complaints as i always wanted a 303 but never had the means. After my first couple of sessions with it was making great sounds (just sits in the mix so easily) but its collecting dust now as it seems to only make music sound more unoriginal, the RYTM dvco bassline sounding way more out there for what i want.
I think a lot of people have that experience with the TD-3. It’s super cheap and quite faithful to the original. Truth is a lot of people probably don’t have much of a use for its particular sound.
If you want some inspiration for using it in a pretty original way, check out some of the IDM guys. Kettel comes to mind for me. He uses it in really melodic ways.
I’m bringing this thread back to life since we are nearing the end of the year and we can truly evaluate our purchases now.
My Misses:
Maschine Plus - I loved it at first, because I really do think the maschine workflow is fantastic. But I found myself mostly using it in controller mode because I kept hitting cpu limitations, bugs, crashes etc. Eventually found it didn’t really mesh with me and I sold it. I still think it’s great, just not really where I’m at these days.
MPC Live 2 - I just can’t do the the whole touch screen thing anymore and the workflow can get frustrating for me. But, I love chopping samples on it, though I am making different style music so stopped using it and eventually sold it as well.
My hits:
Soma Lyra-8 - I am finding instruments that aren’t the master of all, become more fun for me to play. Lyra is a perfect example of that. It’s got a sound that’s difficult to tame and doesn’t work with everything, but it’s truly an experience and joy to use. I really do love it so much.
Soma Pulsar 23 - Same as above. It’s just fun and it’s very crazy and you just get lost in it. You pay a premium, but the experience is so very worth it.
Launchpad Pro Mk3 - The most surprising of all, because the latest version doesn’t have a massive following as an external sequencer. I love the workflow on this, as my new workflow is completely hybrid now and having the Launchpad has been a lifesaver. I can be completely in Ableton and have it work seamlessly, I can be completely out of the box and have it sequence all my gear with no computer on, or I can have a hybrid approach where I sequence external gear and internal VSTs. I use 2 Launchpad Pro Mk3’s side by side. That gives me 8 dedicated tracks/sequencers, for all my external gear, plus easy to use scales, chords, etc and a bunch of custom modes where I can do fun CC changes etc. Also, the other benefit of having 2 is when using Ableton the left one can be in note view and the right one can be in session view. It’s always on with no way to turn off, so any time I want to quickly jam out, it’s just there ready to go, there is no load time etc. Its just simple, no screens, lighting quick workflow like the circuit it borrows from, fun and easy use of probability, easy to configure, and has made my workflow significantly faster.
Well, after some time and experimentation, it appears to be a hit. Tried it with different effects pedals and it came alive really. For bass patches overdrive pedals adds warmth and body, for pads and textures delay, reverb and modulation is really opening its potential.
Sampling the textures, some basslines and one-shots into the Digitakt is a perfect creativity boost.
Hits:
MPC Live II Retro Edition - I really like the MPC Live workflow and all the possibilities it offers. I had an MPC Live previously but on a whim bought the Retro as I thought it looked very good and reminded me of my old 2000XL. It might be the most expensive new piece of gear I’ve ever bought but no regrets. I was a little bit sceptical about the speakers but they actually add a lot to the usability and versatility.
Roland V-Synth XT - For years I’ve been craving for Roland flagships from the 90s and early 2000s. I have the XV-5080 but I wanted to get an Integra. Then I found the VP-9000 and realized it’s potential. There’s none of them for sale so I did something I’ve never done before. I put up an ”want to buy” ad for a V-Synth and scored. It’s immensely deep and so very satisfying in all regards. And it has a free D-50 included. Never selling it.
Teenage Engineering OP-Z - I wanted one when it came out but they wouldn’t sell me one when I visited Stockholm so I ended up spending my swedish trip synth budget on a Digitone. I read a lot about the OP-Z and slowly but surely my interest in it vaned. In september this year a teenage girl sold one locally for a very cheap price and I wanted to give it a try. It’s possibly the most ”fun” piece of equipment I own. And at the same time very very serious and powerful. Mine is bent a little like they seem to be and even the pitchbend switch is broken, but I love it. It has made me crave for an OP-1 back.
Blokas Midihub - I’ve had several regular midi thru boxes and every time I end up selling them. The midihub offers so much more that it’s quickly become one of the most important tools in my setup. Beautiful.
Yamaha QY-700 - Sold it once, last year but will never sell it again. Feel extremely lucky to have been able to buy one back. Fantastic.
Misses:
Yamaha SU-700 - I bought this as a ”forced combo” with the QY-700. Third time wasn’t the charm with this one. I’ve owned it before and it’s great but it’s huge and it’s ancient. My Digitakt and MPC do everything a lot faster and more efficient. Sold it and no regrets.
Komplete Kontrol M32 - I needed a compact midi keyboard and somebody sold one of these locally for a very cheap price. I thought that I wouldn’t mind the missing DIN-midi, but I do. I have no use for it and I’m thinking of selling it. The only thing stopping me from selling is the software which came included. I like the software but not the hardware. Maybe somebody will just buy the keyboard.
On the fence:
Korg M3 - I bought one for a very cheap price locally as it had a faulty touch screen. I ordered a replacement and I’m waiting for it. It’s somewhat usable now but all the deeper features are out of reach. It sounds fantastic but I need to see how I like it when I’ve swapped the screen. It’s a very weird shape and size so I need to see if there’s a place for it somewhere. I wish I could have the keyboard and the Radias -module too.
I bought some big ticket items this year. A reward for spending 10 years saving to buy a house and having a bit left over. Plus GAS.
Hits:
ARmkii - total love; I’ve been gushing about it for two days on other threads so I’ll save the repetition here
Korg MS-20FS - I borrowed my school’s MS-10 30 years ago. Finally own my own MS-something and it’s as wild and fun as I remembered. However, it’s almost overshadowed by…
Moog Matriarch - beautiful in form, function and sound. I can sit playing it for hours. Even simple sounds have a quality that makes them more polished than similar ones from other gear. Plus if’s so exploratory. I love the immediacy, of being forced to record it right now if I want to keep anything.
Tascam DR-40x: it’s so liberating to have a hand-held mic+recorder combo. I use it for sampling, recording practice jams, recording performances for posterity/sharing, getting candid comments from people. It’s so quick, easy and useful that it feels like an extension of me
In limbo
OTmkii - very useful. I’m glad I have it, but I still don’t love it
voice chips and refurb for my Juno-106: it’s great to have it fully functional, for the first time in many years, but maybe I could just let this go now I have Matriarch and the Rev2 I got last year. I thought I had nostalgia for it, but it turns out I don’t.
Model:Cycles - too early to tell
Misses
Polyend/Dreadbox Medusa - instant, surprising hated of its overall tone and frustration with the tiny screen, menus & sequencer/controller. It cemented how I just need to learn keyboard better rather than fighting the scale limitations of a grid. I couldn’t shift it fast enough
Still on the interested/GAS list: Lyra-8, DNK, Oto Boum, Zen Delay, a reverb pedal, Strega, the perfect mixer with a lot of stereo and digital outs (but secretly I want a Six and to replace the RME I shouldn’t have sold).
been thinking the same thing about my juno, I have a rev2 that can do what it does more or less.
also instead of replacing all the chips I only replaced one, and now a second one failed of course…the thing is I love juno pads they’re so quick and easy to make and they sound so good
Bought too much stuff (as a total noob trying to find what I like/want/enjoy). Not going to list it all, in terms of hits:
Digitone. Second time around, totally in love
NTS-1. Bargain, great effects, especially the HammondEggs music reverbs.
Analog Heat. Love it, always on.
I don’t think I really have misses, just things I didn’t gel with/take the time to learn. I will say, I bought too much, and I was overwhelmed at times, and any of the things I bought could have ended up in the HIT list, if I’d bought them at the time when I realised I needed to focus on 1 or 2 things at most in order to enjoy the process. Timing, as ever, is probably more important than which bit of kit was blessed by said good timing.
Miss: Behringer 2600 Grey Meanie. I just couldn’t get along with those tiny pointy faders. They just didn’t really feel nice to tweak. Felt a bit toyish to me.
While the sound was good, especially for the price, it was still missing something even with all the extra features. I hear demos of the Korg arp 2600m which sound way better to me, and has that vintage mojo I wasnt getting from the b2600. Though that costs 3 times as much.
Hits: Moog Matriarch, Moog Dfam, Dreadbox Erebus v3, Digitone keys… Not much needs to be explained about how great those are.
Matrixbrute. Big and expensive gear can more quickly feel like a burden to me. Staring at me, asking why I’m not turning it on constantly. Plus the way the arp couldn’t be recorded like i would’ve liked. Plus it was a bit too difficult to get sounding good for me - too many oscillators, gain stages, filters, for me to sweet spot it. The presets sounded amazing. Lesson learned.
Win:
Smaller, less panic-gassy modular, this second time around. I love the techno loops that flow so easily from it.
PS: Oh and I think I got my two H9s this year! Pure win, use them in everything. Their reverbs are great, which I knew. Loving the tape Delay for my modular. Often use the Mangledverb with a small 16th predelay. Creates a great textured offset rythm.
On the fence:
DB-01. I really like it, for its sound and simplicity. The sequencer is starting to grow on me. On the fence because I often don’t use it, because time and again I find how much I love the focus of Rytm + small modular into OT. But, opposed to the Matrixbrute, it’s small and reasonably affordable enough to just enjoy it sometimes.
Fellow DB-01 owner here, if you’re struggling to find a place for your DB-01 I would recommend making the most of the random pattern generator. Give it some external clock, set a random pattern in and plug in a couple pedals. I use a distortion and delay and use form drones to un predictable melodic or rhythmic lines and it’s proven to be one of the best ways to get some unexpected changes in.
I got back into modular and most of my purchases were related to that this year
Hits:
Joranalogue Filter 8 - bought for filtering, found a new love for it as an 8 out LFO
Noise Engineering Ataraxic Iteritas - On the surface an aggressive digital oscillator, but discovered it could be massaged into all kinds of interesting sounds. Weird as hell, but behaves when it wants to
Mutable Instruments Marbles - I found it to be interesting and instantly inspiring, one of my favorite modules to add movement to a patch.
Nonlinear Circuits Triple Sloth Chaos - This is currently my favorite module. Its difficult to explain but something about this module is alive, and has a will of its own. Its eerie to modulate things with its various outs. Forever drifting between seemingly random CV values to shockingly musical and beatiful coherent patterns. A wonderful exploration of sound synthesis.
MIsses:
only two misses that I had this year so far
Endorphin.ES Queen of Pentacles. - I was looking for a straight forward complete hybrid drum voice and that what it is. It is a great module and sounds really awesome. The filter section is really nice and it has a generous supply DSP processing. Unfortunately I had two defective units back to back. Finally after the techs at the shop I bought it from couldn’t figure out what was going on they refunded me and I moved on to other percussion sources. Sucks because I really wanted to like this module.
The other one is the IK Multimedia UNO synth. This was a huge disappointment right away. The unit I received was scratched and had a non-functioning midi USB port. The sound is meh and it feels like a toy. IK’s customer service was pretty bad too and I never ended up getting a replacement unit. I ended up selling because it did me no good not being able to connect to anything
Have bought quite a lot of gear this year so I would like to point out the one piece that makes me happy the most.
Actually it is a Kenton MIDI Thru box.
Before I have been using an USB-MIDI interface hooked up to my PC and it was absolutely impossible to use the internal sequencers / arps of my synths and drum machines.
Now, Ableton is still the master clock in my setup but I am using OB on DN with the Kenton to distribute MIDI clock to everyone else and it works like a charme. Of course, I had to finetune the hardware delay in Ableton’s External Instruments but that was only once in the beginning.
No other piece of gear gave me such a good feeling this year as being able to have my lil friends all play together in harmony (… and having saved 500 bucks for a Multiclock).
