Ergonomics and the desirability of design (over...)

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Some things just look fcking cool.

When was the last time you checked the quality of the stitching on those jeans after your heart was swooned away imagining yourself wearing them and looking cool? (before trying them threads on)? Nothing will every change, desire is pretty much us.

every week our thirst for newness is fired up by the warm avalanche that only X can serve. another sleek device. another beautiful gizmo that’ll be even more productive catching dust, before comfortably nestling in the ever-expanding box of not so-new-forgotten thrills that aren’t even now worthy to catch retro dust. Oh, how I lusted after you…we got together and then…something sexier just came along.
it’s not the sounds we always crave. it’s the fcking object. it used to be the pretentious marketing, everything lowercase, spacious, elegant lettering…ho, oh!

But there’s some examples/trends that I think are worthy of some consideration;
How TE boosted the price of the OG-1 by almost a 1/3 after its sabbatical, encouraged by the raging s/h market value.

See the attraction/social media instagram/is the fuji100v overpriced? click pimps…

Design cool is the primary factor of desire? Who wants an ugly looking synth that sounds amazing? Or visa versa.

The Polyend Play ticks all the right boxes and more. Youtube elegant, ya look like a pro when flicking random buttons (Ala op-z fx button mashers)…and it’s priced just out of reach to make it even more desirable. 16 bit mono. no line-in. dodgy midi. £700.

Now, when compared to the op-z the Play certainly is good value. But the op-z is also the same price as a PS5, and a PS5 controller is a damn decent bit of durable kit. Have you ever had your pad pop buttons, random trig…warp? No? Can you imagine the (rightly so) backlash?

and I don’t think anything is coming close to the Polyend Play (and my desire for wanting one).
it’s sleek, modern, brushed-metal, tactile masterclass. The randomness functionality makes it perfect for the button mashing YouTube who’s flaked countlessly cool vids with their warped op-z.

I think the scales are loaded in favour of design. Or certainly that’s the pull. But no-one will buy Noel Gallagher’s new (crappiy-named) album because of its horrendously shite cover. Maybe that’s a daft example.

Some things just come almost perfect. Screamadelica / Loveless / Astral Weeks.
Some things come wonky but look beautiful.
Sometimes what we want is something that looks beautiful, yet once we own it it’ll be as used as the other dustcatching fadish relics that weigh down the lonely shelf…or end up in some 50 year old YouTubers toy shelf collection (seriously, why the fck are these, usually intelligent men, always men, not be embarrassed by being surrounded by having wee plastic dolls?)

okies…too much wine,

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#2

I for sure place aesthetics and design quite high when considering a purchase. But I’m quite pragmatic, and the reason is because if something has bad visual design and ergonomics other things are probably not very well thought out too, at least in my experience.

I see a lot of eye candy gear that does not appeal to me too, because it does not do what I need.

So yes it is an important consideration, but not the only one, at least as far as functional items are concerned.

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#3

I would very much want an ugly looking synth that sounds amazing.

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#4

oh wouldn’t that be a YouTubers cult sleeper UNDERRATED! dream :slight_smile:

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#6

I think your assuming your thought processes are the same as everyone else’s.

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#7

Not on YouTube here, just for my own personal pleasure. I have enough good looking synths.
Probably wouldn’t sell well though, synthappeal sells

After a few synths for me
Functionality/sound/ergonomics/layout
All of tied importance weighed in a tipped balance
Waya way down this list- is it pretty? Meh

But I just use synths I don’t make them

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#8

I have no shame. I’m using the Bass Station 2, even though I can feel the sexier gear like the Medusa and the Launchpad Pro mk3 trying to creep to the opposite side of the table when I’m looking the other way. I wouldn’t even say no to a System 8, and that thing is hideous.

Btw OP-Z build quality sucks, but if mine ever dies, I’m getting a new one for sure. I’ve never seen anything more inspiring.

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#9

I spent a lot of time using an SP-404. It helped me understand sampling, overcoming limited polyphony and appreciating destructive sampling. However, there came a time when I continued to incorporate it into my setup, long after Ableton Live proved that it did everything the SP could do and so much more, but I kept on forcing myself to use the SP. I had two at one point, I even named them. It’s definitely a fetish of sorts - the rubber buttons, the metal chassis, the porthole-like window over the screen, the image of countless lads in baseball caps flipping the same jazz chops to the SwuM samples over and over again. Using them made my tracks sound worse, as I was passing finished songs through the compressor, but I felt part of a movement. And I think that’s the point - this sort of thinking makes us believe we are a part of something, a tribe if you will. Humans are social animals and need to belong to something, and the SP ticked the boxes I was looking for, despite it making my music worse. I remember regretting selling it, as it felt it was a part of me, and without it I didn’t belong to my tribe anymore.

The Play also has me desiring it for its ability to quickly spew out interesting loops out of samples, but the limitations of mono samples in combination with the lack of a ‘sound’ of its own and the rather steep price tag keeps me away. The Tracker taught me what trackers were all about and allowed me to see the Elektron sequencer in a new light, but it was never a keeper, and I think the Play would have the same enlightening yet transitory place in my life.

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#10

Ironically posted on a forum of a specific gear manufacturer. One known for a cult classic following that has now from what I gather grown into something viewd a as a bit of a cult from the outside, which also happens to be a very open minded not sole gear manufacturer discussion zone for all sorts of things music and sometimes life in general.

It would seem many here like this brand because of the creative potential it can bring more than just a love of the physical form of the gear itself, seeing past the shiny, while also joing the club of something where musical boundaries are easily pushed a little further.
Specific gear to other gear and sometimes bleeding into musical philosophy. A place that could easily have a narrow focus seems quite broad and inclusive but pushes into a vast array of musical territories, so the so called elektron cult or more of a wider encompassing ‘music tribe’ I might say if that didn’t already have other connotations

Okies… need more wine,
Then maybe I this will make sense

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#11

Nah, I’m not that daft, even if I did write those thoughts from a certain perspective.

#12

Indeed! I’ve been bitten by and since healed and vaccinated myself from the Elektron bug. I don’t have anything Elektron in my life anymore, other than the amazing memories. Though I’m sure I’ll be back using their stuff again soon.

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#13

What about Elektronauts itself?
I’d class that as ‘Elektron’… you’re still a user.
I’d also say Elektronauts has the design desirability over most other forums I’ve seen. :sunglasses:

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#14

What if the true Elektron device is the forum itself? :open_mouth:

wow-keanu-reeves

Seriously though, I love that concept. And I wouldn’t have come here had I not owned an Elektron device to begin with. So yeah, we reached the end simply by beginning.

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#15

I’ve learned that aesthetics is a critical factor for almost anything I buy. I particularly like robust designs, like it’s been built to last. I don’t mind “patina” as long as it doesn’t reveal cheap build compromises. If it’s an industrial design, small scratches can almost enhance the feel of it, whereas if it’s cheap plastic, it makes me not want to use it. I once collected Saddleback Leather bags. :see_no_evil::cow2:

In the synth world, I definitely love the Syntakt with its black metal, beautiful led’s and its excellent screen. But also the Minilogue XD with its robust switches and its almost perfect knob resistance. And I know that the retro (vs the standard black) colors of the MPC One was a part of why I loved it so much. I think about customizing my synths often, but I haven’t committed to any actual customization.

I hated the Street Fighter Pocket Operator despite looking so cool on the product photos. That’s the opposite of being built to last. :joy: And I don’t love the MC-101 with its squeaky plastic and would have gladly paid a bit more for a metal version of it with a better screen.

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#16

In boutique guitar pedal world, aesthetics are a standard concern since people mostly just buy slightly tweaked versions of old popular pedals :stuck_out_tongue:

Boss is very shrewd to cut out the middle man with their waza-craft line

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#17

I think comparing a PS5 to a polyend play is a little unfair. PS5 is being made by a giant company who has been making similar products for decades, which sells in the millions. I would be very surprised if there are more than 10,000 polyend plays out there in the wild. The difference in scale is enormous, and makes massive differences in prices and capability.

#18

I don’t believe I did. I compared the ps5 controller to the op-z.

#19

My favorites for music instrument/production gear are:

  1. usability and ergonimics (if I can’t get it to work, the best sound engine doesn’t make sense to me)
  2. sound
  3. built quality, reliability, and durability

If it’s looking nice too, great, but I have never had an instrument, which was ergonomically great and did have an ugly look and feel :wink:

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#20

…form follows function…in best case…
good design is not for pleasing the eye, but for a longlasting, fluid and overall satisfying user experience…

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#21

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