I’ve had one sitting in my basket for over a week now, waiting to see if there would be a discount; but after spending that extra time researching it, I think I’ve talked myself out of the purchase.
It feels like Novation may have abandoned the new models.
The original Circuit was praised for its support, but there have been no updates in over a year for the Circuit Tracks, and 10+ months for the Rhythm - with the Rhythm still missing features like being able to play samples chromatically (which I believe the Tracks can do?)
As much as the device and its workflow is appealing to me, I get the impression that most users are hoping for a “Pro” model to address complaints of the Tracks/Rhythm - rather than them being universally praised like the original.
And though it’s double the price, the recently-updated SP-404MKII seems to cover most of the feature requests I see Rhythm owners asking for (stereo sampling, polyphony, chromatic playback, timestretching, better effects, etc).
The form-factor/workflow of the two seems quite different though, with the Rhythm being more focused on sequencing and building up patterns/songs, while the SP-404MKII seems built more around live performance.
I feel compelled to encourage US buyers to always check Thomann before making any purchases. Sometimes the price differences aren’t enough to make it worth one’s while after S&H, which is always more than you’d pay in the states (which makes perfect sense), but they’re frequently big enough that they’re compelling even after S&H, and occasionally, they’re just batshit crazy. I bought a Waldorf Pulse 2 for $500 with S&H a couple of months ago. Looking at their prices right now, they’re even lower than they were at the time. Then, as now, the price for a Waldorf Pulse 2 at every US retailer i checked was $900. Yes. A $400+ savings. I don’t understand, and I don’t question.
If you’re in the UK & have Amazon Prime, they’re doing 20% off some warehouse deals (discount applied at checkout), including the TR-6S, which means you can get it for £220.
I noticed the Zoom R16 was also in the Prime Day sale - lack of sync makes it limited as a multitrack (though with a bit of effort you can clock modular gear with the metronome), but it works well as an 8-input audio device and control surface for the MPC and Force.
The Syntakt was definitely badly priced. Also the general online reception to the Syntakt seems to be fairly mild, I wonder if that played into the price drop? I know that a lot of people here really like it - including myself - but looking elsewhere, people seem generally lukewarm on it. Once the initial hype died down, opinions feel like they started to sour really quickly.
it’s been consistently in the top 3 drum machines on thomann sales listings. I have no idea if that translates into very good sales or not tho.
dunno about how it ranks now, maybe it’s dropped in the past month 🤷
launch price was fairly spicey, no denying that.
[same with the Play, it’s current features warrant a sub €500 price tag imo - nice machine, but €850?].
I’ve mostly been avoiding gear retail sites lately, didn’t realize it’s been top 3 drum machines the whole time. I kinda chalk that up to it simply being new, though. We’ll know in a few months or a year how well it actually holds up, I think.
Yeah, if the play was in the $500-600 range I’d try one out. But for the current price it’s absolutely not worth it, especially given the seemingly huge number of bugs and what feel like really weird workflow decisions.
Good to know. Was just reading this gearspace post about ordering from Thomas to the States and Op writes that they paid $156 in customs/duties for a $793 order. Would love to hear differently because that ST price tag is very appealing…
