Came across this MiniAk/Micron controller on Ebay.
Not as cheap as the instrument itself, but the price combined is about what an ION would cost, though more portable.
If you really end up liking the Micron sound, it is worth considering.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Controller-for-Akai-Miniak-Alesis-Micron-Knobs-for-your-synth-/191549603053?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c993efced
I may go this route instead of the Xiosynth I was planning, as I am also keen on multi timbrality.
I work behind a computer all day, and I just cringe when going home to make tracks and looking at the computer more.
Oh I agree. Itās the reason I went Elektron in the first place.
But itās a nice option to have and does make sound design on the A4 quicker for me at least.
I donāt like jamming with my computer though.
How about the OP-1?
It doesnāt exactly fit what I described, but I love the sound and it seems quite versatile. And odd
I didnt mention the OP-1 because of your OP, but now that you mention it, those are so fucking fun, sound great, look cool, etc etc.
First time I played one it was with the built in speaker only, I couldnāt put it down. No manual, no instruction, no tips, and I had fun for about 4 hours straight.
I need to get one of those eventually.
Hello
If I can go back a step and challenge something. Maybe increase the size of your space?
If that is not possible (which it normally is, I got a new apartment when I ran out of room for gear).
Or, just get an A4 and enjoy.
Well, in theory you can have more than eight (I donāt remember how many sequences you can have in one setup, but if there is a limit, it is a large one), but obviously you will get voice stealing with enough stuff going on at the same time.
Even though you could create entire songs on it (as long as you manually select what to play when), it would probably be a bit of a pain. The sequencer feature is not what Iād call a creative tool. It is nothing like the Elektron gear. Once I owned the Octatrack I used that to sequence the Micron, before that I mostly used a DAW.
When I DID use the sequencer, I did stuff like mapping a drum pattern to, say, C1, a drum fill on C#1 and a variation of the drums to D for instance. And then perhaps made a rhythmic bass pattern that would play in the pitch of the key I pressed on the lowest octave or so and played some chord progressions with my right hand on top of that. Stuff like that that was useful when playing in a band or to have some ābacking trackā patterns to jam along to. You could probably think of the sequencer more like a handy way to record and loop small phrases than a proper compositional tool.
The OP-1 is hard to fit into a live setup, but, on its own, itās one of the most versatile and well designed/engineered pieces of gear I can think of.
Itās, quite honestly, staggeringly brilliant.
The UI/UX, workflow, and build alone are worth the price.
Unfortunately, itās monotimbral, quirky, and has a specific sound that doesnāt cotton well to general use.
The output can be staticky, the tape tracks record to mono, and thereās a lot of limitations surrounding its different instruments.
As a stand alone instrument, itās a thumbs up.
Working with other instruments in tandem, itās a thumbs sideways.
It works for some people, but I could just never find a way to inject it into my day-to-day.
It works[/quote]
sPlendid![/quote]
I was in a rush when I responded earlier.
I wanted to add that not only does it work, but it is a great tool for layering. As you can send Rytm voices out the individual outs and main outs at the same time, you can use those individual outs as triggers for ND1 or ND2 and still hear Rytmās synth/sample drums out the mains.
So, the Nord Drum becomes a third drum layer this way. You could route the output back into Rytm for compression, though you may need a boost pedal, or preamp (stereo if using ND2) to get it nice and loud for Rytmās tame input.
_
Also, Rytm sends program change, and ND1&2 receive it.
Itās a great match for those into layered drum sounds. You have your analog synth drums, your digital sampled drums through analog filters and distortion, and your digitally modeled Nord drums through Rytmās analog compressor.[/quote]
Hey Adam. Yup exactly what I was thinking of doing, thatās very cool news.
The program change you mention is very handy and as well as that you have the nOrd being able to convert the input triggers to nOrd midi out, giving yourself even more options. I was gonna y-cable my seperate outs to noRd so I have still the same options for RYTmās seperate outs, and yeah just back into rytMās input with an old compreSsor I got for boost. Thanks so much for info
editā¦nord dRum2 for input trigger to midi out only from what I can gather?? Not able with Nord drum 1 I think
I think that many people would say that the Micron/MiniAkās design is more like that of a groovebox (that is, a pattern-based sequencer with synth engine) than a workstation. Thereās no reason that you canāt put a whole song together on it, but it would take some dedication to becoming familiar with its interface.
(I havenāt yet tried an editor with my Micron: just the front panel.)
You can have 26 parts in a setup, but remember there are only eight voices. (But then also remember what you can do with an Analog Four with only four voices.)
Thanks for all the good advise, fellas.
I wonder if I should just stop being silly, as I said at the beginning of this thread, sell of most of my gear, grow up and get an Analog Keys. Iām a keyboard player, classically trained pianist to begin with, and I think Iām trying to tell myself that I donāt need a keyboard for making this kind of music. But at the same time, I can just feel my fingers aching for something to play while Iām jammin on my Rytm.
Perhaps I should just stop this nonsense and get an Analog Keys and learn it, goddammit, instead of saying things that āI donāt like the soundā and āOh, weāre having stake for dinner today again?ā and āGetting a new car every year is so time consumingā.
And at the same time, Iām like āBut maybe an Analog4?ā I do have space for a Keys. I felt it clumsy, but I have the space.
Sometimes, you really are a larger part of the problem than you want to realise.
But I donāt have stake everyday and I donāt even own a car. So thatās sorted, at least.
Sounds like you should get the Keys.
Yeah, dude; get what youāll use.
Donāt spend more time thinking about gear than making music, though.
Also . . . Have you seen the Prophet 12? 
Well, the good part of this is that my musings come from the fact that I build a lot of stuff. So Iām pretty productive in my music making and always look to optimize. This is me being damaged from my years in the video game industry.
You know, Iāve heard about this obscure Prophet 12. I hear they usually break right after warranty and that the number 12 means it has 1 + 2 voices, not 12 as many might think. Also, it doesnāt work at all on Sundays.
This mostly comes down to the fact they donāt have a sequencer 
I considered the A4 vs AK and ended up getting the Keys because I like to actually play. Iām glad I chose the Keys because it has the keys, joystick, handy midi external button so one can use it as a controllerā¦ it also has the hold button.
You can control the Rytm from the keyboard and with the Midi Ext button, the Keys can be playing its own sequence and the keyboard can play the Rytmā¦ including chromatically. Which leaves the Rytm free to be in scene or performance mode.
I think the Keys and the Rytm go very well together.
Aw, who am I kidding? Iām not gonna buy anything new. I sat down with my Rytm after putting the kids to sleep and I just got into a flow, and in an hour Iād whipped something up that I just really enjoyed tweaking and listening to.
Music is hard work. Pursuit of gear is sometimes essential, sometimes just important, but most of the time an excuse to not sit down and do the time. Tools and instruments matter. A great deal. But learning to play them matters more.
Aw, who am I kidding? Iām not gonna buy anything new. I sat down with my Rytm after putting the kids to sleep and I just got into a flow, and in an hour Iād whipped something up that I just really enjoyed tweaking and listening to.
Music is hard work. Pursuit of gear is sometimes essential, sometimes just important, but most of the time an excuse to not sit down and do the time. Tools and instruments matter. A great deal. But learning to play them matters more.
^^^ THIS ALL DAY LONG.
I see a lot of people on these boards looking for the perfect setup or piece of gear thatās gonna make it all come together, but the artists that are the most successful and prolific are the ones that do the most with what they have.
It becomes a situation just like those people that collect comic books, but donāt actually read them or buy toys and keep them in the packaging.
Itās pursuit of items, not the use of them.
A weird analogy, but one I find fitting, IE GAS is a helluva drug.
Brian Eno once did a talk about how most musicians mistake what they do as being akin to engineering; building something with tools within the confines of a structured methodology, etc.
What it really is, he explains, is more like gardening; you have to sit with it for a period of time everyday to cultivate and harvest anything real from it.
Basically, if you take time away from it looking for solutions or planning a strategy, your garden withers and you get nowhere as it dies.
Taking time away from engineering is dire to actually solve problems.
Gardening is about constant blocks of time to assist in the health and growth of your art and you have to do it everyday.
You canāt wait for inspiration because, and I can assure you this, it will never just come to you.
At the end of the day, weāre doing this to make music, not to merely collect the perfect piece or pieces of gear.
I agree with every goddam word of this.
Totally this and what Diapause saidā¦I remember one summer where I went through a bunch of samplers trying to get that perfect one, I made a bit of music, but I mostly just spent time reading manuals just to wrap my head around how to use the new piece of gear I had just bought.
For every new piece of gears, youāll have a load of time spent just figuring out how to use it, and while that can be fun, itās a serious damper on music making.
Thatās kinda my whole philosophy about having a case to house all my gear. Once itās maxed out, itās maxed out. I just recently added a small mixer to it (to bring up the level of the blofeld and input a mini kp2s to play field recordings), and thatās officially completely maxed my GAS.
I think the big thing is to focus on what you can do, not what you canāt do. Look at your instruments/tools and see what their strengths are, and play to those strengths.
More than anything, as with any hobby/passion, you need to go into it with confidence and an acceptance that youāll fail along the way.
This is a nice lilā video of a short talk by Ira Glass concerning creative output, how you must create a bunch of shit before you strike your gold. Itās worth a watch if you have minute to spare.
This is a nice lilā video of a short talk by Ira Glass concerning creative output, how you must create a bunch of shit before you strike your gold. Itās worth a watch if you have minute to spare.
Damn; everything about that video is A+ . . .
The case idea is brilliant; it seems to successfully help āwhittle your world down to a manageable sizeā by just not giving you much room to envy empty space.
Itās weird when I see the āSpot-The-Cirklonā pics on Sequentixā Facebook because I donāt understand how people can have that much shit simply to make music.
It looks like an episode of Hoarders or something.
Iām sure thereāre people can that handle that much gear at once, but how many of those who have that much gear can actually use it competently?
The two big things that it takes are time and space, once you have those things, nothing should stop you.
Another lilā talk on creativity by John Cleese that I got a lot from.
[li]Space ā āYou canāt become playful, and therefore creative, if youāre under your usual pressures.ā[/li]
[li]Time ā āItās not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time.ā[/li]
[li]Time ā āGiving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original,ā and learning to tolerate the discomfort of pondering time and indecision.[/li]
[li]Confidence ā āNothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.ā[/li]
[li]Humour ā āThe main evolutionary significance of humour is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.ā[/li]
