This is me too. The gear that is most valuable to me now tended to have a clicking point to me way beyond a honeymoon period.
And most of this gear continues to reveal more and get better over time. (I think of the A4, Sub37 and Rev2 as good examples of this.)
I do go the other way when it comes to instinctively knowing something’s not for me… but I’m terrible at selling things on when I should.
As an amateur sociologist, what I haven’t figured out yet is why so many buyers of Elektron gear seem to have multiple honeymoons, divorces, and remarriages (with second and even third honeymoons) re the same Elektron box.
“I LOVE you! I HATE you! No, I really LOVE you! No—I REALLY, REALLY HATE YOU!!! … Why do you DO THIS TO ME?!”
Someone explain?
The Digitone was my first “OMG” kind of experience, and indeed my first hardware purchase in 25 years. It was an instant wow, though I did end up selling it after some time in a chase for an all-in-one box.
The Syntakt is a good example of a “not really getting it yet” synth that then grew into becoming my absolute favorite piece of gear. I thought it sounded thin and toyish first, not at all like the built quality and design suggests. But over time I learned that that was just me not getting how to design sounds on it. Today I totally get it and love the Syntakt.
An example of a device that was almost instantly a no, yet is still with me 5 months later, is the SP-404 MKII. As a standalone groovebox it’s pointless to me. I don’t chop samples primarily, I make music using creative sequencers. And the SP sequencer is a nightmare to use. Yet, I’m still keeping it because it does something. It has helped me spark two new song ideas through creative sampling and effect mangling. That’s its magic. And as a companion to the Syntakt, it’s straightforward to use. So, as a groovebox, it’s an instant turn-off for me, but as a sampler, effects box and companion to a good sequencer, it’s actually pretty cool. I might still swap it out for a Polyend Tracker Mini at some point though.
My take: it’s the feature specs when compared to other gear. Elektron gear just feels overpriced until you realize how useful they are in practice. It’s all about the workflow and it’s not at all about the spec sheet.
Yet, when a shiny new piece of gear is released, people forget this and compare their Elektron box with the shiny new tool that is both cheaper and more feature-packed, so the sell their Elektron.
And then they use their new toy for a few days and go: “oh, right. This is why I loved my Elektron.”
Maybe some of it is getting a device too early.
You learn more, then later think, hey I get it now, etc.
Perhaps nostalgia/rose-tinted glasses.
Perhaps peer-pressure, “everyone says its amazing… maybe should give it another chance”.
Also thinking you can replace it with something better, only to find the next device has its own set of flaws.
Truth is, there’s no perfect device(s), as people’s needs differ.
You have 3 choices basically:
1 - Accept it and compromise
2 - Build your own device from scratch
3 - Learn MIDI/hardware/software and build something unique by connecting up your studio to make everything work as one system (eg Beardytron).
I’ve got a theory on Elektron devices that there are 2 main categories of people who blow hot and cold;
Both of these categories can have a hot/cold experience for different reasons.
As a novice it’s easy to be overwhelmed and get frustrated by the learning curve, and I think a lot of people give up early before passing the ‘clicking’ point.
Then people with previous experience can come to Elektron devices with a pre-conceived idea of what they are, and are able to use that experience to get things going quite fast from the devices… hence the honeymoon ‘hot’ period… but then hit a wall where learning/RTFM is required and hit the ‘cold’ point.
I also think that it’s easy to look at people playing them on YouTube and become demotivated when you realise there’s work involved.
I think when you have a handle on one of the analogs or digis, that translates well across the line though.
I found it doesn’t translate to the Octatrack for me though, I really disliked the OT, couldn’t take to it and sold it.
Hmm, i have on and off relationship with the MPC One, one moment its - yay slicing up that loop is fun, to a later… why cant i rename submixes.
So its for sure some moments when i can kick this thing out of the window, but others dont have submix at all, so why sissy around a name, i could label it or write it down on a damm sheet of paper.
Nobody is perfect, and there will be a time when i would regret and rebuy.
There’s some truth to that. Roland makes a bunch of grooveboxes with more voices, knobs, and flashing lights. In theory they are a better deal. After that initial flush of increased possibilities passes for me, I realize it doesn’t sound that great and it’s lacking a bunch of quality of life features I take for granted in the Elektron ecosystem.
I’ve gone back and forth a bit with Elektron, but part of it was the Syntakt - it feels a bit limited or, “option-constrained” coming to it with more synth experience. That can be a good thing but it just wasn’t for me at the time. I still have it, it’s just been rotated off the desk. The A4+AR is a better pair for me than the ST+DT right now; little things like the chromatic keypad on the A4 and the drum pads on the AR really help flesh them out, and I feel like more of the sound design is open to me.
And I got both as open boxes at deep discounts because people churn through Elektrons so fast around the holidays!
for me the effects on the SP 404 MK2 are superb and sampling from small modulars is perfect combo for it. When I used my 7u case of modular with SP 404 MK2 it was pure magic for me. So to sample and resample with a small modular is the sweet spot so far.
that is a great combo can put some melodic pads and bass on the A4 and beats on the AR.
I typically study a piece of gear before getting it to the extent that I know how it works and sounds so other than some shitty midi controller keyboards I don’t think I’ve ever bounced off of something that I’ve bought. Selling it after 6 months when I have decided that I’m done with what it can do is another story and does happen.
The only piece of gear I’ve bought where I couldn’t really know what I was getting myself into was the Pulsar 23. That worked out fine and is great fun though.
I have a formulaic approach when I get new gear. In this case I’ll focus on a new synthesizer. I’ll typically do the following during my first few tests:
From those 3 things alone I’ll usually start to figure out if I like it or not. After that it’s often trying to find those unique, hidden, “under-the-hood” features, especially if there’s any built-in sequencer.
If I start to get bored I’ll put it away for a week or two and come back to it later. This often helps rekindle the honeymoon as well. I would almost never get rid of something after a very short stint. I don’t think I’m good enough to judge anything that quickly.
With simpler devices like mono synths, it’s usually clear in the first hour. There’s still chance I might not like it in the long run, but slim chance it will grow on me with time.
With more complex devices I need to be in some way inspired by it in first week or two and then I give it at least a year. If it still mostly stays turned off after that time, I guess it’s not for me.
this is such an interesting question to think about. i feel like there’s a ‘works for my music’ category and an ‘i just like messing with it and may or may not help my released music’ category. in general, i like to hold onto things for 4-6 months, but sometimes you can just tell it’s not going to work out. i loved the octatrack, but after a year, it’s ‘sound’ just couldn’t work for my music. i was fighting it every step of the way. another great setup i had was a small buchla case with a verbos 258v and a 288v. was a tremendous source of fm drones for a few months, but after a while, i wanted to try some new ideas with new shit. overall, it’s a fun journey and i’m glad i don’t have a family to support lol
Hostestly … I try not to buy spontaniously if I see something new and exciting.
Just give it some research in the net, watch some decent made videos, and consider, whether this new thing might really match to my music making. Often it takes weeks or even longer until I hit the buy-button.
This way I got almost only gear I really like to use regularly. Yes, there are some pieces on the shelf too, but I catch them from time to time out of their sleep and give them some time. Sometimes this let them sleep and wake them up later is also a kind of eye opener and I find different modes and use cases …
Disappointment in gear can be very depressing. After the honeymoon but sometimes it’s immediate. Fortunately I tend to not buy gear anymore just to hear if it’s as good as the hype. And reading manuals can cure gas immediately these days.
EDIT - hi @cutlery long time no see 
I had the instant “no fucking way” thing a couple of times and boxed up and returned the item within a day, and I have also had love/hate with some gear, most notably the OP-Z. I have also thought something looked great but for whatever reason held off, then eventually got it and wished I just bought it in the first place.
But I tend to do my research as best as possible, not really for any “consumerism bad” reasons, but because I don’t like hassle of returning or selling gear, and I want gear that is going to fulfil a particular need in my work. I never just buy something because everyone is raving about it.
I expect buying with little research would lead to far more misses, but sometimes even now it can be tricky to know for sure even with research. For example, when the wavestate was a few months old, the manual was available, but that didn’t quite capture what programming the wave sequencer was like from the front panel. There were some sound demo videos, but there also wasn’t a video demonstrating all of the onboard samples (and as I recall, loading your own wasn’t possible then).
So, either the reality of programming the wave sequencer or the real experience of the samples that are included may only be something you can figure out with ten or more hours of the device in your possession, and either thing could sour you on the device. (Or, you know, the keybed - but people do a very poor job of describing keybeds it can be hard to tell what they mean - in this case a very light action).
One of the interesting assumptions in the thread is one must buy gear to try it. I understand there are reasons, but that’s an important issue. In a lot of cases, people will never be able to lay hands on something unless they buy it for themselves. Even in a town served by multiple synth stores like where I live, there aren’t really showrooms where lots of stuff is available to try. Moog audio has a limited setup but it’s just that, limited.
People talk about research. But 30 minutes with an instrument is worth so much more to me than an infinite amount of time researching online, whether we are talking about reading manuals, prowling forums, or watching videos (I really don’t like to have to watch a video to learn something though). That doesn’t mean I understand an instrument after 30 minutes in person, but in that time I often either get very interested or I discover something that will eliminate it as useful for me.
Whenever I can I buy new where there’s a chance to return with no penalty. Or I buy with the understanding that I will take a loss on resale as a sort of rental. I’ve also sometimes written to people I know who own something to ask if I can try it if I’m going to be in the area – for small companies I’ll contact a maker and ask if they know anyone in my area, or somewhere I am travelling, who is using their stuff.
There are exceptions. I was a pre 1.0 adopter of the Octatrack and that took more than 30 minutes for sure, and a decade later I still have it, though I only use it for specialized things. I’ve had luthier made instruments that took much longer to work or not work for me (those are also by far the most expensive “rentals” in my experience).
And sometimes things change, and so what worked for me in 2010 or 2018 will not work in 2023.
I’m more or less with @Fin25 in not wanting to criticize people for their approach to gear, though it’s also fair to say that the culture is stacked towards purchase rather than other models.
Well, that got long!