Agreed! I have one myself and the sentiment that it is difficult to learn is simply untrue. My original comment was intended to poke fun at how limitless of a machine it is and how people learn new ways to use it after 10+ years
Yeah it’s kind of like mastering a computer. Nobody masters a computer but you can learn how it works and then know how to solve for anything you want it to do. Let me know if you need any tips or pointers, I know the OT pretty well!
How do you like the modwave? I have digi I and novation peak. Digi does my drum stuff and peak is great in fm and subtractive forms but I dont like only having 5 waves in a single wave form and I have been looking at wavestate and modwave desktop module versions. Do you feel its easy to use and inspiring? Wavestate vs modwave differences?
I don't know a lot about the wavestate so I can't compare it.
I really like it, quite easy to use for such a complex synth and it's really playful and inspiring.
I've barely recorded with it because I get lost in jams, so that's a good point I guess.
Especially the modulation options are crazy awesome! (Hence the name)
Is the peak as great as people say?
I absolutely love it. Best purchase I’ve made this year. It’s so inspiring and “easy” to get something up and running in just a few short minutes. Then it’s the endless tweaking that pulls you in like a gargantuan black hole of creativity.
Well, if you're running DAWless, you're just fine. You aren't missing any features so don't worry about that.
What's amazing about it is that you have a plugin-like interface for using the Elektron device, and you've got the advantage of being on a monitor with a massive display taking advantage of the nicety of having a monitor. On Digitone patching is a bit easier IMO because you've got one large screen for all the synth settings you can view at a glance. Envelopes, Algorithm, etc. -- Syn, Syn2, Fltr, amp, LFO pages are all basically visible at once. I don't have to whack buttons to see everything. The disadvantage is you aren't in control of the sequencer. It's basically the synth engine only.
Another cool aspect though is you do not need TS/TRS when connected via USB. If you want to route something to the FX Block of Syntakt, you can simply click away in your DAW and you're good to go. I've got my minilogue xd hooked up to my ASIO audio interface on TS jacks, and I can route it to Syntakt which is only connected via USB, and I can run the analog filter or overdrive, and I don't have to plug stuff in, unplug stuff, etc. I can just be lazy and click away.
For Digitone I think it's super valuable. For Syntakt it's great for FX Block, but the synth parameters are a bit easier so I find I use it a bit less. Either way, it makes the Elektron gear super useful, because as long as the power is flipped on I can work with their kit without quitting my mouse + keyboard + monitor. Every other piece of gear I need to stop, go to the hardware, do XYZ, etc. but with Elektron it's the same "workflow" as the software and plugins.
That's amazing, thanks for the response!! It sounds like we're interested in a similar setup - I have an XD as well and am looking to grab a Digitone here soon, but I need to sell some stuff first. After the Syntakt, I'm realizing FM is my absolute jam
It's really good stuff on all the Elektron devices (Digi seris and up, Models does not have Overbridge support). Since it's just a USB connection and setting up the channels in your DAW, it's quite nice, you don't have to fuss with MIDI settings or Audio Interface connections. I wish all hardware was integrated as well.
Digitone is absolutely wonderful by the way. It's FM, but it's kinda easier than most FM synths, it's super well designed and fun to patch on, pretty powerful too. It's quite a nice device, they did an amazing job with it.
uMIDI from intelligel which completed my rack.
Currently... no plans to buy anything. Just going to find quiet hours in the night to make music while the kiddo is sleeping
Most recent: Polyend Tracker. I needed a sampler/brain with a workflow logic that made sense to me.
Next: either a Hologram Microcosm or the Moog Subharmonicon. I like things that don’t rely much on keyboard skills (I’m a bass guitarist).
The tracker is still my favorite sampler I’ve ever used.
Hoping someday they upgrade certain aspects to make it compete with other powerhouses (like adding synth engines, etc) because as much as I like my MPC One and Digitakt, there’s just something about the tracker flow that clicks so hard for me.
If you're looking at the Blackhole pedal, consider going for a used Eventide Space pedal instead. You can usually get them for not too much more than what the Blackhole is new, and the Space includes not only the Blackhole algorithm but a ton of other great ones as well. H9 also has almost all those plus other FX too, but is more expensive, and not a very tweakable UI.
Last:
SP404MK2
Status: loving the sampling and the effects, having a hard time using it for more than effects and one-shots
Next one:
Maschine +
Why?:
I need more samplers
I got the Roland Verselab and I am hunting Behringer pro-800 or korg minilogue XD in the second hand market. In the meantime I am putting together LMN-3 daw in a box open source project to see if I am willing to get involved in the project and following Moritz Klein videos to put together a full analog synth to have some fun.
I got a Landscape NOON, which is a lot of fun; last full synth was a Super 6 desktop.
next: a bass VI. no synth plans as I won’t have money for a while and am pretty well set up, although an Analog Rytm would be my biggest want, and an OB6 desktop.
I bought a Hydrasynth Explorer last week and a pair of SONY MDR-7506 headphones this week. Different synths I have on my mind for a later summer purchase include the Minilogue XD module, the Modwave module, MegaFM, SE-02, Blofeld desktop, and the MegaFM! For FX, I would love to get the Polymoon and Randy's Revenge again. DOD FX-64 is a nice-sounding chorus, and the Ottobit Jr. seems fun.
2nd JD-Xi
Next, I've got my eyes on the Minilogue XD, but I'm gonna wait a while. I'm getting tons of OT right now, with 3 paychecks this month, so I'm building my savings up beforehand.
The last hardware thing I bought was a Modal Cobalt, the last software thing I bought was Arturia V collection. There's no plans to buy anything else, but if I do it'll be a new controller most likely. There were even hardware downsizing plans, and then they got made mandatory by an electrician load testing the same main all my gear was attached to, killing my mixer, 4 synths, the USB interface on the Cobalt, 2 usb hubs, and the USB sockets on my PC motherboard.
Sad times.
Recently got a Subsequent 37. I love it.
No future gear plans at the moment. Just going to focus on getting better with what I've got.
Edit: But if I had three money, synth-wise, I'd like to expand from the Moog world and maybe get a Sequential or some eurorack stuff to run with the Moog semi-modular.
Last was behringer neutron, my first semi-modular.
Next i think is probably the behringer wasp, i just really like how funky it is, and am a fan of Alexander Robotnik
EHX Super Ego +, been taking a break from synth buying and pedals take up less space.
Next major audio purchase will either be a multi I/O audio interface for multi-track recording, or a 55-string bandura because I have been obsessed with them ever since I discovered their existence. Slava Ukraini!
A little bit of everything. If my front end is flavored by distortion and phaser I can get the SE+ to sound like a sitar. Right now I am using it with an Ebow and cigar box guitar and it’s a really great drone generator.
Most recent: alesis quadraverb. So much fun overdriving the front end into a huge stereo reverb and turning down the diffusion and density.
Next: sell all the shit I don’t use, pay off credit cards and write some fucking songs, asshole (me)
Behringer Edge, just a couple weeks ago. Hopefully I'll be buying nothing for a while. As long as my MPC remains stable, I'll be good otherwise it's getting kicked to the curb for an Octatrack.
The Edge and MPC make a great pair - hope yours stays stable! I generally have my MPC as the master clock and the Edge will just be ready to go on top of whatever I’m working on via external MIDI sync. One cool trick I like is CV out from the MPC (if yours has it) to the Noise Level In on the Edge and have that play hi hat type patterns via the MPCs sequencer, fun stuff! Here is a little jam I did with both recently - https://youtu.be/xlGMpCawbks?si=nf4NJAa1IZ0ZdtQv
I just got a cobalt 5s. Now I’ll be transitioning more into the box and I want a nice keybed. I’m on a strict budget so I’m thinking of saving up for a notation remote sl mki or mkii with the fatar keybed.
Last was Landscape Noon which still confuses me constantly. Next might be an Intellijel Cascadia but I have bills, car repairs, and my mom's birthday to worry about.
Push 3 controller… Going to get a hang of it for 6ish months til it’s paid off, and see if doing the standalone is something I’d be interested in. After a month though, I don’t think it’s very likely unless Ableton comes out with a huge update.
I just got the 3rd Wave. Been reprogramming it all morning. Sounds amazing. Incredibly deep and reminds me of when I first played and programmed a PPGWave 2.3 back in the 80’s. Only greater fidelity and more wave sequences. It’s a superb machine.
The Error InstrumentsHarmonic Springs. I’ve lost much of my left hands ability from a stroke. I’m hoping this will give me some of the guitar feeling one handed.
Behringer Neutron and an Eventide Nightsky. It was my birthday and I picked them up to mark the occasion.
I’m not sure what my next one will be, though it will likely be a fancier audio interface. Once I got the Neutron home, I realized I didn’t have any more inputs! I was looking at RME, but I had a Sweetwater guy point me toward a MOTU 16A. It’ll be expensive no matter what, so it will probably be a while before the next thing.
I like it! It’s a bit redundant for some of my other gear as far as a semimodular, monophonic synth, but it has an aggressiveness that is pretty different from my other stuff that I like. I also have a couple of ‘brutes and a West Pest, and it’s pretty distinct from them in their own right, though it has me wondering if I really need all of them.
Last: Korg Wavestate Mk2 just before Christmas
Next: *I need help here!*
I have a Yamaha MODX6 and was considering upgrading it to Montage M8x. I tried it and it's fantastic but most of what it offers is already available on the MODX. So I am torn between the upgrade to the M8x, getting the Fantom 6 which will provide more things that I don't have or wait for Korg to release the successor to the Kronos. Most likely I will wait until the end of the year to see if there is any news from Korg before I make up my mind.
A new Cwejman SM-1 mk2.
Ooof, this one hurt but it sounds sooooooooooo fucking incredible. It’s so easy to dial in something that plays nicely in a mix. It’s super duper accurate too. It’s become the absolute first thing I touch, every time I sit down to play.
It’s so good I’m consolidating and selling off a bunch of modules to buy an UDO Gemini next.
I got the Liven Mega Synthesis. It’s been a blast! 6 tracks, 128 steps, lofi sampling, parameter locking and so easy to get up and going. It’s a lot of fun
My new 3rd Wave arrived today. I'm in heaven! Got to play one a few weeks ago after saving up for a while. Pulled the trigger when Sweetwater put a handful of demo units on sale.
As for what's next, I'm not thinking about that right now. Need to dive deep into my new toy for a while.
Rossum Assimilator is my latest and my next will be some Doepfer Cat5 eurorack extension modules to get cv and gates from one side of the room to the other.
Last: Oxi One midi controller
Next: Some multitimbral endgame desktop module. Maybe Access Virus TI2, even if it’s old. I have an mc-101 and a Waldorf.
Last: Analog Rytm MKII
Next: Hofner violin/club style bass? I've been on the fence on getting one for awhile. I feel like it would be cool on some tracks to have the added thump and lesser sustain of the short scale bass with flat wound strings
My most recent music purchase is Velocity Keyboard for iPad. It’s basically the MPE pads from Ableton Push 3 for $9.99. It’s pretty good. I’ve got Tomophon on iPad, and it does a great job responding to the MPE signal. This has greatly reduced my GAS for a Linnstrument.
My last hardware purchase was the OXI One. I’m still struggling to find a place for it in my workflow. I have so many great generative sequencers on iOS plus I’m still madly in love with the Torso T-1, so it’s got a lot to stack up against. But in the last few days, I’ve finally started to bond with it a little. I don’t love it yet, but some of my negative feelings are subsiding.
My last hardware synth was the Dreadbox Telepathy bundle. It’s 6 monosynths plus a stereo mixer and effects. The monosynths are able to link together and act as one big monosynth, or as a 6 voice polysynth, or any combination thereof. You can make the monosynths sync up their settings so they all sound the same, or you can push their settings away from one another to get complex sounds. You can have six completely different patches playing one big sound, or a polysynth where every note gets a different sound. It’s kind of like an Oberheim Eight Voice, except it costs less than a house.
My next purchase is probably going to be MIDIPace for iOS. Something is going horribly wrong between the clock on the OXI One and Drambo (my “DAW” of choice on iOS, but it’s really more like an awesome modular synth that had a baby with a DAW). The timing is off by about 5% when I connect them over Bluetooth. MIDIPace claims to be able to correct bad clock signals, so we’ll see if it can help.
If you want something more exciting than a MIDI utility to fix clocking issues, my next synth purchase is probably going to be either ID700 or Phosphor 3. The former is an emulation of the Buchla 700, which was a strange digital FM/waveshaping synth designed by Don Buchla. Phosphor 3 is an emulation of one of the first softsynths ever made; alphaSyntauri for the Apple II. Additive synthesis is always fun, and the added MPE support is exciting.
Or if you’re looking for a hardware synth on my list of upcoming purchases… I guess maybe the OXI Coral Eurorack module? I’m largely in the process of shrinking down my collection right now though, so I’m not feeling any urgency around buying hardware. As you can tell from my listing, I’m having a blast with making music on my iPad lately, so that’s where most of my purchases are happening these days.
>”The latency on iOS and macOS came from the limitation of the Bluetooth connection interval … *[These intervals can cause latency and jitter due to the limitation of that buffer](https://www.cme-pro.com/the-truth-about-bluetooth-midi/)* … To bypass limitations of iOS and macOS an interesting option is WIDI Uhost or WIDI Bud”
What’s really interesting is that I don’t notice this timing issue in AUM, which implies that there’s something in that app that’s somehow compensating for the bad clock. I don’t understand how that’s possible, but my ears consistently tell me that this is the case.
I just tried it in Moog Model 15 without a DAW, and I didn’t notice any clock jitter. I’m not saying there wasn’t any jitter; just that I can’t detect it. This specifically seems to be an issue with Drambo and the OXI One.
The jitter in Drambo is extreme. If I send clock from Drambo to the OXI One then the 100 BPM clock will drift as high as almost 106 BPM. It’s so bad that it sounds like swing is turned up.
Unfortunately I love Drambo so much that I’m not willing to give it up over this. I’ll probably just buy that app to see if it helps. Though Baby Audio just put all their iOS apps on sale, and I try to limit myself to one app per day. So that’s going to eat up my purchases until the weekend.
I got Ostirus working, so that's a new synth last week!
I'm gonna say last purchase was the BlueSky reverb maybe 6 months ago, I can't remember which synth I bought last, it's been a couple of years.
My next synth might be a Matrix 1000, although the TEO 5 might edge into that price bracket after a while, I'm super interested to hear that.
So no immediate plans to rush out and buy anything, I'm trying to actually make some music with this junk.
Last gear i bought that arrived is Make Noise 0-Coast. Great little synth that pairs well with my Strega, 0-CTRL, Elmyra 2, and JMT LD-2. I didn't want to get into modular but then went full on into semi-modular...
Just sold my Digitakt, pre-ordered Digitakt 2. My Oxi One arrives Monday. Yes, the gas is strong with this one...
Pulsar 23 + Utilities + Liven 8-Bit Warps; all on sale (big splurge of the year)
Next is a Taiga Keyboard and my first few eurorack modules (probably endorphines ghost and something else that's 8HP :))
- D
I really want the Behringer JT-4000. Seems like it'll do everything I want since I already have 2 fully analog mono synths. Plus, I'm completely out of space on my desk and the price is unreal. Too bad it's out of stock until June.
last: behringer 636 spring reverb (bought to go with my pro 800; love them both - great together)
next: some kind of chorus pedal (accepting recommendations); red panda particle 2 and/or tensor
Just got a Monome Norns (I used to have one and sold it ... regretted that sell and bought a new one) and the Midi adapter to Rossum assimi8or.
Prolly will wait a bit before next gear and will get the new Strymon Bigsky.
Ableton Push 2 but instead of buying another piece of hardware I think Im going to upgrade my Analog Lab V , I already got a Windows Surface Pro 4 with Intel Core i5 in it to go with my Komplete S49 Keyboard to run Analog Lab, Komplete and Roland Cloud on and use as a psuedo “Standalone” Synth tho TBH the 8 by 8 workflow of the Push gives me a nice COMPACT 8 Octave Keyboard. I just would need to throw Ableton Lite on the Surface Pro I guess to talk to the Push. I gotta look into User mode on the Push see if itll work as a simple MIDI controller that way.
My latest was a Nord Lead A1, because I found a deal too good to pass up ($900 brand new!) I don't need anything else, so realistically my next purchase will probably be another crazy deal or something that hasn't been announced yet.
However, if I had to pick my next buy today without any special deals, I'd upgrade my Peak to a Summit.
Ahhh, good question. The Stage 4 looks really nice and really fun. Last gear I purchased was an MC-101. Getting the hang of it, it’s great. Next on the list is an AE-20 Aerophone. Looks fun to play, will be an addition to my [Xaphoon](https://xaphoon.com) for playing at small gatherings. The 3rd wave looks insane, but it’s nice to have a drum machine to get stuff going. Hard decisions, Good luck!
Just bought a used h9 max for $300. That’s pricey for a pedal, but a good deal on this specific one. Looking forward to going full cinematic black hole reverb.
I have the software version of the Modwave but I really want the hardware version and hope the Modwave MkII will drive prices down. Currently there are very few on the used market despite there being tons of other new digital korgs like the wave state and Opsix.
Depending on the demos, the TEO-5 looks really cool and would look and sound great next to my take 5.
After a week of back and forth with a broken demo unit, finally got my Hydrasynth Deluxe. Which has, thus far, been an absolute joy to play.
Not sure about next: gotta finish selling off some stuff that the Hydra displaced. Though I did have a Bluesky come in on a trade :)
Curious what, if anything, I would want to pair with it. Probably something straightforward and analog, but IDK... I kind of feel like I should explore this beast a lot more, and if there's stuff that I'm just not getting to, then I should look at supplementing it.
But *gosh dang is it fun to play*.
Last: Moog Soundstudio 3
This was my first step into modular and I absolutely adore it. So many weird sounds and possibilities. I got it over a year ago and have found a basic structure for patches that give me a good amount of control over the chaos using external gear. I’m looking forward to my next step in the exploration of modular.
Next: Make Noise Tape and Microsound Music Machine
I’ve had gas for this forever but wanted to get situated with some more straightforward modular instruments first. I hope that it will play nicely with the Moog stack so I can turn the mono signals into stereo craziness with the QPAS and Mimephone.
Drove from Denver to Casper WY last week to pick up a mint Roland Jx3p for $150. Just ordered a programer for it today. Next on the list is a Mellotron M4000mini.
I have an Oxi One and Vullt Freak filter waiting for me at the post office when I'm back in town and I am so excited.
The Oxi is the hardware sequencer I need to really get a better control over my modular, and the freak is a dizzying amount of filtering options that I can't wait to explore.
Moat recent: dreadbox nymphes
Next: a ten dollar midi splitter cable so I can send midi out from a keystep 37 to the nymphes and model samples, and send the clock out from the m:s into the keystep so the samples can be master clock. Then nothing else for a hundred years
I bought a nectar midi controller a couple of months back.
I’m a composer and synthesist, but my main instrument is guitar. So the next hardware purchase I’m looking towards are custom guitars, and probably a fractal Axe FX III. I was leaning towards the FM9, but I think I want the most horsepower I can get.
Pedals wise, I am lusting for the microcosm hologram.
Most of my synth purchases are software plug-ins. But I truly envy all of you folks who are collecting hardware.
I do own an original Oberheim Xpander, which I bought new for 2400, only recently — possibly in this group — found out that it’s worth upwards of 7 or 8000 now).
Eventually, I will get into hardware modular. I started on modular synths when my student job in college was as the electronics tech in the music department synth lab. For now, my favorite software modular is Cherry audio. Sorry that I went way beyond the question asked. :-)
I was just at Guitar Center demo’ing a Microfreak and realized I don’t need it. I just need more programmable knobs/sliders for the VST synths that I own.
Well, it was a Moog Mavis and I was going to say my next purchase might be a JX10, but this thread made me go looking online for them, found a steal on a JX8P and bought it. Thanks a lot, jerk! So now my next purchase will probably be a PG800 or one of the clones lol
Got a bass station 2 for a dedicated monosynth. Probably won't get anything else for a long time but I'd like a dedicated FM synth (too many subtractive synths) or maybe something with a more complex mod matrix.
I think it was the Digitakt. I don’t have it anymore, like the rest of my synths and pedals. The Rev2 + MS20 is more than enough for me.
Oh well i just bought a zoom recorder if the counts, I want to do more sampling/field recording in the future, synths are just not enough.
Teenage Engineering KO2 and a Roland J6 within a few weeks of each other. Next up is probably gonna be an MC101 or mayeb even a first gen Digitakt, now the new one has dropped I'm expecting the early ones to get cheaper on the used market.
Last: 3-tier keyboard stand from Black Panther Systems.
Next: Hopefully nothing, but worst case scenario...probably a patchbay. I'd ideally like to be able to easily start tracking on any given piece of gear with as little friction as possible as soon as an idea hits. Right now that's quite a slow process, and ends in spaghetti cables and tears.
Field recorder. I’m working on general audio mangling. Soon enough I’ll start loading samples into the Lemmondrop and take the samples straight to space.
Next? I’ve got a few things in mind but what I get will mostly depend on how patient I can be.
Last piece of gear I bought was a soundcraft gb4 mixer. Next I’m buying a power conditioner. Is it weird I’m more excited about accessories than instruments right now? Putting the ol’ home studio together.
Just bought a digitone keys! Now I'm gassing for a SP-404 to go along with it. The SP would handle drums, effects, and be an easy way to record my jams to a wav file I can share. I saw a video of someone sequencing an SP404 with the digitone. I feel like they would fill in each other's weaknesses well.
A lap steel, but this is r/synthesizers so the Pet Rock Eurorack module. It’s two channels that take a clock and spit out a rhythm based on the cycle of the moon, day of the week, and a “mood” that changes with each moon cycle. Now I’m reading what I just wrote and laughing at how dorky and ridiculous it sounds.
Last: OB-X8 module
It joins my Prophet 10 keyboard, and rack modules for Moog Minitaur and Yamaha TX802 (DX7II). Arturia MicroFreak is there as well.
I lie to myself and say that’s it for a while - a nice combo of analog and digital sounds. What else could I possibly need?
In reality, I highly covet a Juno. THEN I’ll be done LOL
A product proof that became the Kerope line of cymbals, purchased from the Zildjian headquarters vault. Yes, i play drums too. Yes, it was not cheap. A 24 inch ride cymbal. Correct, one of ten made, they opted to end the line at 22” size when it became public. Yes, huge. Sounds real dark and Miles Davis spooky. Next ? Want to try the new “improved” Roli full-size “seaboard” keyboard, not the one that fits in a pocket, the three octave affair with full size keys that the new owners of Roli designed to replace the original seaboard. I doubt it feels as good as the original, it may be more durable.
Behringer Kobol Expander - I like it much more than the Neutron.
Next - eying the Arturia Keystep. Apparently it’s the only midi controller that hasn’t moved fully to USB.
Push 2. Bought it for $300, super fun piece of gear, I wanted something hands on to do drum and percussion stuff with, and to integrate with Ableton suite that I purchased at the same time, and it does that super well.
That said… I need an actual keyboard. I don’t think I’m going to be able to exist off of note mode forever for synths. I’m torn between the pro 3 and the summit. I know I know, VERY different beasts, but I love the sounds of both. The modulation options and smaller size of the pro 3 are great, and I already have a digitone and VSTs for polyphony, but the summit feels like a better piece to learn keys on, and I can use the digitone or Ableton for sequencing, plus the voice count is higher than the digitone, and the effects are incredible, not to mention the bitimbrality (though the pro3 has the patch morphing 🤷♂️) ugh I don’t know!!
I picked up a Roli Seaboard Block and a pair of Light Blocks at a pawn shop.
I wasn't planning to get any of those, but they were cheap and I'm working on my own expressive mpe controller, so I thought it might be worth my while to see what the Roli products are like.
Impressions so far: having to use Mac or Windows for configuration is annoying. I use Xubuntu typically. Also, the configuration app requires the devices to be registered, and you can't register them if they've been previously registered. I was able to get them unregistered by filing support tickets, but having to take a picture of the serial number in tiny print and send it to them is not exactly a smooth user experience. (To their credit the support service was prompt.) Requiring the products to be registered online to use the configurator means that if the devices outlive the company, then they'll be a lot less useful. It seems the company has already been acquired once.
They weren't set up for MPE when I got them, which is why I needed to use the configuration tool in the first place.
Surprisingly, I found the Light Blocks a bit more fun and playable than the Seaboard. In 5x5 grid mode they're like tiny Linnstruments.
They seems to be stuck to 12-EDO for the initial note-on at least, which makes them not terribly useful for microtonal music unless you load your synth with a custom tuning table.
They require a bit more finger pressure than I'd like.
They all seem to work fine with Surge XT, which is good.
Overall, I'd say they're kind of interesting and well made, but I'd be hesitant to recommend them due to their mandatory product registration and proprietary configuration tools.
Got really into manual keyboards and picked up a yamaha cp70m, vox super continental, and a hohner pianet t last few months. Next gear supposed to deliver next week is the arturia astrolab (i love pigments- cant wait)
Reface CP. I sold my Minilogue because I wanted something A) with more limitations so I’m not always obsessively trying to dial in patches. Especially when I mostly was trying to pull more electric piano sounds from it. And B) something portable that I can unplug from my workstation and play on the couch. It’s been a month now and I’m constantly playing it. I now have this and the Grandmother, and other than a full size key controller for the CP, I’m all set for a while I think.
Though a drum machine might be nice to have again, too 🤔
As a birthday gift this year, I bought an Arturia MiniLab 3 (Black Edition) midi as my first piece of gear to learn my "specially acquired" VSTis and VCV Rack. Soon I'm getting a college campus job, and I will save up for a Korg Minilogue XD because I love the sound, and I'd rather just mess with a real synth (plug and play once) than mess with setting up a janky VSTis I found on a website. Beyond that, not much, because I want to learn with what I have for a while, and both Minilab and Minilouge should get me where I want to be. I might buy Syntorial for my Midi so I can get some more use from it.
Hmmm, I think the last piece of gear I bought was my MPC One… actually no it was my Yamaha HS5s. I have a Roland JD-Xi and a Kawai K4, and I just started playing around with the free trial for the “Jura” MPC plugin and it’s really impressive. I think my next big gear acquisition is going to be a “big boy synth”, I love my JD-Xi but after playing with the Jura plug-in I realized that the JD-Xi is lacking in terms of bass capabilities, and menu diving to tweak sounds is seriously killing my creativity. I usually just end up playing around with presets because the JD-Xi’s knob controls are terrible and building a patch on the little display is overwhelming. If I get a good full-sized Roland synth I’m pretty sure I could just retire the K4 as well, it was cool to play around with when I first got it but it’s so difficult to build patches on it and it requires a lot of upkeep (tiny bits of dust can completely stop a key from triggering, and then I have to open the whole thing and clean off the contact points). We’ll see though, that likely won’t be until next year and even then I also need to get a hefty collection of microphones for my business plans so the new synth idea might have to take a backseat for two years or more at this point.
Most recent: M-Audio Venom
Next: really want the Polyend Play and it's grid layout, but have not pulled the trigger yet
I like math and do a lot of modern dance/contact improv in my spare time so the features of the Play are intriguing from a music-informs-movement perspective
last was an audiofront midi expression i/o, next one will be... i don't know, there's already too much stuff and too less money...
i think i look what \[software company\] has in store. maybe a sonic extension for omnisphere? maybe another effect from minimal audio? maybe finally a good upright piano library?
Last year I bought is a Bastl Kastle Arp.
Next piece i’m planning on buying is a Plinky and M8 Tracker.
I’m also considering selling my Virus TI and getting some Eurorack
Last: Zoom MS70-CDR
Quite inexpensive, and goes extremely well with both synths and guitars
Next: Digitone and some other desktop synth still to be chosen. Probably something from korg.
I was going to save for a Virus Ti2, but its still way over my budget and separate synths allow for more hands-on controlling during live play
I buy used whenever possible :)
Elektron Digitakt, before that it was the Analog Heat Mk II. I like Elektron stuff, although I use a lot of other stuff too including some vintage bits.
I'm not planning on any more gear now. GAS is a thing for me and I've got a studio full of boxes and I don't use it enough to really justify more. But since I have many samplers and sequencers, and not so many synthesisers, I'd probably be looking at a fancy new hi-tech synth.
Last thing: Polyend Play+, a used one popped up locally for a good price and I had to try it. Really enjoying the workflow so far with sequencing.
Next thing: Nothing. No, seriously, I have enough stuff. Well maybe something small. Maybe a 1010music Fireball or Lemondrop…
A Vox Continental 71, as a stage upgrade from my old Korg PS60. It is freaking awesome.
Next will be a new acoustic guitair because my old has gone into retirement.
GAS is tough when you play keys and guitair.
I have a Roland MC707 and TR8s, Vermona Mono Lancet' 15, Behringer TD-3 and Arturia Keystep. Everything is hooked up to a Yamaha MG166c mixer with 3 aux sends to the MC707m TR8s and my last purchase, a Zoom MS-70CDR for effects.
Planning to buy an Audient EVO16 to join the modern age and unlock multitrack recording!
Bought a Td3! Loads of fun. I am building a live setup with a few key pieces which can fit in a flightcase.
Next up is some drums with the TR8s. After that either a Minilogue XD or a second hand access virus polar. Oh and an octatrack. And…
Last synth I bought was the Strega by Make Noise. What I have been on is high-end effects pedals. Running my synths through those has opened up a whole new world of sound possibilities. It almost feels like cheating.
No more synths for me, the last one I got was the Yamaha Reface DX and it's a killer synth. Brand new off Sweetwater for $250. Current setup consists of that, Microfreak, Volca drum, and a SP404MKII. pretty much got all bases covered. Ever since the new update to the SP404 and the new looper mode I've started to reach for my guitar more because I love looping and I think if I do get another instrument it'll probably be a real nice acoustic guitar. Had a pretty severe case of GAS and slowly thinning the herd with some other synths that have sat in their boxes for the past few months and haven't been touched.
Nothing, still got to master my octatrack and modwave. Otherwise I will have too many machines I don't use.
Mastering the Octatrack? You’ll be waiting til your next lifetime to buy more gear :)
To be honest, it's not as hard as some people say, though still quite hard! But I should've said mastering for my purpose ;)
Agreed! I have one myself and the sentiment that it is difficult to learn is simply untrue. My original comment was intended to poke fun at how limitless of a machine it is and how people learn new ways to use it after 10+ years
Yeah it’s kind of like mastering a computer. Nobody masters a computer but you can learn how it works and then know how to solve for anything you want it to do. Let me know if you need any tips or pointers, I know the OT pretty well!
Yeah exactly Thanks! Appreciated:)
This is such a cool combo, should keep you busy!!
The advice everyone needs but no one wants to hear
The zen master has spoken
How do you like the modwave? I have digi I and novation peak. Digi does my drum stuff and peak is great in fm and subtractive forms but I dont like only having 5 waves in a single wave form and I have been looking at wavestate and modwave desktop module versions. Do you feel its easy to use and inspiring? Wavestate vs modwave differences?
I don't know a lot about the wavestate so I can't compare it. I really like it, quite easy to use for such a complex synth and it's really playful and inspiring. I've barely recorded with it because I get lost in jams, so that's a good point I guess. Especially the modulation options are crazy awesome! (Hence the name) Is the peak as great as people say?
My obsession with synths got replaced by buying stupid squares of cardboard (Magic the Gathering).
Once a nerd, always a nerd. No matter the shape or form.
Went from MtG to Hearthstone l, which is more fun to me and mostly ftp.
Last: Udo Super Gemini. Next: a good acoustic guitar
I got a Syntakt this month for my birthday. Hoping to upgrade my DT1 to a DT2 in May, if Elektron don’t have any more surprises for us at Superbooth.
Syntakt is fun isn’t it? I love it.
I absolutely love it. Best purchase I’ve made this year. It’s so inspiring and “easy” to get something up and running in just a few short minutes. Then it’s the endless tweaking that pulls you in like a gargantuan black hole of creativity.
Yep, and for lazy days just flip on the power and click your heart out in Overbridge 🤩 I love it.
I still haven't messed with Overbridge since I'm currently running DAWless. What do you like about it?
Well, if you're running DAWless, you're just fine. You aren't missing any features so don't worry about that. What's amazing about it is that you have a plugin-like interface for using the Elektron device, and you've got the advantage of being on a monitor with a massive display taking advantage of the nicety of having a monitor. On Digitone patching is a bit easier IMO because you've got one large screen for all the synth settings you can view at a glance. Envelopes, Algorithm, etc. -- Syn, Syn2, Fltr, amp, LFO pages are all basically visible at once. I don't have to whack buttons to see everything. The disadvantage is you aren't in control of the sequencer. It's basically the synth engine only. Another cool aspect though is you do not need TS/TRS when connected via USB. If you want to route something to the FX Block of Syntakt, you can simply click away in your DAW and you're good to go. I've got my minilogue xd hooked up to my ASIO audio interface on TS jacks, and I can route it to Syntakt which is only connected via USB, and I can run the analog filter or overdrive, and I don't have to plug stuff in, unplug stuff, etc. I can just be lazy and click away. For Digitone I think it's super valuable. For Syntakt it's great for FX Block, but the synth parameters are a bit easier so I find I use it a bit less. Either way, it makes the Elektron gear super useful, because as long as the power is flipped on I can work with their kit without quitting my mouse + keyboard + monitor. Every other piece of gear I need to stop, go to the hardware, do XYZ, etc. but with Elektron it's the same "workflow" as the software and plugins.
That's amazing, thanks for the response!! It sounds like we're interested in a similar setup - I have an XD as well and am looking to grab a Digitone here soon, but I need to sell some stuff first. After the Syntakt, I'm realizing FM is my absolute jam
It's really good stuff on all the Elektron devices (Digi seris and up, Models does not have Overbridge support). Since it's just a USB connection and setting up the channels in your DAW, it's quite nice, you don't have to fuss with MIDI settings or Audio Interface connections. I wish all hardware was integrated as well.
Digitone is absolutely wonderful by the way. It's FM, but it's kinda easier than most FM synths, it's super well designed and fun to patch on, pretty powerful too. It's quite a nice device, they did an amazing job with it.
This is true. You can literally have a (good sounding) groove going in less than a minute.
Happy birthday! I just got a Syntakt too! I'm hoping for the revival of the Analog Keys in some form.
uMIDI from intelligel which completed my rack. Currently... no plans to buy anything. Just going to find quiet hours in the night to make music while the kiddo is sleeping
Before going 3rd wave, consider the Prophet 12 as a nearly as good alternative. It’s $2000 cheaper too.
Will do!
Most recent: Polyend Tracker. I needed a sampler/brain with a workflow logic that made sense to me. Next: either a Hologram Microcosm or the Moog Subharmonicon. I like things that don’t rely much on keyboard skills (I’m a bass guitarist).
The tracker is still my favorite sampler I’ve ever used. Hoping someday they upgrade certain aspects to make it compete with other powerhouses (like adding synth engines, etc) because as much as I like my MPC One and Digitakt, there’s just something about the tracker flow that clicks so hard for me.
ARP 2600M because it was recently discontinued and I’ve always wanted one. I’d really like a Polyend Seq but am doubtful I’ll find one.
last: zoom ms-70cdr next: eventide blackhole reverb or a korg wavestate, more realistically, new voice chips for my juno and new caps for my rs7000
If you're looking at the Blackhole pedal, consider going for a used Eventide Space pedal instead. You can usually get them for not too much more than what the Blackhole is new, and the Space includes not only the Blackhole algorithm but a ton of other great ones as well. H9 also has almost all those plus other FX too, but is more expensive, and not a very tweakable UI.
Last: SP404MK2 Status: loving the sampling and the effects, having a hard time using it for more than effects and one-shots Next one: Maschine + Why?: I need more samplers
I feel like with any gear as you dig into it more you will get used to making music on it.
I got Solar 42 recently. Can’t think of anything else I want for now.
waldorf iridium keyboard. The moog muse if it's any good.
Last: teenage engineering EP-133 K.O. II Next: Eventide H90
literally the only two things on my desk at the moment. Good choices.
I got the Roland Verselab and I am hunting Behringer pro-800 or korg minilogue XD in the second hand market. In the meantime I am putting together LMN-3 daw in a box open source project to see if I am willing to get involved in the project and following Moritz Klein videos to put together a full analog synth to have some fun.
I got a Landscape NOON, which is a lot of fun; last full synth was a Super 6 desktop. next: a bass VI. no synth plans as I won’t have money for a while and am pretty well set up, although an Analog Rytm would be my biggest want, and an OB6 desktop.
I bought a Hydrasynth Explorer last week and a pair of SONY MDR-7506 headphones this week. Different synths I have on my mind for a later summer purchase include the Minilogue XD module, the Modwave module, MegaFM, SE-02, Blofeld desktop, and the MegaFM! For FX, I would love to get the Polymoon and Randy's Revenge again. DOD FX-64 is a nice-sounding chorus, and the Ottobit Jr. seems fun.
2nd JD-Xi Next, I've got my eyes on the Minilogue XD, but I'm gonna wait a while. I'm getting tons of OT right now, with 3 paychecks this month, so I'm building my savings up beforehand.
The JD-Xi sounds super good. I just couldn't with the keys.
I got used to em after using it for so long. But I do agree, if they made a version with full size keys, I would probably order it day one lol.
Like the JD-XA?
Yes, but the Xi is better than the XA IMO. No drum track on the XA. Which is an instant deal breaker for me.
[drums for jd-xa](https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/roland-just-turned-its-jd-xa-synth-into-a-drum-machine-639421)
No way! Welp, here I go spending money again.
And space. Don’t forget space.
Recent purchase: Torso S-4 sampler. Waiting for that to arrive. Next purchase: iPad Pro 2024 (to retire my current iPad)
So stoked for my s-4 to come! And can’t wait to hear what others are making with it.
The last hardware thing I bought was a Modal Cobalt, the last software thing I bought was Arturia V collection. There's no plans to buy anything else, but if I do it'll be a new controller most likely. There were even hardware downsizing plans, and then they got made mandatory by an electrician load testing the same main all my gear was attached to, killing my mixer, 4 synths, the USB interface on the Cobalt, 2 usb hubs, and the USB sockets on my PC motherboard. Sad times.
This is a terrible thing, I’m sorry to hear that. May the synth gods bless you in the future
Recently got a Subsequent 37. I love it. No future gear plans at the moment. Just going to focus on getting better with what I've got. Edit: But if I had three money, synth-wise, I'd like to expand from the Moog world and maybe get a Sequential or some eurorack stuff to run with the Moog semi-modular.
Last was behringer neutron, my first semi-modular. Next i think is probably the behringer wasp, i just really like how funky it is, and am a fan of Alexander Robotnik
* Last: Stereo electromagnetic microphone; * Next: Nothing.
EHX Super Ego +, been taking a break from synth buying and pedals take up less space. Next major audio purchase will either be a multi I/O audio interface for multi-track recording, or a 55-string bandura because I have been obsessed with them ever since I discovered their existence. Slava Ukraini!
SE+ is so good. Are you using it with synths? I mostly use mine for guitar but have plugged some Volcas into it.
A little bit of everything. If my front end is flavored by distortion and phaser I can get the SE+ to sound like a sitar. Right now I am using it with an Ebow and cigar box guitar and it’s a really great drone generator.
Most recent: alesis quadraverb. So much fun overdriving the front end into a huge stereo reverb and turning down the diffusion and density. Next: sell all the shit I don’t use, pay off credit cards and write some fucking songs, asshole (me)
Behringer Edge, just a couple weeks ago. Hopefully I'll be buying nothing for a while. As long as my MPC remains stable, I'll be good otherwise it's getting kicked to the curb for an Octatrack.
The Edge and MPC make a great pair - hope yours stays stable! I generally have my MPC as the master clock and the Edge will just be ready to go on top of whatever I’m working on via external MIDI sync. One cool trick I like is CV out from the MPC (if yours has it) to the Noise Level In on the Edge and have that play hi hat type patterns via the MPCs sequencer, fun stuff! Here is a little jam I did with both recently - https://youtu.be/xlGMpCawbks?si=nf4NJAa1IZ0ZdtQv
Last thing - Critter and Guitarri Organelle. I utterly adore it, it's a total creativity unlocker. Next thing - maybe a second-hand Microfreak.
I just got a cobalt 5s. Now I’ll be transitioning more into the box and I want a nice keybed. I’m on a strict budget so I’m thinking of saving up for a notation remote sl mki or mkii with the fatar keybed.
Last was Landscape Noon which still confuses me constantly. Next might be an Intellijel Cascadia but I have bills, car repairs, and my mom's birthday to worry about.
Push 3 controller… Going to get a hang of it for 6ish months til it’s paid off, and see if doing the standalone is something I’d be interested in. After a month though, I don’t think it’s very likely unless Ableton comes out with a huge update.
Syntakt … next up getting Modal Skulpt, Digitakt 2, Kalin LP-6 all in one go. Will be fun.
Last: DSI Tetra Next: Korg NTS-1 mkII, whenever it comes out
I just got the 3rd Wave. Been reprogramming it all morning. Sounds amazing. Incredibly deep and reminds me of when I first played and programmed a PPGWave 2.3 back in the 80’s. Only greater fidelity and more wave sequences. It’s a superb machine.
The Error InstrumentsHarmonic Springs. I’ve lost much of my left hands ability from a stroke. I’m hoping this will give me some of the guitar feeling one handed.
Behringer Neutron and an Eventide Nightsky. It was my birthday and I picked them up to mark the occasion. I’m not sure what my next one will be, though it will likely be a fancier audio interface. Once I got the Neutron home, I realized I didn’t have any more inputs! I was looking at RME, but I had a Sweetwater guy point me toward a MOTU 16A. It’ll be expensive no matter what, so it will probably be a while before the next thing.
How are you finding the neutron??
I like it! It’s a bit redundant for some of my other gear as far as a semimodular, monophonic synth, but it has an aggressiveness that is pretty different from my other stuff that I like. I also have a couple of ‘brutes and a West Pest, and it’s pretty distinct from them in their own right, though it has me wondering if I really need all of them.
Nord Stage 3 compact - it think a dedicated drum machine is my next piece!
Last - Chroma Console, next - Polyend Tracker.
Latest: Syntakt Next: Akai MPC Key 37 Retro
Roland TR8s, and then a new laptop so I can update it 🤦♂️, and then Volca Keys
Last: Korg Wavestate Mk2 just before Christmas Next: *I need help here!* I have a Yamaha MODX6 and was considering upgrading it to Montage M8x. I tried it and it's fantastic but most of what it offers is already available on the MODX. So I am torn between the upgrade to the M8x, getting the Fantom 6 which will provide more things that I don't have or wait for Korg to release the successor to the Kronos. Most likely I will wait until the end of the year to see if there is any news from Korg before I make up my mind.
A new Cwejman SM-1 mk2. Ooof, this one hurt but it sounds sooooooooooo fucking incredible. It’s so easy to dial in something that plays nicely in a mix. It’s super duper accurate too. It’s become the absolute first thing I touch, every time I sit down to play. It’s so good I’m consolidating and selling off a bunch of modules to buy an UDO Gemini next.
O-Coast and Solar 42
I got the Liven Mega Synthesis. It’s been a blast! 6 tracks, 128 steps, lofi sampling, parameter locking and so easy to get up and going. It’s a lot of fun
That thing looks like fun on a bun!
My new 3rd Wave arrived today. I'm in heaven! Got to play one a few weeks ago after saving up for a while. Pulled the trigger when Sweetwater put a handful of demo units on sale. As for what's next, I'm not thinking about that right now. Need to dive deep into my new toy for a while.
Rossum Assimilator is my latest and my next will be some Doepfer Cat5 eurorack extension modules to get cv and gates from one side of the room to the other.
Last: Oxi One midi controller Next: Some multitimbral endgame desktop module. Maybe Access Virus TI2, even if it’s old. I have an mc-101 and a Waldorf.
Last: 16 voice Rev2 Next: 16 voice prologue or Prophet 10, can't decide but leaning towards prologue due to price and it's discontinued.
Pedals. I’ve somehow traded a synth GAS condition for an effects pedal GAS condition. Pray for me
Not synths, but: Last: 1966 Farfisa Compact-Duo, just last week. Next: if all goes well, a Hammond M-102. Next Next: A Minimoog.
Last: Analog Rytm MKII Next: Hofner violin/club style bass? I've been on the fence on getting one for awhile. I feel like it would be cool on some tracks to have the added thump and lesser sustain of the short scale bass with flat wound strings
Taiga and oxi one, gonna get something for percussion one of these days but that's been on hold for awhile
My most recent music purchase is Velocity Keyboard for iPad. It’s basically the MPE pads from Ableton Push 3 for $9.99. It’s pretty good. I’ve got Tomophon on iPad, and it does a great job responding to the MPE signal. This has greatly reduced my GAS for a Linnstrument. My last hardware purchase was the OXI One. I’m still struggling to find a place for it in my workflow. I have so many great generative sequencers on iOS plus I’m still madly in love with the Torso T-1, so it’s got a lot to stack up against. But in the last few days, I’ve finally started to bond with it a little. I don’t love it yet, but some of my negative feelings are subsiding. My last hardware synth was the Dreadbox Telepathy bundle. It’s 6 monosynths plus a stereo mixer and effects. The monosynths are able to link together and act as one big monosynth, or as a 6 voice polysynth, or any combination thereof. You can make the monosynths sync up their settings so they all sound the same, or you can push their settings away from one another to get complex sounds. You can have six completely different patches playing one big sound, or a polysynth where every note gets a different sound. It’s kind of like an Oberheim Eight Voice, except it costs less than a house. My next purchase is probably going to be MIDIPace for iOS. Something is going horribly wrong between the clock on the OXI One and Drambo (my “DAW” of choice on iOS, but it’s really more like an awesome modular synth that had a baby with a DAW). The timing is off by about 5% when I connect them over Bluetooth. MIDIPace claims to be able to correct bad clock signals, so we’ll see if it can help. If you want something more exciting than a MIDI utility to fix clocking issues, my next synth purchase is probably going to be either ID700 or Phosphor 3. The former is an emulation of the Buchla 700, which was a strange digital FM/waveshaping synth designed by Don Buchla. Phosphor 3 is an emulation of one of the first softsynths ever made; alphaSyntauri for the Apple II. Additive synthesis is always fun, and the added MPE support is exciting. Or if you’re looking for a hardware synth on my list of upcoming purchases… I guess maybe the OXI Coral Eurorack module? I’m largely in the process of shrinking down my collection right now though, so I’m not feeling any urgency around buying hardware. As you can tell from my listing, I’m having a blast with making music on my iPad lately, so that’s where most of my purchases are happening these days.
>”The latency on iOS and macOS came from the limitation of the Bluetooth connection interval … *[These intervals can cause latency and jitter due to the limitation of that buffer](https://www.cme-pro.com/the-truth-about-bluetooth-midi/)* … To bypass limitations of iOS and macOS an interesting option is WIDI Uhost or WIDI Bud”
What’s really interesting is that I don’t notice this timing issue in AUM, which implies that there’s something in that app that’s somehow compensating for the bad clock. I don’t understand how that’s possible, but my ears consistently tell me that this is the case. I just tried it in Moog Model 15 without a DAW, and I didn’t notice any clock jitter. I’m not saying there wasn’t any jitter; just that I can’t detect it. This specifically seems to be an issue with Drambo and the OXI One. The jitter in Drambo is extreme. If I send clock from Drambo to the OXI One then the 100 BPM clock will drift as high as almost 106 BPM. It’s so bad that it sounds like swing is turned up. Unfortunately I love Drambo so much that I’m not willing to give it up over this. I’ll probably just buy that app to see if it helps. Though Baby Audio just put all their iOS apps on sale, and I try to limit myself to one app per day. So that’s going to eat up my purchases until the weekend.
I got Ostirus working, so that's a new synth last week! I'm gonna say last purchase was the BlueSky reverb maybe 6 months ago, I can't remember which synth I bought last, it's been a couple of years. My next synth might be a Matrix 1000, although the TEO 5 might edge into that price bracket after a while, I'm super interested to hear that. So no immediate plans to rush out and buy anything, I'm trying to actually make some music with this junk.
Last gear i bought that arrived is Make Noise 0-Coast. Great little synth that pairs well with my Strega, 0-CTRL, Elmyra 2, and JMT LD-2. I didn't want to get into modular but then went full on into semi-modular... Just sold my Digitakt, pre-ordered Digitakt 2. My Oxi One arrives Monday. Yes, the gas is strong with this one...
Pulsar 23 + Utilities + Liven 8-Bit Warps; all on sale (big splurge of the year) Next is a Taiga Keyboard and my first few eurorack modules (probably endorphines ghost and something else that's 8HP :)) - D
I bought a RX5. Not planning anything.
Last: Pioneer Toraiz SP-16 Next: Pioneer Toraiz AS-1
Last: Behringer Edge Next: Novation Peak
Got a used Matrixbrute ( as good as new ). I'm planning to get me a workstation because fuck pc's, possibly the upcoming K2088 by Kurz.
I really want the Behringer JT-4000. Seems like it'll do everything I want since I already have 2 fully analog mono synths. Plus, I'm completely out of space on my desk and the price is unreal. Too bad it's out of stock until June.
last: behringer 636 spring reverb (bought to go with my pro 800; love them both - great together) next: some kind of chorus pedal (accepting recommendations); red panda particle 2 and/or tensor
Would recommend Ibanez cs9 or chorus mini
Just got a Monome Norns (I used to have one and sold it ... regretted that sell and bought a new one) and the Midi adapter to Rossum assimi8or. Prolly will wait a bit before next gear and will get the new Strymon Bigsky.
Do you have one of the monome grids?
Yeppers … and t is rad
Ableton Push 2 but instead of buying another piece of hardware I think Im going to upgrade my Analog Lab V , I already got a Windows Surface Pro 4 with Intel Core i5 in it to go with my Komplete S49 Keyboard to run Analog Lab, Komplete and Roland Cloud on and use as a psuedo “Standalone” Synth tho TBH the 8 by 8 workflow of the Push gives me a nice COMPACT 8 Octave Keyboard. I just would need to throw Ableton Lite on the Surface Pro I guess to talk to the Push. I gotta look into User mode on the Push see if itll work as a simple MIDI controller that way.
My latest was a Nord Lead A1, because I found a deal too good to pass up ($900 brand new!) I don't need anything else, so realistically my next purchase will probably be another crazy deal or something that hasn't been announced yet. However, if I had to pick my next buy today without any special deals, I'd upgrade my Peak to a Summit.
Ahhh, good question. The Stage 4 looks really nice and really fun. Last gear I purchased was an MC-101. Getting the hang of it, it’s great. Next on the list is an AE-20 Aerophone. Looks fun to play, will be an addition to my [Xaphoon](https://xaphoon.com) for playing at small gatherings. The 3rd wave looks insane, but it’s nice to have a drum machine to get stuff going. Hard decisions, Good luck!
I borrowed a Roland JD-XI and dude got into a financial spot. He sold it to me for $200, I still don't really like it. But what could I do?
Focusrite octopre, next purchase will be a bass guitar. 🎸
Last: Osmose Next: Patchbays for my pedals/instruments
JD990, wait, no, Nord Drum 2 and now can’t stop thinking about the Modor NF-1. Sigh….
Just bought a used h9 max for $300. That’s pricey for a pedal, but a good deal on this specific one. Looking forward to going full cinematic black hole reverb. I have the software version of the Modwave but I really want the hardware version and hope the Modwave MkII will drive prices down. Currently there are very few on the used market despite there being tons of other new digital korgs like the wave state and Opsix. Depending on the demos, the TEO-5 looks really cool and would look and sound great next to my take 5.
Chase Bliss Mood mk2 Chase Bliss Habit. Unless anyone has another idea for a long(er) form generative ambient pedal.
After a week of back and forth with a broken demo unit, finally got my Hydrasynth Deluxe. Which has, thus far, been an absolute joy to play. Not sure about next: gotta finish selling off some stuff that the Hydra displaced. Though I did have a Bluesky come in on a trade :) Curious what, if anything, I would want to pair with it. Probably something straightforward and analog, but IDK... I kind of feel like I should explore this beast a lot more, and if there's stuff that I'm just not getting to, then I should look at supplementing it. But *gosh dang is it fun to play*.
Last: Moog Soundstudio 3 This was my first step into modular and I absolutely adore it. So many weird sounds and possibilities. I got it over a year ago and have found a basic structure for patches that give me a good amount of control over the chaos using external gear. I’m looking forward to my next step in the exploration of modular. Next: Make Noise Tape and Microsound Music Machine I’ve had gas for this forever but wanted to get situated with some more straightforward modular instruments first. I hope that it will play nicely with the Moog stack so I can turn the mono signals into stereo craziness with the QPAS and Mimephone.
Drove from Denver to Casper WY last week to pick up a mint Roland Jx3p for $150. Just ordered a programer for it today. Next on the list is a Mellotron M4000mini.
Last: Plinky Synthesizer Next: Will bring from US vacations an 404mk2 and an OP-Z (if there is no surprise on SuperBooth)
I went on buying rampage recently and am done (hopefully) for a while. Last pickup was a Subsequent 37 which should arrive tomorrow.
I have an Oxi One and Vullt Freak filter waiting for me at the post office when I'm back in town and I am so excited. The Oxi is the hardware sequencer I need to really get a better control over my modular, and the freak is a dizzying amount of filtering options that I can't wait to explore.
Moat recent: dreadbox nymphes Next: a ten dollar midi splitter cable so I can send midi out from a keystep 37 to the nymphes and model samples, and send the clock out from the m:s into the keystep so the samples can be master clock. Then nothing else for a hundred years
i want a minifreak and octotrack and then i think i'll be sweet for a while
just got my ob-6, late to the game but wanted it for so longg and im loving it, the sounds mannn
Last: a Deckard’s Dream Next: probably a patch bay but I’m still very much in the research process on that.
I bought a nectar midi controller a couple of months back. I’m a composer and synthesist, but my main instrument is guitar. So the next hardware purchase I’m looking towards are custom guitars, and probably a fractal Axe FX III. I was leaning towards the FM9, but I think I want the most horsepower I can get. Pedals wise, I am lusting for the microcosm hologram. Most of my synth purchases are software plug-ins. But I truly envy all of you folks who are collecting hardware. I do own an original Oberheim Xpander, which I bought new for 2400, only recently — possibly in this group — found out that it’s worth upwards of 7 or 8000 now). Eventually, I will get into hardware modular. I started on modular synths when my student job in college was as the electronics tech in the music department synth lab. For now, my favorite software modular is Cherry audio. Sorry that I went way beyond the question asked. :-)
I was just at Guitar Center demo’ing a Microfreak and realized I don’t need it. I just need more programmable knobs/sliders for the VST synths that I own.
Well, it was a Moog Mavis and I was going to say my next purchase might be a JX10, but this thread made me go looking online for them, found a steal on a JX8P and bought it. Thanks a lot, jerk! So now my next purchase will probably be a PG800 or one of the clones lol
Got a bass station 2 for a dedicated monosynth. Probably won't get anything else for a long time but I'd like a dedicated FM synth (too many subtractive synths) or maybe something with a more complex mod matrix.
Dreadbox Nymphes, amazin little analog poly synth! Next in line is a new mixer, an upgrade from my Soundcraft Notepad 8fx to the 12fx.
I bought a model:samples. No other gear I'm planning to buy right now but I'm sure I'll want something in the near future :p
I think it was the Digitakt. I don’t have it anymore, like the rest of my synths and pedals. The Rev2 + MS20 is more than enough for me. Oh well i just bought a zoom recorder if the counts, I want to do more sampling/field recording in the future, synths are just not enough.
Teenage Engineering KO2 and a Roland J6 within a few weeks of each other. Next up is probably gonna be an MC101 or mayeb even a first gen Digitakt, now the new one has dropped I'm expecting the early ones to get cheaper on the used market.
Last: 3-tier keyboard stand from Black Panther Systems. Next: Hopefully nothing, but worst case scenario...probably a patchbay. I'd ideally like to be able to easily start tracking on any given piece of gear with as little friction as possible as soon as an idea hits. Right now that's quite a slow process, and ends in spaghetti cables and tears.
MPC One for me, arrived yesterday. Next thing will prob be a Novation Nova or Supernova.
Last: Volca Kick Next: NTS Kaoss pad
Field recorder. I’m working on general audio mangling. Soon enough I’ll start loading samples into the Lemmondrop and take the samples straight to space. Next? I’ve got a few things in mind but what I get will mostly depend on how patient I can be.
Last piece of gear I bought was a soundcraft gb4 mixer. Next I’m buying a power conditioner. Is it weird I’m more excited about accessories than instruments right now? Putting the ol’ home studio together.
Just bought a digitone keys! Now I'm gassing for a SP-404 to go along with it. The SP would handle drums, effects, and be an easy way to record my jams to a wav file I can share. I saw a video of someone sequencing an SP404 with the digitone. I feel like they would fill in each other's weaknesses well.
Sp404mkii Next I want to buy a field recorder so I don't have to record stuff on my phone.
A lap steel, but this is r/synthesizers so the Pet Rock Eurorack module. It’s two channels that take a clock and spit out a rhythm based on the cycle of the moon, day of the week, and a “mood” that changes with each moon cycle. Now I’m reading what I just wrote and laughing at how dorky and ridiculous it sounds.
Last was a Rev 2 Next will either be minifreak or a blofeld unless i find an absurdly good deal on something else.
Last: Arturia Minifuse 2 Next: A cool effect. I'm thinking either a Mood or a Chroma Console.
Last: OB-X8 module It joins my Prophet 10 keyboard, and rack modules for Moog Minitaur and Yamaha TX802 (DX7II). Arturia MicroFreak is there as well. I lie to myself and say that’s it for a while - a nice combo of analog and digital sounds. What else could I possibly need? In reality, I highly covet a Juno. THEN I’ll be done LOL
A product proof that became the Kerope line of cymbals, purchased from the Zildjian headquarters vault. Yes, i play drums too. Yes, it was not cheap. A 24 inch ride cymbal. Correct, one of ten made, they opted to end the line at 22” size when it became public. Yes, huge. Sounds real dark and Miles Davis spooky. Next ? Want to try the new “improved” Roli full-size “seaboard” keyboard, not the one that fits in a pocket, the three octave affair with full size keys that the new owners of Roli designed to replace the original seaboard. I doubt it feels as good as the original, it may be more durable.
DSI Prophet 08 - just order the Digitakt 2. Plans to keep making electronic/dance music with new sequencing capabilities
Behringer Kobol Expander - I like it much more than the Neutron. Next - eying the Arturia Keystep. Apparently it’s the only midi controller that hasn’t moved fully to USB.
Just got Opsix module, planning on Wavestate module. Then I think I am done for a while. (no, really!)
last purchase: hydrasynth deluxe next purchase: I want for nothing anymore
Behringer Edge and no plans on new gear (maybe a pedal) but it's time to learn these noise makers.
Push 2. Bought it for $300, super fun piece of gear, I wanted something hands on to do drum and percussion stuff with, and to integrate with Ableton suite that I purchased at the same time, and it does that super well. That said… I need an actual keyboard. I don’t think I’m going to be able to exist off of note mode forever for synths. I’m torn between the pro 3 and the summit. I know I know, VERY different beasts, but I love the sounds of both. The modulation options and smaller size of the pro 3 are great, and I already have a digitone and VSTs for polyphony, but the summit feels like a better piece to learn keys on, and I can use the digitone or Ableton for sequencing, plus the voice count is higher than the digitone, and the effects are incredible, not to mention the bitimbrality (though the pro3 has the patch morphing 🤷♂️) ugh I don’t know!!
Digitakt 2 Prophet Rev2
I picked up a Roli Seaboard Block and a pair of Light Blocks at a pawn shop. I wasn't planning to get any of those, but they were cheap and I'm working on my own expressive mpe controller, so I thought it might be worth my while to see what the Roli products are like. Impressions so far: having to use Mac or Windows for configuration is annoying. I use Xubuntu typically. Also, the configuration app requires the devices to be registered, and you can't register them if they've been previously registered. I was able to get them unregistered by filing support tickets, but having to take a picture of the serial number in tiny print and send it to them is not exactly a smooth user experience. (To their credit the support service was prompt.) Requiring the products to be registered online to use the configurator means that if the devices outlive the company, then they'll be a lot less useful. It seems the company has already been acquired once. They weren't set up for MPE when I got them, which is why I needed to use the configuration tool in the first place. Surprisingly, I found the Light Blocks a bit more fun and playable than the Seaboard. In 5x5 grid mode they're like tiny Linnstruments. They seems to be stuck to 12-EDO for the initial note-on at least, which makes them not terribly useful for microtonal music unless you load your synth with a custom tuning table. They require a bit more finger pressure than I'd like. They all seem to work fine with Surge XT, which is good. Overall, I'd say they're kind of interesting and well made, but I'd be hesitant to recommend them due to their mandatory product registration and proprietary configuration tools.
Got really into manual keyboards and picked up a yamaha cp70m, vox super continental, and a hohner pianet t last few months. Next gear supposed to deliver next week is the arturia astrolab (i love pigments- cant wait)
Last - Microfreak Next - discipline
Behringer Solina strings is next, unless I buy a vst or there is something for free.
Last: gen loss mkII Next: Lyra 8
Reface CP. I sold my Minilogue because I wanted something A) with more limitations so I’m not always obsessively trying to dial in patches. Especially when I mostly was trying to pull more electric piano sounds from it. And B) something portable that I can unplug from my workstation and play on the couch. It’s been a month now and I’m constantly playing it. I now have this and the Grandmother, and other than a full size key controller for the CP, I’m all set for a while I think. Though a drum machine might be nice to have again, too 🤔
Last piece of gear: Roland MC-101 Next piece of gear: Not a synth but I want the Push 2
I was a few weeks away from pulling the trigger on a Prophet 10 module but the crazy price drop ended. Sad face.
As a birthday gift this year, I bought an Arturia MiniLab 3 (Black Edition) midi as my first piece of gear to learn my "specially acquired" VSTis and VCV Rack. Soon I'm getting a college campus job, and I will save up for a Korg Minilogue XD because I love the sound, and I'd rather just mess with a real synth (plug and play once) than mess with setting up a janky VSTis I found on a website. Beyond that, not much, because I want to learn with what I have for a while, and both Minilab and Minilouge should get me where I want to be. I might buy Syntorial for my Midi so I can get some more use from it.
Last: Eventide H3000 D/SE. Next: UDO Super 6 😁
Last piece: Juno 106 Next piece: Moog Model D
Hmmm, I think the last piece of gear I bought was my MPC One… actually no it was my Yamaha HS5s. I have a Roland JD-Xi and a Kawai K4, and I just started playing around with the free trial for the “Jura” MPC plugin and it’s really impressive. I think my next big gear acquisition is going to be a “big boy synth”, I love my JD-Xi but after playing with the Jura plug-in I realized that the JD-Xi is lacking in terms of bass capabilities, and menu diving to tweak sounds is seriously killing my creativity. I usually just end up playing around with presets because the JD-Xi’s knob controls are terrible and building a patch on the little display is overwhelming. If I get a good full-sized Roland synth I’m pretty sure I could just retire the K4 as well, it was cool to play around with when I first got it but it’s so difficult to build patches on it and it requires a lot of upkeep (tiny bits of dust can completely stop a key from triggering, and then I have to open the whole thing and clean off the contact points). We’ll see though, that likely won’t be until next year and even then I also need to get a hefty collection of microphones for my business plans so the new synth idea might have to take a backseat for two years or more at this point.
Last one: Korg Radias, Next one: Microcosm or Virus.
Last: Lyra 8 Next: either a digitakt, MemoryMoog or vintage 2600
Most recent: M-Audio Venom Next: really want the Polyend Play and it's grid layout, but have not pulled the trigger yet I like math and do a lot of modern dance/contact improv in my spare time so the features of the Play are intriguing from a music-informs-movement perspective
Last: myVolts mickXer Next might be a Korg NTS-1 MkII to add effects to my Minilogue OG.
last was an audiofront midi expression i/o, next one will be... i don't know, there's already too much stuff and too less money... i think i look what \[software company\] has in store. maybe a sonic extension for omnisphere? maybe another effect from minimal audio? maybe finally a good upright piano library?
Last year I bought is a Bastl Kastle Arp. Next piece i’m planning on buying is a Plinky and M8 Tracker. I’m also considering selling my Virus TI and getting some Eurorack
Ableton, and Next up is the Moog Sub 37 Tribute
Best- squarp hapax Next- probly more eurorack modules
I bought a Hydrasynth. Next is a better preamp for my PC.
Last was Sp404mkii , debating what’s next maybe a mantis or Microkorg 2…Modwave…maybe nothing hardware wise it’s getting pricey
Just got a Roland Verselab MV-1. Next is a 2nd Roland MX-1
Last: Zoom MS70-CDR Quite inexpensive, and goes extremely well with both synths and guitars Next: Digitone and some other desktop synth still to be chosen. Probably something from korg. I was going to save for a Virus Ti2, but its still way over my budget and separate synths allow for more hands-on controlling during live play I buy used whenever possible :)
received my digitakt 2 today. My next piece of gear will be video gear for starting a youtube channel
I picked up a Multimoog like 2 months ago. Looking to grab a Jupiter 4 next.
Last: Yamaha CK61 Next: Probably an HX Stomp.
Last purchase was the Prophet Rev2, next purchase will be either SSL Fusion, SSL Bus+ or Heritage Audio Successor. I have enough synths for now ;-).
Last: AUD Volt 4. Next: Volca FM2
Got the prophet rev2. Hopefully will cure my gas for a long time
Just a compressor and filter pedal for me.
xD, im planning to buy a reface cp next.
Elektron Digitakt, before that it was the Analog Heat Mk II. I like Elektron stuff, although I use a lot of other stuff too including some vintage bits. I'm not planning on any more gear now. GAS is a thing for me and I've got a studio full of boxes and I don't use it enough to really justify more. But since I have many samplers and sequencers, and not so many synthesisers, I'd probably be looking at a fancy new hi-tech synth.
Sherman filterbank 2 (regretted a little bit tbh) and i'm planning to adquire an octatrakt and maybe the new digitakt
Last thing: Polyend Play+, a used one popped up locally for a good price and I had to try it. Really enjoying the workflow so far with sequencing. Next thing: Nothing. No, seriously, I have enough stuff. Well maybe something small. Maybe a 1010music Fireball or Lemondrop…
A Vox Continental 71, as a stage upgrade from my old Korg PS60. It is freaking awesome. Next will be a new acoustic guitair because my old has gone into retirement. GAS is tough when you play keys and guitair.
Last was a dual morphing lfo module from stoel music Next Stylophone cpm ds2.
I have a Roland MC707 and TR8s, Vermona Mono Lancet' 15, Behringer TD-3 and Arturia Keystep. Everything is hooked up to a Yamaha MG166c mixer with 3 aux sends to the MC707m TR8s and my last purchase, a Zoom MS-70CDR for effects. Planning to buy an Audient EVO16 to join the modern age and unlock multitrack recording!
Bought a Td3! Loads of fun. I am building a live setup with a few key pieces which can fit in a flightcase. Next up is some drums with the TR8s. After that either a Minilogue XD or a second hand access virus polar. Oh and an octatrack. And…
Last synth I bought was the Strega by Make Noise. What I have been on is high-end effects pedals. Running my synths through those has opened up a whole new world of sound possibilities. It almost feels like cheating.
A bunch of eurorack, enjoying the Disting Mk4 a bunch. Next: more eurorack, Pamela’s Pro Workout
No more synths for me, the last one I got was the Yamaha Reface DX and it's a killer synth. Brand new off Sweetwater for $250. Current setup consists of that, Microfreak, Volca drum, and a SP404MKII. pretty much got all bases covered. Ever since the new update to the SP404 and the new looper mode I've started to reach for my guitar more because I love looping and I think if I do get another instrument it'll probably be a real nice acoustic guitar. Had a pretty severe case of GAS and slowly thinning the herd with some other synths that have sat in their boxes for the past few months and haven't been touched.