We had 3 synth techno setups, and then 2 synth techno setup
What’s the best 1 standalone box for techno?
(Answering “Octatrack” is cheating 
)
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pretty much any elektron imo.
my personal favourite for the job being Digitone.
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Rytm 
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Surprised not to hear “M8” from you
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haha, yes i am a fan. however, for me it’s not so suited to improvised music. Tiz a beaut in general tho.
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Akai Force for me…. Is a beast.
Other options would be the AR or Syntakt.
I also like jamming with the TR8S solo, but it is a little too limiting really.
For me the TR8S + Akai Force wins but that’s back to 2. Force alone covers a lot of ground though
If I could only use one machine, Digitakt for sure.
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1 synth?
I would have thought a drum machine would be more appropriate/useful for techno but thats just me…
I dont own one, but my choice might be Perksons. But I do own an octatrack so Id obviously use that. Even though its not a synth.
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Machinedrum
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1 synth setup = DN!
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I’ve been going round in circles for years, buying and selling gear. But right now, and I believe for the foreseeable future the Digitone is absolutely the best techno/idm 1 box machine for my needs.
I’ve just sold a Syntakt. I’d assumed with the format being roughly the same I’d crack on and have the same joy using it but I found it a drag to use.
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Model:Samples. Although I’ve yet to prove its the best with a m:s techno album of my own. Here’s somebody else proving it with only a handful of single cycle waveforms…
It certainly inspires me to get on with it on mine.
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Rytm
Have your drums and synth it too…
Analog Four Mk2.
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My first choice will probably always be Nanoloop 2 on DS Lite. There’s just something about it that lends itself so nicely to live techno. Being able to mix and match each channel’s patterns and manipulate them on the fly is pretty key for this.
I like the M8 if I want to play a highly orchestrated set with meticulously crafted movement; this is what the audience seems to enjoy more as well. It’s less work and feels like I’m not “performing” as much, but it always gets a good response.
I haven’t figured out how to play nice consistent techno sets with my Elektrons yet, though considering I’ve streamed several 3+ hour totally improvised sessions with the M:C I’m sure I could take that to a show and make something up completely on the spot.
Future: Perkons. From what I’ve seen it’d be similar to the M:C in that you could take it to a show with nothing planned and bang out a really consistent set without much effort… but with the benefit of having all of the controls tweakable at the same time.
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My initial thought was either a Perkons HD-01 or Rythm MKII. However, after further consideration, I would go with the Maschine+, but the MPC Live II or MC-707 would also suffice.
With the exception of the Perkons HD-01, I own each of the aforementioned standalone boxes and created Techno tracks soley with each. IMHO, the Maschine+ has the best combination of instruments, sampler, effects, and workflow for a single device setup.
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If we say 1 synth + sequencer, i think the kyra would be cool, as it has lots of fx, compressor, eq etc, its only missing the sequencer part.
Otherwise RYtm is maybe the most complete device because of the performance macros and combination of synth + samples, mpc one also, seen live jungle done with it, quiete spectacular.
Managing multi mode on Waldorfs is nightmarish, though. You’ll spend as much time sorting and naming patches in order to prevent accidentally using them in other multis as you would spend writing music.
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I am only posting this because it was such an unexpected choice for someone who obviously has more gear options at his disposal, but I recall Terrence Dixon rocking a MC-303 for his live sets in the past:
At least for this live set, he also had a Maschine MKII and laptop available, but did not use them. Only his audio outputs and power jack are connected on the MC-303. Unlike the MC-808 and MC-909, the MC-303 was not viewed very favorably. However, he made it work for him.
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Pērkons.
The answer is Pērkons.
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