1010 Blackbox.
Didn’t kill off the Octatrack Mk1’s previously dominant role in my live setup completely, but it’s definitely a contender for the throne.
I only got one thing this year, and it was a big hit!
Can highly recommend the 01/IV drum synth from The Division Department. Hands down the best of its kind.
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A friend of a friend is using the Twister with the BB (which is a USB host too), maybe tell your friend…? 
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Hit: Xone 96 , sound absorbers, t racks mini dsp. Beyerdynamic 1990.
Miss: nothing really,
I tend to carefully choose, maybe i try a minilogue, not sure if it fits me.
First year with no misses
wins
A4MKII
DN
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Only made one purchase this year being the Launchkey Mini MK3. It’s pretty dope and I’m trying to get more comfortable with keys over pad instruments to not solely rely on scale modes so it’s perfect for the price. If we go off of the last 13 months, I repurchased a DT which I’ve loved but I am starting to feel it’s limits and no longer being inspired. Without time stretching and stereo sampling it’s tough to make the beats I want to make without having to jump into Ableton sooner than later. I want to trade it for an OT MK1 or maybe MPC 1000 but OB has me spoiled.
I’m actually ready to start purging gear. If I make any new purchases I’ve gotta let some stuff go. The hard part is figuring out which items to sell.
The Digitone has made a marked improvement on my music making. My ideas really just seem to flow through it more fluidly than any other device I’ve owned before and it’s a lot of fun to program especially with the added functionality of operator offsets. I’d love to get the Keys version someday but it’s well outside my budget.
Least favorite, quickest sell is probably the Behringer MS-101. It sounded good but I really did not like the feel of it. Funny because I had been pining for a 101 for years and when I finally “got” one I was just left feeling underwhelmed. It was taking up too much space so away it went. I also was not a fan of the arpeggiator not being able to function with just a single key press; I know there is a way around it using either the sequencer or a square LFO but that felt a bit cumbersome for the simplicity of the function. Kinda bummed I sold my Minibrute 2 to get it.
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The SP-303 I bought from someone on this forum killed everything. I love the workflow of this machine and don’t really touched my DT since I have the SP-303.
The pattern sequencer of the SP-303 is a beast, and the FX are full of warmth. The vinyl comp is awsome.
I bought it without knowing what I did and finally it’s a game changer 
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It was actually the Replicator Jr, but yeah. It was a bit of a disappointment. I bought two different ones to see if it was recurring. It was. It wasn’t always terrible with all cartridges, but as you say, they aren’t cheap and I already had plenty of tape echoes that simply sounded better. I was hoping for a new one that would have fewer issues, but in the end I couldn’t justify the price for what I was (not) getting.
Riiight, my friend completely missed that. He’s pretty daft, seeing as he’s using the BB with all kinds of compliant stuff, you’d think he’d know.
But tell your friend that my friend really appreciate the advise
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I spent most of 2019 refining exactly what gear I want and want is no longer needed. The fact I moved countries helped in these decisions a lot, so…
HITS:
Digitone - by far my favourite synth of all time. FM is just so versatile.
Octatrack Mkii - no one needs another list of why the machine is so good.
Fishman Triple Play - midi pickup for my guitar. Totally changed my life.
POSSIBLE HIT:
Moog Minitaur - really need a bass synth with lowest note priority to combine with DN for guitar patches.
MISSES:
Roland Boutiques - sold two SH-01As and a TR-08 after sampling them into my DT. Nothing wrong with them, just wanted to move my sound forward. Only one I kept was the VP-03 because that thing is truly unique.
Analog Keys - great synth but takes so long to program well and I also realised I’m a guitar player and will never be a good keyboardist. Lack of lowest note priority really pissed me off too. Made it impossible to use with my DN for guitar Midi craziness.
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hits:
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Ferrofish Pulse 16 AD/DA converter (to add more channels to RME Fireface) … this Thing sounds so impressive, a little more open and top end sparkle then the RME Fireface.
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XAOC Devices Zadar for good modulation madness.
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XAOC Devices Belgard filter !!!
50/50 Hits & Misses
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Makenoise Qpas it does sound ace with the full modulation but it definitly has it´s own charakter and I´m not sure if I´m 100% into that charakter or maybe switch to SSF Dipolar quad filter.
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Digitone, because I really miss the note keys like on the A4. I don´t like this keys & step on 1 button sequencer. So i´m selling the Digitone and just ordered the Digi Keys to make it kind of midi center of my setup … my idea is to play also the Prophet 6 Desktop with the Digi Keys and merge everything somehow into the DAW
miss:
- after some recording test I finally put the mackie 1642 VLZ4 out of the recording chain
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Hits:
- Waldorf STVC perfect for ambient music to create atmospheres and the vocoder sound really nice to get the Kraftwerk vibe.
- Waldorf Quantum Well i sold my 2 microWave a few years ago. But the PPG/Waldorf sound is my absolute taste. Because I could never afford a Wave back in the days. So the Quantum was no brainer to get this time. I cannot emphasize it enough but the Quantum is the most favourite synth/sampler I ever had. A masterpiece it is.
Thats all for this year, okay I also has Plogue Chipsynth MD plug-in synth on black friday. I need to spend more time on that one. I have to say soundwise I like it more than the Digitone.
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Hits:
Animoog for iPhone
Miss:
Koma Elektronik BD Delay. Sold it the next week.
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Hits
- Elektron Digitakt. Replaced my OP-Z and fits nicely with my Eurorack workflow.
- Noise Engineering Loquelic Iteritas. Gnarly AF!
- Expert Sleepers FH-2. Lets the DT send MIDI to the modular and vice versa. A big improvement on the FH-1.
- Expert Sleepers ES-8. Works a treat with Ableton Live and CV Tools.
- Pusherman Monsoon. I missed my old Clouds.
- Tip Top Audio Mantis. I finally retired my DIY cardboard case.
Misses
- Teenage Engineering OP-Z. Really fun but didn’t play well with my modular.
Too early to say
- Cycling '74 Max 8. My only Black Friday purchase. Hoping it’ll be a hit!
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Hits:
Digitakt - this is the entire focus of my getting back into music, really loving this box, wish it had an arpeggiator, very temped to add the Digitone to the equation
Yamaha Reface CP - agonised over this for ages, but it’s proved to be everything I was looking for, love the sounds I’m getting out of it and it just covers all my needs as a midi controller
Retrokits RK002 - adds arpeggiator, works really well
Misses:
Streichfett - wanted to love this but it’s not fitting into the soundscape I’m going for at the moment, I think I need to work harder at it before writing it off though
Volca Modular - fun to play with the first few times and might add some spice to tracks, but I can also see it falling into disuse really quickly, got a great deal on it though so I should probably sell it on without loosing much.
Maybes:
Circuit Mono Station - Sounds good, fits the Digitakt well, somehow haven’t really clicked with it. Almost want it not to have it’s own sequencer and be simpler. It’s growing on me though.
3 x Pocket Operators - fun, but not necessarily using them enough and limited scope to include them in my normal production workflow, so probably more money invested here than I should have.
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Hit: Vermona Retroverb Lancet - lot of fun getting a wide variety of sounds running things through this unit.
Miss: Elektron Analog Drive - didn’t do much for me (using with synthesizers).
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Best purchase: Bitwig 3
Worst purchase: OP-Z
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Oooooh, you’re a triple play user! Can you comment on how fast it tracks. I’ve been eyeing it since it was first advertised, but pretty apprehensive about that type of tech (especially since it is wireless)
Any thoughts on what you’ll replace the Mackie with?