Arturia Microfreak - such a fantastic sounding synth for a ridiculously low price. I really think everyone who isn’t an analogue purist should own one of these, as you won’t find anything else even nearly as versatile soundwise outside of the VST/iOS realm.
Great build quality, extensive but easy to use mod matrix, nice sounding filter,…
Due to it being a monosynth (well, and 4-voice paraphonic) it doesn’t lend itself well to pads but it’s more than capable of producing pretty much any other sound imaginable. I’m in the process of sampling it into the Digitakt and use it for weird drums and percussion noises…
Very curious about what’s next for Arturia - if they keep expanding the “Freak” line in the same way as the “Brute” one, I’m looking forward to the Drumfreak and the Polyfreak.
Modal Argon 8 M - I just recently got it used for a very nice price and I’m in love with it. It can cover so much ground, from analogue sounding basses to digital, glassy pads and weird, constantly evolving soundscapes.
I was sceptical about the UI at first but it’s a breeze to program even without the accompanying app - very logical and fast, menu diving is only needed for the more esoteric functions like envelope curve options and even those are like one layer deep.
The ModalApp works great - if you use Bitwig, you can assign a modulator to every parameter of the app and it gets transmitted to the Argon 8 in real time. Absolutely bonkers.
Not sure:
Korg Volca Drum - I like the sound very much but I hate that the UI is so small and fiddly. Would buy a bigger “Volca Drum Pro” with bigger endless encoders and a waveguide per voice in a heartbeat.
Miss:
Elektron Model:Cycles - Not nearly as flexible soundwise as I thought it’d be. It shines at extreme settings with lots of distortion and modulation but a Digitone plus distortion pedal/effect can do pretty much the same sounds and a lot more.
Not a fan of the rubber pads as well.
Still keeping it though, as I love drum machines in general and the M:C does some nice “bread and butter” percussion after all, especially considering the price.
I just wish it was a little more versatile.
I love acid and I pretty much make only acid tracks.
The acid is the only instrument still ITB (I use ABL3 VST) and wanted to have a real piece of gear for that.
I never liked the sound of the TD-3, the cheap knobs, and I don’t like the 303 sequencer.
funny, you prefer ABl3 over the behringer analog clone.
Really liked ABL3 as well. I also think the roland tb03 sounds nicer in demos than the TD3. Not judging accuracy, just the sound in general
Well… I don’t really care for something being analog or not. Analog is not a criteria itself. My fav synth (except acid synths) is still the Digitone…
The TB-03 sounded to metallic in the demos.
I unexpectedly got money to spend this summer and bought the Avalon. Still waiting for it
Had to tighten the belt this year.
Did manage to sell enough gear to get a Polyend Tracker.
This device is a massive win for me. One of the most inspirational pieces of gear I have purchased in 25 odd years. not for everyone I can appreciate, For me though it rewards experimentation in a very immediate way, and encourages carrying out major changes to an existing jam through pressing a couple of button combos. I also love the form factor.
On a track by track basis
Select Instrument (shift + home, up arrow) : Change. Or Fill based on a range / random
Play Pattern Perform : Rdm / Backwards
PlayPattern Perform : C1 - 10 (variations)
Select a track and offset by a row
Select track : Invert
Change a sample from ‘1-Shot’ to granular or wavetable
Just off the top of my head… but really the facility to select a ‘lane’ (FX, Note or instrument) and change via Fill (random / scale / every 1, 2 3 etc)./ Takes seconds. Can mean a completely new direction. Embracing that level of ‘what happens if…’ mindset has really liberated my approach.
I can then take individual lines / riffs etc and stick them in another sampler …
I think that a lot of time people (myself included) evaluate these machines we play with according to whether or not you can complete an entire track (nee album !) on them…
You can finish tracks on the tracker for sure… but also as a unique way to generate a fresh idea to then bring to a more ‘typically structured’ project* is really inspiring. * By which I mean : drum machine / bass synth / lead synth etc
Monomachine SFX60+ I really enjoy using this machine. It has a wide palette of sounds, but it’s also pretty distinct. The audio routing options make it easy to create weird sounding stuff. It goes well with an MD.
Model Cycles - I’ve liked using this for jams. It’s pretty easy to get up and running but I think there’s more depth than people give it credit once you get into modulation stuff with different LFO’s etc. I love how noisy it can get, and the reverb (which I understand is the same one as the MS?) really complements this sound engine. It benefits from having the modern Elektron sequencer options too.
Sequentix Cirklon - I was on the waiting list for over 3 years before it became available. It a pretty impressive sequencer. It can do most of the stuff I imagined my dream sequencer would do and a lot more I hadn’t thought of. The only con of having the Cirklon has been the desire put all of its tricks to use, when honestly, it not always necessary in my compositions.
Misses -
Le Strum Midi - I bought it on a whim off a fellow Elektronaut, but it’s too fiddly for me to use.
Not buying a Nord Rack and Model Sample - Someone on here was selling this combo for £500 I think, and I decided not to buy whilst exercising some restraint. But tbh Ive wanted that Nord for ages. I could have just sold on the MS for cheap and had the Nord for a fair price. Oh well.
With Elektron boxes, and a cirklon, how do you sequence? I wouldn’t want to skip the Elektron parameter locking, but the cirklon would be nicer for note programming… this keeps me from getting a cirklon
Octatrack MK2: I returned my first one because it felt redundant to my DT and overly complicated to use. Later I felt remorse because I thought I didnt give it really a chance (30 day return-policy) and I like a challenge so I decided to let the DT go and get another OT. Now I am in love with this machine. It’s the perfect desert island instrument. I really like the Lofi effect and the filters on this thing, the reverbs not so much.
PO-33 K.O.: After the OP-Z debacle, I thought I would never get another TE product but the concept of the PO-33 resonates with my love for the sound of oldschool samplers. While I dont see myself doing any substantial music with it, I think I will keep it in a drawer for resampling some sounds to add dirt and flavor.
Behringer TD-3: I usually prefer complex sound design options when looking for synths but this showed me that a simple, fairly constrained synth can be a lot of fun, too. I had a blast generating random acid sequences with STING (https://maxforlive.com/library/device/4260/sting-by-skinnerbox), twisting those knobs and running it through OT effect chains for hours. My only gripe is externally sequencing this thing from my OT without losing the sound of a typic 303-pattern.
I didn’t buy the Cirklon for use with my Elektron gear, as I prefer the immediacy of tweaking using their internal sequencers (P Locks etc).
However you could easily integrate the Cirklon to change parameters that you aren’t PLocking. I recently used the Cirklon with the MNM, whereby the notes and things like the filter and resonance etc were all controlled by the Cirklon (so no Plocking involved) and it worked really well. It was very quick to come up with melodic sequences and more bizarre sequences, that I wouldn’t have normally done. These are good for recording into an OT or DAW etc.
But I still feel that in general the Elektron integration of a screen that relates to the encoders, that makes it immediately clear what you can PLock is an unbeatable method for using those devices, even it its a much more basic level of sequencing.
I use the labels everywhere. On the Mixer naming every channel and the sends/aux, on my Patchbay, on my cables coming from the Patchbays back, on my PSUs and/or on their connectors assigning them to the device, even on my gear showing the MIDI Channel the devices is configured for.
This cool little tool (my second one btw.) makes everything so much more convenient!
+1 for sting + TD3! infinite random fun, and sting is far more creative and good sounding than i’ll ever be at acid programming. love the ‘density’ option for creating related variations. skinnerbox are dope.
i’m thinking about using sting to generate, then capture /save midi sequences to a bank of “remix patterns” on a midi track in the OT for later use. could even then transpose them up and down for instant acid fun during a live set in any key.
Oh yeah I forgot I also got a label printer this year. So neat! My studio’s still a mess of cables, but at least I can tell what leads where more often now
