Hit: Korg B2 ‘piano’. Aside from an aggravating lack of proper physical outs, it’s been great. Just sit down and play. Exercises a different part of the brain from sequencing. And my wife actually likes hearing me play piano.
Hit: Nord Lead 2. So playable. Synthesis options look vanilla, but less so once you explore the gnarly FM and the very accessible layering of patches. Very fast to use.
Miss: Craftsynth2.0 . It can make some cool sounds and has some nifty features (wavefolder sounds great) but it’s just too fiddly for me. I’ve realised that I actually value useability more than compactness. And I’m not buying any more gear that doesn’t have TRS outs.
Digitakt, amazing but a miss, the lack of reliably backing up stuff scared me. Years of lost stuff. I found out later that there is a way but… . I also thought that if I am going to learn Elektron think might as well get an Octatrack, love it, crazy, frustrating machine. Korg Minilogue XD, nice but just couldn’t get use to the small keys and only four voices. Sold it and got a Korg Prologue, didn’t do anything for me, loaded all kinds of reverbs and oscillators but still a miss. Traded the Prologue for a Modal Argon8. All right, this is what I was looking for. Still learning it but definitely a keeper. I think that is it for 2020!
Bought these two when that battery pack video came out. What a fun time I’ll have in the woods I thought.
Hit: Model Samples. Had this, octa and digitakt. Sold the digitakt, didn’t sample much and liked being able to reach all parameters quickly.
Miss: Model Cycles. Was nice to have a fm drum synth but I felt so constrained. Also the pads were incredibly stiff!!
Miss: where’s that battery handle??
Effects
Miss then Hit: Zoia. I bought this twice. The first time I loaded it with presets that I could never find my way around. Second time I learned to build effects myself and it’s a keeper!
Miss: H9 Max. Told myself I wouldn’t miss quick editability, that the effects would speak for themselves. After months of using glorious sounding but uneditable presets I ended up only using the spring reverb preset, what a waste.
Hit: used Eventide Pitch factor and Timefactor. Way more front panel control, same(?) effects.
Moog:
Miss: Subharmonicon. Amazingly cool idea that did absolutely nothing usable for me.
Miss: DFAM. More usable than the Subharmonicon, still felt like wasted space for what it did. Really missing MIDI. Loved the sound.
Do you know what the expensive model does that justifies that price? Their website isn’t really clear to me. It just says (of the cheaper M model) - ‘a lower cost version of the classic PL model’.
Edit: the main difference seems to be Series Multi-Stage Protection
Gotta change the Digitone from neither-hit-nor-miss to Hit.
I decided to dedicate more time to it and it’s truly a fantastic synth. Part of my reason is the old screen on my Monomachine bugged my eyes out one evening when I was particularly tired and maybe stoned. MNM is still my favorite synth of all time, but I really love the Digi’s OLED screens, so I decided to pair up the Tone with the Takt and it’s all I’ve been working with for some weeks.
What really opened up the Digitone for me was digging into the velocity/mod wheel/aftertouch modulation settings. I can keep the played in sequencer data from my midi keyboard, or erase it and use velocity and the like as separate modulation lanes with a sort of macro functionality.
I love making tracks with the Digitone but I also find myself simply playing patches on my keyboard because it sounds so good. It is most definitely a hit for me.
Hits:
Realizing I didn’t purchase any gear this year.
Misses:
Nothing.
AHmkll, OTmkII & DN remained on my desk and will provide enough fun for years to come. Op-1, op-z and po-32 have seen less use in the last months without traveling but are still fun to use on the couch from time to time. GAS free for more than a year now, 2 finished albums and another 2 halfway-finished albums still in the pipeline.
2020 has been a pretty big gear year, at least by my standards…
Hits: Machinedrum UW+ Mk2
I admittedly didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, and to be honest I still wonder if it’s exactly the right fit for me, but it’s so damn cool, it’s hard not to have fun with it. I still am totally lost on the sampling, haven’t been able to load a single one yet, but I’ll figure it out.
Digitone
Again, I was underwhelmed by this one at first, but after spending some time with it, it’s grown on me a lot. I’m still trying to find a place for it outside of just pattern ideas, but it’s way more versatile than I thought it would be, and is actually one of my favorite sequencers for external gear.
Blokas MidiHub
Really cool device. Initially picked it up just to be a DAWless Midi patchbay, but it can do some really cool things. This + MD with Local Control off is bonkers… I’ve just scratched the surface with it, it’s deep, and hopefully getting better.
Misses: Analog Four Mk1
I acquired this in a trade, and already had a Mk2, so going to this was weird. I liked how it sounded obviously, but even having used an Octatrack Mk1, this one just didn’t work for me. It’s a great value though, and I’m probably just spoiled to be honest.
Hits:
Digitakt: Simple yet mighty. I originally purchased this to have something to play my bass guitar along with, and boy did I open a can of worms with this one. I primarily use it for drums, but have really enjoyed mashing together samples of old Japanese Funk/Disco I find on Youtube.
Misses:
Teenage Engineering OP-1: An incredibly unique and portable piece of gear. Obviously didn’t do a lot of travelling or leaving the house this year with the pandemic, so the mobility of the gear didn’t really outweigh its limitations. While the various engines are quirky and creative, sometimes you just want a straightforward set of FX. While the “CWO” was a cool effect, it’s hard to over-state how lousy and metallic the reverb sounds.
if you have lots of gear i suppose going with the higher model doesn’t seem so bad.
not sure either how serious power spikes can be tho.
if it’s something you ran into before and has potential of damaging your gear maybe the higher model might be for you.
i mainly went with the lower model for all the outlets it offered, everything else was a plus.
Model:Cycles: I feel having all the knobs on the face just makes it a bit easier to get started on something. The 6 tracks gives me a bit of room to squeeze in a couple more ideas without having to reach for another piece of gear.
Maybe Miss
Ableton Push 2: As a software developer now forced to work at home, I feel I want to get away from the desk and the computer when I’m done with my day. Since the start of the summer, I’ve unintentionally moved to a “DAWless” setup so I haven’t touched the Push 2 much. I still want to get more productive in Ableton Live, but I haven’t managed to complete a piece with it since the summer.
Miss
Artiphon Orba: I wanted to like this one. To justify getting one I told myself that the kids would probably like it as well. The round shape makes it so that I have to read the labels to re-orient the device in my hand each time I pick it up. The app, at least on Android, is certain functional, but ultimately didn’t inspire me to explore the device. I feel my 7 year-old daughter has spent more than with the OP-Z than the Orba.
Octatrack - perfect centerpiece
DSI Evolver - had one a long time ago but had to part with it rather quickly due to finances. Picked one up again and the sound is just amazing. you can do so much with it.
Cell phone stands - they make great desktop synth holders when used in pairs.
Hit but miss:
3D printed OT stand - it does the job but its flimsy and hard to move around without it just falling apart on you. however, i wouldnt have tried to use cell phone stands if it wasnt for this stand being unstable. lose/win.
Audiothingies p6 - Its a great synth with great flexibility and sounds great too. just… for my ears, it cant compete with the evolver. The evolver ends up stealing the show entirely despite the p6 having great modulation capabilities.
Miss:
Behringer RD-8 - Although its very fun to play with, its a bit of a one trick pony and its HUGE. Not to mention the lack of program change and midi CC. I’ll always end up sampling the sounds and further processing them, might as well just start with the samples.
Behringer TD-3 - What can I say… its a fun box. It sounds like a 303. Like the RD-8 its fun to jam with, but its also a bit of a one trick pony. Just using the RD-8 and TD-3 is hours of fun for sure, but these instruments do not lend themselves to studio work.
I love its “hands on” approach. I like knobs and faders to mess with. Not staring at a screen. And speaking of…the oscilloscope? RAD!!! I believe anyone could have fun noodling with this thing. Even “non musicians”. Its truly alot of fun!
Elektron Model Samples
Finally could afford an Elektron piece (right?). Id my eye on it when it dropped.
Finally cleaned up and decided to get back to creating. This thing facilitates that. This ones is a process. Not beginner level. I tend to get some aggressive sounds outta of it. Ill be deaf shortly. Ive messed with the OG Monomachine but im curious how the rest of their gear is…
Elektron Digitone - just a lovely synthesizer with amazing sequencing power and sound design possibilities. In my eyes this box really encourages you to push it to its standalone limits - and I’m always amazed by what you can do with 4 tracks and 8 voices.
Arturia Audiofuse Studio - Great interface that is a huge step from my previous one (Focusrite 2i2) and offers so many amazing routing possibilities. Sounds amazing, does exactly what I want and no need to plug in and out cables all the time. Big hit.
iZotope Ozone 9 - Not real hardware gear though but this software solution really made me have fun mastering my jams and songs. Super easy to use, modules sound great and it made it easy for me to find my own mastering workflow.
MISSES:
Teenage Engineering OP-Z - Just not my kind of device. I love the OP-1 and although the Z got some really nice updates over time I just couldn’t get my head around it, the workflow didn’t really work for me. So I ended up selling it.
Wow 2020 is nearly coming to an end? Guess I’ll fill in my score card too. In order of how much of a hit it has been:
Hits:
Bitwig 3 - the best DAW I’ve ever used. Inspiring and actually fun to use. Suddenly so much more productive then when I was using FL/renoise/reason. It just clicks with me.
Wavesfactory spectre - I put this on everything. It just makes everything sound better.
Elektron Digitone Keys - upgraded from a standard digitone. At first I was really not a fan of the keys version. It looked awkward and was priced too high. Well prices have come down a lot and it’s really grown on me. The quick shortcuts and ease of entering notes has been a game changer for me.
Wavesfactory trackspacer - great to bring out certain elements in a mix.
Elektron Analog Four mkII - it’s early days but I’m really enjoying this. It’s a bit more straightforward to use than the digitone, as I’m more experienced with subtractive synthesis. Still, some of the sound I get out of it has managed to surprise me. Does pretty much anything I can think of within the realm of analog synthesis. Has a nice character too.
Mixed:
Elektron Model:Cycles - I really like how it sounds, but find it a little fiddly to use. This mainly comes down to the lack of workflow features found on the higher end elektrons. Also, for me, out of the six machines I really only like half. Chord, snare and hat are a bit too one dimensional.
Status: waiting for battery pack so I can treat this like a sketchpad for on the go.
Korg Minilogue XD - Great analog poly. Multi engine was a big disappointment for me, as it felt like a chore to use. Wish the sequencer was as good as the monologue one, so it could be used to make up for lack of modulation options. Ultimately replaced by the analog four, which I like better in every way.
Status: sold
Arturia Pigments 2 - I’ve only had this one for a short while, but so far I’m a little ‘eh’ on it. It’s very powerful but the interface feels cluttered and it doesn’t offer much compared to my go-to VSTs (the Grid and Massive X). Bit of an impulse buy cause of the low price I must admit. Remains to be seen how much use I’ll get out of it.
Honeymoon write up, but I want to add Maschine mk3.
I was thinking about the mk3 often in recent years.
I use and really like the komplete kontrol ss mk2 but they didn’t make the sampling engine of maschine software available on the keyboard and left off some other convenient features.
When maschine plus was released I figured I could grab a mk3 for quite cheap now.
I really like it. Great quality as with everything from NI I touched. Love the pads, the best I know. Controlling komplete is really handy, sure it‘s more about adjusting presets than sound design from scratch but with simpler synths like TAL uno or monark and the likes it‘s totally usable. You can also do a lot with with just playing around with the macros from fm8 or massive, or the NI play series which sound really cool and small macro changes get you a long way.
Sample content of NI sounds great, the sampler itself is super straight forward.
I would even assume that I prefer this over a machine plus. I can control some of my favorite sounding third party plugins with ease. Again the less complicated the ui the better, but things like soundtoys decapitator, echoboy junior or their plate reverb only have two pages of parameters. I can also control all the excellent free spitfire labs stuff and many other cool simple libraries.
The maschine mk3 feels very standalone to me, my macbook has only had very few issues in 5 years of use so no problems here. I can do everything from the controller but naming tracks or the file which is more convenient from the computer keyboard anyway. Other than that I had sessions for a few hours where I totally forgot that it all runs on my laptop, with having the convenience that I don’t have to record everything into the computer afterwards and with having a huge library and great fx all controlled from one box. On elektrons and other standalone groovebox type machine I end up collecting hundreds of unfinished demos, cause I‘m often actually too lazy to record the stems into the daw.
And after years of being enthusiastic about sequencer trickery with elektrons and modular sequencers, I lately really enjoy some nice pads and keys, and just playing it all in realtime
