I KNEW someone was gonna turn this into a thread about cats!!!
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I got a really good deal on a Tascam Model 24 which I found on FB Marketplace for $300. I normally work dawless with a A4 and AR + iPad and AUM for Digital synths and midi mangling. The Model 24 worked great here because I’m mostly recording to a stereo track which worked out well in AUM and I could run single channels out of my Elektron boxes to route additional FX etc inside aum. My workflow normally consists of experiments I build on by bringing new elements in and out. I still work this way sometimes but recently found another good deal on an SL MKIII and I wanted to take full advantage of it’s “In Control” Ableton implementation so I used my daughters university ID and got myself a copy of Ableton Suite. To my dismay I found the Tascam to be more of a pain than not working in ableton so now it’s waiting to be sold. I’m tired of having 20+ lbs of i/ocables to deal with so I’ve switched to ableton completely for recording purposes and now learning how to use it to store my projects while also trying to stay outside of the box as best I can.
The Tascam Model 24 is a great summing mixer. It would be great for recording gigs or just setting up a simple home studio but it’s daw integration is severely lacking IMO.
The SL MKIII is a great keyboard with fantastic daw integration. It inspired me to take the ableton plunge and with overbridge and Roland drivers I have cut my i/o weight down 90% making my setup much leaner and meaner. The only thing left to do is o try and dial in some minor latency issues.
How comes? Octatrack is perfect for ambient stuff
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It is. Its just my wife does all the ambient stuff and im just a bit bored of ambient now. Death by Ambient Music 
I’m in the same boat, sorta. I want to like the OT, especially since so many others, here and on YT, seem to get so much out of it. On the other hand, I really can’t stand bad design, including badly designed user interface. Part of the definition of well designed user interface (ever since the first Mac in 1984) seems to be “don’t make it more difficult than it needs to be” and “things should work they way you would expect them to” and “complexity doesn’t need to be equal to difficulty.” The OT falls very flat in all these regards. I am not saying the OT suffers from bad design. There are use cases which don’t apply to me (live gigging) in which others have said the OT has no equal for what it can do. I believe it.
I set the OT aside for a few months after wrangling with it to get it to do much of what I know it can do. I got to a point where I mostly understood what it could do and how, but it still seemed… “dense” and overly difficult. I am not going to sell it for now. I have decided that I will return to it when I have time to really dedicate my understanding of it and use the tutorials in the back of the manual to get to a point where I actually enjoy using it. FWIW, I did not find this to be the case with the A4MKII at all (or really any of my other hardware that have sampling, sequencing and synth/effect capabilities) Within a few hours of purchasing it, I was able to get it to do really cool stuff, both in terms of sounds and sequences and after a few days with it, felt like I actually understood it. I can come back to the A4 after weeks of nonuse, and after a couple of minutes remember how to do stuff that is exciting. With the OT, coming back to it, I feel completely lost and frustrated without having guidance right in front of me to learn how to use it, all over again, especially sampling into it. It reminds me of using software (e.g. WordPerfect) based on DOS for several years before I could afford a computer with a proper graphical user interface.
One thing that is a miss for me with all Elektron gear is the unnecessarily difficult and convoluted way they all seem to require you to save and store stuff you’ve done with them. So easy to lose stuff, and then not find it very easily. This is most true of the OT, but is also true for the A4 and the Model:Samples. Just… very weird, and not intuitive at all.
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Can’t stand it, never have. Even the sort I could tolerate is now completely excluded from going through my speakers or headphones. 
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They should have stopped at Eno’s music for airports.
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When I am composing, it’s all machines and stuff in the SSL and that’s it. I use the Ferrofish for recording/mixing, but even in this context I find a lot of handy uses for the SSL, starting with hands on mixing/summing. I also monitor through it, use the onboard comps (channels and master) and eq that do a good job in my opinion. I also use its routing ability to record fx wet signals and that kind of stuff. You can probably do all of these differently (just like you are certainly doing), but most of the time the SSL in combination with Total Mix gives me clever options - so it’s mostly about convenience in the end, I admit. Everytime I am thinking “I cannot do this”, it turns out that I can.
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I see, thanks for your reply.
I do miss a mixer sometimes since it allowed me to bypass the computer, that was very handy.
But these days I always record anyway so the computer is always on.
SubH and the DFAM together is so dope. Both wild characters in their own right. Together they make for such a fun situation.
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Wow. That’s like, $800 off.
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I’m loving the Modwave as well.
Coming from a Blofeld programming education, the Modwave is teaching me all over again!
Update:
RC505 mkII looper- incredible and incredibly fun. I had the first version and sold it when this was announced. Honestly one of the most fun pieces of gear I’ve ever played. Even if you don’t have grand plans for it or think it’s for you, you might be surprised like I was. 10/10.
Yamaha UD Stomp Modulation Delay- I saw a mint one locally and I basically never ever see these for sale. I bought it thinking I can always sell it if I have to. I have to explore it more, but it was one of those moments where the first patch was magical. It’s really big but my lord what a sound and it’s so unique! Anyone else play one?
Polyend Medusa- I’m on the fence. I understand people who don’t like it, people who LOVE it and people who predict it’s a misunderstood future classic. But me, I don’t know yet!
Chase Bliss Thermae- worthy of the hype. Just very very pretty, inside and out.
I appreciate the well-reasoned and honest review. I would love some of the capabilities of the OT but speed and clean interfaces are important to me. The DT and DN have spoiled me in how they mostly do what you’d expect and are just a pleasure to use. If they release an OT spinoff that can be described similarly I’ll probably get it on the spot.
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Yes, that would be truly great (except it would render my OT virtually unsellable). I sometimes regret not getting the DT, even though it is more limited than the OT–at least I might be more inclined to use it more regularly (or at all).
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Didn’t buy much gear this year, I guess that’s a good thing?
Hit - Virus TI desktop for €600. Everything sounds huge. Am I crazy for liking the raw sine wave off this thing?
Miss - A4mk2 for €700. I never clicked with it and often thought I better sell it off, but a part of me says give it time. I know it can sound great. Only keeping it now because of the sequencer/p locks and hate setting up PC for another mono synth. Oh and I hate the form factor
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I bought a bunch of gear so this will be the stringed instrument edition.
Fender American Professional II Jazzmaster
Love the Deep C neck with 9.5" radius and narrow-tall frets, the smooth action of the Panorama tremolo, and the tones of the V-Mod II pickups, although I like the bridge pickup tapped for the more sparkly vintage-style tone, for most applications. The bridge pickup was very close to the strings. Pickup magnets too close to the strings can dampen them. Jazzmasters are not known for massive sustain, but found that lowering the pickup resulted in improved sustain. Props to Chuck Levin’s for the nice discount and even nicer setup job on the guitar - they put on new strings and lowered the action for free. Thanks to their setup job, barre chords at the 10th fret or higher are comfortable to play, as well as hammer-ons.
D’Angelico Excel Mini DC
At first I was disappointed with how the weight of the neck, relative to the small and light semi-hollow 339-like body, caused the neck to sink when playing standing up. However, I’ve alleviated this problem with a combination of using the left hand to hold up the neck when I don’t need to move it around a lot, resting my picking arm on the body to hold it down when I do want to free up the left hand, and even wrapping the guitar cable around the strap and letting the weight of the cable help pull down the body. Really love the feel of the neck, the range of tones, and the sustain on this guitar.
Line 6 HX Stomp XL
I was previously relying on a Boss Katana 100 for amp modeling needs. While I am not that picky regarding amp tones, I found HX Stomp’s amp modeling to be a dramatic upgrade over the Katana’s. The UI is also a big improvement. The selection of quality FX, combined with the UI, makes this a nice replacement for my pedalboard for band rehearsals, and much lighter and easier to transport.
NS Design NXT-5a 5-string Fretted Violin
Regardless of whether I got the NXT-5a with or without frets, the pickup and electronics (active when USB-charged, passive otherwise) is a big upgrade over those of my Yamaha YEV-105 violin.
It has a Tone knob which by itself is a big upgrade, but the overall sound is more refined. With most other violins and violas, I’ve had the shoulder rest slip off due to too much pressure between the chin and shoulder. Forcing myself to pay attention to this pressure improved my playing and well-being by not suffering the effects of excess tension on the neck and shoulder. That said, the way the NXT-5a shoulder rest is designed to be clamped by the violin assures a much more secure attachment. There is a much more flexibility for adjusting the angle and height of the violin than allowed by most other violins. The frets allow easier location of notes and add a mandolin-like sustain when the bow is used in a strum-like stroke; yet do not get too much in the way of slow glissando up/down a string.
All of the above are hits, no misses.
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Long & McQuade in Canada currently has a sale on Korg Wavestate. I almost pulled the trigger, ALMOST … but I released the pressure valve and let the GAS out.
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Since my last post in this thread I’ve ended up with a couple more pieces of gear:
Moog Grandmother was given to me as a Christmas gift: it is very much a hit! It is probably the closest I’ll ever come to owning a vintage analog synth. There are SO many things I want to do with it. Right now I’m running/patching it with my Koma Field Kits and running it through Live 11. I also want to sample it with mpc 1000 and Polyend Tracker and…well, everything. I used to own a Sub Phatty and I’m glad I have a Moog again. Best present ever. Speaking of Ableton, I finally upgraded to Live 11 and I must say, another hit. Was very tempted to get a Push again but, it’s time to start saving money instead of spending it so I’m going to be an adult and exercise some self control for once. Lastly, I sold a guitar and picked up a Moog Sub 25. Another hit. Totally different from GM and I feel like I have the analog synth thing covered for a while. It’s cute and small enough to gig with. Also perfect sample fodder for OT, mpc1000, and PT. Tonight, it was GM into OP-1 tape tracks for some minimal off the grid meditative stuff. It’s been a good Christmas. I really want to make that record now…
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Hits:
AR mk1
Dreadbox Typhoon
Soma Cosmos
AH mk2
BD dt 1770 pro
No misses
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