2022 Gear: Hits and Misses

natrixgli · 2022-12-26T02:08:18.734Z

closencounters:

SSF steady state gate - had no idea an LPG can do so much

Just got one and absolutely loving it. Even more so having finally gotten around to reading the manual.

DoS · 2022-12-26T15:00:10.526Z

Hits

Back in April, I picked up a few things that had be in storage for 23 years (!) in New Orleans:

Soundcraft Folio Notebook mixer - four mono channels, two stereo ; aux send and return, tape in and out, but most importantly a convenient size. This is now the mixer I use the most as it’s handy to place in front of my computer keyboard with all the smaller devices arranged around it for instant tweaking.

The only downside is the really weird proprietary power block, and as it’s from the 20th century, there’s no voltage switching and it’s strictly 110v only so needs a step-down transformer to work.

DX-7 voice cartridges 3 and 4 - great to finally have some original sound expansion carts for the DX-7 - so many great and familiar sounds in there, and actually really useful. All that and a few data cartridges to back up and swap around sounds. Lovely stuff.

Midiman Thru 1x4 and Merge 2x2 - I kept on meaning to get this sort of thing, so it was especially nice finding these in storage. Simple and powered over DIN MIDI too.

Fostex X-15 four-track tape recorder - has pitch controls and separate outs for each cassette channel too, which is nice. Seems in good nick and is conveniently packaged in a (gun!) case for easy transport, should it need to be. Another 110v-only PSU, though it will take any 12v power in a pinch.

Yamaha QX-21 - one of those things that was probably revolutionary in 1986 or so, but seems quaint and huge for what it does nowadays. Not something I would ever buy, and only brought back in my suitcase out of curiosity.

However, it can have two separate MIDI sequences / loops recorded into it, so it’s actually great fun having them ready to go at the touch of the Start button without faffing around with a computer or other sequencer.

Then the other things in 2022:

Axoloti plus Music Thing Modular Control module - I’ve had an Axoloti for a number of years, but getting another with the Control board with its pre-soldered knobs, buttons, LEDs and most importantly joystick rekindled my interest in programming the thing. The joystick is so much fun for mapping to USB or DIN MIDI to control the internal sound patches or other things, such as the FX parameters of a Korg NTS-1, and more tinkerings will follow.

Nord Micro Modular - I’ve wanted one for years, and while the full-size Modulars are a bit too pricey, the MMs show up at reasonable prices still, like this one did. Sounds amazing, huge amounts of patches to download from online sources, but not really got into programming it as yet.

Norns Shield - What could be better than one Norns than two? Another duplicate of a familiar device, but this one came direct from Monome and is thus better built that the DIY edition I already have. Norns can use Link to synchronise, so running multiple scripts as sound generators into FX or just together is a good way to keep things compact and intriguing.

Various modular:

Doepfer A-136 distortion / waveshaper - not really used this as much as expected yet, but it’s quite instructive running LFOs and other CV modulations into it for wave shaping rather than just for distorting sound sources.

Doepfer A-151 sequential switch - one that’s taking a while to find its niche in the case, but it’s certainly going to.

Grendel Drone Commander DC-2e - huge sounds, amazing construction and looks stunning, for the chunky stainless steel knobs alone, and with the CV expander module and a custom Grendel 84HP case it can be used as a standalone drone machine and so much more…

…especially with the equally rugged and immense-sounding SOMA Lyra8-FX to run it through - one of the more out-there delays available, and with enough distortion to really warm the already massive sound of the DC-2e into window-shaking territory.

So with all that extra space, a second Micro Ornament & Crime comes in very useful for modulation using the Hemisphere / Benisphere firmware - and the latter can add crispy drums or a 303 sequencer emulation too when needed.

Noise Engineering Clep Diaz - another module that seems to work well in pairs. Perhaps a little uninuitive to use at first, and probably not being used to their full capabilities yet, they are a constant source of exploration though.

Takaab Nearness V3 - a simple stereo output module that adds seven panned outputs in just 2HP - perfect.

Dreadbox Dysmetria - sounds absolutely fantastic, and not only because of the now-legendary Dreadbox filter. The sequencer is a little convoluted to get the hang of, particularly saving and loading sequences, but the live tweaking and wide range plus the patchability and MIDI input make it suck up the hours of a evening. Not just for percussion either, though it excels at that aspect.

Misses

JVC 1401 4-track reel-to-reel - a miss only because it would have been impossible to bring back from Louisiana and it had suffered the after-effects of a couple of hurricanes over the decades too.

Thankfully a local home was found for it with a tape deck enthusiast who is not only going to try to bring it back to full working life, but kindly also digitised many of the original 4-track tapes that were stored with it (those that survived the flood waters unscathed…) too.

g3o2 · 2022-12-26T15:54:22.703Z

DoS:

DX-7 voice cartridges 3 and 4 - great to finally have some original sound expansion carts for the DX-7 - so many great and familiar sounds in there, and actually really useful. All that and a few data cartridges to back up and swap around sounds. Lovely stuff.

check this out then: https://www.thisdx7cartdoesnotexist.com/

DoS · 2022-12-26T16:04:23.607Z

g3o2:

check this out then

A fantastic resource - I know it well and plan on filling the data carts with some choice patches the next time I’m in a DX-7 frame of mind.

JES · 2022-12-31T15:24:51.642Z

I forgot one of the highlights of my gear year: deleting ProTools from my computer. I had a project to finish in PT from someone else. Never again.

DaveStorm · 2022-12-31T16:18:53.739Z

It was a very quiet year gearwise. I guess I’m pretty happy with my setup for now. Although planning to make some moves - Minifreak must come and MPC One must go.

Hit:
Arturia V Collection update - more classics, very useful, my main vst synths

Cannot decide:
Syntakt - it’s a fun machine on its own but does not really find a place in my workflow…prefer Maschine Plus for drums/ideas and Sub37/Minilogue/Jupiter Xm/V-Collection for synth stuff. Keeping it for now.

Miss:
Polyend Play - sent it back, I realized that I do not really need another groovebox. Maschine Plus and Deluge covering all
Modal Argon 8 - all those buttons felt so fragile, I tend to hang on to filter buttons so I was worried those do not last long…

Happy new year to Elektronauts!

Karl_Joseph · 2022-12-31T17:35:18.447Z

The Hits:
Octatrack MkII
OB-6, sadly I sold it to make ergonomic space.
KV Gear Rail
Digitone

Not missed:
Logic, I used this to work with a buddy on a project- did not like. I like the customizable key commands and actions/scripts of Reaper. Logic just seems rigid and slow which killed my fun. Alas, I might give it another go cause I’m a team player.

Doug · 2022-12-31T17:56:38.023Z

DaveStorm:

Modal Argon 8 - all those buttons felt so fragile, I tend to hang on to filter buttons so I was worried those do not last long…

This was probably for the best. I have a Skulpt. It lasted about two years and then just died one day. It lights up but won’t make a sound. I tried to contact Modal to see what could be done to fix it and got no response. Not even some form letter telling me that they’re very sorry but I’m out of warranty. The fact that they just ignored my support request makes your decision look that much more sound to me.

On the upside, I wound up getting a piece of gear this year. I was gifted an Uno Synth Pro desktop by Noir Et Blanc Vie who was moved by my tale of woe. Say what you will about IK Multimedia’s annoying registration system, at least I know that it’s pretty damn easy to get in contact with the company.

As far as the Uno itself, I like it a lot. I already had the original model. I liked that one. But this is a big improvement in every way. I’m really enjoying it so far. So…

Hit - Uno Synth Pro desktop

sacguy71 · 2022-12-31T18:04:13.838Z

Access Virus TI2 has been a big hit in spite of software challenges with the TI plugin the synth is fun to play and sounds massive! It fills the gap in my studio for psytrance and EBM stuff I have trouble getting out of modular and my other gear.

sacguy71 · 2022-12-31T18:04:55.342Z

nice! I like that Noir Et Blanc Vie dude he seems like a hella nice guy and chill. Would be great to jam with him one day.

Scot_Solida · 2022-12-31T18:31:16.934Z

Hits:
Moog IIIP w/Sequencer Complement B
Do I need to explain why? A lifelong dream fulfilled. It’s always been my Holy Grail.

Buchla Easel Command
A somewhat affordable, compact, and condensed iteration of the best of Buchla. It sounds lovely.

Maestro Echoplex
My favorite tape echo and I’d been far too long without one.

Polyend Play
The MIDI sequencing side of this thing is utterly inspiring.

Kyma Pacamara Ristretto Pro
I’ve only just ordered it, but as a Kyma user for nearly 20 years, I know it’s going to be a winner.

MPC One
The condensed MPC. Everything I need from an MPC and more besides.

Hammond CV w/Leslie 122R
A magnificent sound that fills the room.

Rhodes Stage Seventy-Three
You know why.

Gibson Les Paul Studio
Chunka chunka clang squeal.

Vox AC15
Chunka chunka clang squeal, but louder.

Not sure
Critter & Guitari Organelle
Haven’t had the time to devote to it.

Max/MSP
See above.

Electro-Smith Daisy Field
See above the above.

Miss
Lyra 8
I know, I know, but I’m just too much of a control freak and we just couldn’t make friends. I did try.

Focusrite ISA One
It was fine. But I have way better than ‘fine’ alternatives.

Arturia Microfreak
I tried again, but despite the updates since last time, I just couldn’t find a reason to keep it.

lesstalkmoredisco · 2022-12-31T19:10:40.491Z

[Update of October’s entry]

Hits:

Syntakt
Still debating wether it’ll kick Rytm Mk2 out of my setup. Still need to figure out which role(s) it will do best. But it’s super fast to get going, sounds great, and is starting to sound more and more like I want to sound. Love the better midi functionality of it over Rytm.

update: Whatever reservations I have (missing Rytm pads, no arp, a bit clean compared to Rytm) it’s so quick to get going, it’s so versatile, and fits into my setup perfectly - as a brain and sequencer for my small modular ánd for core drums ánd for some synth duties. All with only one machine to setup (using the same copy paste kit every time, takes a second), and no other gear to save/setup/manage. Easier to mix too, than the Rytm! (Still, that Rytm dirt:)

Eventide Space
Sounds like my H9 reverbs, but with 10 knobs. So: great.

update: love it. Knob per function really does make you use something differently. Amazing algos. I wish to never have an fx without low and high EQ control again.

Mackie 1202
Great small mixer with enough channels, two sends, lots of smart I/O. Perfect for a live setup.

update: Sometimes I dream of better sounding mixers like my Mixwizard but getting a version with a few stereo channels, or saving up for a Xone96 or getting a now very cheap XonePX5 (@dtr from your insight in the value of a dj mixer for live gear). Or dreaming about smaller setups by using a mixer module. But for now, and taking budget and desk space into account, the 1202 is still perfect for a few hundred bucks, lots of channels wíth two aux sends, ánd room to spare in a 10U rack for a row of modular:)

Monsoon - finally a good and affordable delay in my rack wíth built in low/high pass filter.

update: love it.

Muxlicer + Mex. Lots of great functions. Impossible to beat for the price. It’s got some annoying things though (pitch is unstable, mostly). On the fence about Eurorack sequencers as a whole, actually. They’re too expensive to try them all, but kinda need to try all sorts to find my way with them. (I’m curious about Black Sequencer, Hapax, Metropolix, Verbos Multistage, etc etc - on the one hand sequencer modules help happy accidents that I like in Eurorack, on the other they kind of are in the way of any reproducibility that’s needed towards making tracks or preparing sets, especcially when not having a sampler)

Update: same reservations but it’s become pretty central to my whole rack, including using its individual step in outs to trigger modulations and stuff, so warts and all I couldn’t miss it. Moved to “hits”

On the fence:

Xaoc Koszalin (Frequency Shifter) - big knob for big effects. Make techno sounds.

update: out of the rack already… Still have it, cool module, but it my small focused rack Im more and more oriented to very core / essential modules. This didn’t make the cut currently. Moved to “on the fence”.

Quadrantid Swarm
I kinda love it. But since I’ve stopped experimenting with it I can’t get much more from it than the same noise pads/percs or bass sounds. I recently heard some older recordings of mine with it and it did some great other sounds. Kind of wondering how I lost my way with it. I’ve started making my own patch sheets for patches to remember how to patch different sounds from it from now on.

update: out of my rack. It gets too much too soon for me. I don’t like it when I make the kind of unrestrained in your face techno that tires me out too soon, and I don’t have the discipline to use QS subtly😂 Moved to “on the fence”.

Miss:

B2600 - I tend to want to let big gear go. Midi was unfortunately fussy with the way OT handles note messages.

Other:

Xaoc Katowice - really liked it, but didn’t need it enough to fit it in my 6U rack. Sold for now. If I had the space/money I’d love to have it again.

Tiptop Buchla VCO - great thing, but same as Xaoc Katowice
[/quote]

End of year additions:

Echophon. Amazing delay. Normal delays or pitch shifting sound design madness. Love it. Hit

Bitbox. Has a few limitations (its not completely without lag so wouldn’t use it for precise 16th note sequences) but otherwise its such a joy. Added a bunch of characterful kits from Løstlvls (what’s your handle here?), creating my own multi samples for pads and stuff, and great for recording loops. Hit!

Verbos Dual Four Pole. First Verbos! Great character. Large, which is a good thing. Will follow this route to more and more large and playable modules instead of crowded space-savers. Lots of inputs wíth attenuverters. Taming and warming LIP. Hit!

snake-soap · 2022-12-31T19:33:24.314Z

Hits:

Pulsar 23: everything I want in a synth; dirt, immediacy yet depth, unpredictability, wtf factor.

Syntakt: you know why.

iPad: never thought I would have this much fun with it but it’s been a dream to take on our Christmas holiday abroad. Not only are there amazing music apps but I can watch Disney movies in insane quality on the plane with my son.

Teenage Engineering BIA: hands down the most fun I’ve had with Eurorack. Planning on purchasing a second and sequencing them both with my metropolix.

Misses:

Digitone: found some great sounds but never connected with it.

1010 Lemondrop: huge sound, annoyingly tiny box.

OP-1: got it for a steal and managed to sell for a profit so happy there. Always wanted to try and although very inspiring at times I can’t recall ever making something I really liked.

DelayDude · 2023-01-01T15:03:50.616Z

I bought a sp404mk2 last week - just before NGNY23.
It´s fun and I use it mainly as a looper for my guitar (I´m not so much into finding samples). But my MPC One is way more powerful: better pitch options (only 7 semitones on the sp404 in vinyl mode? The other pitch mode sounds weird), envelopes, better sequencer. Though, the effects are nice.
The only thing, that the MPC is missing is the skipback option (the stock setting of 20 seconds is to short - I switched to 40 seconds, which is fine).

senor-bling · 2023-01-01T16:11:42.265Z

Well, spoke too soon about being done for the year. Rytm Mk1 rather quickly had to make room for a Syntakt. Not sure that’ll prove a wise decision. But Syntakt is slightly more portable and works better as standalone groovebox. One thing that bugs me, kind of: 12 tracks may sound like a lot, but some machines sound so thin by themselves, I have to double/triple layer a few of them to build a proper SD for instance. The Rytm seemed to have more punch somehow.

And I got myself a Flame Mäander. Someone sold one close to where I was staying over Xmas. Felt like utter self indulgence. I’ve been too intrigued by this thing ever since it was announced to not want to give it a try though. And it looks like it’s discontinued. Initial verdict: a lot more versatile than expected. Thanks to its seq/synth knob it can switch back and forth easily between huge sounding PWM+unison-4-Voice-Wavetable-synth and sequenced filter bank. Very cool. Too few demos out there and most of them focused of the filter bank side of things, which makes it seem more limited than it is.

joeyfivecents · 2023-01-01T16:36:47.009Z

Thought I had already contributed to this thread but turns out that was last year. The past 12 months has been a blur- had to go away for a while, get myself right again. When you’re married and the father of 5 trust me, it’s not easy to just drop everything and go away but, I’m good now. The only gear I purchased in 2022 was the op-1 field and the hologram microcosm. Both hits for me. I purchased the microcosm way after all the hype had died down and kept pretty quiet about it. It does exactly what I want it to do (very subtle stuff placed on a send or crazy stuff during a live improvised jam on my pedalboard). As a longtime op-1 user, the field just made sense (I wanted to keep the OG-1 but…bills). No misses this year simply because I wasn’t spending like crazy. Oh yeah, one more thing I almost forgot: I did buy a JHS Smiley fuzz pedal. Put a volume pedal in front and a delay behind and I have a ton of different fuzz sounds to work with. So yeah, all hits. And like a few people here, I’ve been getting back into using the laptop with Ableton Live (it is called Live y’all, Ableton is the company that makes it) and it does sometimes make me think I could do without any of this hardware. Happy New Year everyone.

korpinen · 2023-01-01T16:40:23.605Z

So I completed NGNY… if drum machines don’t count. Ok, so that’s definitely a miss as I got four drum machines in the last four months of 2022.

HITS:
Analog Four mk1
The A4 can be a lot of things obviously but I got it mainly for drums this time (it’s my second one). As everyone knows it’s deep as hell, which is both a blessing and a curse but with a combination of drum presets I bought and synth sounds I mostly made myself I’m finding the A4 to be the most fun and flexible drum-capable groovebox this side of the Machinedrum. Sure I’d love a couple more voices when I’m using the A4 on its own but using two tracks for (sound-locked) drums and the other two for synth sounds makes for a very capable box.

Analog Rytm mk2
A late November purchase. This is actually the first thing I’ve ever bought three times. Even though I only had the previous two (a mk2 and a mk1) for a combined two months, I was pretty sure I would never get another Rytm. While I would love to make better / more adventurous synth sounds on the analog engines, I’m finally starting to appreciate the combination of samples and analog. Imagine if you could have eight DVCOs going at once tho! (With a second LFO). So the Rytm is not perfect by any means but it’s been a lot of fun for me in the past month and I think it’s a keeper this time. I should be able to put out a Rytm-only release later this year.

PRESUMABLY A HIT:
Nord Drum 2
So someone (me) put our Christmas tree right in front of the cupboard where my Octatrack is, which is why I still haven’t tried the ND2 I got earlier this week. I’m not 100% sure if I’ll get on with the UI but I know I will love the sound.

MISS FOR NOW:
DSI Tempest
It’s a miss for now, cos I haven’t put in the time and effort yet. It’s every bit as deep as people say it is. Might very well be the most flexible analog drum machine ever but it’ll take some time for me to get my head around it. If I can remain patient, we’ll see where I’m at with the Tempest a year from now.

ki_cz3d · 2023-01-01T16:42:41.290Z

Hits:

1010Bluebox - finally something to save some table space, took a while to get used to the UI vs an analog mixer, but love it now
1010Lemondrop - big sound, tiny footprint - still waiting on some updates, but love it already
DFAM - first synth/instrument I’ve taken and played in bed in about 15 years

OTF:

Erica Zen Delay - haven’t found a space for it in my workflow, not sure if it’s worth the price when I’m not doing anything too ‘abstract’ with it (yet)

Misses:

Digitone - just didn’t gel with it, but I miss some of the tones … might trade something back for it, wait for one used … or despite the problems, get an MC101 as a small box for chords

Ryan · 2023-01-01T16:47:28.391Z

Hits:
Opsix
Minifreak

Miss:
SQ-64

Its an awesome sequencer, no doubt- I intended it to use with Ableton and Bitwig, but nope I stick with Renoise. I’m not good with happy accident composition anymore.

Speldosa · 2023-01-01T17:13:23.218Z

Hits

Syntakt

I still have some minor qualms with this box (direct jump between patterns would for example be really nice), but most importantly I’ve never had as much fun with a groovebox as I’ve had with the Syntakt (which in turn makes me more productive). It’s just so direct, and the balance between simple and complex is just perfect for me. So far, I haven’t used a single preset, and I never spend more than five minutes on sound design before moving on to actually creating music.

Misses

Nord Drum 3P

I bought this both to delve into drumming and to sequence it externally. I realized that live drumming wasn’t for me and sequencing it from outside just felt like a big hassle. Also, I didn’t like the onboard controls. It could sound really good at times though, but it still felt like a no-brainer to let it go. I very seldom had any fun with it.

OP-Z

This is the first device that I’ve ever bought again after having owned it before. I bought it before I got the Syntakt, and I wanted to use it to sequence the Nord Drum 3P, which as described above wasn’t a hit. Also, even though the sequencer itself on the OP-Z is really good, the flimsy build of it just bothers me immensely. If Teenage Engineering ever release an OP-Z Field, built like a tank, I might be tempted to buy it a third time (and probably sell it again after rediscovering that I don’t like working with samples).