2024 Gear Purchase Hits and Misses

[Switchmode]

A good year for me, all hits:

• Emagic AMT8 - a 23 year old midi router that works standalone or with the latest M-series Macs. All my midi routing problems solved in one unit.
• Intellijel Polaris - it’s hard (impossible?) to find a Eurorack OTA phaser for Small Stone swishy goodness (most are JFET style MXR style units which I don’t rate as highly). As an added bonus it’s also a multimode filter. Happy days.
• Digitech TSR-24 - reverse reverbs and tap delays with loads of MIDI control and routing options. A flat UI removes a lot of menu diving that rack units from this era tend to have. My hunt for outboard ‘weird shit’ digital fx is over.
• Korg Minilogue - I’ve always wanted one and finally got around to it. Looks great, sounds great and the voice mode buttons turn it into a fantastic happy accident machine.

[Scot_Solida]

I was surprisingly restrained this year, spending a lot of my gear budget on repairing/restoring old gear - and much of what I bought was old, too. Some highlights:

Hits

Korg Polyensemble S - an ancient analog string/organ/choir machine that used to belong to Leon Russell. It needed some repairs, but once done, it proved irresistible. I am not going to pretend I haven’t been overusing it.

Beyerdynamic M 160 ribbon mic - a shockingly versatile and great sounding ribbon microphone. I’ve used it on overheads, guitar cabinets, vocals and they all sounded fantastic.

AEA R84 ribbon mic - a massive old-style “pill” shaped mic, this one makes everything sound like a classic reocrd.

Tascam 32 - I have many 4-track and 8-track reel-to-reel decks in varying states of disrepair, but didn’t have a proper 2-track machine. This has allowed me to get back into cutting, splicing, and looping tape - something I have always loved doing.

Clavioline - I’ve always wanted one of these, but working instruments are few and far between. I finally found the right unit at the right time and couldn’t be happier with it.

I also re-bought things I missed, like the MDUWII+ and Yamaha RX7 drum machines. And, um, the Analog Keys. What was I thinking selling that one? Likewise, I sold the Linnstrument after too brief a time with it, but it’s on its way back to me, after which it will be primarily dedicated to controlling Kyma.

Miss

Moog DFAM - it wasn’t bad, but to say it was redundant in my studio would be a grievous understatement. I had one decent weekend with it before getting bored with it and shoving it back in the box.

[PantsGod]

I’ve been pretty dormant the past few years, but 2024 ended up being a big year for me gear wise

Hits

Hologram Chroma Console - Clicked with it instantly. Everything goes through it on the way into my laptop. Super versatile and painfully easy to use.

Intellijel Cascadia - Just an amazing sounding synth. So well thought out and fun to use. Have had some transcendent musical experiences with this thing

Hydrasynth Desktop - It just dawned on me one day that I could pick one of these up used for like 600 bucks, and it has become my go to synth. You can pretty much make any damn sound you want on this thing.

Moog Matriarch - Sold my Mother 32 as part of the fund for the Cascadia, and decided that I needed the Moog sound back in my setup. Found a great deal on a the dark version, and grabbed one. Combined with the Cascadia, I have a mono semi-modular behemoth, and it rules.

Misses

Digitone II - This thing is awesome but as noted in the “hits” section I bought 3 new synths this year, and realized that I fully don’t need this thing. GAS reality check.

Red Panda Tensor - Really cool, but just ended up complicating my previously simple pedal chain, and I decided I didn’t want the hassle.

[_wrks]

Hits:
Digitakt II - Had the OG and the second iteration has exceeded expectations and has made this expensive hobby fun again.

Octatrack MKII - Went in with an open mind and an ignorance to it’s intricacies and difficulty. But man, this thing is by far and away the best made piece of gear i’ve ever owned. It’s actually more intuitive than I thought. I liken making music to cooking - bear with me as this analogy will help to explain my thought process. For me, the Octatrack is like following an old receipe. Yes all the steps are there, but the measurements for each ingredient isn’t quite what you’re used to, you have to decide on the final cook time etc etc. But there in lies the secret, this machine (like the recipe) does a great job in getting out of the way and shows you how to make music better. You’re not just making what it wants you to make, it helps you become a better chef.

Strymon Nightsky - Gorgeous inside and out. I love the sounds I can create with this… highly recommend.

Polyend Synth - this effectively ‘completes’ my DAWless setup. As an early adopter I know I’ll be subjected to bugs and niggles here and there. But so far, this thing hits the mark and I praise it’s versatility. I try to get things for what they offer now, rather than the promises made by companies - anything can happen. For what it is now, it’s a great piece of kit and am enjoying every minute of it.

Misses:

Arturia Microfreak - This was GAS and a bit of FOMO. Everyone was having fun with this thing and praising it for all it can do in the form factor and price point. I hated how much I disliked it… everything I made sounded the same sonically to me. The ‘quaint’ touch keyboard is actually horrible after a while. It makes it feel less musical than it professes to be. Just save your money and get a Minifreak.

SP404MKII - bought this late last year… but I had to sneak it in here. Might be against the grain a bit here, but this was a machine built by committee. This was the Oprah giveaway of sampler/grooveboxes. How many features is too many? it lacked soul and identity, and it was not a joy to work with… The convenience of performing my music through it was undeniable, but not enough to justify an $800 .wav player. Get the OG, SX, or A - those devices are better representations of what they are than this thing.

[Snipecatcher]

@Scot_Solida

AEA R84 ribbon mic - a massive old-style “pill” shaped mic, this one makes everything sound like a classic reocrd

My R84 is the last mic I’d sell. That thing is magic

[mechakorp]

Wow y’all buy a lot of things every year

Hits

Modal Cobalt8 - Definitely a complex synth with several quirks and some misguided defaults, but everything else is lovely! This one requires reading the manual, understanding the available options, and taking into account the many features added on the various updates (luckily the manual is up to date with the latest firmware). Modal supported this one pretty well, aside from the 300 factory presets they released an extra 100 that use v2 features, and about 50 more over time. Also, ModalAPP, which should be the standard on any hardware synth released this century. The keybed is indeed fantastic, to the point this is now my main controller. It also looks good on the desk, and having a Desksaver means I can put papers or other light gear on top without a worry. Definitely a keeper and a cure for GAS.

3U rack case + 1U power strip - Cables be gone! All the music gear is now connected to the back outlets, with the power bricks hidden into the case. The front has power switches to turn everything on at the same time, and there are extra outlets for the odd piece or gear (or just some USB chargers).

Casio Privia PX160 - I always wanted to have a piano . The second-hand price on this was great and it even included the wood furniture stand. I’ve been using it to learn some much-needed music theory, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the piano sounds and the speakers.

MIsses

Roland TR8S (bought last year) - It’s not the device. It’s me. I couldn’t justify keeping such good gear so underused. The only thing I don’t like about it is how tiresome it is to fiddle with the FM sounds Roland has added since the 2.0 firmware, they are so good but editing parameters on an endless menu is not fun.

Novation Circuit Rhythm (bought last year) - Again, it’s me. With the CR the goal is to carefully load or sample a curated set of sounds, which is contrary to my usual workflow of “listen to hundreds of samples/loops/presets until inspiration strikes”. This means the CR always ended up on “basic drum machine” duty, or sampling drum sounds from Digitone.

Waldorf Blofeld - This beast of a synth breaks my heart. The display contents are entirely tied to the menu structure. The menu itself is not the problem. The problem is only seeing two parameters at a time, at most, on a synth known for all the kinds of crazy shit it can do. Dedicating time to the synth solves this, but I don’t have the time, and I made a decision to limit myself to one menu-oriented device at a time. I’m keeping the Cobalt8, so this one has to go.

[m0ld]

@AMBello

But I am very suspicious of a thread about 2024 purchases when there’s still almost two months left in the year,

@plragde

This happens every year. I post in January and I’m one of the last on the thread. It’s more accurately described as “The pre-Black-Friday list of what worked or didn’t work for me over the past ten to twelve months”.

Sure, but I don’t plan on purchasing any more gear this year so as far as I’m concerned, the gear-purchasing-year is over for me.

@holonology

That said, I think Move is a somewhat easy device to review because if you’ve got any Ableton controller and Note on your phone, you already kinda know what it is, so it’s easier to make a snap judgement (though to be clear I did buy one!)

100%. I’ve used Ableton for years, I owned the P3SA, and Move does most of what wanted Push to do but with less faffing about. It’s also not a particularly deep device, so I feel like it’s very easy to identify how you’ll feel about it pretty quickly. The jury’s still out ultimately, and the real test will be how it fares during holiday travel in December. If I gravitate to it during that time, it’s a huge hit. I’ve used Syntakt for that in the past, but Move is much lighter and less expensive, and therefore will be more comfortable to travel with.

[gekkonier]

I m8 want add m8 to the hits.

Will use it standalone, but I need reading glasses for it. It’s something to snuggle into the couch with headphones on.

[Kethro]

Hits

The Dark Trinity (Syntakt, Digitone II, and Digitakt II ) - I’ll never forget walking into Control Voltage back in Feb and seeing a bunch of Elektron machines setup. I told the employee that I planned to buy one, I just didn’t know which. He asked “what are you trying to do?” I said “drums that will shake the room”. He said “Syntakt” and pressed play. That ignited this new addiction to the Elektron world. I love everything about these machines. New to the game. Forever a fan.

Ableton Move - When I was introduced to this, I knew this would be the machine I could take outside and not be afraid of the elements while creating. I use this in my DJ sets and it really sets a different tone in the room. Two other DJs saw me using this while mixing and bought one for themselves lol

Misses

TE EP-133 - Bought it on release day. Got lucky on a working unit (Fadergate free). I really wanted this to be an important piece I used in DJ sets, but it was almost too limited for what I was trying to accomplish. Collected dust for months and sold it to a friend for very cheap. Glad someone is putting it to good use.

[DoS]

@Kethro

The Dark Trinity (Syntakt, Digitone II, and Digitakt II )

Shouldn’t that be the Dark Trinity II, maybe? The original being Analog 4, Analog Rytm and Octatrack.

[Kethro]

You’re probably right. I found out the name from a youtube video of the setup lol

We might need a poll to confirm

[DoS]

@Kethro

We might need a poll to confirm

Or a dive back into ages past on Elektronauts

https://www.elektronauts.com/search?q=Dark%20Trinity

An oral history of Elektronauts

I wasn’t really part of the community on e-u, just there for tech tips and learning how to use the MD I’d bought. Never did really learn to make anything decent, but that wasn’t e-u’s fault. Because of why I was there, it felt more technical to me than “social”, but reading the comments here from the e-u regulars it seems there was plenty of community spirit. I didn’t sign up for an account here right away, just lurked anonymously. When I did eventually sign up I had to shorten my old e-u usern…

[Kethro]

My bad, I meant a poll to add the “II” to the new setup. Not debating the original.

[DoS]

@Kethro

Not debating the original.

Oops, misunderstandings all round! Maybe a poll is indeed a good idea?

[MuttBeats]

Hits
Prophet 5 Rev 4 Desktop: always wanted a Prophet, I’ve loved that sound since the late 70s when I first heard one. Don’t have the space for the keyboard version so went for the desktop module. It’s glorious. Bloody pricy though so I hope it lasts as long as I waited to own one.

Nord Electro 6D: I have always loved the sound of a Rhodes, and I wanted a small-ish (61 key) stage keyboard with a great keybed action that would also serve as the master MIDI keyboard in my setup. Between the Nord and the Prophet I am in 70s nostalgia heaven. A bit bonkers to buy a stage keyboard for home studio use perhaps but… hey, it’s red and it’s cool and YOLO and all that.

Push 3: I was sceptical that this would be a big jump up from the Push 2 that I’ve used for 8 years but as it’s turned out (for me) it is a lot better in so many ways. Centrepiece of my setup, love it.

2024 was an expensive year, even with trading/selling other bits of gear. Won’t be doing the same next year, money will be a lot tighter.

Misses
Faderfox EC4: looked great on paper, well-built, decent web editor, but the rotary controls on my model are surprising stiff to turn - to the point of being quite uncomfortable - and I just couldn’t find a useful place for it in my setup. Put it away on my ‘use it or lose it’ shelf for the next few months.

[chiasticon]

simplified a lot this year. sold a ton and bought a few nice pieces as well.

hits (stuff I bought this year that I’m super stoked on):

• Oberheim OB-X8
• Moog Muse
• Roland System 100 (101+102)
• Syntakt
• Hologram Chroma Console and Microcosm
• Model:Samples

misses (stuff I sold this year that I in fact won’t miss):

• a bunch of Chase Bliss pedals
• a bunch of Strymon pedals
• studio complexity and spending limited time in it chasing down endless “why isn’t this working!?!?” demons

[Fatbenjamin]

Hits

DT2 and DN2 - Tried the OG’s of both a few years ago but didnt get on with them. This time got the Digitone 2 and lost many hours to exploring sound design right out of the box. Those extra voices make all the difference. Had to try the Digitakt 2 and makes me almost not miss my beloved Octatrack MK2. Almost

Misses

Polyend - Tracker Mini and Tracker Plus

Had some issues with glitchy firmware and questionable build quality on the units I tried this year. Pretty much decided against the Synth because of my previous experiences with their products. Not just in the last year but right back to the Tracker OG. Much like with Kickstarter, I’ve been stung too many times.

Customers being beta testers

Too many to list unfortunately these days. Give the software teams time to finish if they are behind and launch with a finished product and plenty of stock, rather than announcing and waiting 3, 6 or 9 months later, I’m looking at you Roland.

Leaks

Gone it would seem is the time of surprise launches for this new marketing trend. No thanks.

[Malmal]

Hits:

TE OP-XY
bit early to say since ive only had it for less than a week, but I do really like it as a song sketchpad. As always, weird TE limitations like no timestretch or 20 sec max sample that limit its usecases for me a little bit, but also appreciate that that helps me change up my workflow a bit. Other than that, I think its superbly designed and very inspiring.

Beetlecrab Tempera
Best hardware granular synth I’ve tried, I dont really like the colors on the thing that much, but very easy to make complex sound design with it, really fun

Torso Electronics S4
I love this thing, and its almost all I wanted. Ive longed for a while for a sampler that specializes in the things it does and its really a joy to use, the best UX and UI ive ever had on a more advanced hardware device. I wish it also had some more basic sequencing functions, it’s really easy to get cool sounding soundscapes and twist samples around, but I wish in addition to that I could also just lay down a beat or something, but I guess thats not what they intended this to be, and thats why i got other gear

Misses:

Torso Electronics T-1
I dont know, I just don’t gel with it, and find it kind of cumbersome to use. I still have it, and got it after I loved the S4 so much, but for me this is kind of the opposite in terms of UX, I read the manual multiple times and still dont understand why it does certain things and why things just spin out of control sometimes and how to fix it. Probably with more practice this is pretty good, but for now its kind of sitting on the shelf

Apple Macbook Pro 16 inch
I have a 14 inch for music production, M2, and really wanted a 16 inch one. I like apple computers, but I just quickly realized that it was a very unnecessary and indulgent purchase, 16 inch is too much of a chonker for me and the processor upgrade is unnoticeable. Returned it after spending way too long setting up plugins and software.

Elektron Digitakt 2
Returned very quickly, I was initially really hyped about stereo sampling. I love using timestretch for sound design, and the timestretch on this thing doesn’t even sound good to me for messing up things. Other than that, I prefer using my Octatrack, and after trying the Digitakt II, just instantly wondered why I’m even trying it out, guess I wanted to try a more “straightforward” Octa

[chiasticon]

@Scot_Solida

I also re-bought things I missed, like the MDUWII+ and Yamaha RX7 drum machines.

dude! you graciously gifted me an RX7 two years ago and I would’ve totally given it back! I do still enjoy using it though… GET FUNKY!

[Roger]

I gotta DT2 to try out the new sequencer features and to see if it inspired but I still prefer synthesis over samples by a lot. So not really the fault of the DT2.

The DN2 though. Wa-hooo