Hey everyone, I’ve been reading lots of these threads lately and it seems that everyone has their own taste for synthesizer sounds and workflows. I’m just wondering what your opinions would be for a “best/most complete” synth setup for live jamming and recording AND what would be your favorite “budget/complete” setup would be. I’m making this thread because I’m looking to upgrade some of my synths to a more “professional” level (whatever that means), and possibly use them for live performances as well.
I’ve already got some decent sounds covered with what I have: Circuit Rhythm for sampling, Circuit Mono Station for a mono synth, Model:Cycles for drums/extra melodic flavour, and a Microfreak for polyphony. I’m finding the different sequencer options kind of a drag and inspiration blockers and I’m somewhat looking towards more of the Elektron boxes to replace some of what I have already (the Elektron sequencer stole my heart early lol). If it were up to YOU, which would you choose to get rid of, and which would you keep? (I’m super into deep sound design like the MF offers but also the immediacy of making almost full tracks like the M:C can do so this may be an impossible ask, I’m fully aware haha). I’ve been making techno, industrial, dub house, and experimental stuff and I’d love to hear your opinions on which would be best for my needs.
I’d love to hear which sampler, mono, poly, and drum machine you’d choose if you had the choice or lack thereof.
I’d start with a used Digitone and a Syntakt and see if you miss anything sound wise (like samples). If you want more control, a Faderfox will do that. Maybe 1-2 effects pedals for performance will also be fun.
That being said, your setup sounds quite nice and complete for what you’re going for.
Yeah those are the two I’ve had my eye on since the Syntakt got released! I love the DT sound and I’ve heard amazing tunes from the ST standalone, it’s super tempting… Do you think I’d be missing anything if I were to sell and restart from scratch with those two?
I had a Microfreak and a M:C early, and got rid of both. But it sounds as though you enjoy them, so don’t do that. Perhaps add a Digitakt, which gives you eight MIDI tracks to take that Elektron sequencer magic to your other devices, and some additional capabilities beyond the Circuit Rhythm.
Hard for me to tell. I don’t know your bond to them and haven’t had them personally.
Does your music/workflow rely heavily on any sound or thing that only these devices can do? If so, don’t sell all of it straight away.
I’ve sold all my non-Elektron stuff once I had DN and DT and they clicked for me. But I’m glad I still had my other synths around for a bit to see if I need them. Zero regrets after selling.
So if you can afford testing ST and/or DN first before selling the rest, that would be ideal. If you buy used, you won’t lose money, prices are quite stable.
I see the appeal of @plragde’s suggestion. But you might want to limit yourself to DT plus 1-2 other of your pieces and are which combos work and sell the rest. Otherwise, you probably end up with a giant, complicated mess that’s overwhelming and not fun.
Edit: You could also just buy a ST first and see how far that will get you. It’s quite versatile in sound and has 12 tracks. If you want to keep some of your stuff, you can give up a few tracks to sequence those machines.
I am looking to cut down on the gear I’ve got this year, so if I can cut it down to just a couple boxes that would take me far I’d love to do that. Samples can totally be done with Ableton (recent purchase coming from FL) so I’m not really looking for a hardware sampler asap unless I REALLY need one. Just mostly looking for something that would take me to near full songs or sets that I could play live if needed.
Thats impossible to answer as like you say we all have our own opinions and no two people are exactly the same. However there is one thing input may help and thats in Mixing if doing live play and recording. So look in that area rather than sound design equipment or sequencers.
That’s kind of my problem at the moment. Just kind of a mess with all the options and differnt interfaces. The only ones I’ve got a real attachment to are the M:C and Mono Station (just cause it’s the first synth I bought and it’s discontinued now)
Yes exactly! If you had to choose for live-play which would be YOUR choices for that? I’m just trying to see what people are leaning towards (I do know I’m on an Elektron forum too so I’m sure it’ll be leaning towards them, but anything else works haha)
For Mixers on a budget id say a Zoom Livetrak or a Yamaha. But the Octatrack is the choice if into Elektron gear very often.(Plus you get your sampler and sequencer ).
Well, all of it can be done with Ableton, but it’s fine if you want to do some things with it and not others.
Syntakt is like M:C’s bigger sibling, so you can look at it as an upgrade, or you can see it as redundant because you already have M:C.
M:C can also be viewed as a restricted and tamed version of DN, but I think that DN opens up many more possibilities. The potential downside is that sound design may not be so intuitive (though there are lots of great preset packs available).
The Livetracks look awesome, I’ll have to check those out more! Octatrack definitely is the grail for ultimate sequencing and sampling, it’s absolutely on my list of ones to try out whenever I can get my hands on one
Yeah I love the M:C, but I’m finding the sound design on it a little limited. DN sounds amazing, I’m just wondering if I’d miss the extra 2 tracks to use if I ever got rid of it. Do you think it’d be worth trading up to it?
DN has only four tracks, but it has eight voices, which makes a big difference. It really feels liberating to use one. You won’t get a lot of money back for your M:C; the used market is sluggish right now. Having the M:C to handle percussion and maybe a simple arp or bassline alongside the DN would be a good combination, if you can afford it.
It strongly depends on what music you make and which kind of sounds you prefere personally. It’s a matter of taste after all
I know, my suggestion is quite general: First define the roles of instruments/sounds you need for your music and then get/utilize equipment accordingly. Maybe you have already most of the gear you need.
Examples:
If you do Acid you need something TB-303-ish, if not, don’t worry - take something else for bass
If you do ambient you might look for a polyphonic synth for dense pads and internal/external reverb providing much space.
In my setups I define the roles of:
Drum-Kit (kick, snare, claps, HH, cymbals, percussion as needed)
Bass
Pads
Lead-Voices
Arp-Voices (if arps are planned)
optionally FX or special sounds to make the track more interesting.
Then I select the gear, depending where I plan to go.
I love my Moogs for bass and more traditional timbres, my PolyBrute for pads and atmospheres, my Virus for this and that unusual timbre, which I can get only from it …, rhythm often is done by RYTM and since some months by Perkons as well
indeed!
Probably also already mentioned but it totally depends if you want to do live versions of your studio tracks, if you want to jam along to them with something or if you want to totally improvise
