Do I even need a hardware synth? TED Talk

The Lounge General Discussion
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Hello everyone,

I am the stereothypical person that was doing music some time ago, I was DJing a lot in college, and produced music on my PC. Fast things forward, two years ago I decided it’s time to get back to business. I went on a shopping spree and ended up with:

  • an Arturia interface
  • Microfreak
  • MPC Live 2
  • Microlab keyboard
  • Ableton Live training course, which I went to and completed

I was digging the MPC but then was more and more frustrated that the “ideal” controller mode workflow was using that shitty MPC Beats program, and Ableton was better.

So I bought a used Push 2, insane gear, never had the time to learn it properly.

Then I was in that “I am sure I just need some magical piece of gear, then I will have time, will, and joy from making music” so I overobsessed on review, grooveboxes, midi keyboards, etc, etc. I waited for Keylab Mk3 to release, waited to buy an Octatrack, etc. etc. etc.

So now I sold my MPC, sold my Xone K2 I had somewhere in my attic lol, and I am downsizing everything. I had a brief stint with an Octatrack, very very cool, very very nice, much fun, but I am not good enough with Ableton to feed good sounds into the Octatrack, so when Move got announced I returned the Octatrack, to simplify my setup, workflow, and amount of stuff to learn to just Ableton+friends.

So I didn’t want to learn new tool, without having a good grip on making music at all…

Now the final thing, do I really need an Microfreak? All the Ableton synths are more powerful, and a push has enough knobs to controll everything, and I have the whole V Collection 9 for every vst I will ever need (pigments included). Is there anything for me to learn from having a Microfreak, or is it better (time investment wise) to go full into Live stock devices, learn making music, then rebuy a synth if I’d ever need one.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk <3

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If you have V Collection they are going to do everything the Microfreak can do and some (You even have the Mini Freak plugin)

The only reason you might want the hardware is if you find it inspiring, but it’s absolutely not needed.

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If you ask yourself this way you don’t need it.

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you don’t need a hardware synth, you probably want a hardware synth

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You’re attempting to diagnose by science what is a problem of psychology.

How you feel, or convince yourself to feel, is what will become true for you in these kinds of situations. It’s very easy to overanalyze a situation that has no rational answer simply because the answer cannot be deduced rationally.

It sounds like you don’t want hardware, so just go with that. No one needs to excuse you to use the restroom, you can just get up and go if it’s the right thing in your mind to do it (just an analogy of how in school you have to ask to do things, where here you do not).

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We all asked this same question. You are late to the party.

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Hardware synths are fun toys, which might inspire or frustrate you, only you know which one it is. If Microfreak inspires you to make music, keep it. But sound-wise you certainly don’t need it.

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Do you even want a hardware synth is the question?

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I am not going to write an essay but you can use MPC Software (Beats is the free version with limited 8 tracks) as a VST in Ableton if you want to buy/use an MPC device. My understanding is that @djst is a very good resource and advocate on this.

It’s definitely a choice but for me producing in MPC Software is more inspiring by the way.

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Yea this is largely preference, and possibly personal workflow dependant.

MPC allows me to get ideas down very quickly, and allows me to get the bones of a track complete with minimal hassle.

Ableton allows me to take a lot more control over things, and for more complex compositiion is a lot more powerful, but I don’t find it as good of a tool for creative expression.

I don’t think I’d want to make the case that either is better than the other, they have different advantages and it’s largely subjective. You can also combine the two.

When it comes to hardware synths it’s as others have already said, personal preference. Having something tangible to play on might afford a more creative and enjoyable experience. A guitarist or pianist also doesn’t need an instrument, there are very capable VST’s out there, but playing a guitar or piano is as much of the experience as composing on one.

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I think i agree. I am now totally invested in semi-modulars and my Minilogue XD is for sale. I have more VSTs than I need. I won’t run out of any sound capabilities. So to the op’s question, yeah he/she probably doesn’t need a hardware synth.

This is not my mission but I am thinking of remaking one of my tracks completely in MPC Software and upload it to YouTube. I was actually doing something like that on my YouTube. Then said to myself " you are not a YouTuber or influencer. Dont waste your time". I might get back to that and show it’s actually not bad as people think.

Currently I mostly produce there and take the audio tracks to Ableton for automation, mixing and mastering (exactly where MPC sucks). But maybe until a year ago I used to do it all in MPC Software.

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Try attaining virtuosity on a PC… :rofl: You’ll spend less effort with an an instrument that has limitations and a fixed layout. The microfreak seems very approachable in its layout.

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There’s something deeply dissatisfying about programming VSTs compared with hardware and ultimately defeats the purpose of making music for me which is that it’s supposed to be fun.

I would get the microfreak m8. You’ll learn ableton eventually either way.

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Empty that bank account and join the club bro :facepunch:

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If you can’t make a beat with a laptop or desktop, you won’t be able to with hardware.

Start at step one. Learn to make music first. Then fill in the gaps with what you need/want.

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all of this hemming and hawing over whether to sell a synth you’ll get $250-ish for, that doesn’t take up much room, and which can be readily be found for purchase again if you decide you made a mistake? if you need the money and aren’t using it, sell it. otherwise, shove it in a closet or your attic. if it’s there for six months, or cash is short, sell it.

if you’re productive with software, then stick with that. if it becomes less productive, adjust accordingly.

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…throughout all my life, starting out with all this as a teen, i was always on the hunt for the best gear out there to find, always was blessed enough to then be able to use, abuse and work with that…
nice…
but end of all days, all it needs to create is inspiration…
no matter what tools u got at ur disposal, if don’t have the will, the spark, the fun, the need to create something, nothing will do the trick for u…

the more u know ur tools inside out, the better, faster u can react to any sparkling moment that comes ur way to end up with an actually finshed result…and only such results are what makes u wanna hunt in the very first place…not the next new shiny toy to procrastinate a little further down the road…

u got ableton, so there u go…it’s ALL in there…and for the tactile factor, u even got the right controlers already…so stop thinking about anything else…that’s all just side road distractions…inspiration is in u, or not…focus and let go…

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New spin on the same thing: its not hard to produce tracks fast if you strictly stick to doing things that are simple for you. Hence, don’t do hard things when you want to be fast. Make things easy with practice.

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My approach FWIW… all of these things - hardware and software - are tools we use to translate what is in our heads into sounds that we (and hopefully others) like.

What’s more, for the most part any of these tools - hardware and software - can get us to where we want to get to eventually. Software synths and drum machines can do (almost) all what hardware can do, and vice versa.

It is perfectly possible to make great tracks 100% in the box, and it is perfectly possible to make great tracks 100% with hardware… and in almost any genre.

The difference isn’t the sounds IMO… it is how fast, easy and fun it is to get to the sounds in the first place. The question is, does this particular tool make it faster to get to where I want… or does it make it slower?

Sometimes hardware is faster. A well-designed UI on a hardware synth with one knob per function and a very clear layout can make it lightning fast to dial in patch ideas and tweak sounds when jamming/performing.

Other times software can be faster, especially with complicated modulation matrixes that require menu diving and/or shift+button combos in hardware but in a software synth are just a couple of mouse clicks.

Bottom line is there is no right or wrong answer to a question like the OP’s. All that matters is that for each individual musician/producer, the particular tool used feels like it’s the fastest way to get down an idea and build a track. And if it feels right, it is right.

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I’d say the main thing that you need is to just pick something and make some music with it.

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