Do you have a synth that makes you sad?

license · 2022-08-16T07:25:48.805Z

Cyclone TT-303 and Analog RYTM. Not sad, exactly, just sort of detached; I can’t find my voice in either of them yet. So far it always feels like I’m visiting someone else’s place and the vibe is a bit off.

I hope it’s just a self-fulfilling prophecy that I need to consciously work through in either case. They both have lots of potential, obviously in very different ways.

Suspect_Frequency · 2022-08-16T21:37:59.634Z

I sometimes have sad’s that make me synth.

ramcmdr · 2022-08-17T12:17:25.732Z

Doepfer Dank Energy Mk1 (you read that right). I’d been interested in a Dark Energy for ages but wasn’t keen on the changes to the filter character in the Mk2/3. Saw a used Mk1 seemingly in good condition for a low price and nabbed it. When it arrived it REEKED - every time I powered it on the odour would just get worse and worse. Maybe the previous owner smoked a lot in the studio? I took the thing apart and gave it a thorough clean inside and out, even left it in a tray of baking soda after reading that was supposed to help, but to no avail. My partner at the time suggested leaving it by an open window for a few weeks to air out and finally the aroma cleared. Despite all the hard work, with great sadness, after this experience it just felt somehow tainted and I sold it. Safe travels smelly Dank Energy, this was a few years a go and I hope the flavour didn’t return for the new owner

williohm · 2022-08-17T12:31:57.110Z

ramcmdr:

When it arrived it REEKED

Lol I’ve owned 3 different Korg monologues, which I always end up selling, and I swear that 3rd one smelled like cat pee even though it was new shipped right from the warehouse.

ramcmdr · 2022-08-17T12:38:50.486Z

It’s a mystery right? The Dank Energy didn’t look particularly dirty and when I opened it up there wasn’t much inside. Maybe the wooden panels absorbed something? Wonder why your third monologue was so stinky

Fuseball · 2022-08-17T12:47:55.401Z

Jupiter 6. I bought it from a friend at a great price but never really loved using it that much. It takes up so much space and I was all set on selling it.

That friend died 18 months ago from alcoholism. The synth still has a lot of his patches on it. I still don’t love the synth but I can’t bring myself to move it on. Makes me sad just thinking about it.

williohm · 2022-08-17T13:02:41.440Z

You could make some tracks using the Jupiter 6 patches, release a little album dedicated to the memory of your friend, and this could help you move on, perhaps.

GS · 2022-08-17T13:03:14.497Z

Most synths makes me sad because they rarely find a place through the final mix and I end up selling them all. I had Junos, 101’s Odyssey, Micromoog… and I sold them all. Right now I only have a MicroFreak and I’m not sure I will keep it.
I sometimes miss my SEM but I can’t be sure if I would really use it in my music. Though I think it could blend nicely with concrete sounds.

m0ld · 2022-08-17T13:13:46.854Z

Right now, all of them. Carpal tunnel flare up has been going on for weeks and I haven’t been able to do any music. Saw a physical therapist yesterday but it might be a while before I can safely play anything again.

Francis · 2022-08-17T13:14:06.104Z

Eventually the SP16 made me sad. It sounded great and loads of potential but I found I ran out of road with it. Then they took all the suggestions from the feedback and released the squid. I have been poised to get one cheap several times but that lingering sadness stays my hand.

michaeljk1963 · 2022-08-17T13:25:14.529Z

Same here. I keep my OT because I know that if I sell it, I will wonder if I should have. I just rewired much of my studio after having purchased a desk to put behind my main keyboard controller. The only two pieces left to fill are the Octatrack and the Analog Four. I love the Analog Four and keep it in my living room with headphones for immediate fun. The Octatrack sits in a gig back in my closet so I don’t have to remember I am not using it every time I fire up the music studio. Sad. So much potential, so many frustrations to overcome whenever I try remember how to use it.

Fuseball · 2022-08-17T20:57:45.346Z

Yeah, I’ve had something like that in the back of my mind for a little while now. Even if I sold the synth after, it would feel like it had served me well.

ObscureMachines · 2022-08-19T12:28:24.068Z

Back in the day of $400 Juno 106 there were no new analog synths coming out. The Arturia Minibrute was the first new analog released in a sea of digital synths. They had marketing vids and were sold out everywhere.

I traded a guy a mint JX3P ($200 trade value)+$250 cash for one. I like their aesthetic, but the sound leaves a lot to be desired. Certainly doesn’t sound as good as a JX3P.

It was a stupid trade and as much as I don’t like the Minibrute I can’t seem to get rid of it cause it would be such a huge loss. Could get maybe $150 for it. I probably keep it around as a reminder of not to make stupid deals.

I sometimes wonder how that JX3P is doing and who has it…makes me sad that it’s not me.

image3024×4032 3.11 MB

chiasticon · 2022-08-19T15:10:15.272Z

eocyte:

Is it pop music that makes me sad, or I’m sad and I like pop music?
Quote from a film.I don’t remember, maybe from Clerks.

eocyte · 2022-08-19T15:24:00.507Z

Nice reminder. So it is from High Fidelity no from Clerks.

hereiamhere75 · 2022-08-19T22:02:40.395Z

My first real analog synth was a SH 101.
I bought it from an ebay shop in Japan.
Back then it was still cheaper (including shipping to germany)
than the average price here in europe.

I immediatley loved that synth (soundwise),
but the battery compartment looked terrible (leaked batteries)
I opened it to calibrate the tuning and things looked even worse.
Rust, full of leftovers of insects (spiders i guess) and also signs of moisture and mould.
The white keys looked yellowish and the whole synth stinked.

So I sent it back and ordered another one from Japan.
That one was much better than the first, but it was terribly out of tune.
It took me ages to get the tuning right, I calibrated everything by ear.
But finally I had my first proper working real analog synth and I´ve spent
endless hours with it having lots of fun !

A year later or so I checked ebay for a SH 101 again, just because I heared
that prices went up rapidly.
Well, there was a blue one for dirt cheap here in germany, no bids, only a few minutes time left over and without thinking much and to my own surprise I got it.

What I got was a mint condition, super clean and perfectly calibrated blue SH 101, with a broken Pitch wheel. Opened it and tried to repair it but no chance…
I decided to send it back, because I already had a perfectly working SH 101.

So I put it back in the parcel it was delivered in (a bit to small I thought)

At the same time I found an original sh 101 pitch wheel unit on ebay australia (still packed in plastic foil, like brand new) and got it for 10 bucks or so (plus shipping - 10 bucks more, good old times)

So I changed my mind and tried to get the synth back.
Unfortunatley the casing of that nice synth didn´t survive (because of the poor packaging) - a big part of the plastic broke away.

After a while I also sold my grey SH 101 to fund a “better” synth.

Long story short. I don´t have a synth that makes me sad !

Stone262 · 2022-08-20T00:41:02.131Z

Not a synth, but my Marshall JCM800 that I bought almost 20 years ago when I thought I was actually going to do something with guitar.

It’s definitely had some love and use, and been on a couple of friends bands recordings, but it’s just too much amp for me to use.

I’ve tried selling it a few times at a bargain basement price and no one really wants it (I think this is mostly due to living regionally). I don’t need the money from selling it but the space would be nice.

So it just sits looking cool in the corner. Maybe one day I will get it serviced and retubed and live far enough from neighbours that I can crank it regularly.

topo_explo · 2022-08-20T01:25:30.944Z

Last year I started acquiring eurorack modules and put together a small skiff for sample processing and manipulation. It was my first venture into eurorack, so I got really excited and consumed a lot of media about modular concepts. After having my skiff for over a year though, I’ve come to realize that I really don’t like playing it. It just isn’t very fun or intuitive to me. Also, my specific set of modules feel pretty redundant, as I can approximate most of their sounds with my Octatrack and Norns, and with way less effort. Maybe eurorack could still be for me, but it seems like I should’ve put together something more “playable” like an analog monosynth. Now my skiff just sits on my table untouched. It looks pretty, but it makes me feel like a sucker.

Birdzeye · 2022-08-20T07:04:20.041Z

Damn, that sounds lonely. I have a general rule that I won’t buy anything (synths, clothes, games etc) unless I’m in a positive place. I hate the feeling of sadness associated with an item.

NeoZeed · 2022-08-20T09:06:48.227Z

A couple years ago (a couple months before the pandemic started) I stumbled upon an ad for the Digitone while browsing the web one day. I was a guitarist in a metal band with no real prior background in electronic music at all… but I was intrigued by a little box that could make sega genesis music. I purchased it on a whim and became engulfed in it for months.

My little brother was a hip hop artist / rapper and would occasionally ask me to produce some of his tracks or at least mix them for him. Messing with the Digitone I entertained the idea more and started kicking around some ideas for him. a couple days after the pandemic my gf was clinically diagnosed with Covid and we were serving a two week quarantine. I was joking around with my brother on the phone and told him I’d have an albums worth of material after lockdowns. (this is back when they were telling us it was only going to be a couple weeks heh).

my brother ended up being rushed to the hospital a couple days after that conversation. Being in quarantine, I was unable to visit him even though the hospital was just a couple miles from my house. He died in the hospital that same night.

That Digitone never got touched again. I tried replacing it with a keys but just the tonal signature of that synth reminds me of that night. Part of me wishes I’d found a love for synths and electronic music sooner, that if I had been making music with my brother and was closer to him that he’d still be here. I know it’s silly to think that way but we can’t really help it with things like this I guess.

I bought an OpSix recently and even that makes me a little sad when i hear some of the patches. Weird how something as broad as FM could remind you of a particular moment in time like that.