What are you? The devil 
1 Like
As comprehensive as my gear list is, I am happy to say I own neither the Rytm nor the Virus 
I could! This would free up OT inputs as well.
Those Rytm kicks and performance macros thoughā¦
2 Likes
Pretty minimal techno Iād say. Minimal in sound, minimal in my ability to use the gear, and minimal in terms of my output so far 
.
11 Likes
I agree with the focus on certain gear approachā¦ but, the most important factor to get you moving in the right direction is to START RECORDING the music you make.
Have some kind of recording device that you can switch on instantly and catch what youāre doing.
When you start living with the music you are playing/recording, you quickly know what sounds work and what music works, and have a better sense of how to get to your objective.
7 Likes
Yeah, the Virus can lead to a lot of noodling and not really deciding on anything. Itās very deep and it does require a bit of rotating through menus for some of it.
What about switching out (aka selling the Virus) to a nice Analog Poly with mostly 1:1 controls on the surface? Not sure what kind of sounds youāre using the Virus for. Besides a couple of Elektron instruments Iām mostly all about immediate high quality sounds, even if itās a little limiting.
I guess this comes from someone who has software to cover most complex needs and feels like the hardware instruments should be more for performing the parts rather than deep dives.
1 Like
For that mid 2000 minimal dub techno type of style, you might want to look into a simple FM synth and a tape delay sim pedal. Not a fan of the Volcaās, but the Volca FM does those sounds well. The OP-1 I think van produce a wide range of FM sounds as well
1 Like
No swapping out stuff to get the things you need, will stop the ādiseaseā
You are right though in that you can make techno tracks with a dustortion pedal, a sampler and a spoon.
Interestingly enough I had been thinking of (after NGNY finished) selling some more stuff and maybe getting a rev2. For now Iāve got a Tetra which will cover most of the sonic ground, but needs the editor to design sounds.
1 Like
I think itās just about finding that synth inspires you over and over.
Best to be honest with yourself and not try to factor in āpossibilitiesā when you decide. Based purely on real feelings towards the synth vs grandiose visions of what you see it being able to do.
The more I do this, the more I realize Iām only keeping things that are truly inspiring me. I can look around the room and adamantly say I have synths that are very special to me.
Iām beginning to learn what I actually want rather than what I think I want.
That said, I donāt think I can ever have too many drum machines
7 Likes
Iāll agree with the other folks whoāve suggested carving out a smaller, more focused setup from the lot of gear you have. Youāve got a lot of great options to choose from.
Some of the instruments you listed require more focus/attention than others, so be mindful of choosing items that complement each other mentally as well as sonically. Maybe limit yourself to 1 Elektron and 1 more hands-on tweakable synth, thatās always a good time.
You might enjoy this video series that Cuckoo made some years ago called āHow to prepare for a live electro gig.ā He basically walks through the process of putting together a small gig-friendly setup, going through all of his synths and drum machines to pick the right combo. Hereās a link to pt.2 where the good stuff begins, in this one heās choosing which synth to focus on.
2 Likes
This. I need to be able to conceptualize one thing at once, and then add on.
I recently built a tower of MD, MnM, and AR, and then proceeded to get too intimidated to use any of them.
Breaking it down I immediately used them individually 
1 Like
Lots of good advice hereā¦
my two cents?
Focus on the DT/DN to start.
THen, THEN!, bring in that TR8-Sā¦that is one hell of a great drum machine and its very playable. Learn how to sync em all up, and sample the shit out of that 8-S to get familiar with how to live sample things with the DT. Take said samples and fuck em up with DT, resample the fucked up stuff with the DT. Repeat process.
once youre cruising with that, and have assumed the lotus and read the manual and all that, OT as mixer/effects/ resampler because that lovely piece of machinery can do so much that the DT cannotā¦
even just using it as a mixer for the DT/DN combo, as has been said, check EZbots vids out on resampling mixing with it.
have fun!
2 Likes
Iām wondering if you have a mixing desk and what your routing and record setup is like.
I like to take the band approach - you could look at your stuff as a 12 piece band, and each instrument is simply doing one small part. It might just be one chord stab on one machine, while another machine does percussion, another just the kick, others melody lines, bass lines, etc etc. You might find at one point you donāt need all machines on a track, just 7 or 8 or so. But like a kitchen with good ingredients and spices, youāve got a lot to work with here. Iād try that approach of just using each device in a small way that adds to a larger whole.
1 Like
Id personally sell a lot of it. Keep the octatrack and op1.
You should sell as much as possible - having that much gear is absolutely a burden and will get in your way, especially if youāre not confident using any of it yet.
Iāve been working with hardware for about 12 years and have been using Elektrons for about 8 of those years. I currently have a setup that I would regard as excessive: Octatrack mk1, Digitone, A4 mk1, Machinedrum, Syntakt, DSI Evolver, Nord Modular G1, M8 Tracker, Norns Shield, plus FX, mixer, DAW and little bits and pieces like contact mics, nanoloop carts, tape machines, noisemakers, etc. Typically most of these things are put away at any given point in time and Iāll just have 1-2 things running into the mixer or interface. Recently Iāve been getting a lot out of building tracks entirely on the A4 with a bit of light processing and compression.
My first Elektrons were a Machinedrum and Monomachine and I used those by themselves for at least 3-4 years before moving to an Octatrack. The G1 and Evolver Iāve been using on and off for a decade. Iāve had a shitload of other gear come in and out during this time, too much to list, but Iāve been the most productive with the things I know really well and donāt feel limited at all by what I currently have. Ultimately I think I wasted a lot of time constantly bringing new things in and out or holding on to gear I wasnāt using because I was anxious that it would be useful for some hypothetical future project, like this:
Pretty much everything you have there is fairly common and would be easy to replace if you regretted selling it down the line. 1-2 Elektrons is more than sufficient for house music, embrace that and then figure out your next steps when you start feeling boxed in. Limitations can be very productive, embrace them!
2 Likes
Unfortunately due to space constraints + toddler thereās no real permanent setup. So I bought everything with a few constraints in mind:
-there needs to be some case in existence that I can store it in to keep it safe from Toddler
-needs to be fairly easy to integrate with Ableton since I donāt have the space to do large scale hardware jams currently
So at this point I feel like Iāve got everything to make music with that one might reasonably need that fits those parameters.
2 Likes
Donāt sell your stuff. Youāll just buy it again and lose money in the long run. Box the stuff up and put it somewhere outta sight. Take it off the shelf when the urge to use xy or z pops up.
First - you need to figure out what kind of music you want to make and how people typically make it. You might be surprised what people use, or donāt use.
After you figure out what you want to make try this. Clear off the table. Start making music with your computer. When you hit a wall, or are like, I bet xy or z would be a great addition, go get it. Add it.
You might find you really only need one piece of gear, or no gear at allā¦
Ah but the MPC Live is the retro edition - not as easily replaceable! But really, I like house and techno in equal measures, and also play guitar and drums. The MPC with its velocity sensitive pads, Wi-Fi and splice integration, and wide range of connections invites a totally different workflow than my Elektrons. Both I enjoy a lot, just different headspaces.
2 Likes
Iāve read through all the comments, but I donāt know how your setup currently looks. Do you have everything connected to a mixer and are able to power it on all at once? Or is it just a small space that can only fit so much?
Either way, the comments suggesting having a small focused setup of two or three devices maximum are probably good starting points. I would also classify devices like the MPC Live 2, OP-1, or Octatrack, DT and DN as āhigh levelā devices as far as functionality and multi-menu diving. The rest could be considered ālow levelā devices as far as their immediacy and knob per function. I would suggest never having more than one high level device in a given setup at a time, and pair those high level devices up with low level devices.
4 Likes