probably not the answer you are looking for but for me it’s my guitar.
I started learning 2 months ago and I find it so relaxing - totally different to my computer based day job, and programming synths which I sometimes find a bit tiring/exhausting - probably as I’ve switched gear quite a bit and just got fatigued learning new gear - I’m settled now (OT, DN, Summit and TwistFM).
A lot I’ve learnt about chord progressions is transferable, just need to get my old fingers to move a bit quicker!
Yep, I love taking off my glasses and living in the fuzzy world and just strumming my guitar. I miss having a drum kit at home, thats the ultimate tension relief! Lately ive been finding sequencing to be so tedious, where p-locking felt like a revelation for so long, now Im like “ugh hold button, turn knob… again! ”.
Loop pedals are a nice bridge between these two worlds
I agree that sequencing can be tedious. Working with my Digitone is the opposite of relaxing. It takes a lot of focus. Completing a short piece takes a couple hours of focused time, and typically things are not sounding very good for the first hour. No instant gratification.
If it fits into the style of music you like, the Roland T-8 is perfect for this. It’s basically a sit down and jam box. Drums, bass, reverb/delay/saturation. It’s not the most versatile machine in the world but there are a million old school acid techno tracks you could draw inspiration from, just search YouTube. Perfect little machine for spacing out and relaxing, and not expensive.
While you may need to spend a little bit of time with the manual or a video the first day to understand the screen, it’s not like you have a load of options, so it’s pretty much a set and forget thing.
Pair it with something like the Roland P-6 and then you have a really powerful setup in a tiny package if you want to add samples/other melodic elements, and you don’t even need a mixer.
I bet you could make stuff in this kind of vibe with that setup.
I am sure this is a very well-intentioned advice, but when in this state of mind I would not advice to buy more gear if the stuff you own is already staring back at you.
When I am down or low energy, what works best is to take one piece of gear only. Preferably something that isn’t menu-heavy. In an ideal situation maybe even one knob per function. And just sit down and make sounds. Do not put pressure on yourself to ‘make’ stuff or be productive. Many times those sit downs are my most rewarding jams.
I have had episodes of burnout for a couple of different reasons over the years, and at other times have just put music aside completely when very busy.
There was never one particular piece of gear or instrument that was the ideal for me. More important was the mindset of enjoying the act of making music with no end goal and specifically not chasing a new thing.
The various bits of kit that have done this for me over the years make a long and varied list, some limited and some unlimited - but crucially I’m happiest only using one at a time
Volcas
Pocket operators
Acoustic guitars
Electric guitars (often unplugged, but I can get lost for hours making effect chains)
Piano
Digitakt
Digitone
MacBook with Logic or Reaktor
Op1
Deluge. You can skip the complex stuff and just peacefully draw on the pretty lights. Add and remove drum and synth lines as you create them for continuously changing jam
Circuit Tracks (and yes, i’m too lazy to do sound design – i happily buy packs made by someone else).
absolutely brilliant sequencer! and if i run out of channels, i just add Launchpad Pro which has the same sequencer onboard.
all kinds of 303 clones – because 303 is designed as one giant sweetspot, and it’s practically impossible to make it sound bad
Roland S-1 – for the same reason, 101 and clones are hard to make sound bad too
Waldorf Rocket – for the same reason again
Roland TR-6s – sounds good out of the box and designed to sit in the mix really well.
expensive but saved me from screen and menu fatigue, sorry if I have mentioned this before, Pėrkons HD-01 is limitless fun and can save 4000 plus jams and kits
Sorry you have to deal with this. The push towards AI is insane. Not feeling it as much at work, my employer is AI-positive but not pushy. But everyone keeps talking about various AI tools anyways, combined with the ”you’ll be out of a job soon” chatter from AI CEOs it’s started making me inclined to start to find a way out of the industry.
Maybe we can class action sue them (CEOs) when the dust settles. Gonna start advocating for this, maybe it shuts them up
I feel others here are on the money with a few suggestions: actually accepting your situation to avoid feeling guilt about not using the gear, amd a few good suggestions on simple kit that is just fun to use (OP-Z, A.Move) without a big menu dive round.
Something I did to make the syntakt more “hands on” is to add 2 faderfoxes pc12+mx12 and as a sequencer use the Torso T1.
The generative sequencing is quite hands on and without a display (and also offers midi cc if needed when faderfoxes are not an option). The faderfoxes take some time to program, but it’s well worth it. I have the syntakt sitting on the side and barely touching it.
I know in a way what you are talking about, I have a 1,5 year old son and the time I have for myself is limited to 1-2 hours (before i need to rest and sleep) in the evening.
Something I also enjoy, if I’m too tired to play around with the “big setup” is to take my dreadbox typhon, a powerbank and headphones and sit on the couch and make some sounds+patterns, which works great for the dreadbox typhon as it has an internal sequencer, analog oscillator and 3 FX (distortion/chorus/rev or delay).
The setup I have is not really a “slim down” as, investing 1000 bucks into faderfox gear to turn a syntakt for 900 bucks into a more hands on experience.
I can also think of stuff like the cycles with a powerbank (myvolt adapter needed) a nice little tool and not tooo menue divey.
The Subharmonicon was also great for jsut dreaming away and noodeling. (but misses saving capability and fx for more options)
Thats the setup, which could in reality be reduced to the syntakt and the torso (if the torsos CCs are set up so you don’t need to touch the Syntakt as much and keep away from menues)
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