I open this topic to give a little of our experience to people by sharing our good experiences with gear, experiences that drive us to write more and, or better music.
I am specifically talking about an instrument interface that makes me compose music more,
about the sound of a synth that inspires me to produce,
about the workflow of a sequencer that drives me to write more music… and so on…
So shoot!
Also it would be an idea to put in (but not only) an order:
Like a. best inspiration for mono sounds
b. best … for choŕds and poly sounds
c. best… for drums
d. best … for sequencing and composing
e. best inspiration for everything else
Also guys you could mention the reason why certain gear inspires you, like interface, sound, the way it works and so on.
I personally found the Ableton Push 2 to be very persuasive. I’m often tempted to pick one up again. However I did find that its often quicker to use the mouse for certain tasks, but there’s a certain flow in general with the “New” button and so forth, that if one finds the flow, you really can quickly move through and make arrangements.
Elektron instruments in combination with this, via Overbridge, I found to be very productive. Push as a sort of creator through Live, meanwhile piping in the Elektron stuff. And using Live instruments where you need. Very fluid.
So ie, Push as a sort of home base, and an Elektron drum machine and synth as input. I found once I added an Octatrack to that mix things became confusing, but the Octatrack positioned in another setup as the focus or brain, works equally as well (ie removing Ableton as the master).
If I take ten paces to the left, I am inspired by all the normal Digitone interface plus two fun to use and programmable wheels. Take ten paces to the right and a nice feeling Fatar key bed is nestled under 8 encoders with 37 keys.
Not too many keys to get confused, but enough to strike a chord or two. Take five paces back to the middle and each hand has something to keep it occupied for hours.
For me Nord Lead 2X on which I make fast sounds that inspire me to write musical ideas.
There is something about its interface and sound character that helps me produce.
Another one is the Force clips which help me put together ideas in a song.
Also Digitone keys seem to inspire me a lot, even though I am new to it, each song has sounds made with it.
For drums I feel the TR8s inspire me a lot with its interface. Mpc Live was good too, but somehow I use more the TR8s.
…most inspiration pusher of all time was and always will be the basic concept and layout of mpc’s…
no, not speaking about the new t t t t touch me ones…
since they also took the road to nowhere by overwhelming u with next new uberfancy preset pax and what not…
but that’s just another sign of the times…9 out of 10 “producers” are puzzeling their “music” together out of heaps of prefab elements these days…
and that’s THE overall inspiration KILLER right there…
Those grave me the most inspiration for creating I guess. Also MC101 I have to say, not the sequencer, but the overall package.
Some modular sequencer look very inspiring to me, like Metroplis/Ryk, Black Sequencer, Vermona Melodicer. Haven’t tried those, cause no modular, but they look very hands on and fun to me
Korg Kronos. I was in the process of selling my house a few years back. My realtor told me, you need to put all of this stuff away (meaning my entire studio) for showings. I put everything away except the Kronos, a little analog mixer and a small pair of studio monitors. I was able to just turn it on (wait for two minutes) and then could do almost everything I can do with my full studio. So immediate, so versatile, and has worked flawlessly for the 8 years I have had it. A special shout out to KARMA as part of the Kronos interface. So complex, versatile and fun.
DSI Pro 2 has kick started my most interesting tracks, for sure.
Something about that sequencer and it’s ability to control (at different track lengths) so many interesting things like the 4th oscillator, the dual filter, the tuned feedback, the pre-filter oscillator character effects, the 5th envelope…
It almost always takes me to a place I had no idea I’d arrive at, and once I get there I have so much fun exploring the composition of the rest of the tune.
The Vermona PERfourMER and meloDICER. It gives inspiration like this :
The meloDICER gives you the abilty to use your two hands and concentrate exclusively on tweaking the Sound, change the pace, … I found that it matches perfectly with the PERfourMER more than any other device.
This is a one take improvisation with both of them.
There’s some really great ways to quickly try different chord inversions.
Follow chord progressions (audio and midi) with the chord track has led to some things I wouldn’t have thought of.
Also the Arranger and scratch pad has me throwing around and jumbling up song arrangements really quickly. Super quick arrangement reshuffling that I might avoid because of the work normally.
Just so much info and manipulation available for actual music theory things. It’s been much easier on the brain.
Absolutely fantastically thought out interface IMO.
Hardware:
(B)Arp 2600 has been super quick to get a sound I like everytime I use it. I hardly noodle for long before I’m recording something.
101 has been the same honestly.
Matriarch and Super 6 have also been very inspiring as I get natural with using their interfaces. They both lead me to good stuff with ease.
Roland JV-1010 for me. I’m not tempted to spend ages designing and messing with patches - I treat it like a little box of magic I don’t mess with programming. The sounds feel warm and cozy. I even like reading the names in the manual - they’re silly or mysterious or are shoutouts to other synths. Also multitimbral so I can build my whole track at once without being part/all ITB. I’ll often create a temporary track with the JV I intend to replace later with something else and then end up leaving the JV sound in the mix as well. It’s just fun to listen to and play.
Frap Tools modules are work of art. The craftsmanship, design and functionality is one of a kind in Eurorack Land.
I recently bought a Fumana and bit the bullet on the Usta Sequencer yesterday. I can easily see myself building a case just for a complete Frap Tools collection.
