Help me 'edit' my setup?

The Lounge Other Gear
#41

I have nothing against apps myself. Part of my road from a hoarder to my current situation was approving that iPad apps and plugins on my computer can replace a lot of the gear that I used to have as hardware. I’ve never been a “gold ear” who would distinguish a modelled Juno-106 from the real thing. I can just as well use a plugin. In the context of a finished song no one will notice the difference.

For me the core purpose of vintage gear has always been more about fetish for the “old gear smell” and the social stature it brings in certain people when you own a TB-303 etc. I’ve gotten rid of that thinking. I couldn’t care less for social stature or fetishising for old gear. When I had opened my Polysix for the 13th time to fix the keyboard bushings I realized that I’d rather have something to make music with than a hobby of fixing old synths. I love the design of certain vintage gear but for me it’s sufficient to look at a nice coffee table book of old gear.

I used to collect vintage video games too. Before it became fashionable. Back when you could buy a Vectrex for 20€ at a flea market. Nowadays I’m just happy to play those games without any hassle on my Switch or an emulator. I don’t have to own any of the actual machines even though they’re beautiful.

Even though my current setup is very limited and streamlined I often think of selling a bunch of gear still and getting something like an OB-6, Prophet-6, REV2 or a Waldorf Iridium in their place. That’s something I’d recommend to the OP too. Sell five or ten synths and buy a “super-synth” in their place. Learn to use that one synth thoroughly. It’ll make you very happy.

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#42

Or stick with whats there and learn it very well.
After my OB6 Love/hate affair, i finally came to this conclusion.

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#43

My thoughts exactly–or maybe even that shiny new Arturia (once a few more reviews come in)…?

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#44

Sell everything except the MMT-8? Just make sure to record some MIDI before you sell everything. Then you can hit play and imagine what that MIDI might sound like if you had gear to hook up :stuck_out_tongue:

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#45

:laughing: This is the oldest piece of gear I have, still loaded with patterns I made when I was 17 or so (bought it used in around '89). There were times since that I’ve owned hardly any other gear, so that would be appropriate!

Sadly, it suffers from the contact degradation that’s common with these so you have to push really hard to get some buttons to work. And, ‘bummer, dude, memory is full’! But I’ll never part with it for sentimental reasons, even though the Pyramid is in every way a modern update and improvement…
IMG_0995

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#46

Start with a bunch of gear that you secretly know you can do without and that would be easy to sell back. I just sold a Digitakt and and BS2. In case I’d ever feel myself nééding them back in my life, there’s more then enough of them to find on the second hand market. (Nó, do not translate this advice into: keep everything that might be difficult to buy back😂) I agree with others’ sentiment of the feelgood experience of scaling down and keeping what you use. Makes me feel like a better person and helps me focus.

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#47

I can’t bring myself to sell my mmt8 either even though it’s been on a shelf for a few years now. In many ways it’s one of my favorite sequencers but I’m tired of “fixing” the contacts all of the time.

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#48

You can even use the MMT-8 as to make some noises, be hold the amazing kick drum that lurks inside it. https://soundcloud.com/bankiephonesmortalkombat3/mmt8bd

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#49

I have one too :sweat_smile: Mine is still fully functional last time I checked though.

MIDIRex kind of does everything the MMT-8 can though. Can’t see myself using it (MMT-8) again. I’ll probably make a display case for it and hang it on the wall.

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#50

is it bad that I didn’t think the original list was a lot of stuff…? :thinking:

if you’re going to edit it down to the basics, go with DN, A4 and buy an OT. what else do you feel you need other than that, as far as things “your” sound is missing or that you find joy/inspiration working with?

for example, I could pare down to OT, DN and a modular/semi-modular. but luckily I don’t have to.

#51

I don’t think, in terms of sheer quantity, that my collection is especially large (I know that many folks here have much bigger ones). But I’m less concerned with pairing down my setup to just a few boxes (since I do have the space) than with being a bit more… intentional about what I have. So the suggestions here about duplication, etc., are very helpful–and will also help me think about any new purchases I might make (e.g., do I really ‘need’ something, and/or if I get x could I get rid of y and z).

I should have probably said up front that I hate working ‘in the box,’ and really use my computer only for editing and mastering. So, some pieces of gear I want to keep that may seem ‘redundant’ actually do specific things (effects or knob-per-function parameters) that matter to me.

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#52

Thanks for your input for your input. As far as apps go I’m also was using hardware interfaces for them. I custom build a lot of crap with teensy’s, and they end up in the pile in the corner because its always onto rev 2,3,…8…
(i swear sometimes it seems ive switched from musician to electrical engineer)

Apps have their place, kinda curious if its worth taking the plunge on one. I mean…theyre only 250, and seem to hold their value on reverb so I might as well.

Also kinda more interested in the sequencer/controller part of it how you are using it. I use ALOT of sysex, and can see it doesnt do that, which is fine, but documentation on the sequencer part is scarce…

Guess theres only 1 way to find out…

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#53

I know what you mean and agree, but I think there’s more to it than that. I’m not sure quite what, maybe I just don’t feel, a lot of it, can deliver the quality of results and is therefore not worth the time you’d put in learning hardware.

I haven’t use ios apps for a year or two, but there is some software that feels in the same tier as good hardware. Zebra, Lion, stuff where you can make a simple patch, few components and it still sounds amazing. How much software can you just make a few tiny tweaks to an init patch and it sounds great?

#54

The sequencer is yet to materialize it self. There’s an empty place in the place of the sequencer. It’ll come in a later firmware-update. So if you’re buying it for the sequencer I’d recommend to hold your horses.

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#55

I’m patient for that part, I have a billion others, but none of which fit the bill. And that included a cirklon I sold last year…
I’m surprised no one gave you grief because the slimmed down pic is missing an MD in it. :stuck_out_tongue:

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#56

scoff!

I will hopefully move to a Cirklon 2 when I get through the backlog, but I hope to have still as many CV sequencers and at least one nifty MIDI like the Squid.

#57

Just a followup to thank everyone for their input! I’ve sold off the Minilogue and the A4 (it just never grabbed me the way my DN has), and I’ve listed my Prologue on Reverb (I’ll post it here as well in case anyone’s interested). My intention is to get a higher-end poly that I can really get to know, and I’m leaning towards the Polybrute after having watched a ton of videos (and confirmed that it does a hell of a lot more than my Prologue).

I think I’ll keep the Deepmind for now since it’s a lot of synth and not worth all that much. Most of the other stuff I still like/use for various things, and the K5000w is just too much trouble to sell (I don’t live in a city) and deal with the hassle of shipping for what I’d get. Plus, the synthesis engine is pretty interesting (although a real chore to program).

I may get around to offloading some of the smaller pieces eventually, but this is a great step towards focusing my setup, so thanks again for all the suggestions!

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#58

Sounds like a great plan. I think the typical cycle for this hobby is to start with something cheap, then buy a bunch of low to mid-tier stuff (often fighting with the reasons they are cheap), figure out what you really like, and then pare back to just a few high-end pieces that meet your needs.

I’m at the 1-in-1-out phase where I’m really just looking to upgrade or stick with what I have. It’s really calming, since GAS goes away, and you really get productive on synths you actually know well. Also makes selling less of a hassle when you do upgrade, since you just sell one item and aren’t putting in a bunch of effort for multiple cheap synths.

Not saying there aren’t fantastic buys at the cheaper levels (I’ve known people who make full albums with just a microKorg!), but there are indeed more potential “gotchas” in the lower price range, and collecting dozens of gizmos is not really productive at any price point. The actual price points that constitute low/mid/high are quite personal and different for everyone, so I’m speaking from a relative perspective.

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