Help me out the rabbit hole

The Lounge Other Gear
1

I know there are a host of gear recommendation threads and at the end of the day it comes down to the individual, but I was hoping to benefit from some of the wisdom here to offer some insight/advice on what might work for me.

I’ve been ‘into’ electronic music for about 5/6 years having played guitar for a long time before that. Over time my interest in genres has morphed from techno, through hip hop, IDM and currently towards ambient stuff, but it’s varied and I’m still learning and exploring.

Over the last few years I have owned a lot of different bits of gear-but just recently the buying/selling GAS thing has gone crazy and not been good for my wallet, my mental health or my music, so needs to stop, the question is where to settle?

What I have discovered is that I tend to like gear that is ‘instrument like’ - ie can be played rather than programmed etc (prob my guitar background coming through), I have also realised I like to perform/jam rather than produce and am not bothered about making ‘finished’ tracks but enjoy losing myself for 30 mins playing around-maybe recording it, or maybe not.

I also like something that is a blank canvas ie-when I turn it on I’m starting from scratch-I don’t need to save and return to projects.

User interface and the ‘look’ are also important to me (shallow I know, but something like the RC505 for example actually ticked a lot of boxes but I hated the way it looked so didn’t feel inspired).

I think I prefer synths to samples but not 100% sure!!

I’ve been through most of the newer elektron boxes. I love bits of them, but overall the experience feels a little too like programming and requires some preparation each time rather than true improvisation. The octatrack came closest and maybe I needed to give it more time but I get getting tripped up by the workflow and felt a little jaded by it.

Happy with one bit of gear or 2/3 bits together.

In some ways my favourite thing ever was the Lyra 8 as I loved the look, the interface, the tactile nature etc, but it was just too limited I think. I have been tempted to say sod it, sell everything and buy the elta solar 42…! The other item of gear I always come back to is the SP404mk2. I know lots say it’s confusing to use but I find the simple/fast sampling and quick FX great. I also really like the idea of audio looping and enjoy faders/live mixing.

The idea of combing guitar into my workflow also appeals.

I’m planning on going to Machina Bristronica this weekend and so was hoping for some ideas from others based on what I’ve written above and your own experiences what I should look to check out there, with a view to purchasing and then settling down for a period of time with it. Or just tell me to get out of my own head and make music with two spoons…

9 Likes
2

get out of your own head and make music with two spoons

7 Likes
3

I totally recognise this. For me, a “groovebox” works best, i sit on the couch and just “jam”, as i would play a guitar or something, just groove and get in the zone. Mostly i don’t save anything. In the beginning i’ve been really enjoying my trusty Yamaha RM1x, but lately i have the same experience with the NI Maschine. You can use the M+ for “computer-less” playing. It has great sounds and effects, and lots of cool tools like chords, play-fx, arpeggiators etc that you can combine and create amazing soundscapes and grooves with. I love it, it’s intuitive to me, feels like an instrument.

Another option would be to go for a simple multi-track recorder, and buy 1 or 2 simple boxes for drumming and synths, and just go for multitrack recording your ideas.

1 Like
4

I guess, there is no new gear which solve this problem here.
You have your guitar, the sp404, the OT, and quite sure a synth somewhere with lots of guitar effect.

An old Casio with some pedal and EQ could sound damn good you know ?

1 Like
5

Honest advice: stop thinking about what you need to buy or sell to make the perfect workflow/instrument for you right now.

Work with the stuff you already have, work in the way you want them to work with (less programming, more jamming), plug a MIDI keyboard and jam away, record takes.

After a while you’ll know what you don’t like to use, you’ll know what is gelling with the way you want to make music.

You are consumed by GAS at the moment, thinking that if you just find that perfect machine/setup everything will clear up and you’ll be living in paradise. That won’t happen, at least not until you stop thinking about what to buy/sell and just use whatever you have for a while (like 6-12 months at least).

Talking from experience after buying way too much gear for my skills, I just settled with all I have, stopped judging myself or my setup and just got to playing with it. It’s been more than a year and a half that I don’t feel the need for buying anything, the gear I used to barely touch now has seen a lot more usage, I stopped trying to extract the maximum I could to not feel I “wasted” it and just feel content I have access to all this beautiful gear.

It’s not my perfect or final setup but it doesn’t matter for now, it gives me a lot of fun because I play with it.

10 Likes
6

Are you looping your guitar with the SP?

7

This! It seems weird that your problem is you bought too much gear and your solution is to buy even more gear. I‘d say a) use what you have, see what you love and sell the rest, maybe start by packing away everything first or b) sell everything, take some time off music making (or only play guitar) and see if you even miss something, and if so, get that one thing you miss. I’d go route a, because b could lead to yet another round of thinking about a purchase plus the additional time spent selling everything.

6 Likes
8

This!

Not new gear solves this. Using what you have in new ways solves this. If you have GAS you likely watch youtube. Watch all the videos of the gear you have, not the ones of the gear you don‘t have.

7 Likes
9

If you haven’t tried a newer MPC I’d give that a try. I could give you a bunch of reasons that mirror those expressed in your confession, but I think it’s best just to say that for the price, what you get is phenomenal.

I really love Elektron’s workflow and that’s the only thing that I really miss in the MPC live 2, so for me I wouldn’t be able to part with my Elektron stuff but it’s not for lack of capability or variety of sounds.

It’s a bit of a swiss army knife kind of a device, but the synths sound good, all sampling is great, and I really kinda feel like you have to play it like an instrument.

Rather than focus on what you should or shouldn’t do (ethically), I can say that based on your criteria I think that it would benefit you to try a modern MPC, I guess whichever one visually appeals to you because functionally they’re all pretty much the same. I personally like the retro editions and I got the live 2 because it has more i/o, is battery powered, and has a built-in speaker (among other reasons).

It’s not really a lap cat, but I do jam with it on the couch a lot, usually with the MPC on a chair sitting in front of me or similar. It sounds like you need something that you can turn on and have it ready to go in seconds, do what you want, maybe keep it maybe don’t. That, in a nutshell, is my experience with the MPC.

I do realize a lot of people’s knee jerk reaction to MPC is “hip hop” or “daw in a box” and both of those are true, but it’s like saying you can only eat hot food with a fork. Sure, you can eat hot food with a fork, but to think you can only eat hot food with a fork is a misunderstanding of the tool itself and possibly just a bias set by limited exposure.

I’m not really trying to sell you on it, I’m just telling you my experience since having bought and used one for a while now. Coming from a guitar, hip hop, and electronic music background, it’s a device which can be what you want it to (ie record a midi track, record a guitar audio track, record a drum pad performance, record a synth plug in performance, create a loop with all these components, expand a loop out into a song, chop it up and flip it, etc).

The one drawback is it can feel a little sterile to interact with the touch screen, but no worse than anything else. It’s just not a solar 42 or a lyra, if that makes sense.

5 Likes
10

Thats easy to say but one of the hardest things to do.

2 Likes
11

Go down the Rabbit Hole. Fuck it. What have you got to lose?

12

My few cents on this would be …

Groovebox wise … MPC

  • playable on a note-per-note basis either using the pads or attaching a midi keyboard
  • combines samples and very fine synthesizers in one box
  • provides direct connection and recording of an instrument like an electric guitar (X) or via a pre-amp (Live) or accoustic instruments via microphone input
  • works with a linear sequencer of 960 ppqn, that’s not programming anymore if you play in your notes live.
1 Like
13

If you know your way around the 404 then it’s going to be the best shout.

Personally, something that has never been beaten in terms of pick-up-and-jam is the TE OP-1.
I thoroughly regret selling mine years ago for this reason. Where it falls down however IMO is the export-ability for finished/finishing tracks.

Some ipad Apps have come close for me. Samplr and Logic Pro for iPad.
The first is simple, second can be as simple or complex as you like.
If you’ve already got an ipad then these are a cheap addition to your setup.

1 Like
14

If you don’t care about polished songs and just want to play I also recommend the OP-1, or OP-1f depending on your budget.
Super quick to get started and fun to play with.

edit: you can of course emulate the workflow for a lot less money in any DAW. Set up a template and jam.

4 Likes
15

I feel like this could have been written by me. Really. I think you should try the Maschine+. They go pretty cheap on the used market these days although I wouldn’t expect many updates. But it checks a lot of boxes for me which are very similar to yours. Quick easy workflow, tons of sounds and guitar looping is great with it. Sampling direct to pads. I use it a lot for guitar actually. Really good for just jamming or making finished tracks if you are so inclined. I also had an MPC Live II which I sold as I just absolutely did not like the workflow at all.

3 Likes
16

So the way I understand you it’s not really about what is the perfect setup or best gear but that you want something that gives you a high level of playability from scratch kind of thing.

I think that is a very reasonable thing to want. Since you come from a player background you want to play music and not sit around producing tracks.

As others have said before I think OP-1 could be a good fit for you. But also since you have and like the SP I would suggest getting something highly playable to pair it with. From how you describe your interest I think Tempera together with a small midi keyboard could be a great fit for pairing with the SP for you.

17

The beauty of it all is there’s no rules other than affordability. Enjoy the ride!

2 Likes
18

Oh man, I think everybody’s right about calling a time-out on gear acquisition and going deep with what you have, but… I hadn’t seen the Tempera before, that thing looks REALLY fun D:

4 Likes
19

This calls for a polyend play+. Is the most fun instrument that I’ve ever had, the sequencer is amazing, it has synths, you can use samples too… And it’s fun, tons of fun.

1 Like
20

Maybe this would be liberating.
But you have to mature the decision, take at least a month before you do it.
Then I’d suggest to commit to your decision, at least until you have e.g. an album ready.

But if money is a problem, try to find new workflows using the gear you know to reach what you’re looking for.
IMO Elektron gear is well designed for improvising, I use it all the time.

4 Likes