It’s always important to read the original post… Thread titles are often misleading, it’s very common for people to respond to the title instead of the clarity of the inquiry detailed in the original post, especially after the thread gets bigger.
I find this thread in particular rather enigmatic, did OP realize the thread title would ensue such reactions?
From his past replies my guess is no, it literally was a continuation of the gear saga we’ve been reading for years… Is it OP that should have been more carefull with the thread title, or should OP not have to consider that other people might misunderstand it, and assume they would carefully read the original post to understand the topic?
It is definitely a provocative title if you’ve been following Elektron’s recent history, but it seems strange to have to think about a thread title so much and worry that tons of people will react to it…
Classic andreasroman move
I definitely won’t be surprised to see you posting a new thread in a few months on how the DigiTone is the one and only piece of kit you’ll ever need.
I’m teasing, but gouging too, all in fun.
I definitely understand where your coming from. I’ve played in a variety of bands using multiple instruments, and make music on sequencer boxes.
Been through so many rigs.
Definitely found true love on the Dark Trinity, but miss some bread and butter the A4 can’t bring.
Some days I miss playing guitar in a motorik band, and someday I will again.
There’s kind of a booming electronic scene in my town right now. Everyone goes to everyone’s shows and nerds out on gear. People trip out on my Elektrons, but many look and think, yeah that’s just not how I work, I play a few keayboards to a vintage drum machine.
Well, the Minitaur is exactly made for this and is rather simply built. The A4/AK is far more sophisticated, more like a high-end-general-purpose-machine for a rather narrow sound-aesthetic - a somehow conservative access sound-wise - an intellectual approach - like a dissection of a sound-body - surgically exact
but i understand your thoughts,
this was one of the reasons I bought the Minitaur and maybe in the future some other synths, but not a product from Elektron, not because I’m not satisfied, but highly saturated
I beg to differ. I know more than a few Apple nuts/obsessives who do the whole “completionist” thing. Often quite blindly too.
You chose not to see an ecosystem with Elektron devices but I would argue there is one. Sure, not to the extent that iOS offers but it is there. Multiple Elektron devices comparatively “talk” to each other very easily making it easier to create full songs and manage them in the hardware world for example. And I’m sure anyone who has invested heavily into an Octatrack could fairly easily argue there is a real cost to leaving that unit!
In any case, put “Apple” to one side, it’s not important. The point is that for many, once they bought their first Elektron box they are quickly planning ahead to their second and third. From my experience it seems an almost irrational desire to add further boxes at times.
I don’t find it ridiculous at all that folk can jump into something feet first then find after a time it isn’t for them. Examples of that can be found abundantly in every day life. Who hasn’t taken up a new hobby, for example, and spent a fortune only to abandon things somewhere down the line?! It happens, big deal.
Anyway, arguing about the original intentions of this thread just seems like a fine example of making mountains out of molehills. Even if this thread had been started by a complete stranger I don’t think it would have spurred me on to giving he or she a hard time about it.
I visit Dallas quite often, where should I be looking?
I got my DFAM on last trip from GC. It was listed on the website so I went over, they didn’t know they had it, was sitting in the store room which was a result for me.
I’m sure there are a few. I said “in general” that’s not why people buy Apple stuff and that’s true. Most are not buying based on a completionist “collect them all” motivation.
It’s not that I “choose” not to see it. It’s that it doesn’t exist. Elektron boxes talk to each other over MIDI using standard MIDI messages, so they talk to each other no more or less easily than they talk to devices from other manufacturers. Your example of the Octratrack is one device in isolation. Ecosystem lock-in would occur if the Octatrack lost functionality when used with non-Elektron devices. That’s not the case as far as I know.
Hey, you brought up Apple. But sure we can put that aside since it’s not a useful comparison. I won’t argue for a second that people don’t do totally irrational things. That’s actually my point: to the extent people are collecting Elektron boxes like Pokemon, that’s on them. You can’t blame Elektron for people’s weird obsessions when the products themselves aren’t designed in a way that creates vendor lock-in. It’s fine to voice that kind of obsession on a forum but it’s also OK to say “that’s your problem, maybe you should deal with it.”
I probably didn’t make that point clearly. I totally agree – of course it’s not ridiculous to change your mind and switch things up. And no one is obligated to explain or defend it. I was referring specifically to the idea of collecting Elektron boxes as a set, in the way you claim people are collecting them, and then abandoning the set for reasons unrelated to actual purpose of the devices.
Even then, “ridiculous” is too strong and judgmental. I apologize if that felt aimed at anyone here. I’ll try to clarify by saying that, to me, it is strange to make decisions about musical gear based solely or primarily on perceived collectibility or a completionist motivation unless you’re actually a collector, in which case you aren’t buying things for their functionality in the first place. There’s nothing wrong with being a collector, but it’s useful to point that out so those of us interested in using these devices as instruments understand when someone’s decision to buy or abandon is based on a collector’s criteria.
It’s pretty clear we’re not going to agree, but that’s OK. It’s interesting to get insight into why people do what they do. I would have never even thought about people “collecting” Elektron boxes before this conversation. It seems ironic since Elektron devices actually stand out for being so self-contained (i.e. most have a fully functional sequencer) but maybe this collecting/completionist thing explains some of the strong feelings people have about these devices.
On social media look up
Mutant Wave, usually at the Nines in Deep Ellum.
Outwardbound Mixed Tapes, at RBC in Deep Ellum every Monday night.
Run With Scissors every Thursday at Tradewinds in Oak Cliff.
DAMN Dallas Ambient Music Nights, monthly, either at Texas Theater or RBC.
DJs everywhere at Midnight Rambler, Off the Record, Texas Theater, Single Wide, the Nines, Wits End.
A new place recently opened, Deep Ellum Art Company. Lee Scratch Perry recently played, and Machindrum has a show coming up.
Oh yeah, and Beauty Bar has DJ stuff all the time.
Yeah, I’m 43, have a great job.
When I was 23 I would have loved any gear that cost 1000 bucks. However then $1000 was like 4 months rent and a fat sack of weed. Or a car
We have a nice little scene here in Minneapolis too. A bunch of peeps performing live electronic music with Elektron, and all sorts of other gear. We have a monthly at a local spot where we DJ cassettes, and occasionally invite different acts to play.
Making beats with Volcas, modular gear, boutiques, whatever floats anyone’s boats. No complaining about limitations. No drama. Just music.
I live in a small NorCal town but it’s super heady and we have a really good music scene drawing electronic artists from all over the west coast like Bay Area, L.A., Seattle, and even further. Multiple shows a week in town from fairly well known artists. I’ve lived here since 2005 and that whole time I’ve only seen one A4 in somebody’s studio, and in my thirteen years hear I have never seen an Elektron on stage, and have met nobody who has ever heard of them before except the guy with the A4…
That strikes me as odd because I see the OT in so many people’s setups. For instance, Joel aka Golden Donna has been playing a lot of shows here recently, and he rocks out the OT. I’m super surprised you haven’t seen more OT’s in NorCal; it seems really popular for live electronic acts.
