I think I'll take a Elektron break

Elektron Gear
#1

I think I’ll take a Elektron break…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a total fanboy, but here’s my situation:
I bought a digitakt about 4 years ago and since then I’ve probably bought and sold 100 other devices. It was always a lot of fun and even if I lost a bit, I learned a lot.
But a lot else happened in those four years. I became a father, bought a house and found a job that I really enjoy. But this also challenges me and the more time and knowledge I put into it, the more I will get out of it in the end.
First and foremost, of course, is my child, with whom I want to spend as much time as possible.

Of course, many things have changed for me and I almost never get to make music. And if I find a half hour here and there. I have to say I don’t enjoy it anymore.
It’s not the devices. Of all the devices I’ve bought, I like the elektron the best. But there’s a problem: every time I sit down, it feels like I’m programming and it’s taking ages to create something I like. I’m also just not good enough to know exactly what I need to change to implement what I have in my head.

I recently tried to use only two devices, which I think cover 99%: DN + ST
Btw they look so nice next to each other:

PXL_20220508_075627250~3
PXL_20220508_075627250~34032×1664 1.34 MB

But there are too many options here…

At this point I might have to say that I want to have fun. I don’t want to release an album and I don’t want to do live performances either. I just want to clear my head and not with YouTube or Netflix…

Among all these devices was a Moog sub harmonicon. And I have to say that I really liked it, even if it always sounds the same in the end. Sit down, turn a few knobs, try it out and in the end something comes out that isn’t a track at all but is still fun.

Jamming. Not making tracks.

I am now considering selling all my music equipment and either quitting completely (and starting again in a few years) or buying a subharmonicon (+dfam) after all.

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#2

Having raised a child to the age where they move out and get their own apartment i would say that its okay to put the music down for a bit to focus on other things.
playing drumset used to be the most important thing in my life besides my son.
Ended up selling my drums to pay a gas bill.
before that happened i had made a conscious decision to focus on cooking as that was my craft.
keep your gear. my biggest regret was the music gear i sold that i couldnt get back, but im talking about cymbals, not music boxes.
take a break or don’t.
do whats best for you.
I can not see how switching it up to a bunch of Moog gear is going to change anything though…

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#3

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. I think it’s a wise decision to focus on one maybe two devices with which noodling is fun and relaxing to you.
For me it was mainly the Octatrack. Not making songs but only for meditative looping / mangling.
If you think semimodular is something that gives you this inner peace: do it.
I would recommend something with keys as well. Maybe a sub37. Much more immediate pleasure in pushing the keys and getting all the cool sounds.

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#4

I get this, time is precious, especially when they’re young.

Also get what your saying about feeling like your programming… not necessarily an electron specific thing. I find I enjoy basic synths, or at least synths with no menus to dive into, much more that sequencing things on a box - that programming side always feels like a disconnection from making music (I’m a guitarist at heart, so it feels alien to tell the instrument to do this or that without me actually doing it physically)

Maybe one box at a time would be better? Both the DN and ST are pretty capable on their own. As soon as I start connecting one thing to another (unless it’s sampling something), it starts to overwhelm me with options - all fine, but only if you have the time to deal with it.

I like the SubH too but just ended up in the same place all the time - though that was my fault! I’ve heard a few things recently and they really surprised me to find it was the SubH. Not just that whooosh, whooosh, whoooosh sound I made hahah.

0-coast can be cool on it’s own, or with a sampler.

I’m really enjoying the Sp404mk2 at the moment too. The “commit and move on” aspect is fantastic.

Good luck with it all! Don’t sell anything that will be hard to get again (vintage stuff). All the rest will be easy to get back should you want to at another time. I like the purge of selling nearly everything off and starting again, but it sounds like you’ve been there and done that a few times over.

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#5

Something simple and fun to scratch the itch is definitely not to be underestimated - complex electronic instruments certainly do have a lot of mental overhead, and I think we as the music makers often drive this necessity - we like options and possibilities don’t we.

But there is a lot to be said for gear that does not “get in the way” and just works too.

I think your idea of getting something simple and direct is a good one, but maybe keep (some/fave) the other gear for now and see how it goes?

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#6

Most of us go though this and a fair few, like me, go through it multiple times.

This isn’t my advice but from my experience I felt measurably better when I sold most/all of my hardware during similar phases. The equipment lying dormant didn’t plague my mind any longer and I went off and did other things in life and/or distilled my music into one or two devices plus Ableton.

I had barely done any music for much of the last year but the itch came back and crazy cheap deals on AKs (plus the ST excitement) sucked me back in. I’ma little older and wiser (just a little) and feel better equipped to accepting when I can’t spend time on music.

For me, when you start feeling this way the only solution is to follow through with it. It’ll continue to eat at you in some way. And really, what’s the harm in a prolonged break? None at all. All we can offer you are our perspectives which may help but when I read (and write) similar posts, I feel the mind is really already made up on what to do.

Good luck anyway. All this stuff isn’t going anywhere and will be available when you want to return to things!

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#7

If you do sell all your gear with the idea to pick up again in few years id suggest grabbing an ipad. Load it with loopy pro, mirack, moog apps, drambo and few other choice instruments. You can tinker and jam anywhere and build up loop libraries and sound design sample fodder you can integrate to your hardware when you start back up again.

When kids came along for me and I needed cash and lost my spare room/studio it was a life saver for me and if anything had me more productive and Waa just fun experimenting and creating stuff for fun.

I’m currently using it to feed my new octatrack. It always fits in somewhere

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#8

First off, congrats on the job you love and on your child! How old is he/she? I found that I’m slowly getting my time back again, my youngest is 4 now. It gets better in terms of finding those 30 minute breaks of enjoyment.

For me, I’ve done a lot of soul searching on this topic, and I’ve come to realize that in the end, it’s about having fun. You’re already on the right track by not having ambitions to release music or do live jams. It sounds like it’s for personal enjoyment for you. That’s a reasonable bar for most.

My advice would be, don’t look for even more gear. Instead, find what you like the most out of what you already have and keep that. If it’s fun, it’s worth keeping.

Elektron can be pretty cerebral and programmatic for sure, but for me, coming from the world of ancient workstations (Roland W-30) and then DAWs, I found the DT/DN to be pretty immediate, almost like a kind of instrument - limited yet powerful. But maybe you’re more of a keyboardist where you get more joy out of just playing melodies on a synth with a keyboard, rather than programming on a step sequencer? Or maybe you love jamming on pads to make beats in the moment rather than “programming” the drums?

You have to figure out what you enjoy the most and focus on that. Taking a break before selling anything is probably a good thing.

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#9

As a father, with mental/physical health issues and boring/tiring job, the Op-1 has taken away all guilt and anxieties about time and effort needed when making music. It reminds me of when and why I first started making music.

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#10

I agree that the DN is a cerebral device.
I assume the ST might be the same.

Each time I take the DN, for the first 10 minutes It’s a bit like work for me.
But there are device which are not like that, more easy and fun and completely immediate.
Maybe put the ST/DN on the shelf, and find an old Casiotone CT or a funny yamaha psr with some rhythmic section included. And do some really simple jam with them. I think there might be some bitimbral easy synth out there with bass/lead keyboard split and rythm section.
Honestly sometime I have more fun with a stupid simple setup which contain near no programming at all.

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#11

Don’t get me wrong but here’s your situation: You got a GAS problem.

  • Don’t buy anything new
  • Don’t sell anything.
  • Take one device and go deep with it.
  • Think you gone deep? Go deeper.
  • Deep enough? Can you use it with your eyes closed?
  • Take another device out the closet and repeat.

That would be my advice to you. :slight_smile:

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European music stores, buy now pay later?
#12

I was unable to maintain much in the way of hobbies while my children were very young. Kids can be exhausting and the first thing to go is usually ‘me’ time. It does slowly change though - before you know it you’ll be teaching them how to play guitar/keys and all the inspiration that was squashed by being tired comes flooding back!

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#13

Keep the ST and the DN - thats a great set of kit. Pack em up, put them in a cupboard for a while and forget about them. It’ll be really refreshing when you do finally decide to pull them out.

I’ve been sitting on a little Strymon pedal board, and Digitone Keys for about a year now. I’ve added nothing further, and I haven’t sold them. I don’t use them all the time. But they cover two bases for me, the guitar sound i like (crunchy delay verb), and FM / synthesis vibes.

It’s nice to bed things down to the essentials, for me the DNK is great - the programming is there but it’s just playable and enjoyable, latch, arp, it can really fly off on its own without much thought.

I think its really great if you can move past the idea of a piece of gear as currency, and really have it etch its way into your life as something you’ve really decided to keep and its something essential you need.

I always think back to the time when you really just ached to own that thing. Where did that come from? Well, finally owning it gets rid of that desire. I think thats part of the pit of wanting a new thing or wanting to sell again.

But it’s good to just forget about that feeling altogether. It’s banana’s the frequency that products are released these days. It’s probably half the problem. But i personally like the idea of keeping my Digitone Keys forever, and godwilling I’m still physically capable, dusting it off in 2052 for a spin after its been under the stairs for 20 years.

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#14

Congrats on your positive life changes & developments.

You don’t owe anyone anything in regards to your music making. In that sense there are no expectations other than your own.

I used to play basketball to a high level, it was my life. Then I quite my professional career and over the years lost interest. Now I play once every three years if even. Point is, you do it cause you like it and if you don’t like it at the moment you just don’t. No big deal.

Re instruments, I’ve been going on about this in the this forum for a while: I use my instruments as that, instruments. Production doesn’t matter to me, Albums don’t matter to me, “finishing tracks” doesn’t matter to me. I just sit down and PLAY. Sometimes it’ll just be a few sounds or noises that I dive into and that’s that. Sometimes it’ll be something musical evolving from it. I encourage you to approach your instruments that way and see where it takes you (make sounds & auditory experiences for yourself, not tracks).

Last point, my daughter is 1.5 years old now and recently I was messing with the Digitakt and she came into the room and was interested. I let her play with the instrument for a bit, press buttons, see what happens. She loves it now and often takes me by the hand and leads me into the home studio to sit at the desk and jam with me. I feel so blessed to have these instruments to expose my daughter to. Prior to that I didn’t touch my studio space for a good year…didn’t even turn the power on.

What I mean to say is, feel as you feel, all good, rather than selling everything though, keep one or two instruments and just see how your preferences evolve over time — unless you want the money of course, then go for it :slight_smile:

Good luck either way, in the end it’s about living well the way that is right for you and your family :wink:

PS: a nice synth is a great thing to own also :wink:

14 Likes
#15

Thank you all. especially for the kind words.
I could already find some good ideas, although I have to agree with:

She’s a year now and probably (hopefully) she won’t be our last child.

I think that’s the point: it’s not about pads or keys. it must be accessible . easy and fast. and I’m sure what’s special (for me) about the SubH is the sequencer in rotary format. Just turn it and there’s a melody there. that’s fun.

i think that misses the point. Of course you can argue that it’s more fun to be able to perfect a device, but is now the right time for me? (house/job/child)
“Think you gone deep? Go deeper” that’s exactly what I do 8-10 hours a day in my job (and have fun doing it) but when I get home I don’t need it again.
I think it’s about:

and I have to ask myself the question. can elektron give me that (in my current life situation)

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#16

Hey!

There absolutely no problem to put all boxes into a shelf for like two months, grab a book or enjoy fresh air.

You don’t NEED to push yourself into stress :wink:

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#17

Get an iPad.
Sit on the couch.
Play around.

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#18

you should trust your own instincts … and as you noted those may change … and also your notion of what makes a viable device to express yourself on or to reach a therapeutic place

what you say does make sense - you can approach elektron gear a bit like you describe if you limit the extent of your utilisation

frequently i can be satiated sonically with little more than one voice on a one page track - just like the simple pleasures you get from focused gear - it’s not quite the same as a oneknob per function device which you can easily get lost in and very connected to, but it’s very close in its own right if you treat the sequencer as part of the instrument and find depth from less

Elektrons don’t give me that horrible empty page vibe i’d get from opening a soulless daw - each of us are different, and you’re just acknowledging what you feel and that seems admirably healthy imho and nothing to be apprehensive about

Making your rare free time pay off is what you should prioritise, whether that involves Elektrons or not … i think most of us recognise the benefit in limits and focus but many of us struggle with the gas nonetheless

If your gut says Elektron gear isn’t what you need right now that’s something you need to listen to - there’s no right or wrong answer to the perennial DAW/No-DAW thing, people will be productive/relaxed/happy in different ways and we are all definitely different - there’ll be no notion of reproach from the Elektron community, it just seems like an admirable (nae enviable) self awareness that you’re actually acting on - kudos on that and you can continue to follow your gut if it changes

it’s a truism that’s almost trite to repeat, but kids grow up fast, so being mindful of your time/mojo is all good in that regard

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#19

Youve only had the Syntakt a week or so im guessing as its only just been released. I feel a bit of a knee jerk reaction to the new gear that has made you re-evaluate your music. New gear does not make you a better/happier musician. Its a tool. Think of equipment like that and if the tool blunts your creativity get rid of it. The sharpest tool in your box by the sound of it is the Subharmonicom. Go with that, add the right tools to compliment it. Maybe Elektron gear doesnt for you. But there will be something.

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#20

Maybe buy a guitar or a piano. It’s much easier to sit down and make some music quickly. It’s easier to express yourself. Also easier to jam out with friends without a lot of fuss.

I turned back toward guitar after starting a family for some of the same reasons you stated. Worked out well.

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