Ironically, it was when I was in the deepest trenches of parenting that I picked up music again. Devoting yourself to someone else to that extent, required for me a space that was all my own, to which I could go a recharge. Music more than anything else became that space.
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There was a user on here that let his go for $700… an absolutely insane price… keep looking, they’re out there, and even at the new price for an unused one I’d call it worth it.
I spent +/- two hours last weekend setting up a split on my W-30 so one sound would go out OUT 1 (panned hard left at the mixer) and one sound would go out OUT 2 (panned hard right at the mixer). By the time I was done and saved my craft to 
, I’d lost any enthusiasm for the original material I was trying to create.
When I was a teenager/young adult, I’d revisit video games I had already established some mastery over. Like: beating Super Mario Bros 1 again, for the 317th time. But as I got older, I began to have more fun with open-ended worlds, “casual gaming,” randomness, spontaneity. More lately, I’ve stopped gaming almost completely, with music making seeming to fill that “having fun” space. I think there’s a metaphor here.
If I were a professional composer, or had a specific project to complete, the time and work it can take to use professional-grade equipment to realize my ideas would be worth it. But in practice, I’m finding “proving I can do something” less satisfying than I did as a teenager/young adult. Spending an hour setting up a patch split properly on a W-30 leaves me more with a heightened sense of my own mortality 
, than with the (desired/expected) satisfaction of having accomplished something. Whereas finger-drumming on a Mirage, or (when the 
stars align) looping field recordings on OT or tweaking machines on ST, can offer that escape, mindlessness, and rejuvenation (a.k.a. fun!) which I must actually be seeking…
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I recently sold a lot of gear and started almost from scratch. It was super beneficial because i learned from my mistakes, i bought more wisely and only the things i really need.
Now i only focus on the few reliable and powerful pieces i have instead of all the half-broken and needy vintage gear that used to obstruct my room…
When it comes to having fun (which i overlooked a lot before i started anew), i discovered that despite having Elektron and Make Noise stuff, i’m having the most fun with one of the cheapest analog synth you can find on the 2d hand market today: The Arturia Minibrute OG. (paid 140€ for mine)
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I bought a practically brand new DN for $500. Picked it up just because it was cheap and thought I could flip it like the scumbag I am… nope - sounds fucking amazing. Didn’t even know what it really was (not an FM guy)… this makes fm accessible and so beautiful. I could never break from elektron.
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I’ve lurked here a while but only really started reading this forum recently. I’m almost shocked by the well rounded, empathic, humanistic and caring tone of this thread. I didn’t think such a thing was possible on the internet anymore. 
Like many here I have got sucked into the same patterns; the endless GAS cycle, buying and selling device after device, chasing bigger and better features, the need to make and finish complete tracks, whipped into hype over & over from watching too many YouTube videos.
It’s all a hustle somehow of my own invention. I don’t make music professionally (and I sense from this thread few do here) so how did I end up here?!
For me the outcome has been two things, I need a near constant reminder to myself it’s a hobby not a job, and to have fun
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Putting music and gear to the side…… the very same dilemma confronts any new parent who has a personal passion or interest.
I’ve got other things I love as much as music and when my daughter was born (I was an older parent) I went through the same internal turmoil. As time went on I realised that what I did defined me and rubbed off on my daughter, just waiting for the right time or spark. I pity those with no interests other than watching TV, watching sport, being social media warriors etc. At some point what you do may be mega cool to your child and you’ll be there to guide them.
11 years on and my daughter could ride a bike at 3, ski at 5, wakeboards with no fear, banged out beats on a drum kit, mashed buttons on numerous drum machines and synths, has her own guitar and is pretty well rounded. If I’d sold all this stuff her life would be less interesting and our bond weaker.
Just now she’s told me than my Syntakt jams are not as good as my stuff last week… kids know!
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100% take the step. Find someone good. It’s hard right now, there’s so many people in the tail end of the pandemic discovering mental health for the first time, that it was a wait to get in and actually get evaluated. I think a lot of times, when you’re smart (which I’m going to say goes for just about everyone on this forum) you compensate ,and as artists, the “smart but scattered” is kind of just brushed off to a degree, so you end up leaning on your strengths or the people around you, but ultimately, for me, it ended up being exhausting for them and it was exhausting for me. I got to a point where I was coming home after work and just didn’t have anything left in the tank to really be present for my family, let alone the things that fulfilled me like music. Life is too short not to take care of ourselves.
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Oh, the nights I spent messing with the details on the assembler-like sequencer of the W-30 to get the song structure right. It was not unusual that I was up until 6am. I was 17 years old and had no life besides music. But boy was it fun to play the finished track with my mate, who is now my partner in crime and comes to jam with me every Tuesday night, 25 years later. 
But your point is spot on: I would never endure such a painful workflow today. I’m want more immediacy today. The Elektron workle is a lot simpler to grasp. That said, step sequencers are still one abstraction away from playing live, which is what I prefer the most.
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Spending all that time on figuring out how to send tracks to l/r destinations seems like a symptom, not the problem itself.
Over the years, I’ve simplified my OTB music making to the point where I’m down to a Digitakt, a Digitone and now a Syntakt. Everything I buy or any changes I make to my setup are with purpose, to make music quickly and reduce clutter in my brain and workflows.
Because of the years spent with these particular devices (ST being new but “old” in terms of my understanding of the workflows), and the same years spent NOT acquiring gear that doesn’t fit that sonic and workflow focus, I can walk into my studio day or night and just start making music without getting lost in the weeds of some esoteric problems that take me out of the flow.
I have four devices on my desktop, and a small number of other devices packed away for a rainy day. On my desktop are the DT/DN/ST Trinity and an Arturia Keystep. That’s it.
If I want to just get lost in a bit of sonic bliss, I play one of the Elektrons with my Keystep, sometimes accompanied by patterns. If I have specific tracks I’m working on or inspiration for new material, I can dive in and be productive almost in an instant because of my familiarity and long experience with these boxes, plus I don’t have a dozen other workflows and gear idiosyncrasies cluttering my brain.
I’m a person who, once I identify something I like, I stick with it and like to avoid getting sidetracked with alternatives. That’s why I’ve been a Reason user since v1.0. And that’s why my OTB gear remains consistent, focused and brings me joy whenever I sit down to create.
I only give my personal views here because I hope it might help you rethink how you might approach the necessary reduction in time and schedule freedom that comes with little ones. A revolving door of gear ain’t it. Identify the gear you have that consistently “sparks joy” and that you can quickly get into the creative zone. And don’t get hung up on minutia as you create. “Perfect” is the enemy of “good”.
But take this all with a grain of salt, as I’m just some guy responding to a few of your posts in a thread, and have certainly not walked a mile in your shoes. You do you, just try to find some happiness doing it.
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@jottwehh, I hope you’ve received enough good advice to make a decision a little later. Don’t stress, sleep on it, and take it easy.
One small addendum to my original reply, regarding the Elektron workflow being cerebral. I do think the inherent nature of step sequencers is a bit cerebral, but I did still find that the DT/DN were really hands-on when it came to playing the programmed pattern. I absolutely loved the ctrl+all feature and the way you could go crazy with it and revert back to a saved state at any time. It made me more adventurous because if things went too crazy, there was always the Func+No.
Another thing I loved was how it boots up in just 7 seconds (I clocked it because I was so impressed!) and allows you to resume just where you left off. This is a feature I haven’t seen in any other “groovebox” gear I’ve owned. It really helps with that spontaneous mini jam: I had my Digitone on my work desk and actually took 5 minute breaks in between Zoom meetings because it was so quick to start it up. And, because they lacks any song mode, I was never really trying to progress in the loaded project, instead I just jammed on it and enjoyed what I heard until the meeting started.
So there’s something to be said about the immediacy of Elektrons, despite their programmatic nature.
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Exactly this…
Making music was my life line when my wife got sick after the birth of our third child and I was up at nights feeding and taking care of the little one.
I had him in a baby sling while prancing around trying to ease his tummy ache while playing the OP-Z three o clock in the morning… it literally saved me…
Elektrons are great but not exactly immediate, maybe you need something more immediate. I found that a nice synth with keys and some FX is great for just spacing out a few minutes. Sorry @LyingDalai the question was directed at OP
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I think i might try pairing my Cycles with Digitone.
I would just work on the Digitone by itself if you want limited options.
Or pair syntakt with a more traditional synth or anything that’s more hands on and simple.
I don’t see why you should have to sell either of those.
wow this was strikingly insightful, I will remember this for when the time comes 
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Agreed, 
with the added level that I already mostly knew “how,” but the steps themselves are still very laborious and focus-intensive… as any “MULTI” editing on older polyphonic instruments can be…
I can’t help but think that if I were a new parent, and music-making were still my pastime/hobby, I’d be even more aware of these concerns and those of the OP… needing to exercise the muscle of feeling “this isn’t working for me” during my limited fun/hobby time, more than the muscle of feeling some “sunk cost fallacy / look how smart I am” of practicing the obscure art of pressing 27 buttons in just the proper order & turning knobs just the right way to achieve a L/R keyboard split on a W-30 from a preset…
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A KORG EMX-1 might work for you. Very immediate compared to Elektrons. It’s limited, but it’s fun and sounds good.
Damn, I had to do all that too, but before portable synths. I would have needed an extension cord and rolling cart. Tech really does make life easier!
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100%. This is about as concise as you can capture the spirit of using an Elektron device. I have the Rytm and the Tempest. I love both of them, but this is always the key difference I come back to when assessing and describing the difference between them. The Tempest is an instrument you play. The Rytm is a machine you program.
I bought the Model:Cycles because I was very drawn to a simplification of the Elektron experience. It’s a wonderful little box. And gives you more of a relaxed and playful experience… but that powerful sequencer is still there… reminding you that you should be spending time p-locking. It is very easy to slip back into the mode of programming.
I know I’m going to catch a ton of shit for this… but I have all three of the Akai animals. Anytime I just want to have some low pressure musical enjoyment, they never fail. Tempest + Timbre Wolf is always very spontaneous musical time well spent.
I also love to spend time on the Medusa with the Specular Tempus reverb. The sound design is a joy and the sequencer excels at keeping things loose and enjoyable. I actually use the Rytm to “program” a simple beat that will evolve over time. Once that’s out of the way, I let it run and just enjoy my time with lady Medusa.
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I’d say Grid mode feels like programming/editing, Live Playing/Recording mode is pure playing. Plocks are available in both cases.
The way you put it, it’s not much fun.
Try Live Recording more, turning the encoders while recording to sculpt a loop with your ears rather than with your eyes.
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I consider p-locking akin to bending a string on guitar. It’s one of the few things that aren’t like programming, for me.
I’m at the stage now where I can have an idea, and execute it fairly quickly on an Elektron device. But it’s still a lot of mental. overhead.
As a sequencer, I much prefer the OP-Z. It lacks some depth, but more than makes up for it in immediacy.
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