I was gonna sell it...then I didn't....thankfully

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

In the spirit of similar topics such as:

Or

I’m curious if anyone else has had a similar experience to the following. When I first started my production journey my first bit of kit was the Roland MV8800. I spent my first few months learning the unit which anyone with any experience with the MV knows that it is a bit of steep learning curve.

I felt that I got to know the machine pretty well but I wasn’t happy with my results. I decided to move on and sell it and get something else. I posted it locally for a price that was less than the expansion card I had in it is sold separately. The thing was that I got zero bites. No interest at all. I wasn’t about to try and sell it online at t he time so I decided to pack it away.

It stayed packed up for almost two years. As most others here I cycled through a bunch of stuff while the MV was in storage. The thing was I still wasn’t much happier with the results I was getting with newer stuff but I was making progress.

One day, I can’t recall why but I had the idea to dig out the MV for something. Strangely my muscle memory was very quick to return. I could soar on the machine where I couldn’t before. At first I was surprised but after quickly banging out a couple tunes it occurred to me why.

I now knew what I wanted to do with it. Before I was simply grasping in the dark for some conception of what to do. To this day it is the centrepiece and commander of my studio. Thankfully I was never able to sell it and I came to my senses!

So I’m curious if anyone else has a heavy lifter in their studio that they were not smitten with, or even hated, to begin with? What made you come around/see the light?

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#2

Roland TR8-S. I got it, didnt exactly love it at first. Boxed it up for a few months. Considered selling it and getting a digitakt instead. But somewhere down the track it made its way onto my desk and it hasnt left. Some thing just clicked one day and honestly, its fucking brilliant. I dont mind the menu dives at all, it really isnt that bad. I dont care that it doesnt have a sexy elektron like sequencer, I really dont. ( I find it much easier and more fun to use than making beats on elektron stuff)

Its so easy to use, and sounds so good with sod all effort, and I have a proper laugh with it. Thats all that counts. So yes, very glad I didnt sell it. Keeper for sure. Proper drum machine workhorse, backbone, heavy lifter whatever you want to call it. Its just too damn useful!

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#3

I could agree with you there but I sold mine!
Sold it to a friend though… who lets me borrow it.
Every time I get back on that thing I think “Boy, am I glad I didn’t just sell this but sold it to a friend who lets me borrow it whenever!”
Such a fun, great sounding machine.

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#4

Might be there now. Just got a Rytm again. First time around, I didn’t get it. Now, I’m like, ”You complete me.”

But we’re still honeymooning, tho :blush:

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#5

3 years ago I was close to sell the Monomachine.
Glad I didn’t.
Talk about a machine that needs time and love…

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#6

Exactly one year ago, I got my first OT.
Sold it again after a couple of weeks, since I was working alot at that point in time, I just didn’t have the energy to use it alot and didn’t build any muscle memory.

I took a break from work this spring,
bought another OT a few weeks ago.
I fell in love with it this time, also getting great results :slight_smile:

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#7

There’s an MK1 out on vend which I’m internalizing whether I should buy it or not.

I have drum machines up the wazoo but they seems to be my Pokémon… gotta catch them all

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#8

I’ve thought about selling every single piece I have at some point except for the Octatrack.

Actually, I considered selling the OT when it was still coming to me in the mail and I was offered a Monomachine and I thought the OT might just be too hard for me. Ended up finding a way to buy the MnM without selling the OT so I got the two within a period of about two weeks. Talk about shooting myself in the leg! :rofl:

But I’ve since considered selling the MnM and also MD a couple of times during periods when I haven’t been using them a whole lot. The skyrocketing prices have been a factor but it also means I would never buy them again if I sold them. Right now the MD is probably the instrument you have to rip from my cold dead hands. And while I still don’t use MnM all the time, the only scenario where I’d sell that is to buy another MD if the one I have now gave up the ghost.

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#9

Most gear for me is kinda clear, always doubted and then sold or love from the get go and unchanged:)

That said, outside of the sound generating instruments category:

Keystep! I’ve never had it in full use for long, so I’ve considered selling it a few times. But time and time again it works out so well as a life-saving I/O connector. All the simple Midi, Usb, and CV connections, it’s simple sequencer and arp, and how it translates between midi/usb, can really get you out of a problem at times.

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#10

The difference really matters, I’d say. At least in Sweden, the MKI prices are pretty high now, touching on MKII Grey Version prices. Granted, the black MKII is substantially more expensive, but there’s something to be said about the workflow improvements between the versions.

The only real bummer for me is the +Drive. 1GB storage if you’re into longer samples, will cut you down substantially sooner than later. Not sure how to approach that one in the long run.

#11

This is why I have thought about selling but never have actually sold both my Beatstep and QuNexus

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#12

I’m getting this feeling from the Virus B at the moment. Had it a while, put some time into learning how to program it but due to the quality of software synths and never-ending GAS I boxed it up for a year or so. Then, upon reading up on all things Virus, I became inspired to try it again. Now with Digitakt 1.30 I have my Erica DB-01 running through the Virus and into the Digitakt in stereo, with the effects sends slightly different on both sides, going into Ableton Live for further processing… It’s honestly a dream setup that makes me glad I kept the Virus.

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#13

Is it, in part, because of the X.04 unofficial OS?

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#14

I thought about selling my Bass Station II often, but never did. I like it a lot, but never really use it in tracks. But I do lend it to a lot of people to introduce them to synths and that is a lot of fun too.

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#15

Deluge - occasionally it crosses my mind to sell it because frankly it can be super annoying to use when I have had a period of time not using it, but I then remind myself how many really useful things it does (as well as a lot it does not do so well) and that it is, for me, the best portable sketchpad available overall.

I still really dislike the isomorphic keypad with off scale notes playable, the fiddly as fuck sampling and audio recording, the inconsistent workflows and button and encoder combos etc. But on the other hand the grid, arranger, song loading/chaining, streaming from card and general almost unlimitedness of it are really great.

I hope that Synthstrom work on tidying up, consolidating and refining what is already there rather than continue to cram in more features.

Either way, it is a keeper.

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#16

Short answer: I’d say it’s largely because of that.

Longer answer: My approach to writing music is more often melodic than it is rhythmic or percussive, that’s just the way my brain functions. It’s also a result of writing and playing music with few percussive elements for more than a decade before starting with electronic music. The Elektron sequencer by itself, in the MD for example, enables me to think in pitches whereas many others would think in accents. To be able to create (harmonious) melodies, even chords with those pitches with the X.04 firmware makes it way more enjoyable to approach a percussive instrument from that angle. Making ”beats” is still not my strong suit but after having so much fun making them the past few months I’m starting to see some progress. :grinning:

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#17

Sure it is. It’s a game changer. Suddenly the MD became a full Groovebox with the Tonal mode.

I’m preparing a small set (4-5 Tracks) for a Saturday « bring your own gear » Jam in a park and I chose to bring the MD.

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#18

It’s absolutely a groovebox now!

If I ever did an electronic liveset of any sort (never played live on an electronic instrument - as of yet), I would definitely start with just the MD. That’s actually something I’ve been working my way towards.

Would be awesome to hear your set if it turns out okay which I’m sure it will!

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#19

Now you’re making me Gasing for a portable Recorder.

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#20

i was one of those people that got an octatrack thinking i would learn it in no time knowing other elektron instruments and actually reading manuals.
but my… there is so much room for stuff to go wrong with that machine that i thought hard about sellling it and get my peace of mind back.
glad i didn’t, still struggling from time to time though…

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