Let's see some old pictures of your early gear

[Bunker]

There was a ‘naut selling one one here recently. I was really tempted. I think it was maxed out too. Not that I need one…

It was the RM1X that got me started with grooveboxes. I lusted after an MPC but they were more than I earned in several months at the time so when some years later I saw the RM I was bitten. I wouldn’t be here using Elektron gear if it wasn’t for the RM. as bizarre as it sounds I still compare new gear and it’s workflow to the RM where I could, samples apart, plonk it on my lap with a pair of headphones and write a full song.

[simonbradford]

A love of youth, then Reaktor and finally real synths

[christianlukegates]

yeh same, would have given anything for an MPC at that time but there was no way i could afford it. the RM1X was without a doubt the gateway drug to all the stuff that came after. and im not entirely exaggerating when i say that most stuff since then hasnt been quite as fun as the first few goes i had on the RM1X, when i didnt even have a bloody clue what i was doing with it. good times!

[Bunker]

It’s the immediacy of it for me. Turn it on, record a phrase, repeat. Then just turn it off knowing nothing will be lost. No saving routines to overlook. Plus 16 ch of external midi sequencing per section… that’s what mine got used the most for. Menus are easy enough to navigate, plenty of editing and global options… what’s not to like?

Oh, and they survive all sorts of knock, drops and bangs!

[xcc]

Cool thread. It’s a shame, but especially when I spent all day making music, cameras were too expensive. So not many photos of those early(ish) days. I did find a shot of the studio desk from the early aughts.

Also found a shot of my drum machine from that period

[PeterHanes]

@Bunker

Share your old gear pictures below …

My first home setup (photo probably from 1991):

with gear list (before adding the Quadraverb+) here:

"What 5 pieces of gear did you start out with back in the day"

Yamaha RX21 drum machine (1986) Casio CZ-101 Sequential Pro-1 Atari ST running Dr T’s KCS Maplin 4 channel mixer

**

@avantronica

Wanna see those retro gear shots but especially any embarrassing old playing shots y’all might be tempted to hold back on

My first-ever gig with our then-band (November 1991), me on my CZ-101 and bandmate’s SH-101, occasionally switching to the live mixing of the Tascam 424 backing tracks with my Quadraverb+:

Somehow we booked the gig for the day before our first band rehearsal.

[avantronica]

@PeterHanes

(probably 1991)

ah, i remember picking up my Atari back in the day like it was yesterday (inflation corrected it likely makes current apple stuff look inexpensive), … '91 eh ! … MIDI had been going for a few years by then, but tables hadn’t been invented until, was it 1993 iirc to truly let our gear really shine

Atari - arguably ITB & OTB at the same time

[Scot_Solida]

My setup of the same era had many similarities, including the Atari ST, a Midiverb III (or was it a ‘II’?), a Sequential Six-Trak, a CZ-101, and an RX7 drum machine. I had a bunch a other stuff, too, including the Wavestation, SH-09, TG33, Moog Source, etc.

[Wolf-Rami]

These pics are from around 2010 when I had a spare bedroom or guestroom filled with vintage gear (and apparently a foosball table!) Great and inspiring times, but crappy photos.

These are from maybe 2013-2015 when I had had ”the big cleansing” and settled down on a smaller setup. I rarely miss any of my old gear but that pic of all the Electrix units together really makes me miss them. Also, I’d take the Casio midi guitar back in a heartbeat.

For fun I also included a photo of my Game & Watch collection from back then.

[papertiger]

What’s with you always having the best gear on the floor pics? (Still adore that pic of the OP1 laying in an empty room)

[Scot_Solida]

I kinda wonder if some of the photos that appear in this thread will also have appeared in the earliest “Your Setups” posts…

[papertiger]

Picture the headphone jack of a 1997 Dell laptop running a cracked copy of Rebirth connected to an AIWA CD/dual tape deck stereo on the other side of the dorm room.

That me.

[PeterHanes]

@avantronica

i remember picking up my Atari back in the day like it was yesterday (inflation corrected it likely makes current apple stuff look inexpensive),

I had a 520 ST, into which I soldered unsocketed an extra 512 kb of RAM, then a 1040, then a Falcon that had the luxury of a hard drive.

@avantronica

'91 eh ! … MIDI had been going for a few years by then

I got my first MIDI gear (RX21) in 1986 and then , perhaps more importantly, my second (CZ-101) in 1990.

@Scot_Solida

I had a bunch a other stuff, too, including the Wavestation, SH-09, TG33, Moog Source, etc.

I got an SH-09 after a while, but the rest of your gear was way out of my league in the 1990s.

@avantronica

tables hadn’t been invented until, was it 1993 iirc to truly let our gear really shine

@papertiger

What’s with you always having the best gear on the floor pics? (Still adore that pic of the OP1 laying in an empty room)

Living in rentals (until recently) always meant gear before furniture.

In the first case, a tiny rented bedroom where the gear slid under the single bed. In the second case, the OP-1 wasn’t entrusted to the movers.

Nowadays I’m not so lithe and flexible and everything is racked or on a stand or tabletop.

[coda]

Only picture I have of my first rig. About 2003 I think

[PekeDorty]

never been to an ICP show - maybe! What is an IPC show?

[PofM]

Juggalo party

[AdamJay]

@PofM

Juggalo

so sticky

[fmw]

the only crappy pic I have. Early 1985 in the back laundry Newtown Syd: Lovely Sony 4 track, MS20, Korg Delta and SH2. Trusty Ibanez analog delay pedal. Making sound for zero budget films and public radio.

[Jimbrackpool]

Yes! The lesser spotted Yamaha A3000. King of the vintage samplers.

[AdamJay]

Seriously good sampler. Had a friend that made deep house using it and an MPC. He used to ferry the A3000 around to various studios just sampling synths. The filters were excellent.