Around 2013
no old picture unfortunately but new pictures of old early gear. RM1X was my first step into making electronic music in maybe 2002/2003. fell victim to a wine related incident 15ish years ago and is now comepletely useless, but cant ever bring myself to get rid of it. it was a lot of fun. ableton 3, which i picked up 2003/2004. was the last pre-midi version i think…?
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Ah, the venerable RM1X. I moved to the RM1X after an Atari running Cubase. I got introduced to a guy who had one, had a mess and I was sold. I had three at one point and at least three pals bought them after seeing mine!
There were two revisions (at least), one with a smooth paint job and the other, a slightly darker blue with a very subtle texture to the paint. Got one of each. Both suffer with dead tact switches after a while. I still use mine now from time to time. Still a very handy tool to have around.
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yeh that was kind of how i got mine- a mate of mine had one set up with an akai S1000 and it blew my mind (i had no idea how electronic music was made at that point) and i had to have one. i think at least two or three other friends ended up getting one around the same time. i still have some floppys full of projects, shame it no longer works as id be curious to see/hear how horrific my attempts at music were back then… probably a blessing in disguise!
“Set up with an Akai S1000”…
You weren’t looking at my set up from the period were you? 
I was sequencing an S1000, S1100, Emu Proteus, Orbit and an Oberheim Matrix 1000 with mine at that time.
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What’s it doing/not doing? From memory the switch board s the last PCB out of maybe three when going in from the base panel. I’m fairly sure the main board is at the bottom? I’m just thinking there’s always a slight possibility it’ll go again if it’s just a case of the switches being dead…the switch board may have protected the main board? Obv, a wine related short on a power rail could have done more damage? Are you handy with a screwdriver and soldering iron?
Whether the floppy drive will work or not is an entirely different matter! 
well last time i tried to switch it on was probably 10 years ago, and i vaguely remember the display being semi mumbo-jumbo, most buttons werent responding, and the encoders were behaving oddly- like turning something left would result in something turning right etc etc. on the plus side i remember that it was playing, but the machine itself was not in any way usable. im not handy witha soldering iron, no. maybe its just a case of thorougly cleaning the guts with some sort of spirit/alcohol solution (tho obvs not wine…)?
edit- also, pretty sure the massive cumbersome PSU was lost several house moves ago, so theres no way of powering it on anyway
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Minty! My mate who inspired the RM went on to get the RS. I never had the cash for one back then.
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ha! i remember when mine was that shiny and clean…! a mate of mine had the RS7000- i dont remember it looking that sleek tho
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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 
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My first home setup (photo probably from 1991):
with gear list (before adding the Quadraverb+) here:
**
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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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