Minimising gear

The Lounge General Discussion
#124

Thanks for listening!

Before the AK I used a midi keyboard/ableton setup (still have a load of unfinished material there I have to drag out someday). It was too complex. Required too much “System” and “templating” if that makes sense. But with the AK I never lose track of what’s what. 4-5 things, or slots, seems to be a kind of cognitive limit, at least for myself.

Equally important is having the controls physically close. I’m often doing 4 things with two hands: I might have my left thumb on a low key while also using the joystick with the same hand, or holding an arpeggiated note while I press the FILL button just above, etc. I can easily cross over my arms when needed, too. It’s all always quickly reachable.

What seems to work is “extending in depth” while “limiting in width”. Fewer, more powerful things. These Elektron boxes are perfect for that approach, you can get a few of them all in a nice tight space.

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#125

Haha honestly you’re not wrong… my recent purchase of the Waldorf M has been making me question every other synth in my studio. Like why would I use you when I can make a sound I like more on the M with less work. I’m sure it will wear off eventually, but I probably should clean house on my boxed up gear.

#126

Yes, it absolutely does! I have a setup I really like with Push but only for working within the box. It’s an amazing tool, but when I start bringing in more than just a laptop and audio interface it becomes overwhelming. For the hardware stuff I had originally got a Launchpad Pro Mk 3 to work outside a DAW… and then decided to sell it because of the 4 MIDI channel limitations. Now I think those 4 channel limitations are why I might need to keep it!

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#127

well, it depends.
if i take away synths — i miss analog voices.
but if i take away grooveboxes — i miss everything!

#128

Without a groovebox, it’s drone time!! Or just no drums.

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#129

total no-go for me, since i’m a drummer :grin:

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#130

I’m down to guitars, Zoia, OP-1, OT, Polyend Tracker, and Koma Field Kits. I basically just kept the stuff I touch at least once per week. I let go of an extra Tracker, Lyra 8, DN, DT, Analog Drive, and a bunch of pedals I wasn’t using. And now that destroy fx plugins have been ported over to macOS, I’ve even been dabbling back ITB a little bit. Enough to consider getting a Max subscription again. I have to be honest though, I am gassing for the M8. Also, I don’t use more than two boxes at a time. Recently it’s been OT and Tracker a lot. Last night just Tracker and a turntable. Today op-1 and Tracker. I think it’s a good rule for me.

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#131

This is such a good exercise that it nearly describes how I actually play with my synths.

I have a 43"x27" / 110cm x70cm desk that contains a Yamaha MG12/4FX in a vertical mini rack, a pair of monitors and as many synths and pedals as I can fit on the remaining surface. Plus a few laptop risers so I can safely stack gear.

I also have two heavy duty music stands. Sometimes I use them solo, sometimes together.

Sometimes I develop and complete an idea on the desk, sometimes I use the music stands to develop concepts that I’ll bring into a larger project. Sometimes I’ll just jam on the MnM with headphones on a music stand for a while.

The challenge that I’m dealing with now is that FX chains have to be either entirely internal to the synth or they must live on the desk. I’m fine with this. I built these constraints with the intent of convenience and creativity through limitations but without the hard decisions associated with selling everything. I am somewhat aggressively selling off gear that doesn’t work well in this context.

If I had a specific deliverable (album, soundtrack, incidental sound effects, etc.) then I could probably constrain myself to a single device, or at least a smaller set of gear. I enjoy playing around and I find the constraints inspiring rather than frustrating, so I’ll probably stick with this larger setup for a while.

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#132

I’m tempted by a Zoia to replace a bunch of my pedals as a sort of last piece of the jigsaw. It seems to hit the spot of consolidating upwards on that front, I’m just not certain that I couldn’t hit the as same functionality from iOS devices

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#133

Yikes. That’s what I said last year when I got two H9’s and sold almost all my pedals. It was minimal paradise for a while. Now I’m collecting pedals again :man_facepalming: even multiples of the same one. A “do it all” pedal is a great idea, but unless it can do something truly unique (which zoia can) I found it (H9) can barely replace what it’s emulating.

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#134

Ah, this thought/concern had totally crossed my mind already! I’m late to Beebo but am now looking at that as a Zoia alternative (are there others?). Before buying either I think I need to see if the 2 old iPads I have in docks can run anything comparable to assess whether I would actually use them in the way I think I would

#135

Why not a pedal that will aggregate your iOS stuff better? Or build your pedals in ….dare I say the cliche……drambo.

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#136

Their comunication is directly aimed at aimed at morningstar, not very elegant…But the pedal looks ok…

#137

Drambo is definitely a thought, although neither of my older iPads will run it and I don’t really want to tie my main iPad into being a dedicated effects unit. If it will run on iPhone maybe I could make the chains on the most recent iPad and then run them on an iPhone with some kind of dedicated controller attached

#138

I have it in a similar way. Too much gear, makes me loose my focus and reduces my motivation to use it.
And shouldn’t be away from the computer as I initially wanted it to. It has to be right in front and in reach. Keeps me focused in terms of my field of view. But also, there’s a bigger chance of using it, when mainly using the daw. It feels like they are part of the same studio and not seperated this way :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Dawless is not for me. Though I’d prefer Ableton Live as a standalone piece of hardware, that could also support 3rd party plugins. Would be fine with a limit of 10-20 different plugins. In other words, a specifically made computer just for the daw and a smaller amount of plugins.

Right now I have:

  • DT

  • DN

  • Mono Lancet

  • Zed 14

  • Volante

  • VSR3

  • Cathedral

  • SSL 2+

I still want a Hedra, Deluxe Memory Boy, Small Stone Nano and/or Mod Rex.

Secondary instruments would be TT-303 mk2, Reface CP, maybe Yamaha dtx-multi, maybe DFAM and maybe a Filter Lancet.

But I have limited space in my mixer on purpose. I can use ins on the Elektron’s maybe. I’m not sure yet.

I like the idea of just having 3 instruments. A mono synth, a poly synth and a sampler/drum machine/groovebox.

I’m actually not a fan of having several Elektron devices. 2 is my limit, but would prefer just 1.

I’m actually not much into those obvious fm sounds. So for poly stuff, I’d use DN more as a subtractive synth. But keys and brasses can be quite good on an fm.
The fm site I would use more for fx and techno’y donky mono stabs ala Yan Cook and Oscar Mulero.
Fm synths also good for clean sine subs.

I do prefer the sound of vintage analogue polies. Have tried Bit 99 and JX-3P, but They’re too wide, I don’t need the keys. And having to use a controller seems silly for their size. There’s of course the rack version of the 99, but those old crappy buttons. Plus, I don’t actually use poly sounds that often, so a DN that has the design of a groovebox, makes me think of it as something more than a poly. This is why it’s the only poly I’ve had for as long as a year. The other ones, I max had for a couple of weeks (add Prophet 6, Prophet 08, Blofeld and Minilogue to the list).

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#139

I love my DMB but have to admit that the JHS Mini-Echotec I just got has usurped it as my go-to send BBD. Irrespective of that, the DMB is going nowhere and is now attached to one of my little submixers (Fostex Hexamix) so that it can be a dedicated delay for a couple of specific boxes

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#140

Yeah, I only sold mine, because I thought that I didn’t want to do electronic music anymore.

But those lofi repeats on longer time settings, the modulation with a squarewave and the tap divide modulation. So special for that pedal. Did consider just getting that instead of the expensive Hedra. It does do some pitchy stuff as well afterall.
BUT it’s a very dark BBD, and I know that it doesn’t react on higher frequency content, like hats for instance. So for dub mixing it becomes a little hit and miss, unless I I’d prepare which sounds goes with it. Might be better in the context of a mix though.

I’ve had both an Ibanez AD9 and a Behringer VD400. Both being more bright than DMB. Especially the VD400, which goes surprisingly well on hats. But still, I found them both taking up too much space in the mids.

With a pitchshifting delay like hedra, it could be easier to find notes that fit the best in context of the track maybe :thinking::blush:

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#141

Yeah, the Hedra is really impressive. It seems to get into territory I’ve only really heard with Eventide units, but still manages to bring its own sound. To be totally honest, I could easily make a case to myself for most Meris pedals as I’ve never found one that I wasn’t impressed with… yet I don’t actually own any!

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#142

Haha haven’t looked into their other ones other than the Polymoon. But yeah those 2 are quite unique. I mean Eventide have their H9 and the new pitchshifter pedal. Seems cool, but doesn’t seem as full sounding to me as the Hedra, plus they don’t entirely do the same :thinking::blush:

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#143

This “Minimising gear” thread is dangerously turning into an “I need this delay unit” thread

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