I never posted that I was taking part, however an octatrack for 420 quid on reverb broke me.
However…
It was instantly refunded and the gentleman hasn’t responded since sending a “retry payment”. I’ve explained that it has already been sold, I can’t repurchase it, but he has not yet replied.
God please, I’m dying in anticipation!
okay so I fell off the wagon HARD! I swear I do this every Spring. It’s a mental health issue for sure. Retail therapy for my Borderline Personality Disorder and the fact that I’m a recovering drug addict who sometimes relapses. I’m also diabetic and I’ve let my A1C get totally out of control. Anyway, I have an op-z again (with the Line module which I’m loving going through my Hologram Microcosm, also new-ish). I got some unexpected money so the following is incoming: op-1 field (ordered May 17th direct from TE but still haven’t received a shipping notice), E-Bow, and JHS Smiley fuzz pedal.
every day or so, i check the latest purchase thread. it’s neat to see what folks are buying. so far, it doesn’t make me feel like i’m missing out. if anything, it’s some reassurance that i don’t need anything. some folks just seem to keep buying with no evidence of actually making any music (or maybe even turning the stuff on), which seems like a compulsion to me.
the other day, i downloaded the serrato sample vst demo, messed with it a bit. it’s cool, but then the next track i made does all the same stuff with ableton’s stock simpler. it may be something to get later, but i won’t buy serrato right now. the turntables i was interested in got delisted on craigslist. maybe they didn’t sell. but then again, i also didn’t buy.
You can always hop back on the wagon. I also got myself a midi controller for the NI Komplete some time ago and was a bit disappointed with myself but in the end it’s not like these things are only valid when considered in binary terms, but instead as a process towards a healthier more balanced situation.
It’s incredibly cool to see so many ppl flawlessly sticking with this thing but I think as we are all different with individual mental states, life situations and behavioural patterns that comparing yourself directly to others isn’t necessarily the most productive way to go about it.
I think being honest with yourself is the key ultimately and it sounds like you’re not struggling with that at all.
ah man that sucks and hope that you find work soon and get back on your feet. I was in that spot few years back.
I bit the bullet. Lol. Lasted almost 5 months thought. Pretty sure my Sweetwater rep though something happened to me. 
…
Ended up selling a bunch of synths and pedals I absolutely did not use. Which is a great thing… promised myself I wouldn’t add anything back but… found an Analog Four MK1 for $500 USD - couldn’t resist. Also sprung for a Lyra 8 which I previously owned but never gave myself time to master. (A common occurrence when it comes to GAS 
)
Going to start the clock again and see if I can finish 2022 without any new purchases 
For those of you who think you “failed”, you can simply turn that around by making it a success so far - in your mind. The way you think depends entirely on your attitude. Obvious? Some times something’s so simple you might miss it. You’ve done well, you’ve improved your life.
Yeah, you don’t have to approach it as an absolute, “all is lost” exercise. You fall off, you get back on and reflect on the success you had. I bought my SP and technically blew it, but I went a long time without buying anything and I can definitely say I’ve skipped a few unnecessary purchases that would now be sitting around doing nothing, and I’ve been focusing more successfully on what I already have. The next best thing to buying no gear in ‘22 is just buying one piece of gear in ‘22, so that’s the new goal, and that would still be a huge success and worth doing.
Sorry to hear about your struggles - thats a lot to handle. Are you staying on the list, with the sins noted, or do you want to be taken off?
Sins noted 
sins noted. I’m stayin.’ no more gear for me.
Wrote this about three months ago, and have now spent about three weeks just with the Digitone and having lots of fun with it! Same with the Perfourmer which I’ve only played with a couple of times but anyway. Really think boxing up gear is working for me. When I had most of the stuff wired up on the studio table not only did it give me a sort of option paralysis but also gave me an excuse to look elsewhere if that setup didn’t lend me ”the results” I was expecting. Now I’m focusing on one or two pieces at a time and when I start thinking about getting something new, those thoughts are first directed towards stuff I already have (boxed up).
Having said that, I’ve found myself thinking what I’ll get on 1/1/2023 a couple of times so it’s not like I’m GAS-free now. 
One more thing: Can anyone share their thought process / workflow regarding Elektron soundlocks? Coming from the 16-track Machinedrum I’ve always found it a bit hard to get full songs going on DN. The way I often work with the MD is that I get something melodic going maybe on 2-4 tracks and then start building rhythms off of that. Having 16 tracks is such a luxury cos I don’t have to worry about running out of tracks or if I should have a BD or a HH on a specific step (cos I can have both if I want to). I can also start the metronome and just try out some rhythmic ideas on several pieces of the drum kit. Essentially I’d have to build all my drums on one track on the DN and feel like I’d have to start with the drums which isn’t my MO.
The easiest solution would probably be have the DN for melodic stuff and MD for drums. But I want to make it work just on the DN too cos I prefer having just one box in front of me. So looking for soundlock tips, please!
There are some ideas regarding this in the thread about tips and tricks (Digitone Tips and Tricks).
Some days ago, I followed this tutorial by @Eaves (Digitone tutorial: how to make a full drum pattern in 1 track - YouTube), and found it really useful. I’m also in the process of trying to make full tracks on the DN.
I was trying to go the whole year without buying any new things, other than food, or other necessities. Yesterday I whoopsed and bought a laptop which I will soon (need) for school. 7 months to go
A laptop that you’ll need for school sounds like a necessity. And you also need time to get used to it before you have to depend on it.
Just going to leave this here (esp for you scholarly types) 
What’s worked for me is to combine kick and subbass on the same track, usually I’ll make my kick the bass sound by lowpassing it and adding sustain using plocks, or I’ll play my bass part and then paste a trig with the kick soundlocked where I want it. I have another percussion/cymbals oriented track taking advantage of the fill to change it up, and then I have two tracks left for whatever comes to mind.
Use delay and reverb with taste to fill up the silence
Yeah, having kick and bass on one track would help. In all honesty there’s a bigger ”problem” for me here. It often happens with tracks that I go ”wouldn’t it be fun having this thing here as well”. Kinda the same as is/was (nope, is) my problem with gear when I come to think of it, that I’m always adding just one more thing.
But as much as I’d like to make it work on just the DN, there’s no real problem here. If writing full tracks on the DN is starting to feel like a chore I’ll just add the MD for drums.
Five months done dudes & dudettes. Seven more to go. Congratulations us!
