I just made my last purchase (used OT). I’m even taking music-related stuff off my xmas wishlist. I’m all in @Joebas! Time to go deep!
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If this challenge is like the survivor show, this was a huge move to position yourself to WIN!!!
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Yeah, if figured I should get the most complicated gear with the worst sound…should last me while and if not I’ll have something to complain about on here 
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Fencing wire from Bunnings only.
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I’ve definitely felt the urge to buy and/or trade something before January 1st. I even came close to doing a trade and then realized what I was doing. I am selling a few odds and ends before January 1st to pay off my credit card, but then after that no more selling either. It’s all part of the same pattern for me so I want to give the whole thing a rest. I’m worried my friends at the post office will miss me; maybe I’ll start mailing letters so I can still check in on them?
Hilariously, right after I added my name to the list on this thread I won an OP-1 in a contest! I’m counting it as a sign from the universe that I’m going to be fine without buying anything.
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Congrats on that OP-1 win! That’s a year’s worth of tinkering all on its own.
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Dude, that’s an amazing contest win! Congrats!
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Here’s another sign from the universe.
I ordered a very small piece of music gear from Amazon (actually a Christmas gift from an elderly aunt, but she asked me to order it myself since I’m in Japan). I somehow ended up clicking on the wrong version of the item, which is something that’s never happened to me before. I realized it immediately when it arrived today and was super bummed so without opening it I contacted Amazon for a return.
They told me their policy now is only to return 50% of the value of the item and I have to cover the shipping as well. I basically told them that I’m pretty sure there are consumer protections when ordering with a credit card, so the policy strikes me as illegal for unopened items returned immediately. They eventually conceded and all I have to do is pay shipping, but a huge waste of time and energy. It basically strengthened my resolve not to buy gear, especially frivolous stuff I don’t really need.
I order from Amazon all the time (which I really shouldn’t do), but in all the years I’ve used them I’ve only had to return stuff twice. Once was several years ago and at the time it was a surprisingly painless process. I guess things have changed.
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I hear that…once I decided I am WELL ENOUGH equipped to make some beats…the the quest for gear the will “help me get my sound” faded. another synth isn’t gonna help…in all likelihood it will hinder. too many choices when it comes to music, kind freezes me up. I feel free to actually GET INTO what ive got. 
postive thread
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kinda feels good huh?!
I have been thinking about this a lot in tandem with the llllllll “depth year” thread.
I have a few thousand sunk into gear. I wouldn’t want to see what % of the cost of my current setup has been paid to reverb, PayPal, and postal services as a result of my revolving door buying and selling.
BUT, buying and selling has allowed me to figure out what works for me. I would like to commit to what I have, but I’ll probably end up changing something between now and EOY2022.
Currently: laptop, daw, interface, a couple Ciat lonbarde devices, and an SP-505 sampler.
I might exchange the sampler for some acoustic percussion instruments, and might sell one synth for a monome norns when the stock ones drop.
But I think the overall $ value will stay the same, which is most important to maintaining a focused setup and emotional well being for me.
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@blackincali
@ponnuru
@Strutter
@vasmarg138
@rex_mundii
@HoojerBob
@Sleepyhead
@Bamshoot
@Floppydisk_Pirates
@Uija
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I’ve thought a lot about the consequences of sinning, and I’m a firm beliver in the no-sin-allowed school.
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Yeah it’s good to not see wasted money sat gathering dust, only downside is its forcing me to re evaluate my set up which is getting tougher as I’m down to an ipad, mpc one, push 2, and serato… feels like that’s as lean as I’m willing to go right now…
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Let’s keep things nice and kind, it’s a difficult change in our mindests we try to embark on, so we should focus on being gentle in the way we do things, it will be the best way to succeed.
The idea is to shift our focus from the consumerist aspect of our hobby, and learn to enjoy what we have again, not to introduce even more constraints in our lifes, especially on the stuff that is supposed to relax us and make life more enjoyable. So let’s all try not to put too much pressure on ourselves in terms of productivity and output, but more in terms of enjoyment. The ultimate goal is to realize that we have all we need to have meaningful moments of exploration and creation, that happiness comes from learning, diving deep and spending time with what we have, instead of what we could have.
If at the end of the year, you have nothing more to show than a bigger smile on your face because you finally enjoyed playing with your machines, that’s all you needed to do!
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I went down the ipad rabbithole recently… I have to wait until the honey moon phase is over but this could lead me to actually sell gear in 2022.
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Same here. Currently beta-testing Loopy Pro, and it does pretty much everything I use hardware for, and more. My Octatrack has been off for a week.
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I’m not in the loop (yeah, easy pun…) for this beta but this one may retire my beloved blackbox…
Yeah, I know I’m in the minority here but I really don’t get why you’d keep multiple hardware synths around when you can get every top ipad synth for less than the price of a behringer clone, I mean I know the outlay for an ipad is pretty high but it’s not just a one trick pony…
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Well… I don’t even think it’s that high… I have the cheaper one (something like 400e) and I have yet to hit a cpu limitation.
Drambo is fantastic, so is patterning2… well worth the price imo.