Yeah I wasn’t say it extortionate but it’s still 400 before you’ve even gotten a full clip of software installed, still way cheaper than owning several decent hardware units and proper portable… what’s not to like
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yeah… let’s say 400 for the tablet, 25 for Drambo and 75 for an audio/midi interface… still bargain for such a powerful and flexible instrument.
Well this thread is already bearing fruit. I’ve been using my Zoom H6 to run audio into the iPhone for experimenting with iOS for effects. It works great but it’s a bit of a clunky setup.
While reading this I remembered that I have an old Roland GoMixer I bought a long time ago that is sitting in a drawer. I was convinced there was no loopback audio so I thought so wouldn’t be able to monitor the effected sound. Anyway, I said what the hell and plugged it in with a Volca and to my surprise it works like a charm. I know there was something about the GoMixer that annoyed me in the past, which is why I stopped using it, but now I can’t remember what that is.
Anyway, only one pair of stereo inputs into iOS via USB so you can’t effect multiple singles independently, but it’s totally fine for what I wanted to do, which is lay in bed with a Volca and put some effects on it without needing loads of cables.
Just an example of useful gear just collecting dust. Another reason not to buy more. (I was even looking at little mixers not long ago for just this purpose. Doh!)
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Agree 100%. Especially when the Moog apps are so great, and have presets and polyphony. I sequence them from Octatrack and resample, but now I can do it faster in Loopy Pro using Drambo’s sampler.
This thread is inspiring me to break out and repurpose things like a Maschine MkII controller, FMR RNC1173 compressor (being repaired by @Scot_Solida ) and old guitar pedals, and find them homes in the setup rather than do a mad buying spree for other stuff before Dec 31st. If these don’t “spark joy” in the coming months they will be sold and not replaced.
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After a rough start to the day, the universe smiled on me in the end. I mentioned I had a bid in on an auction, and that along with the SP404mkii that I ordered back in October it would be my last year purchase of the year.
Looks like I’ll be going into 2022 with the Portastudio I’ve been wanting for a long time. I can’t believe I actually won the auction.
Now I’m stoked to just kick back and make music.
While it might seem like I’m making a lot of purchases at the moment. I actually sold off almost all of my gear in 2020, aside from my guitars, a couple of small amps, a handful of pedals, and some recording stuff, and went fully in the box with a Keystep midi controller. The SP404 will be my only hardware sampler, but I did buy a bunch of Volcas recently, which are pretty much my only synths and drum machines.
There are a few small things still in the closet that I’ve been meaning to sell, like a Beatstep Pro and a pedal or two that I don’t use, so maybe I’ll get rid of those in the new year.
More than hardware I need to stop buying virtual instruments and plugins. I wasted a ton of cash on that in 2021. This modest hardware setup is partly meant to get me away from that money pit.
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And being able to add your device to an aggregate in mac….it’s pretty sweet.
I just tried it the other day. I’ve had Animoog on my phone for a time. Finally added my phone to an aggregate device…it was pretty sweet. Playing in from my controller, with audio direct into Logic. It was pretty surprising how well it werked and how good it sounded. 
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I don’t own a mac so I can’t speak to that but it’s a great time to be an ios musician, feels like it’s finally maturing as serious platform…
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Yay - I’m all in! I want to try to not get any gear for 2022! Just got myself a looper that can sync to the OT so I feel like during the 2021 I got all the gear that is needed to create for at least… well for at least a lifetime.
Each time I buy something new I get a creative paralysis and it stops me in my flow. At least now I remedy that by playing different instruments, so when I’m waiting for a new piece of hardware in my electronic gear I play more violin or piano. But still, I really hate to be waiting for new gear. I also live in a remote location so there is no way for me to just go at a store and get a piece of gear… so double wait for everything.
I like this idea of no gear 2022! As an add on, I’ll save all the $$ I would spend on gear toward a nice piece of equipment for new year 2023 
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Welcome - added! 
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your wallet will thank you 
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There seems to be a critical mass of individuals here at. Elektronauts that prefer real world knobs and sliders to those on a computer screen or touchscreen (myself included). A couple of years ago, I was thinking of selling my house, so my realtor told me to declutter, including boxing all my hardware synths except my main controller (Korg Kronos) and one screen. I did that, and noticed I had almost zero interest in playing anything, being restricted to Logic and the Kronos. So, when I decided to keep the house, I brought out and reconnected my various other hardware synths, and once again found myself lured into making sound (and “music”).
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Now I will contradict myself (kinda). It may just be that my last purchase of 2021 (and my last purchase until 2023) is an apple camera connection kit I bought this morning, so I can connect my new Linnstrument MPE controller to my iPad to use Animoog and Geoshred on my iPad. Right now, the only thing I use my iPad for is to change and tweak the various algorithms in the Eventide H9 in my studio (via Bluetooth).
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Still don’t know what’ll happen between now and 01-01-2022 let alone beyond that but in just a couple of days I’ve started to get a decent grip on sound design on the Digitone. Still ways to go obviously and can’t say I understand FM synthesis that well yet but I’ve got the ball rollin’ at least.
Hard to explain how I feel about the Digitone… it’s my second time with it. Kinda love it and not really like it at the same time. It’s probably because I like the sounds I’m starting to get from it but don’t (yet) know how to turn them into meaningful music. But hey, I’ve got the whole 2022 to figure that out, right?
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I had that same love/hate thing with Digitone. I too loved some sounds I was able to coax out of it but rarely did they make it into a track when I had other options available. It makes a killer drum machine tho! And I’m sure it’ll do all sorts of awesome stuff with a proper deep dive. Master distortion FTW!
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Yes! This! There are multiple time sucks involved with new gear, but I also find that my desire to make stuff gets put on hold while I’m waiting for gear to come.
I have the benefit of having just purchased quite a few new things, but honestly, I’m glad to be stopping the buying cycle for a while. It’s exhausting. That goes double for internet auctions. I haven’t bought anything on an auction site in forever (I can’t even remember the last time), and having that hanging over my head for a week took it out of me. Major time suck and low level anxiety.
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I barely know if world governments will stand in 2022, but I can focus on some mindfulness of how I interact with my creative and consumptive sides
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Man, I’m not gonna lie. This thread is somewhat counterproductive in that it is triggering a bit of gear anxiety (as @korpinen said before).
I have almost twice bought a new reverb pedal for fear of not being able to buy a new one if I try this challenge. Haha. Stupid, I know.
On both occasions, I had to plug in my Strymon Flint, my main (only?) reverb pedal I’ve had since it was released in 2012, to see if it will last me for the project I’m planning.
On both occasions I came away with, this is good enough for what I do and stopped myself, but I could definitely see myself slipping around the holidays.
The funny thing is that I don’t even make ambient music, but I’ve watched so many Volca videos and read so many reverb threads here that I’m feeling reverb envy and eying the Golden Reverberator.
The only positive thing that has come from this is that I started googling to see how dudes like Brian Eno did it back in the day. Looks like it was a feedback loop into a pitch shifter into a reverb with a long decay. It got me to thinking that maybe instead of buying something new I should just see if I can come up with my own creative studio solutions to create something more original than the latest, greatest pedal. Sounds good for now, but only time will tell if I make it to the end of the year without buying something.
(I actually hate shimmer reverb. I’ve been listening to a bunch of Eno’s stuff today and it sounds a lot less over the top to me than the shimmer reverbs made today, at least the early Eno stuff I’ve listened to. The hall on the Flint is actually probably not too far off.)
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Ok random thought thats been bumping around in my mind. The lefty guitar forum that i have been a part of shared a guitar built by a forumite by shipping it around the country (US) to willing forum members. So the one with the guitar would pay shipping to next destination. Sooooo, i have the chase bliss darkworld reverb that im going to sell and was thinking “oh maybe we ship from person to person on the forum?” Haha. Probably a bit ridiculous but a thought i had nonetheless:).
EDIT: And no, even though this is the 420th post, i am not stoned:).
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That’s not bad! Mindfulness of behavior and patterns is the goal.
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