Recommend me a synth or groovebox that tickles my brain

The Lounge Other Gear
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These days I’m kind of bored by all my gear - which isn’t too much at the moment: Digitone Keys, Syntakt, Polyend Tracker.

In the past three or four years I owned these ones as well

  • Model:Cycles (first groovebox, replaced by Syntakt)
  • Behringer Deepmind (loved the sound but didn’t end up liking programming it)
  • Nord Drum 3p (might end up getting again)
  • Behringer Neutron (another one I might buy again)
  • Digitakt (Samples: Sometimes I love them but most of the time, I find them tedious)
  • Sequential Take 5 (GREAT sound but also a bit bread and butter and just too expensive for one sound at a time)
  • Analog Four (had a love/hate relationship with its sound, a bit too harsh, but interesting; probably didn’t give it enough time)
  • Moog Grandmother (LOVED the colors and the sound but also a bit too restricted for its size and money, not really a semimodular synth for my taste - Neutron does it better)
  • Behringer Model D (didn’t like the sound too much and also rather restricted)
  • MPC One (got that one too early, I think, was overwhelmed by the possibilities and didn’t like all the menus and incohesive UI)

Please recommend me anything! I want to record something and all I ever do these days is making very short loops that all sound samey. I do make all kinds of ambient and also some beats here and there: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLaemmerbein/videos

What gets you to make a track (other than hard work and dedication)? Think, I’m just looking for some dopamine hit to get me out of this rut.

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This is the only way.

(I’m into gear, I love changing it round and tinkering. But looking at all the things you’ve tried made me think you’re hitting a different kind of wall than “features” or “tone”)

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Push 3!

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What about the Dave Smith Tempest?

  • DSI sound
  • Lots of sounds possible within one composition
  • can’t add your own samples so just work with what’s already in the box.
  • Programmable but designed for live play
  • Nice pads and strips add playability
  • Individual outs tor further sound manipulation
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This is the way.

Yep. There’s a million ways to get that. Doesnt have to involve buying new stuff. But if you want to buy new stuff, go big. Dont faff around.

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Bastl Thyme. Great way to feed something ‘mediocre’ in and have it sound more interesting… and maybe inspiring.

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Some advice i carry in the studio. Stop thinking so critically about the music you are making when you are in the creation process. Analysis kills creativity

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A dusty old piano and a Digitakt. You have no need to be so hard on yourself.

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Can you run mics from the piano straight into the DT? Or are you better off with a portable recorder and then transferring the files across?

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Mike it into a Mixer and Digi… Its trial and error depending on the size of your room. But the sound will be amazing.

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11

Buying more gear won’t solve this

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For top-notch ambient pads and melodic synths, the Iridium Core stands out as my favorite. The experience it offers is truly remarkable — super modern and incredibly user-friendly.

Check my Demo:

My newest passion is the Subsequent 37. While it excels in Techno, pairing it with external processing effects can significantly expand its capabilities.

When it comes to grooveboxes, the Maschine Plus reigns supreme in terms of functionality. However, I find the music creation process overly cumbersome, and the final sound doesn’t quite meet my expectations. Additionally, its CPU is rather weak :woozy_face:.

For rhythm creation, I’ve fallen in love with the Polyend Play+. The workflow is delightfully simple, and the effects are fantastic, among other features.

The Roland TR8-S is another solid option for rhythm creation.

In my opinion, the best setup would be either the Analog Four paired with the Analog Rytm, or the Digitakt combined with the Syntakt.

Overall, I think it’s perfectly normal to constantly switch synthesizers and drum machines. Every new purchase feels like a new game, bringing joy through experimentation, and it serves as a mental workout during the learning process, among many other benefits. It’s a wonderful journey that we thoroughly enjoy. Sometimes, we do it not for the sake of music or the ultimate goal of creating something, but for the creative process itself, much like children playing in a sandbox.

P.S. Also Novation Sunmit is amazing for ambient:

I don’t have it, but have an experience with this synth. Sound soooo deep :heart_eyes:

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Sit back, listen to some music you like or watch a music documentary in a room and position that’s comfortable. Anything thats sparks the urge to create. Fire up the gear you have, if needed not on very flat and analytical monitors or throw the whole mix in a hall reverb as if you’re performing in a club, church, cave or whatever and just jam and enjoy.
Edit. Listening to some of your tracks… Lyra-8? Or add Omnisphere with a external controller to the play.

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Maschine+ is my current favourite groovebox and hence an easy recommendation

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Get a microfreak. 250€.

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Plastic sound :see_no_evil::woozy_face: I sell it after 2 days. :joy:

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Good advice. Further to this, I think creating and editing are separate processes. When u wanna make, just make, and make lots. When you wanna “refine” or “finish”, just do that.

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Yeah it sounds like crap. I find it part of the charm. I usually use it with a metal muff and a memory toy.

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and don‘t force yourself to finish anything. I mean it‘s hard but if you are a hobbyist most friends who are not really interested won‘t be able to judge it anyway and everyone is so oversaturated with „content“ that it‘s really hard to get anyone really involved.

I played a track to a friend in his car the other day and I think he forgot after 30 seconds that it was by me.

I guess it‘s really hard for outsiders to appreciate what you are doing these days. When I started 20 years ago it was really something special to give a CD to someone with music on it. Nowadays everyone can create stuff on their phone for social media and so one and every one is flooded by stuff „their friends made“ so we are competing with a lot more input here.

Basically what I want to say: If you are just making loops, maybe that’s fine. Just do what relaxes you or makes you happy IF you want to do it as a hobby.

And a more special tip: use the Syntakt standalone and learn it deeper. Helped me a lot.

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Pick one or 2 pieces, and try to recreate your favorite piece of music with it.

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