Right-Sizing The Setup?

[fertelmeyster]

Hey Elektronauts — have a question I think would be of interest to most of the folks in these forums:

What was/is your process for reducing your setup to its essentials? Obviously the “right size” is substantially different for everyone, so I’m not expecting any answers in the form of “this is the right sized setup” so much as different thought processes that have helped people arrive at a setup they now feel creatively enabling and productive.

Of course it’s hard to be more lean than a good laptop/audio interface/mic, but I’m not looking for “least possible gear” — I’d like to know how/if people arrived at sweet spots with gear after having accumulated, experienced, then reduced their setups.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/approach!

-e.-

If relevant to your response, here’s a rundown of what’s currently occupying my time/studio space:

Elektron:
A4 MKII
AR MKI
Digitone Keys
Digitakt
Octatrack MkII

Non-Elektron Instruments/Boxes/FX:
1010Music Blackbox & Bluebox
TE’s OP-1 & OP-Z
Synthstrom Deluge
Polyend Tracker
Hydrasynth Desktop
Dreadbox Typhon
Akai Pro Force
Sonicware ELZ-1
Korg G1 Air
Novation Circuit (OG)
Roland Boutiques (SH-01/SE-02)
Moog Semi-Modular Trío (M32/DFAM/SubHarm)
Moog Grandmother & Subsequent 25
Moog Minitaur Desktop Bass Synth
Make Noise Semi-Mod Trio (0-Coast/Ctrl/Strega)
Erica LXR-2 Digital Drum Machine
Yamaha Refaces (CP/CS/DX/YC)
Microfreak + Vocoder Microphone
Empress ZOIA Modular FX Pedal
Rackbrute 6u/Minibrute 2s (I’m all set w modules)

Midi-Controllers:
Launchpad Pro MKIII
Roli Seaboard Rise 25
Roli Seaboard (2x) + Block + Loop Block
Akai MPD 218

Recording Setup:
iMac Pro or MacBook/iPad Pro (if I’m traveling)
NI Komplete Audio 6
Shure Sm7B/Cloudlifter
Logic is my preferred DAW (for workflow purposes)

[Fin25]

You’ve got too much stuff.

Send what you don’t use to me.

You’ll feel much better.

[dreamsaremaps]

To start, what (if any) of those are you either for sure keeping because you love it, or which from those with overlapping sounds/features do you prefer? What haven’t you turned on in a long time? What’s your goal? More productive writing? Manageable performance? Sound design options?

I currently have more music gear than ever, but it’s still pretty chill compared to you (and many of you) and even I want to downsize, so I’m kinda picking the best of each type instrument I own to keep, and evaluating dead spots from there. That’d be digitakt for one shot samples and as a faux granular synth; Octatrack for resampling, stereo loops/stems, performance mixer; A4k as my analog (with poly); leaning towards selling the digitone OG and digitone keys and the cycles and adding a Syntakt (adore the digitone as a drum synth but I just can’t get into the workflow with tracks/voices/sound pool annoyances even though I love the DT.

From there I’ll be looking for a compressor, a
Reverb, maybe a DFAM for something NOT a elektron sequencer. That along with all the acoustic instruments and software, I imagine much more would be completely overwhelming!

Another option is keep whatever you love, sell EVERYTHING else so it’s done and no longer a choice to weigh. Then rebuild your setup from scratch by filling needs and gaps. That alone should be able to streamline gear that’s sorta just being collected or stored at this point. Like my DNK

[garfield]

One good polysynth, one good sampler, and one good drum machine + a good multichannel interface for syncing and tracking to your DAW of choice. When things start getting monotonous, just swap out 1 piece for a different one that serves the same purpose (sampler for sampler or synth for synth). I’ve tried a lot of different combos and this is what I’ve landed on. I moved recently and laid out all my gear that had all been setup previously. In my new place, even though I have space, a lot of this stuff has gone to the closet for now, and it’s helped my focus a lot!

[subduct]

I found this thread really useful - The importance of finding your core gear

Before: 10/12 bits of gear, midi chains, cable nightmares, decision anxiety, zero productivity
Now: OT & Rytm core, +1/2 synths at a time. No technical decisions to be made, only musical ones

[fertelmeyster]

Haha promise my response, if the roles were reversed, would be the same hear ya!

[fertelmeyster]

I’ll definitely check this out, thanks!

[fertelmeyster]

Nice! Do you prefer having them stored to swap out versus just selling off entirely?

[Tchu]

It takes :

A Drum Machine or two
A Sampler or two
An Analog Mono Synth or two
A Poly Synth or two
A Wavetable Synth
FX Pedals and HW FXs
A MIDI Controller
A MIDI Thru box
A Midihub
A Distortion box

or

A Syntakt + a Compressor/Limiter pedal

[m0ld]

I like to keep my setup small-ish, and every device has a (somewhat loosely) defined role. I think of them as a loose rock band-style ensemble in which a few players can swap roles. Lead, rhythm/chords, textures/ alternate sounds, bass, drums. If I don’t use a device frequently or if it clashes/ overlaps with something else, it may go away (if I even buy it in the first place). If I don’t love something, it’s gone. I don’t have time (or space) for things I’m not over the moon about, and I can use the money better elsewhere. Hell, I’ve been thinking about selling the Pro-3 because I don’t use it that much and I don’t absolutely love it. It’s just… fine.

My stuff:
Peak
Take 5
Microfreak
Pro-3
Syntakt
Model Cycles
MPC One

Peak and Take5 both fill all the typical polysynth duties. Usually pads on the Peak, and chords/ leads on the T5. I could theoretically get rid of one of them, but they’ve both captured my heart in a way none of my other devices have. Pro-3 is for basses and mutating leads and aggressive distorted sounds. Microfreak frequently makes weird sounds or textures, honestly I could get rid of it too but it’s just so damn fun to play. Syntakt (previously M:C) for weirder percussion. MPC One sequences/ clocks it all and does most of my percussion (although I use the elektron devices’ internal sequencers for most of their parts). I supplement with a couple softsynths for the rare occasion that I want to work in the box.

[DJSpaceP]

I basically only buy gear to accomplish specific musical goals, or to accomplish those goals in a better way.

My core OTB setup is currently a Digitakt, Digitone, Syntakt and an Arturia Keystep.

I’ve settled on this setup over the course of several years of refinement of sound generation and workflow needs. Years ago, I started my OTB excursion with a Novation Circuit. That evolved, based on music and performance needs to TWO Circuits, then those plus a Mono Station, then all of that plus an MPC Live. With the MPC in hand, I got rid of one, then both Circuits, but kept the Mono because of the analog goodness.

Then I tried the Digitone and fell in love with the Elektron workflow and sequencer. I was inspired to try the Digitone because I was enjoying the Circuit Mono’s patch-per-step abilities, plus the direct control and sequencing of any and all parameters and wanted more.

Once I had some serious time with the Digitone, going back to the MPC and that whole DAW in a box thing made me nauseous. Plus, I was so much more “musical” in my choices with the Digitone. Eventually, I picked up a Digitakt to pair with the DN. Same sequencer workflows, but with samples as sound sources.

Once sorted with those, I immediately sold the MPC. Done completely with loops and stems and now fully focused on the synth and sample mangling as my weapons of choice.

I kept the Circuit Mono, and also snagged a MicroMonsta2 as an alternative VA for all those potential extra voices.

But I always wanted a Digi style box with a few more tricks up its sleeve such as analog voices and maybe some other things that the DT/DN weren’t as suited for.

Welp, Syntakt certainly hit that sweet spot.

So now the Circuit Mono and the MicroMonsta2 are sitting off to the side and the ST/DT/DN trio are doing it for me.

So I hope the reader can detect an evolutionary, yet minimalist pattern to all this. Im happiest when I have the smallest number of things with inspiring workflow(s) generating the most variety in sounds.

I’m so used to my Elektrons that I don’t have to waste mental energy switching gears to and from wildly different workflows and sonically, this setup fills a ton of possibilities with no shortage of flexibility in terms of what box handles what parts.

[fertelmeyster]

If I had it to do from scratch, knowing what I know now, there are definitely pieces I would skip on, but the hassle of selling some things off can make that an annoying road to head down in the first place.

Good thinking though, I might try and approach it as if I were buying a setup from scratch and then sell (or at least store) the rest for a while and see what happens.

[m0ld]

Boxing things up helps a lot. Put it in a box in the closet for a month or two. If you haven’t thought about it at all or just haven’t missed the functionality, sell it! Money in your pocket and the weight of having too much stuff lifted off at the same time are both wonderful.

[CCMP]

I see gaps.

Where’s your Prophet?
Where’s your x0x drums? TR8S?

Pfft…

[fertelmeyster]

@dreamsaremaps

To start, what (if any) of those are you either for sure keeping because you love it, or which from those with overlapping sounds/features do you prefer? What haven’t you turned on in a long time? What’s your goal? More productive writing? Manageable performance? Sound design options?

Great questions — the biggest categories my hardware needs/prefs fall into are Studio Setup (Production/Recording/Sound Design prioritized) that can be moveable (I don’t like huge equipment if I can help it) but not necessarily “portable” as used, and then a setup for Songwriting (optimized for speed, portability, multi-functionality, generation) — some things can live in either (like the Analog Rytm or Digitone Keys for example) but just wouldn’t be the choice when I’m throwing a bag together to write or record on the road — esp when a Deluge/Blackbox/Roli Block provide so much with so little heft and that ease wins out over “best” sound quality/etc for that setup, yet I wouldn’t make my Deluge or Blackbox my choice sound source in the studio, if that makes sense.

[chrisroland]

i’ve always planned on taking my setup out to play live so it’s pretty easy to be ruthless about what can fit in my car to transport to a gig

[Kegeratorz]

It’s a great question. All I know is every time I think I’m good/comfortable/right size for me. I change it in some way.

[CCMP]

What type of music are you making?
What would you say your 4 most important units are?
Is Logic always at the centre when you work?

[tubefund]

Personally I would end up unhappy with too much of the combi units. I mean
TE x 2 and Blackbox, bluebox and Deluge and Polyend tracker and multiple Elektron boxes and novation circuit.
Almost impossible to give those all the time they deserve as standalones. Feels like working with 6 different daw’s on 6 different pc’s with a external mixer all at the same time.
It’s not about the size or amount of gear but how and why the complement each other or overlap and overkill. Imagine that the place is on fire and make a list of what you would take out first without thinking.

[sabana]

Thats not a studio its a shop🤣