Yes, this is partly what I love about the OP-1F, albeit in a different way! As you play notes, you also fill tape, and you end up just . . . recording a song. Honestly, just reading what you wrote has me rethinking whether I should try an M8.
I know for sure that I’m going to sell my Grandmother and Pulsar-23. And also my Microfreak and 1010 Lemondrop and mixer. And all the modules I own, except for the few that directly support or extend the 0-Coast and Strega (e.g., Mimeophon). And I’m going to consider taking the M8 plunge, or just get an XY—in either case, I’m going to consolidate all my beat-based music onto one device.
I’ve realized that I’m happiest with my (semi-)modular stuff when I treat it like my piano. I have a piano, I play it, I enjoy what I play, but I don’t try to record it or write songs. I just appreciate the experience. And that’s how I like using the modular stuff. Sit down, play for an hour, have a couple of “holy sh*t!” moments, feel great about life, and then unplug. (Or set up a cool patch, walk away, and keep listening.)
Songwriting is different, but also similar, it turns out. I just don’t have the capacity or vision to handle a big, complicated system with lots of parts working together. I thought I wanted a songwriting studio, but I don’t; I just want the electronic equivalent of sitting with a guitar and singing into a tape recorder. Which I have on OP-1 Field. Only I also like to make sequenced, beat-focussed music. So, for those songs, I’ll have XY or maybe M8. I should play around with a tracker and seriously consider it—I’ve never tried one.
I don’t think I’ll bother hooking it all up together. I’ll just have three ways of doing stuff.
I just want to put all that other gear in the car, drive to a music store, and reclaim like an entire room of my house!