What is your fastest time from getting a new piece of gear to deciding it was not for you?
For me, two things come to mind. First was the Boss SP-303. I bought it used on a whim for a great price without really knowing much of anything about it and really did not like it at all. I would say it was under 10 minutes that I decided it would not suit me.
The other was a brand new Fender Nashville Telecaster. I got it on an insanely good deal but was able to return it. As soon as I opened the box it just felt really cheap compared to my other guitars. I’ve had other MIM Fenders that I liked quite a bit but this one just didn’t do it for me. I would say it was immediately known that it was going back.
Hologram Microcosm. Arrived on Friday. Sold it for what I paid for it on Monday. I didn’t realize that the demos - which were cool - showed off every possible function/ sound it makes. Found it to be simultaneously too random and to not give enough control/ insight into what it did. Haven’t regretted the decision to get rid of it for a second, it singlehandedly cured my burgeoning pedal addiction.
…when korg released their little follow up to their first minikeys synth and called it a somewhat action sampler with mic and vocoding whatnot…bought it instantly, played it for 2 days and sent it back right away…
but that was the only device ever, i knew right away, this is not for me…
on anything else, throughout all the years , i always chosse wisely and knew upfront what i want it to do for me and made sure it does before purchasing…
while, when it it comes to plugins, gosh, 90% of them all, turned out to be bs, end of the day…
and speaking of mpc’s…when akai back to life version3 showed up with touch touch devices, i knew right away…never ever for me…
but all the originals with linn still on the team and also in akai back to life version 2, those jjos years, i must say, these were those hw devices/electronic music instruments that pushed me forward the most of them all…
torso s-4, erica synths lxr-02, roland sh-4d, elektron model:cycles come to my mind
as per usual, each 30 minutes … at least 20 minutes of that giving it time to change my mind
sonic ware sampletrk and Liven lofi 12 … here one day gone the next
polyend play… bought 2 of them gone the same afternoon I received them.
sp-404 mk2 bought twice returned twice still sad about it as an avid sp user
Walrus Audio Mako D1 delay. It sounded like the most generic free VST delay I’ve ever heard. So little character. The ping pong (or lack thereof) made me wonder why they made it stereo at all. Isn’t that one of the main benefits of stereo delay? And my unit was apparently defective in that it didn’t double a mono signal to stereo in any of its bypass modes unlike every other stereo delay I’ve ever had.
Very disappointing, especially considering how excellent my Aetos power supply is.
Oh I forgot about the Polyend Play. I got what I thought was a really good deal at $500 on eBay. Between the time of my purchase and before delivery, the new Play Plus was announced. The value of mine plunged before I even received it. I still have it, used it for about 20 minutes and now can’t even look at it without getting pissed off. So is life.
Yamaha vss-30. Years ago when i went to my parents place to pick up my son at their place after babysitting l. i noticed him smashing a tiny keyboard with his baby bottle on a table. I walked closer on what black and white key toy he was playing and read Yamaha on top. My mother told me she found that at a second hand shop and bought it for €3,- . She asked if i wanted to have it to take it home. Back at home i discovered it was a sampling keyboard and not a babytoy. Did some research and discovered the praise for it’s crunchy sound. Was indeed quite hassle free to sample and play and quitte a lot of interesting sample manipulation options, but because the lack of midi and save options i tried to use it in my workflow but it simply didn’t gel. Sold it for €30,- and made someone very happy and bought a real toy for the money. Sometimes i think back and wonder how i would like it now. There aren’t many polyphonic one button arm- record and play sample keyboards nowadays with a 8 bit sound.
