I really just try to ask myself one question: Can I envision this being the first tool I’d reach for in a session?
I don’t have much time to fiddle with menus, presets, or re-learning how to use something, so if I can’t flip it on and get something worth building upon in the first few minutes then it’s probably not a good piece of gear for the way I like to work.
Most of the time it is one groove box, sitting in a reclyner, on the couch, on the porch, etc… Away from my DAW, keyboards and monitors. Back in the 80’s I was in a band with no drummer or bass player. I programmed all of those parts on a DOS computer with no mouse. It had a Roland MIDI card and was connected to a Yamaha drum machine and two TX7’s. That was really challenging. Then I got a degree in computer science and spent the next 30 years working with computers 8 hours a day. Now I tend to avoid them as much as possible.
I do occasionally use multiple boxes and their are combos that really work well together. A Roland MC 101/707 or MV1 matches up great with an Elektron box. The Roland handles most of the drums, pads, natural instrument sounds. The Elektron gives it flavor. The Akai MPC matches well with my Eurorack. It is especially nice when I create something on Eurorack that I wish I could save. The MPC records it and I have it forever.
Does it make me want to play it?
Does it sound pleasing?
Is it fun and engaging to use?
Is it aesthetically pleasing?
Is it built well?
Is the midi/cv implemented properly and reliably?
Does it have depth to it? Can I get lost in exploration?
I got rid of everything that didnt tick any of the above.
i prefer grooveboxes that generate all their own sounds internally. I mainly use an A4 to write songs and it works alright. I appreciate the limitations of the number of tracks available and the the sound palette. I have a model:cycles because its fun and easier to take to jam or play at an open mic. If i ever looked for more gear I’d probably stick to gear that is portable and covers creating a whole arrangement. i’m a guitarist first and foremost, so I want something that can compliment that kind of playing, so song mode is important (in the case of M:C, i use a MIDI foot switch to program change).
I really liked the Digitakt, but couldn’t really finish things on it. Too indecisive about samples, I guess. I would have kept it for drums, but I like using just one box best I think.
I’m more productive with software/a DAW but hardware is much more fun. My approach to hardware is to have plenty of things to colour the sound, so that I can tweak things as I go and generally perform and capture tracks rather than meticulously crafting them as I would on a DAW.
I’ve had this desire for a while to build a hardware only rig using the Launchpad Pro as the standalone sequencer, with everything running into my old Roland mixer and benefitting from the Space Echo reverb tank it has in it. Couple that with the dirty analogue delays I’ve accumulated and I genuinely don’t need a great deal to be happy. Something acting as a drum machine, a bass synth & then things to throw in on top and underneath. The problem I have is that usually I get so carried away with the drums and bass that I never get around to setting up the sequencing
To make music.
Oh, man, that Maxon delay combo looks glorious! I have a load of time for Maxon gear. Having gone through all manner of fancy pedals, I’ve got 3 BBDs at the moment and they’re all great. The old boxy echoes (JHS Mini-Echotec and Mirex) are quite similar to one another but excellent fun and stupidly cheap (£50 a piece!). The EHX Deluxe Memory Boy is a bit different, offering some pretty crazy modulation options that the others can’t compete with. Is it remotely possible to have too many delays? The idea just seems totally alien. 3 doesn’t seem anywhere near enough.
I do have a Retroverb Lancet and am a total spring reverb obsessive. My thinking with it when I bought it was that I could run basically anything through it and it would introduce a range of entirely new tones. My thinking proved to be accurate!
I have one. It is incredible. So much more than a reverb, So much more than the sum of its parts.
I’ve always limited myself to around 8 tracks, with one of those being a grouped drum track. The sources can come from anywhere.
For me it’s all about having a few focused tools in front of me. I’ve worked this way for years, and then at some point I lost my way and started acquiring more and more gear. Thankfully, I’m finding my way back to a place of simplicity. The big difference now though- I’m ok with holding onto gear that I’m currently not using. I just pack it away, and grab from the lot when I need to mix up my workflow. I can’t justify owning something if I haven’t used it for a few months though, so I’ve been selling quite a bit of my gear. It feels great.
One other important thing for me- I always need to have a sampler in the mix. I love making sounds that are sonically ambiguous, and sampling can make that happen easily. What other standalone piece of gear allows for one to make music using a field recording of a distant train, a richly complex fm synth pitched up and chopped into fragments, and various Tibetan bells tuned chromatically?
Nice question and thread! I focus mainly on playing live, usually long sets, so most of my hardware choices have to fit in a list of requirements, as follows:
_Small and portable: I used to follow “the backpack rule” but now have switched to “the carry-on” rule cos I got tired of putting up with all the weight of machines and cables. Everything must fit in it.
_Buttons step sequencer: to me the 16 button step sequencer is the true electronic music instrument. As advanced as it could be, like Elektrons. I dont like button grids though, I prefer to keep it simpler and smaller. A s a rule break I have just gotten a Polyend Tracker, cos it is a very different paradigm. Testing its grounds for now.
_2 Sequencers: I need to have at least 2 hardware pieces that can sequence, preferably that also produce sound. As I consider a pattern a “song”, I need two to mix the previous pattern with the next one. Currently using Analog Rytm + Digitone. Of course I also use external synths (Virus, Nord, etc).
_Stereo Line In: All gear must be interconnectable through audio (and obviously MIDI). Effects like reverb or delay for the line in signal is a welcome plus. I usually just use 1 stereo channel from the stage or DJ booth mixer, so I have to mix all hardware internally in my set. And I dont like to haul mixers.
_Balance in controls design: I like knobs, I like buttons, and I like screens, so I like hardware that has a balanced quantity of these elements. Elektron does it very well. This is why I tried and sold the Circuit Tracks, restrained myself from buying the Deluge (that screen is almost nothing, and don’t like the buttons feedback).
_Low light visibility: Even though I use a smal USB lamp at my gigs, legibility is important in dark environments. Backlighted letterings are a plus. Also not too small type for my +40 unfocusing eyes!
_Pro level sound engines: I am very demanding when it comes to the quality of the sound and especially internal mixing of tracks or parts. Good sounding effects are also important.
_Multitrack USB straming or exporting: I create all the music on the hardware and then record performances into the computer to turn them into finished tracks. So I need to have as much discreet signals as possible.
_Well thought file management: Both internally and using complementary software, this is a topic on which many machines fail soundly. You have to be able to organize and backup all your work properly. A nice plus is an easy way to transfer samples to the machine (if it is a sample player).
_Last but not least, good customer support: OS upgrades, nice attention for solving issues, etc.
Things I don’t care about:
_Song mode
_Internal battery
_Keyboards (ugh)
_Low price (you can’t expect all of the above for little money)
_Sound presets
_Analog vs. Digital
_Metal or plastic bodies
_Sampling (sample playback yes of course)
Some concepts may be missing, will update if necessary.
They are great and bring different things to the table. The DM1000 is 8-bit and feels almost like they were trying to emulate an analog or tape delay, so it’s quite interesting and pairs really well with its analog sibling.
The philosophy for this setup is that reverb and delay are my bread-and-butter guitar effects. I already had the reverb tank going into the amp, and it just seemed like a no-brainer to have a nice delay permanently parked there so that I can just plug-in and play without having to set anything up (particularly since I had empty space there I could use). I got the DM1000 super cheap (nearly free) and I loved it so much I couldn’t resist the AD202 when I came across it.
It adds that texture you were saying, and sounds really interesting when cascading them into one another. So many different sounds to explore, even though there are just a few knobs. I’m very inspired by the aesthetics as well.
Aesthetics and easy of use are quite important I think for hardware. Gear should inspire you and not be a pain to use.
Grab a snorkel we’re going menu diving!
Knob per function gives me carpel tunnel just looking at it.
Cool, I’m a one-instrument at a time person myself, whether the instrument is a Roland MC-707, electric violin, guitar, Casiotone CT-S1, or something else.
I intend to bring multiple instruments together - production-wise - eventually but I’m a ways off from that at the moment. Part of the reason is not being a fast learner at all on the MC-707 - I’ve been able to pick up some basics quickly, but other things that I thought should be basic, like how to assign MIDI aftertouch to filter cutoff, proved to be more difficult to learn. I also never really put serious effort into drum programming before, so learning about stuff that is old hat for seemingly a lot of fellow 'nauts, like mute groups, rolls/flams, etc. is further slowing me down. I don’t mind, it’s just that the 707 eats up the majority of my electronic instrument time (the Casiotone to me is just a couch piano).
I’ve been producing for over a decade but just recently finished being a student, so having money and hardware is still a bit new. I think my philosophy is to augment my DAW songwriting with creative tools that feel inspiring, especially with physical controls. It is incredibly satisfying to automate live and I think the results are almost always better than mouse-drawn. So when I think about new hardware I think about what I can’t do in the box. So for example the OT can switch between scenes with the crossfader in a way I think you technically could do in Ableton, but it would be an absolute pain, and that’s why I really love that box; it gives me a way of putting ideas together I never would have before. I have a SubH for tones I can’t get anywhere else, a korg keyboard for playing keys live, and a beatstep pro for midi expression. Feeling really blessed to have such crazy tools to make sounds with. I also have an OP1 and so far it hasn’t fit into the setup, but I like playing it. Not sure if I’ll keep it.
-no touchscreens
-TS/TRS, no minijack
-DIN MIDI jacks
rest is negotiable
I was wondering if you used them like that! I like to run one of my mixers into another as a sub-bus and I have aux effects on both so I get a similar result running the Deluxe Memory Boy into one of the boxy echo units that don’t have modulation. The combination can get chaotic quickly on percussive sounds but is great for more drawn out tones and arps & especially fine on textures (especially with the spring on the master mixer too).
I know I can achieve very similar results within Ableton, but it’s never gleeful. With the analogue units I end up cackling away to myself at the rumbling, self-oscillating delays like some kind of mad Scientist.
I don’t use any software, I sit in front of a computer all day for work and don’t want to use one for music.
For a long time my hardware philosophy was more is better/cover as many bases as possible. This led me to rampant GAS/buying/selling/guilt/option paralysis, plus a fair bit of debt.
Now the philosophy is simple as possible. I have a sampler, drum machine and a synth. Virus and Rytm into OT - done. No mixer, fx and only as much kit as I can run through the OT inputs. The simplicity breeds creativity and I’m learning more of each machine instead of having a pile of stuff I can’t decide or don’t know how to use. I have some more synths and a modular to switch things up when I need a change. And less debt!
Also I have a SP404mk2 which I haven’t learned yet but will be used for sofa/travel/holiday music making.
Honestly, my hardware philosophy is basically this unit right here:
Just run everything through there & add echo to taste. It’s immense, impractical but utterly indispensable. Tons of character; tons of dirt. Loves to overdrive, beautiful spring reverb. If it had a built in BBD it would literally be the epitome of my approach to hardware.
Consider them added to my “to hunt down” list! I’m a big fan of the more often overlooked 80s Japanese gear. Amdek, Maxon, Vestax (especially Vestax, thanks to being a massive Vestax fanboy as a result of their connection to scratching). The Vestax MR44 4 track I’ve got is unreal - they don’t just go the extra mile, they often go on a whole random detour you never imagine anyone would bother with.
