Organelle.
I still really wants to like this machine. I did have some fun with it the short time I had it.
But I just could not cope with all the half-finished patches.
Also, pots instead of encoders…why?
So I think I sold it after a couple of weeks. Sometimes I wish I had kept it, but to really get something out of this machine, I think one needs to really put in a lot of time.
/thomas
Mpc Live
Only thing I’ve sent back to a shop quick smart.
I had owned a mpc500 (loved it), and a mpc2500 (was nice but never really loved it), and had major GAS for the Live.
I opened the box and turned it on and it promptly froze… the workflow was really bad. The touchscreen took me out of the moment when jamming, as did the menu structure.
I want to try a MPC 1000 with JJOS on it one day. And upgraded pads. Many people seem to love it with this os
Roland tr8s sh01a doepfer dark energy 2.Not that I did not like them I just keep constantly play with the machinedrum only so these just sit on the desk getting dusty.Let’s hope same thing won’t happen with the digitone I received two days ago 
…surprised to find analog heat named here…
…proper gainstaging is the key!
…once input is properly leveled, there is no other gear cheap or crappy enough not to be heated up and thin and boring is all yesterday parties…
in fact thin crappy gadgets in special start sounding amazing, once coming out of the heat again…
all new akai gear can’t catch up with original akai machines from back in the days…since relaunch of that brand, especially those “mpc’s” that were nothing but re rip off’s from ni’s maschine, a controler surface that does nothing without a computer, was all just crap…
and since they realized that and started to give a try on stand alone hardware again, they got lost in their touchscreen jungle only approach on bad headheavy software os…sorry akai, messed up again…
only piece of gear i sended straight back again, was this korg action sampler keyboard, some years ago…looked plastic…felt plastic…sounded plastic (there was no heat back then)…and needed even more preparation and muscle memory than the ot…with the difference that once ur over that with the ot, u really enter sonic wonderland…with this korg action sampler, all cool sonic action was still missing…bah.
never trying roland, behringer or yamaha again…that much i know…
oh…forgot one…the micro freak…such a nice synth…but i would need another heat only for this one, to make it work sonicwise for real…so it had to go…
while the no coast is already a classic…my goodness…these envelopes rock…
I thought of something finally!
Alesis MMT-8.
A friend let me borrow one for a while to decide if I wanted to buy it off him, and I was excited because Autechre used them.
Nah. I quickly realised that in hardware form, I much prefer a TR-style step sequencer, even if it’s more limiting. I made a few simple patterns on the MMT-8, then figured that I might as well be using software sequencers if I wanted detail.
Massive respect for people who were able to deal with sequencers like that when that’s all that was available at the time!
Same, but I have a feeling I’d be coming back to this thread, complaining that the workflow just isn’t for me.
Honestly a Push 1 is still an incredible option for Live. I always felt the Push 2 was way too busy to be functional unless you like to prepare everything first. The 2 doesn’t really give you freedom from the Mouse either unless you like sitting through lots and lots of sub menus.
The 1 is deep enough to do what I want, simple enough to navigate, and was cheap enough for me not to care about using the mouse occasionally.
TR8S. Huge footprint, dismal sample management, it was quite a letdown.
The Jomox XBase09, the snare sound sucks the knobs where not precise. I contacted Jurgen about that and he responded with a arrogant attitude. After I got the Machinedrum it was very clear that UI of the XBase09 was not intuitive for me. Sold the XBase09 shortly after.
Dang. Lol. I love the xbase 09 but I understand that it is a finicky piece of equipment but it really hits the spots I like a lot of the time.
I was almost tempted, but then I think back to bad experiences I had with this manufacturer’s other products.
You talking about the microsampler?
Arturia Drumbrute was a bad experience for me. Didn’t like the sound.
I really wanted to like the MPC Live but eff that touch screen nonsense and the workflow is hot garbage.
Also Drumbrute. My homie/studio buddy had two of these crap out (like…two of the drum voices stopped working) within six months of buying/replacing.
The only instrument that I never got on with was the Cheetah MS800: worst user interface ever.
https://www.gforcesoftware.com/extras/syntharchive/cheetah-ms800
i’m currently having an internal debate on whether or not to keep the TR-8S after i learned that you have to categorize imported samples one by one on the machine itself. currently my thinking is to get rid of it…
Korg Monologue. Something about the sound of it I didn’t like, maybe the filter or drive… I can sort of hear it in the Minilogue XD, too.
TR8S, I love the performance aspect it aims at but the sample management is lacking and why only include such limited ram?
Microfreak, I really wanted to like it. It’s a very good layout and the matrix was nice. I liked the oscillators but it needs a way to add user oscillators/waveforms and maybe an included reverb/delay section to complete it.
Just put both of these on reverb by the way.
Sammich Sid :
Great sound but worst UI ever.
Monome Grid:
I love the idea, the aesthetics and the build quality,
but I’m not a programmer, and all the hassle to make it work made me sell it fast.
Either are great in the right hands though.
Nothing! I’ve only sold two synths ever, but it’s not like I really hated either of them. The Volca FM sounded pretty good, but the interface is a bit of a pain. And only three voices and lack of response to velocity too limiting. I was making patches and editing them on Dexed, so I figured I might as well just stick with Dexed, but it’s not a bad little FM box. The MFB Dominion Club sounded good but was a bit buggy and I was only really using it for bass when I have other synths for that. I do miss its rubbery sound at times though.