What's your latest purchase & what are your intentions with it? [pics ftw] (Part 1)

craig · August 12, 2020, 3:35pm

Hello, indeed! Picked up this lil fella for making beats in bed and taking some of the more basic drum duties away from my OT. It sounds punchy and solid, I actually love the pads once VDep is set to 30-40, and USB class compliance is wonderful. In the words of Steve Jobs, it just works, and I was amazed that I could add samples to it from Transfer without going into any special modes or folder menus. Big thanks to @AdamJay for encouraging me to buy one on numerous threads!

Also picked up a Behringer UMC440HD so we can connect this, my bass and my gf’s Nord Lead 2x at the same time for jamming purposes

Ryan · August 12, 2020, 3:45pm

I wanted to limit my setup to only have one piece of hardware and the rest of my music making to be ITB.

Unfortunately, this thing is WAY too much fun to sequence with the Digitone- so I’m using two hardware synths now.

I love this thing- it has that old digital sound that makes me romantic about the Monomachine and this thing is so deep and wonderful to explore. It feels like swimming

Kingtiers · August 12, 2020, 3:48pm

I’ve been tempted to get one for like 3 or 4 years now. What’s it like to program?

Ryan · August 12, 2020, 3:57pm

It can be a LITTLE frustrating as the navigation menu work as lists as opposed to direct selectors.

But the synth feels so great to interact with. The unit looks like a little bit like an 80s sci-fi utopian future. The screen provides direct feedback to what you’re doing(seeing them waveforms of the LFOs and oscillators shift/expand/shrink feels really satisfying), and the metal knobs- cool to the touch provides a clean feeling every time you alter a parameters.

I owned this synth once before but I sold it because I went a little crazy wanting to work exclusively ITB. Decided to have a few hardware pieces as guilty pleasures and this is the synth I’d been gravitating towards since I sold it the first time. The sound is pretty unique to this unit over any plug-in I’ve been able to find. As most plug-ins, to me, have a sorta gaudy and modern sound to them while this one has a more modest and easy going sound distinct to the hardware and the time it was originally created.

LaughingAnimal · August 12, 2020, 4:06pm

Have you tried Largo?

Leo-iSL · August 12, 2020, 4:08pm

Are there any actual shops in Malta that sell electronic music gear?

craig · August 12, 2020, 4:39pm

There are but it largely depends on what you want. If you want guitars, basses, drums, amps, some decent pedals like Strymon etc etc, you’ve got lots of options. For electronic music production, it kinda sucks unless you like commercial behemoths like Korg, Yamaha, sometimes Roland etc etc. Elektrons are kinda rare in Malta, which makes me feel extra special on stage hahahaha

Edit: there’s a lively second hand market on Facebook for electronic gear tho. It’s called Malta Music Monti (Monti meaning Market). Actually that’s where I picked up the Nord

Ryan · August 12, 2020, 4:17pm

Never heard of it. Checking it out now. Off the bat I’m seeing comparisons between the two- I wish I could transfer patches from Blofeld to Largo. That would be perfect

LaughingAnimal · August 12, 2020, 4:29pm

It’s basically Blofeld in plugin form, minus the PPG filter and sample feature, so not a complete replacement but it has sufficed for me since selling my Blofeld years ago.

Leo-iSL · August 12, 2020, 4:32pm

Good to know. My wife will be relieved.

Thanks

craig · August 12, 2020, 4:35pm

Hahaha. “But I NEED this new synth!”

Leo-iSL · August 12, 2020, 4:39pm

More like I need a break.

Leo-iSL · August 12, 2020, 4:40pm

And certainly not after my Akai Force got delivered this morning, when she was meant to be out.

chiasticon · August 12, 2020, 4:52pm

HAHAHA I know this one all too well!

Leo-iSL · August 12, 2020, 4:56pm

You can imagine what happened when I ordered a Korg Oasys? Even more cringe inducing when it became clear the only room for it was in her living room.

OverUnity · August 12, 2020, 5:57pm

I have all my stuff up in our attic room. When my wife became furloughed she moved upstairs. She questioned me on each bit of kit!

ManMadeDisaster · August 12, 2020, 11:20pm

I waited six months for this to show up. Positive grid spark. Pretty sweet practice amp.

Grate_expectations · August 13, 2020, 9:29am

Found a Polyend Tracker in stock. Impulse buy. Should be fun.

aDc · August 13, 2020, 10:12am

How do you like the drumbrute?

I had one twice for a couple of weeks each time. Once from thomann and once from a friend who borrowed me his. Both times I ended up barely using it…

og_tea_boi · August 13, 2020, 10:58am

Que snide comments…

MPC2500, I was going to leave it. But, the company I got it from is CEX, which means they have to honour a 24 month guarantee to repair it, lmao, so if anything is out of kilter when I get it, I’m getting that fixed for free…poor CEX, they really shouldn’t trade in old expensive gear with that policy… It’s very very rare that anything of this age or value pops up on there, but it does. £480

I got a TC Electronic Dark Matter pedal too, because everyone needs as much distortion as possible.

I am officially done now. Some Eurorack around november, just the Make Noise Mimephone, then the Intellijel Rainmaker a few months after.

Doubt it will be here till w/e at the earliest.

I should probably sell the E-MU now And a few other bits I won’t use. I’ll probably be able to sell the emu for double what I’ve paid for it though if I do it on ebay.

I hope this post doesn’t trigger anyone, but if it does, feel free to have a weep.