I had just been saying to my partner about how i wish i had a controller with a weighted keybed and some days later this pair of m-audio keystation 88 pros turned up on craigslist! The nicotine yellow’s keybed works sporadically so guy really just included it for parts. Both have the screen protector’s still on, can tell this guy’s a real one.
Terrible photo because I honestly have nowhere to set one of these up all nice like. I had it on the ground just to try it out and wow, the full range plus those big clunky keys made playing the digitone feel like a brand new instrument. Definitely looking forward to messing around more, just need to figure out space for it
got a 1010 bitbox micro for playing sampled modular and ableton loops out live without a laptop. have steered clear of 1010 after hearing too many horror stories of the years, but i’m very, very impressed with the bitbox micro. great sound quality, my first test was running all 8 samples out of 1 mono output (low end, synths, percussion, cymbals), and i was pretty blown away at how clean it was. yeah, if you clip any channel over 0dbfs it sounds horrible, but gain staging is super easy and the mutes are so useful. tiny bit of screen flickering that goes away on its own is my only critique. couldn’t be easier to record loops from the modular and the a/d passes sound really nice.
yes, there is latency, but i modded a doepfer a-162 with tighter timing values, so delaying everything outside the bitbox 5ms takes a second and sounds super tight. highly recommend for a live set sample interface could honestly play a 1-2 hour live set with just this and a xone 96.
Finally picked up Töörö to go with the NDLR v2 upgrade that will eventually arrive.
Been wanting a synth for NDLR specific shenanigans for quite a while and have yet to find a better option (multitimbral / multi output / USB power etc)
It sounds lovely and scratches a slight itch that I’ve had since giving away my Kawai K3 years so.
Looking forward to getting it mounted to a pedal board along with Ambient 0 and Model:S. Should make for some fun mellow performances.
sooo here we are. just noticed it’s already been 2 years since I bought Model:Samples and fell in love with the Elektron workflow.
funny story is, as I sold my MPC a couple of days ago and had the funds, all the used Digis in my local market sold out and there was only one that was above the price range. just when I accepted that I’ll have to wait, the next morning a good deal appeared (with decksaver included!) and it was like 20mins from my home, so if that doesnt mean the world is trying to tell me something I don’t know what it is lol
definitely not gonna regret this one.
the workflow is a bit different than M:S, but just played with it for an hour yesterday and holy shit this thing is fun to play with. also was a bit surprised how compact it is (thought it’s a bit bigger), and the build quality seems amazing
cant wait to destroy samples, resample shit and explore ideas with midi controlling the microfreak, ko2 and M:S in my ultimate home burial studio huh
I might get a II in another decade or so, but this and my recently purchased OG Digitone (also came with a Decksaver). How much more fun could you actually stand?
I can relate, I also just started to understand things like FX once I used a pedal instead of plugins. I think the limitation you mention is key. Something like Valhalla plugins are wonderful, but there’s so many options that it’s hard to grasp and make decisions. I appreciate a well curated pedal that dumbs these things down to just a few select parameters that you can easily understand and learn to use together. And some macro stuff happening behind the curtain to make sure everything sounds pleasant.
You might appreciate Wulf Compressor though, maybe try a demo? It has almost no control but manages to sound great most of the time.
Thanks for the rec re the Wulf; I will keep it in mind.
My favorite plugin compressor was the old Kjaerhus Mastering Limiter, which had only one knob (Threshold) and sounded good on a mix. This relates to your comment above (“macro stuff happening behind the curtain to make sure everything sounds pleasant”). Obviously I cannot rely on idiotproof plugs forever.
Once I fool with the Press for a while, I assume I will be able to get around a normal compression plugin comfortably—and this will be much appreciated. Last time I tried the Kotelnikov on a mix I immediately made everything into a horrible breathing hash; that’s just ignorance, user error.
thanks. i tend to agree on both not selling and the passing it on part. i might use it to introduce my studio mate to the elektron workflow with the goal being he buys all the ones i dont have lol.
I missed an incredible local deal on an Analog Keys about 18 months ago. After that, I swore it would never happen again; next time I would be ready. So I socked away cash and bided my time. Did I miss it this time, when one came up locally again? No, dear reader, I did not
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could honestly play a 1-2 hour live set with just this and a xone 96.
with the goal being he buys all the ones i dont have lol.
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