Why is this forum so nice?

[Firehand]

Hello everyone. I’m new here - but have been lurking for a long while! I hope this is the right place to post this (it seemed so, given that this is the forum I read most - despite Elektron gear being the heart of my set up!)

I really wanted to comment on what a courteous and insightful community this is. I read lots of ‘gear’ forums, and many of them make me mildly depressed - or at least don’t inspire a sense of free exploration of gear or an imaginative and fun approach to music and production. It seems there is often an arrogant, dogmatic, hierarchical approach to electronic music equipment and how to use it. It is generally upsetting seeing people be rude to each other over something that ought to be fun (even when it sometimes becomes work for those able to make a living in music.) But I love the ‘open’ and relaxed approach here - and how that combines with real in depth technical knowledge and know-how and also a desire to ‘break’ the ‘right’ way to use systems for interesting sonic results.

Is there something about Elektron gear that might make discussion tend towards a friendlier and more inspired direction when it comes to all gear? Or is this forum just very well moderated?

Either way, thanks to everyone who shares!

[whikidazz]

I’ve always felt the same but never really said it. There really never is a reason to get all worked up over anything in any of these forums. This forum members are very hands on and willing to share anything to better other users music making experiment. Lets not forget the moderators, who do an excellent job of ensuring our forum atmosphere is maintained.

I’ve met some really great people here, some of whom regularly chats with me or helps me find gear I’m looking for. I don’t really get the same kind of friendships with musicians in other forums like here in the world of elektronauts.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times where people’s forum posts get a little heated but we are all looking for the same thing in the, sharing musical ideas for all gear not limited to only Electron gear.

[Ryan]

Elektron use a zen like approach to their presented workflow- which induces a more enlightened outlook on music(and of life)

Btw: if you’re not composing your Elektron gear in F Scale Mixolydian, you’re doing it wrong ;D

In all honesty, Elektron gear seems to be- in my experience- a very under the surface kind of platform which presents multiple possibilities for composition which will alter the output. At first you just see grooveboxes- and then after you tinker around a little bit you stumble upon this beautiful underworld where you can take the music coming out of your boxes and take it in completely different places.

Audio routing/Midi routing/Sound creation it’s a completely open-ended question and altering one thing and changing your approach will lead to interesting new outcomes.

What Elektrons are in your setup?

[William_WiLD]

Hi,

i do think this forum is very well moderated ! i remember when few month ago (or so) i asked few moderators here to join them on this extremely important and useful task… Because i’m sure that’s a really important part to keep elektronauts the good way. Don’t forget actually Moderators + Nauts here, each one on their own “role” help everyone here. Plus they also advises Nauts with real facts and sometimes gives their point by notify what’s fact regarding machines and their maybe more subjective thinking without noticing it’s engage only them on the subjective part.

Well writing in a good english is part also of the good side of this community. People seems to take generally time to think before write. (and i think it’s very nice)

Regarding Elektron and their machines now, i do think people who go Elektron have a certain knowledge by the fact it’s Live Performance oriented device (and not only of course) or at least it’s a real success in that territory (when you watch boilerroom or some Live you see actually a lot of people favorited Elektron in their setup.)

And people who make Live Performance, i mean you can’t go that way without any knowledge, it requires a lot firstly, or at least if you begin that way you somehow armed with a lot of envy to progress. That’s benefits to make exchange between Nauts, somehow passionated, somehow serious, somehow interesting… at the end always with respect for each other. (Because there’s a lot of talented people there who do not need to be there ! but still they’re Nauts and they helps beginners one way or another.)

At least that’s how i see things. Next things, Elektron philosophy is something on the long term… You develop habits and way of working with these devices in the time and always find new ways to doing things. It’s that powerful. Also, you can learn new things on the long term with us here because of the extremely kind people here who share tips here before elsewhere.

And i find it’s not restrictively related to Elektron, you can discuss openly from other gears you can have and how these devices complement each other. That’s what i really like from this community. And we all probably let something behind us the good way here… as it’s online. It’s important to keep things useful at any time. At the end it’s not a crapy Forum for people who pass their way like everywhere else.

There’s real ressources here.
And don’t forget, there’s News, Media, Talk, Files ! it’s up to you to give these categories breathes and new food ! Search before to POST by the search Nauts functionality or Google site:search like this example : i looking for terms on elektronauts i type site:url and then terms separated by a space.

site:www.elektronauts.com kick layering

[umonox]

Is there something about Elektron gear that might make discussion tend towards a friendlier and more inspired direction when it comes to all gear? Or is this forum just very well moderated?

Its a little bit of everything i think. Elektron machines are open for experimentation and they are inspiring in itself. And we also have hardworking Mods here, yeah

But … the primary reason why this forum is so nice is our average age i think! Most of us are older already and we are working People who have their Jobs for a while now (except for me, but thats another story ) . Quite a few of us have also raised a Family already and settled down. Our taste in music is also very different - there’s a huge variety of Styles here. But i think that i can speak for the whole community: Commercial Music is of least interest for all of us And its commercial music that has its rules. “Newcomers” have no experience, are usually much younger and naive and they tend to adapt to these “rules” because they think that they can make a lot of money with the music for as long as it sounds like David Guetta And so they get quite toxic, they try to defend their opinion, the one thing they just learned, because they are young, naive - and simply dont know better

So, yeah - i think our average age is the primary reason why we are so nice! We gained experience and practice over the years and since most of us already have the Jobs they wanted, we make music because we want to make music. And not because we primarily want to make money. So we stay open minded and dont judge someone for his opinion as we know very well that there’s not just one way to get the job done. This leads to interesting discussions everytime - and i like it!

[wouzer]

This forum is So nice Because you can search in it to find a lot of ideas, solutions and workarounds.

This forum also annoys me because 95% of the time, it is about buying new stuff. Its really primitive

But, many people are active in making good music
So maybe this gas-sillyness is here because everything has already been said
And people want to keep on talking about gear and making music
And there is always new gear, So enough to talk about

At the end I like it to use it… mostly by searching
And I like it because people are friendly and helpful

[SoundRider]

There has already been said a lot, which I totally agree on and don’t want to repeat.

For me learning from others was the primary idea to become a Naut. I think it’s a good idea, to treat persons, who share their precious knowledge respectfully or better like good friends.

[ghostly606]

This forum is nice, but still only comes in #3 in my forum niceness chart. For me, Operator-1.com is king and almost worth buying an OP1 so that you can join in. Heck, I sold mine last year and still frequent it regularly.

Welcome to the forums!

[ammanuel]

Like you I am new and I too appreciate the temper and willingness of people to share their thoughtful experience with detail and alternative creative options. As mentioned before age average (experience) and attitude towards life sounds like one of the positive influences. Thank you for initiating the topic. I would also like to thank for the help I received.

[Prints]

I appreciate that this place in not Gearslutz. The moderation there sucks.

[DampSquid]

I’m also new around here and completely agree with Firehand.
I found myself here a few weeks ago after becoming intrigued by what I might be able to do with a Digitakt (not got mine yet, but soon…). Will be my first Elektron gear.
I’ve been really impressed by the general friendliness of this place.
Hooray for Elektronauts!

[Yohon]

Hi man, Yeah I lurked here for a while too, forever contemplating getting an AR and noticed many people were, honest, providing useful info, and kind. Sometimes all three at once. After getting a AH and getting a little too excited about it I signed up. I think it’s cool to chat gear and have people know what you are saying!

[konputa]

Yeah that forum is the only place I’ve seen moderators ridicule other members and make comments that come across as racist to some. The name is horrible too.

This place is far more mature, helpful and just generally more professional. And then we have the many members here that seem to be thoughtful, kind souls.

[vaaiber]

agreeed! … i reckon its because elektron gear attracts a certain type of sound artist… for sure.

[JuanSOLO]

I agree.
This forum has my favorite mellow yet helpful vibe.
I would guess it has something to do with the age of users, good moderation, and excitement for Elektron gear.
Yet at any point a few bad apples can crop up and get things all stirred up.
One thing I’ve noticed here is when the typical types of bickering start to happen, most of the seasoned users ignore it, as opposed to adding more bickering, and snarky replies. If it starts to get too heated, the moderators usually pop in with proper manners and cool things down.

[phelios]

Good moderation and a strict no-off-topic policy are what make this forum a nice place to be. Next thing is the great amount of people who know a lot. I often see questions where I would reply but can´t because already 10 people gave good advise which makes my post obsolete. The quality of music posted is also on a high level, a lot of stuff is actually worth listening to and inspirational for my own work.

[nutritional_zero]

I can tell you that I get in scraps on a couple of the other forums/channels I’m on. Sometimes I’m a jerk, sometimes someone else is a jerk, but in the end it happens and I’m not proud of it.

On this forum, however, I seem to have behaved myself and tried to contribute positively (except for occasional complaining about 64-step sequence length maximum).

What’s the difference? I remember a couple of years ago getting into Sonicstate videos on YouTube. One day there was a video with a bizarre Ridley Scott-looking black box with all sorts of knobs and buttons on it and a couple of bald guys squinting down at like it laboratory technicians. It was a revelation. Months later I had released my first EP—on Soundcloud, but still—after years of leaving half-finished tracks in my wake.

I don’t think that buying a synthesizer really entitles you to anything in this world, but in a weird way I feel like discovering Elektron stuff was a big moment for me.

Don’t shit where you eat.

[digiwut]

Probably helps that this forum is more European. I tend to find them a bit more polite, or at least less direct, than Americans (I’m American).

[Unifono]

agree as well. Favourite forum. Not only or elektron related, but all kinds of music related stuff.

[Zwolf]

Always thought the same myself. I don’t post enough here (or anywhere) to even stand out to the point of forming relationships, but I find the company really very pleasant. And ditto on the comments above re: the level of knowledge, musicianship, average age, etc. I love this place and I love Elektron gear.

Odd that when I go elsewhere in similar genres I often read negative posts regarding the vibe of Elektronauts. The usual complaints of it being full of fanboys and heavy handed moderators. I guess that’s the perspective folks that walk away from here without a good vibe from it carry. In my opinion, trouble and irritation arises on this - or any - forum when a given poster just can’t drop something. It’s a weird but common human characteristic to NEED to be right. I remember there was a forum member here who no longer seems to frequent who for multiple reasons thought the Digitakt was shit. And he kept on stating this over multiple threads in as many ways as possible despite being asked to drop it. I could never figure out for the life of me why this member who otherwise seemed intelligent and cool just couldn’t say “meh, not for me” and move on. And then just yesterday I noticed the same poster in another forum…still. trashing. Digitakt.

So yeah, don’t mean to sully an otherwise solely positive thread with any negativity but I guess my point is that people here for the most part know how to get out of each other’s ways when it’s time for that. That vs. agitating makes all the difference in the world of online forums.