Over the past two years, I’ve bought and sold more than I’d like. A Roland MC 707, Blackbox, Bluebox, Modal Cobalt 8M, a complete Eurorack system, Microfreak, Polyend Synth, a first Tonverk, and a few others I can’t recall are all gone. I haven’t owned them all at once. I try to maintain a balance of 3 or 4 machines at most, not counting MIDI controllers.
After months of searching, I think I’m getting closer to how I want to work with the machines. I’ve tried using them all together, and that’s only given me headaches. So, I’ve come up with the idea of assigning a role to each machine, although this can change depending on how I feel.
So…
Digitone 2: The origin of everything. This is where the ideas begin. It handles the main polyphonic work, pattern creation, main structure, etc. It’s the machine I take everywhere and the one I feel most comfortable with.
Tonverk: My substitute for a modular system, for crazy experiments, and also some polyphonic work. I’m not yet comfortable giving it the role that the DNII has. More for sound design than for pattern creation.
Digitakt 2: The finalizer. This is where all the tracks I create on the other machines end up. I cut them, flip them, stretch them, replace sounds, etc. If this system works well, the finished tracks will come out of here. It’s the boundary where MIDI ends and what remains are a handful of audio files to work with and finish the ideas.
After several tests, this is the most comfortable configuration I’ve found. I envy everyone who can use 4 or 5 machines at the same time without it exploding
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