Gear Obsession

[chysn]

Ha nice! Not even the Prophet X? Sounds very saintly ;-)

Well, that's an interesting angle. Because who wouldn't want a Prophet X? Nobody wouldn't, that's who. I don't know about everybody else, but my GAS tends to be somewhat realistic in its reach; and a Prophet X is quite inaccessible for me, given that I've already got a $4000 synth. And I wouldn't even trade my modular straight up for a Prophet X.

One of the characteristics of GAS, for me, is willingness to abandon whatever I have now.

[Gerry Havinga]

Ha nice! Not even the Prophet X? Sounds very saintly ;-)

Well, that's an interesting angle. Because who wouldn't want a Prophet X? Nobody wouldn't, that's who. I don't know about everybody else, but my GAS tends to be somewhat realistic in its reach; and a Prophet X is quite inaccessible for me, given that I've already got a $4000 synth. And I wouldn't even trade my modular straight up for a Prophet X.

One of the characteristics of GAS, for me, is willingness to abandon whatever I have now.

Yeah, totally get it.

As I am in the process of building my studio, having sat on the fence for 30 years, I haven't reached that stage yet. But as I said earlier, my consciousness "angel" (my partner) really thinks exactly like that: something new in, something old out  . But from my perspective I haven't got anything "old" yet. Still so much to discover even in the S5000 or the Evolver.

I will slowly ease myself into Eurorack after the Neutron has arrived, small steps...

Currently my own thoughts about the Prophet X are that it just makes "it" to easy. Fiddling with an old Akai S5000, using aksys on a Windows XP in a virtual machine running on Ubuntu Linux, is more my type of fun. It certainly is a wonderful learning exercise. Of course the X' price tag is also a "small"  consideration  . Inspiration plenty about, I have seen some very interesting ideas floating around the discussions about the X, like combining a sine wave together with a vocal or strings based sample. Wanna try that with my S5000......

Just finished my very first "Dave Smith Instruments / Elektron" composition. I will upload it to Sound Cloud shortly. Soooo much fun composing without a computer.

[Paul Dither]

It is a really nice little setup: Digitone + Evolver. Where the Evolver audio is routed through the Digitone inputs. Sounds great together. I now have a mobile and very light working environment to compose on. I didn't expect that to happen. The Digitone is indeed a real FM heaven, very easy to understand and tweak (speaking from my DX21 experiences years ago).

I can imagine both working really well together. I had a Digitone here for review a couple of weeks ago and it's an excellent sounding box. I also like the way they implemented FM—limited but with thoughtful additions like the harmonics and detune parameters that cater well to the instant tweakability. Routing the Evolver through its mixer and effects must sound really nice.

[Gerry Havinga]

It is a really nice little setup: Digitone + Evolver. Where the Evolver audio is routed through the Digitone inputs. Sounds great together. I now have a mobile and very light working environment to compose on. I didn't expect that to happen. The Digitone is indeed a real FM heaven, very easy to understand and tweak (speaking from my DX21 experiences years ago).

I can imagine both working really well together. I had a Digitone here for review a couple of weeks ago and it's an excellent sounding box. I also like the way they implemented FM—limited but with thoughtful additions like the harmonics and detune parameters that cater well to the instant tweakability. Routing the Evolver through its mixer and effects must sound really nice.

They do work really well together. On my latest track (see my SoundCloud page) the Evolver audio is routed through the Tone and the Rev2 is mixed in normally via my Soundcraft. I added the Tone delay to the Evolver audio (bit easier than setting up the Evolver's own delay) and modulated the reverb a bit in places. The Tone also sends modwheel controls to both the Rev2 and the Evolver. Surprisingly easy to setup.

No further processing or EQ, directly into Audacity on Ubuntu. Track needs a bit more work, but I am happy enough about it to put it out there.

[Sacred Synthesis]

Well, that's an interesting angle. Because who wouldn't want a Prophet X? Nobody wouldn't, that's who.

I'll be the exception, then.  I don't want a Prophet X.  It's a magnificent instrument, but I have no need for it.  The whole idea of sampling is useless to me.  If I want real instrument sounds, then I'll buy a piano, organ, recorder, or whatever.  I realize there are convenience and cost factors here, so that having it all squeezed into a single instrument is very attractive to folks.  But I use synthesizer to make synthesizer sounds. And even if some of them are called "strings," "brass," and "choir," still, they are undeniably synthesized strings, brass, and choir, and that's just the way I want them to sound.  Perfecting such patches is not a matter of making them sound increasingly like the acoustic instruments or ensembles by which they're named, but rather, drawing out their warmth and beauty as purely synthesized variations.

[tumble2k]

@Sacred Synthesis I'm with you on that one. For me sampling is great because it allows me to create an instrument that sounds very much like a beautiful acoustic instrument (at least for an individual note). So sample mangling just isn't something I care about at all. But to make a sampler as expressive as a real instrument is a ton of work. I have an old Ensoniq SD-1 rompler from 1993, and I'm realizing that a modern sampler will sound better than it, but won't necessarily be more expressive.

Reading @tumble2k's post I do feel very fortunate that I am able to do this at this stage in my life. All I can say is please enjoy the kids (plural?) as much as you can, they grow up real quick. Before you know it, they will be asking for your car keys .....  and they will be studying someplace far from home.

Thank you @Gerry Havinga. Those are words to the wise. I just have one. Right now he doesn't even ask for the car keys. He just takes them, locks the doors, and occasionally triggers the alarm.

[ddp]

May we all achieve this level of enlightenment.

[Gerry Havinga]

May we all achieve this level of enlightenment.

ah very funny  I really wish that was true. Divorced, kids living in another country, step kids moved out to study this year. Large amount of "empty nest" symptoms.

The upside is, I now have time to start working on my own teenage dream of sound design, composing and playing. I do suffer from a very "unenlightened" GAS obsession, counterbalanced by my partner at home and the occasional exchange with @Sacred Synthesis. 

[megamarkd]

Well with nothing but my health to look after, I bought a eurocard frame the other day and am getting a Tiptop PSU this afternoon.  Is this the beginning of the end?  I have a lot of synths, samplers, drummachines, sequencers and fx's already.  I had this idea that a modular would reduce the money I was spending every 3mths, but I don't know now.  I've seen a couple of Assimil8ors on sale in my town recently....

[ddp]

Imagine if you were going to Moogfest this week, where there will be nearly every modular thing one could dream of...

[Sacred Synthesis]

The GAS doesn't stop until it's stopped.

[Gerry Havinga]

Well with nothing but my health to look after, I bought a eurocard frame the other day and am getting a Tiptop PSU this afternoon.  Is this the beginning of the end?  I have a lot of synths, samplers, drummachines, sequencers and fx's already.  I had this idea that a modular would reduce the money I was spending every 3mths, but I don't know now.  I've seen a couple of Assimil8ors on sale in my town recently....

What I have seen so far about Eurorack and its very active community, saving money in that way is definitely an illusion 

I still remember seeing Klaus Schulze play live in London many years ago, surrounded on stage by a wall of modular synths. There you have it, this seems to be my dream target, ha ha. Walls of synths 

I will start my foray into modular very gently by getting a Neutron. I have one on order, my (not so) local music shop doesn't know yet when they can get hold of it. I will see what next steps to take in Eurorack world next year.

I also made up my mind about a hardware step sequencer. I will most definitely go for the Cirklon. I am hoping to receive Barbara's mail sometime in December...... Colin's articles about serial MIDI  and USB over MIDI timing has made me think about re-designing the home made step sequencer system my step-son and I are building. But that is a long term fun project.

[dsetto]

Gerry, it's good that you have a sense of which phase you're in. ... I find various valid reasons to stay abreast of our tools & techniques even if we're not needing. But, the accompanying GAS can surely be a distraction. I’m reminding myself I’ve wanted something strongly in the past; I explored it, and let it go, sticking with what I had. My excitement for the X has motivated me to delve deeper into one of my instruments. … And the push is turning out to be significantly fruitful. … For me it’s hard to know when to try to gain a deeper mastery of the technical aspects of an instrument or to leave it where it happens to be, using it as is. … Hard to know when just a few more steps takes you to the next level. WAS. Workflow Acquisition Syndrome. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve got FPS. Or, is my forum posting a healthy endeavor?

[megamarkd]

Gerry, I have an MS20 and it doesn't sate any desire for the real-deal fully modular system.  Semi-modular is like playing with a line of guitar pedals for me, so the time has come....

[chysn]

Gerry, I have an MS20 and it doesn't sate any desire for the real-deal fully modular system.  Semi-modular is like playing with a line of guitar pedals for me, so the time has come....

Yeah, I can say the same of Mother-32. At some point, the normalizations get in the way and you wonder why the sequencer needs to be hardwired to the oscillator. But I still think that semi-modular is a good starting point; when it comes time to sell it and move on, you won't lose that much money and you will have learned plenty.

What I have seen so far about Eurorack and its very active community, saving money in that way is definitely an illusion 

I still remember seeing Klaus Schulze play live in London many years ago, surrounded on stage by a wall of modular synths. There you have it, this seems to be my dream target, ha ha. Walls of synths 

If that's the dream, and you have the means, then go for it. But I disagree with the conventional wisdom that a modular system must inevitably grow to consume a wall. Everybody brings his or her own philosophy to the endeavor. I think a small system is harder to build, but ultimately easier to manage.

And yes, even a small system is relatively expensive, not just for the modules that are in it, but for the ones that you try out and then replace.

[Sacred Synthesis]

I'm fine with this discussion, but if you step back a bit, there is great irony in it.

[Gerry Havinga]

I'm fine with this discussion, but if you step back a bit, there is great irony in it.

Yes, very well said, you do have a lovely sense of humor.

Talking about diving deeper into instruments already in ones possession.

For me it is like the bit of music I am trying to create at one moment seems to call for a patch on a particular synth. I am not sure how that works, the creative process 'calls' for a kind of sound which I then try to create with one of the instruments available.

It is a very pleasant process and allows me to explore deeper.

Sometimes watching or hearing other instruments inspires me to think 'the Rev 2 can do that' (for example). Which then pushes me into new territory. I find that also a very enjoyable process.

[Quatschmacher]

I definitely feel addressed in this discussion. I’m definitely guilty of having fallen into the trap of obsessing over potential future purchases. Part of the problem was being quite new to synthesis so not really knowing what I was after or what would suit me. Had they been cheaper, I probably could’ve just picked up a Minimoog D reissue and been happy for a good long while. (The Behringer wasn’t out yet.) I started off with a Minitaur but quickly found I wanted to play higher than its note limit allows and wanted a triangle wave and some more complex modulation. I ended up getting a Subsequent as I just wanted to get stuck in and it seemed to offer plenty.
I did get the Behringer Model D eventually and really enjoyed its simplicity (and the WYSIWYG interface and lack of presets was a good learning experience). I found I was spending much more time playing music than messing around patching. It had a problem with the mod section so I ended up returning it and there was no stock with which to replace it. After subsequently reading about recent events, I feel somewhat reluctant to give that company my money.

It’s only after spending more time with the Subsequent that I’ve learned what is possible (which really is a lot) and what features I feel I’d still like to have. This has inevitably led to checking out more reviews. Perhaps a good balance would be to have something simple like the D and something complex like a Matrixbrute or Pro 2 to cover all the bases.

I’m finding myself in a similar position as regards polys. I’d definitely like to get one but cannot decide which (and realistically I can probably only get one. I love the sounds I’m hearing from the P6 and the direct interface and simplicity are very appealing (though the short keyboard puts me off). I love the control and modulation capabilities of the P12 and the fact it has linear FM, which I’m keen to explore (keybed feels less good to me than the 6 and there’s no sequencer). Or there’s the Rev 2.

I would certainly like to be able to make the decision and get on with playing and learning, free up the time and mental energy I spend on researching and calculating and live a bit more.

I’d had a similar thing with bass fx pedals and basses and I’ve just had a big purge which has been really good for my head (still got a few more to cull though).

The above probably just demonstrates I have a problem.

[Sacred Synthesis]

Live and learn.

[dsetto]

Sometimes I think a decision should be passion, sometimes ration. Who's up?