A funny thing happened on the way to the Trigon forum...

[Manbird]

My wife and I were recently back in Berlin and went to Schneidersladen. They've moved and are now split across three locations. We stopped first in the keyboard shop and I finally got to mess with the Trigon. Loved it, as I'd imagined I would, though I didn't spend enough time with it to be able to say more about it here.

The scary and surprising thing, though, happened in the modular shop, which was a block or two away. Not sure how or why, but suddenly, after being resistant all these years, both Julia and I got hit with the "let's get a modular system" bug! We didn't purchase anything, but we did go back a second time to follow up on a few things. I think, for me, anyway, the sudden appeal of modular is that it seems to lean in the opposite direction to where I've been with musical gear for a while. I've been so practical and pragmatic, and everything I buy or record has to have a purpose. With modular, I'm picturing pointless generative meanderings! Basically, I'm dreaming of meditative drones that have no bearing on my pop music mind. Not that all things aren't One, man, but you know what I mean.

I still want a Trigon, but it would probably mean letting go of my Prophet 6. The P6, speaking to my earlier point, is probably the most "practical" synth. It fits well on my desk, serves as a great controller etc. Its sound is familiar  and I know my way around it well, but practicality is starting to wear on me and I need more mystery in my head. We'll see where the modular bug leads, meanwhile...

[kpatz]

I have nothing to offer except I want a wife like yours!  When I had a wife, it was "another keyboard??"  Not "Let's get a modular system!!"

[Manbird]

I have nothing to offer except I want a wife like yours!  When I had a wife, it was "another keyboard??"  Not "Let's get a modular system!!"

Our wedding gift to ourselves was a Soma Lyra 8! She's not a synth-obsessive like me, but she does like to dig in...

[Manbird]

I did it, I bought a Trigon. Gorgeous synth, inside and out. I wasn't convinced by the blonde wood in pics and vids online, but in real life, it's lovely. I'd planned to sell my Prophet 6 to cover the cost of the Trigon, but the Trigon made me realize how attached I am to the P6. The P6 isn't the be-all of synths for me (that'd be the Prophet 5), but the thought of letting it go reminded me of so many things I love about it, things that the Trigon can't do. But enough about the P6...

The Trigon just sounds massive, right? Effort has to be made to tone it down... it has so many features that build the sound up and up. The 3 oscs that easily overdrive the filter, the Drive knob, the Feedback function, the Vintage knob... being able to use all available waveforms per osc, as on the P5... Like I said, the energy goes towards trying to rein this synth in. The low end is, as I'd pictured, proper ladder low. I like the Distortion on this more than that on the P6.

I've got the Trigon downstairs in my basement studio. It's in front of the sofa, away from any other gear. As I did when I first got the P6, I'm enjoying just finding my way around the front panel, and playing and listening. The Sequential 6 series, even at 4 octaves, are such playable instruments. Anyway, I love this thing and have tricked myself into not selling it, cash and studio space be damned.

[Manbird]

I have to say - buying the Trigon has made me appreciate my Prophet 6 all over again. So glad I didn't sell the P6. And, despite the still-not-filled hole in my wallet, I'm delighted with the Trigon. Whereas the P6 can indeed be a bit Swiss Army Knife, the Trigon kinda keeps to itself, lives in its own world. I don't find myself pushing it as far, because the up-close sound and vibe it offers is always pleasing. The kids would say, "It's got a phat sweet spot," I'm sure.

The two synths love each other and play nice for sure. My Prophet 5 is down for the moment with a broken key contact, so my attention shifts even further towards the two 6s. Fab gear, as the old folks would say.

[Manbird]

I really adore the sound and vibe of the Trigon. I'm using it in typical ways on my pop recordings, but have been weirdly excited to find myself making a hypno-meditation album based on the sound of the Trigon. I pair it with the Prophet 6, each of them running a harmonically-related sequence. I start the sequencers manually so that they eventually drift out of sync. The contrast between the repetition of each sequence and the never-quite-the-same overlapping notes is captivating.

And I mentioned this before, but the Trigon made me fall in love with the Prophet 6 all over again. The tonal difference between the two synths is clear, but they're perfectly complimentary instruments.

Funny that my wife and I got a little modular system going at the same time I got the Trigon... I thought I'd be immediately sucked into the modular black hole, forswearing all my "normal" gear and spending cash I don't have on new modules every few days. But no... I dip in once in a while and (usually) enjoy it. My wife is better with it, as she's made effort to actually understand how each module works. I'm far more "intuitive," meaning I get annoyed when the thing doesn't do the thing!