2021: A Year in Gear (What You've Bought or Want to Buy in 2021)

[vurt]

re morphagene, this is great once it gets going

This is one of the ones that first got me. I definitely can't sing like she can but it gave me lots of ideas!

The delivery date is approaching!

yeah, im not sure my george formby/mark e smith type thing would work as well

i have yet to feed it anything i didn't get something interesting out of though, my first sampling with it was tiny tim, tip toe through the tulips.
warping that was so much fun!

then my first recording was me, saying "im covered in beans" (no idea why)
i honestly don't know how people get stuff done, like actual finished composition as above, i just get lost looking like this while tweaking!

[foosnark]

On slightly weirder modulators, I've been kind of thinking about Metabolic Devices Moonwalker. Seems like a different concept that I don't completely have my head wrapped around yet but would have fun figuring it out.

Also I would probably like Zadar... but I keep telling myself I have plenty of modulation for my needs. And I'm covered on utilities, have an abundance of oscillators, sufficient filters, possibly too many FX, and all the controllers I need... but there's still a little space that wants to be filled

[Shabdahbriah]

I'm thinking this one might work for now https://www.modulargrid.net/e/doepfer-a-140-2v

x2 ADSR. It's a tight squeeze 8hp, but can't be worse than what I'm used to on the SE-02. The price is not bad.

Yes, this would be a good choice. (imho) Plus the Function is an ASR, also.

{aside} I went to a Roland "release party", for both their Malekko and Studio Electronics collaborations, and the Aria Fx line, and had to pass on an SE-02 because of the knobs. Loved the sound (mainly the bass), but could not deal with them being so short, stubby and tightly packed. Ended up getting most of the System 500. I've only kept the VCA and mixer, having moved on from "mono synthitis".

(it is a great sounding system if what it offers is what you want.)

[WatchTheGuitar]

I’m tempted to get an SE-02 at some point because Roland implemented what looks like pretty full MIDI mapping and I have a Boog Model D that only has the knobs and though I find their size just about usable it’s easy to run out of hands. Having automation available would be a huge improvement for me.

[SLiC]

After getting an NTS-1 as a 3rd oscillator and FX for my UNO (to stave of gear lust for the UNO PRO) I ended up being really impressed with the NTS-1 (so many great 3rd party oscillators and fx) and watched a ton of videos on YT to hear them- a lot were using the minilogue xd (as its the same 3rd Osc) to demo.......

....so I ended up ordering a minilogue xd (Thomann B stock 399 UK) of the back of that!! ...so much for fending off gear lust

[Shabdahbriah]

I’m tempted to get an SE-02 at some point because Roland implemented what looks like pretty full MIDI mapping and I have a Boog Model D that only has the knobs and though I find their size just about usable it’s easy to run out of hands. Having automation available would be a huge improvement for me.

Indeed, that would really be helpful. I thought it sounded fabulous, and I may have bought one, had I not had first hand hands on, that was an immediate no-go. Like so many eurorack modules that look much bigger and therefore usable on screen, than is practical/realistic, in hands on use. Obviously, personal preferences/tastes and situational 'use-cases' apply.

e.g. all these knobs, are packed into a package that is 11-13/16th inches (300 mm) wide, by 5-1/16th inches (128mm) tall!

...holding my hands flat on the table, with the thumbs butted up together = 11", and palms, from wrist to middle finger is 5"

se-02_main.jpg

[WatchTheGuitar]

I ended up ordering a minilogue xd (Thomann B stock 399 UK) of the back of that!! ...so much for fending off gear lust

Great price that, Minilog XD/Prolog are on my list, but hoping for a bargain too.

Andertons had a returned Prolog 16 for £700 last year, but I was just too slow to nab it.

[Shabdahbriah]

....so I ended up ordering a minilogue xd (Thomann B stock 399 UK) of the back of that!! ...so much for fending off gear lust

That's a great price. Bargain, for what that synth can do. Used 'xd' modules typically go for $100-150+ more than that, here.

[elxsound]

I’m tempted to get an SE-02 at some point because Roland implemented what looks like pretty full MIDI mapping and I have a Boog Model D that only has the knobs and though I find their size just about usable it’s easy to run out of hands. Having automation available would be a huge improvement for me.

Easily automated and there’s even an editor from Studio Electronics. I forget who else said this, but someone here (KVR) has their SE-02 tucked away and only uses the editor.

https://www.studioelectronics.com/produ ... or/#crumbs

I really do like mine and the knobs don’t bother me, but where my bias kicks in is that I only have limited (shared space), so obviously getting that much sound out of a little device won me over.

There’s lots of bigger synths I’ve passed on due to their size. I still haven’t picked up the desktop Hydra synth for the same reason.

The missus, like lots of New Yorkers (I’ve met), love a ‘minimal’ aesthetic, and then she’s got geeky me who loves books, audio/music and action figures. I’m organized but my setup can be compared to transformers. More than meets the eye.

[elxsound]

After getting an NTS-1 as a 3rd oscillator and FX for my UNO (to stave of gear lust for the UNO PRO) I ended up being really impressed with the NTS-1 (so many great 3rd party oscillators and fx) and watched a ton of videos on YT to hear them- a lot were using the minilogue xd (as its the same 3rd Osc) to demo.......

....so I ended up ordering a minilogue xd (Thomann B stock 399 UK) of the back of that!! ...so much for fending off gear lust

I had to stop watching NTS-1 videos! Very capable little box. If it wasn’t for the current focus on an intro/early phase eurorack setup I would still be looking at the NTS-1 or Microfreak, or both.

[LocalTrack19]

Last month I got my first hardware synth, a Minilogue XD. Fantastic experience to play on a real synth, and a great addition for my workflow. Now looking for a not too bad expensive digital synth as well, thinking about a used Roland D10/D20 or a used Yamaha Reface DX for those digital 80s sounds

[elxsound]

I want this Minologue:

[elxsound]

Morphagene arrived and I've come up with a plan to make Pod #2 make sense. Pamela's New Workout -> Morphagene -> Data Blender -> XOH.

It'll work by itself as much as it can work with Pod #1 and the make-noise desktop bits, plus XOH allows for A/B of stereo inputs.

The only problem is that it looks like Pamela is hard to come by.

I'm hopeful Data Bender gets here this week... and I may have found a XOH new, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[justin3am]

Sounds like a powerful setup!
I put out some reels, which you can download from the freesound website: https://freesound.org/people/justin3am/packs/22744/
You have to rename the files to get them to load but they are all spliced up at 0-crossings, which makes them fun to use with the organize control. It's easy to create and edit reels in Reaper, if you are interested in that kind of thing.

[elxsound]

Sounds like a powerful setup!
I put out some reels, which you can download from the freesound website: https://freesound.org/people/justin3am/packs/22744/
You have to rename the files to get them to load but they are all spliced up at 0-crossings, which makes them fun to use with the organize control. It's easy to create and edit reels in Reaper, if you are interested in that kind of thing.

I actually am very interested and good timing because I just sat down to get it ready for first use!

I was watching videos yesterday on what to use for setting splices on the Reels. I wanted to see if Wavelab elements can export with markers, but for now, I dusted off Reaper and Izotope RX to play around with creating some reels.

I don't have access to Audition anymore but I'll be surprised if Wavelab Elements can't do it. I used to live in Wavelab, but I'm stumbling around now.

Reaper looks dead easy for this, but I can see RX being a go-to if I get back into any field recording.