2022: A Year in Gear (What You've Bought or Want to Buy in 2022)

[WatchTheGuitar]

Anyone hoping for any particular so far unannounced new gear at Superbooth?

I’d love a module like Mordax Data with a nice big scope screen that’s either cheaper or offers a load more functionality to justify the cost e.g. combining Data with Ornament and Crime.

Well, not Eurorack, but this ticks enough boxes for my liking, mainly the one that says “cheap”

Given the numeric nature of its name, a sequel to Korg’s NTS-1 build-it-yourself synth always felt like it could be on the cards. The NTS-2 isn’t a complete surprise, then, but its design - along with the fact that it ships with a complementary book - does come a little out of leftfield.

This is chiefly because the centrepiece of the hardware isn’t a synth engine but a 4-channel oscilloscope. This offers dual stereo inputs, which enable you to study, compare and overlap up to four signals at once. There are multiple colour display modes, and an interface that can be navigated with menu buttons and a clickable encoder.

There’s also an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) mode with a real-time spectrum analyser, along with a dual waveform generator. Each of the two oscillators can create sine, square, triangle, sawtooth, pulse and noise waveforms.

As well as being used as audio, these sounds can also be employed as control voltage sources and set to cycle continuously or operate as one-shot impulses. This means that you can turn them into LFOs, envelopes, triggers, and control voltage generators, making the NTS-2 a potentially useful partner for any patchable synth.

The NTS-2’s slightly unusual feature set is topped off by a tuner that offers multiple display modes. The end result is what Korg is calling a studio Swiss Army Knife for musicians.

[whyterabbyt]

Well, not Eurorack, but this ticks enough boxes for my liking, mainly the one that says “cheap”

Price Im seeing is £165, which would still be well outside my price range.

https://www.korg.co.uk/products/nts-2

[WatchTheGuitar]

Well, not Eurorack, but this ticks enough boxes for my liking, mainly the one that says “cheap”

Price Im seeing is £165, which would still be well outside my price range.

https://www.korg.co.uk/products/nts-2

Well, was hoping nearer the £75 of the NTS-1, but same sort of colour screen and size as Mordax Data, slightly fewer user modulation options and obviously not Eurorack, but half the price is a decent compromise IMO.

The main things I was interested in were CV visualisations and a tuner so if it has those then I may well bite the bullet. The NTS-1 has been pretty rock solid and even I with shitty co-ordination and bad eyesight managed to put that kit together so looks good to me.

Who knows maybe there'll be more scopes announced this week though. Is 2022 the year of the scope?

[foosnark]

Price Im seeing is £165, which would still be well outside my price range.

https://www.korg.co.uk/products/nts-2

Hopefully they will offer it without the book bundle -- that should drop the price a lot.

I have Push Turn Move, Patch & Tweak, and Pedal Crush, and they were kind of fun at first but not the sort of books I've ever gone back to look at again. And now the series seems determined to go on forever by having specific brand editions.

[elxsound]

I had a feeling the NTS2 would be in that price range. I don’t have an oscilloscope and this would be a great pick up as a small standalone that could be pushed to do more.

I don’t know for sure I’ll get one at that price but I’d like to.

[pekbro]

Oscilloscopes are neat and nice, but not something you're going to use a lot, without being determined to do that. I hardly ever use the DATA as a scope, it does far more useful stuff than that.

*A voltage meter is probably more useful imo, it's really pretty easy to visualize a plot trace when
you have a constant readout of numbers. With modular, your fundamental component is voltage,
info on that is your best bet for many things. The best voltage meter in eurorack is probably the
mordax DATA.

*The DATA is well worth the money IMO.

[Constructed Identity]

Anyone hoping for any particular so far unannounced new gear at Superbooth?

I’d love a module like Mordax Data with a nice big scope screen that’s either cheaper or offers a load more functionality to justify the cost e.g. combining Data with Ornament and Crime.

Well, not Eurorack, but this ticks enough boxes for my liking, mainly the one that says “cheap”

Given the numeric nature of its name, a sequel to Korg’s NTS-1 build-it-yourself synth always felt like it could be on the cards. The NTS-2 isn’t a complete surprise, then, but its design - along with the fact that it ships with a complementary book - does come a little out of leftfield.

This is chiefly because the centrepiece of the hardware isn’t a synth engine but a 4-channel oscilloscope. This offers dual stereo inputs, which enable you to study, compare and overlap up to four signals at once. There are multiple colour display modes, and an interface that can be navigated with menu buttons and a clickable encoder.

There’s also an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) mode with a real-time spectrum analyser, along with a dual waveform generator. Each of the two oscillators can create sine, square, triangle, sawtooth, pulse and noise waveforms.

As well as being used as audio, these sounds can also be employed as control voltage sources and set to cycle continuously or operate as one-shot impulses. This means that you can turn them into LFOs, envelopes, triggers, and control voltage generators, making the NTS-2 a potentially useful partner for any patchable synth.

The NTS-2’s slightly unusual feature set is topped off by a tuner that offers multiple display modes. The end result is what Korg is calling a studio Swiss Army Knife for musicians.

Yea, I watch Loopop vid. yesterday and GAS instantly triggered. The geek in me wants it to mod, the practical guy in me wants the tuner, and the kid wants to see COLOR

[Shabdahbriah]

Oscilloscopes are neat and nice, but not something you're going to use a lot, without being determined to do that. I hardly ever use the DATA as a scope, it does far more useful stuff than that.

*A voltage meter is probably more useful imo, it's really pretty easy to visualize a plot trace when you have a constant readout of numbers. With modular, your fundamental component is voltage, info on that is your best bet for many things. The best voltage meter in eurorack is probably the mordax DATA.

*The DATA is well worth the money IMO.

^^^ that ^^^

(tbh)... I really struggled with justifying the purchase, price wise, and myself repeatedly until I nearly cancelled the order, but it had already shipped by the time I decided to. Thankfully so, as I have absolutely zero regrets as I quickly realized its versatility and 'value'. Plus, it looks cool. ... and I do use it, and love it as a 'scope'.

here's a quick rundown of its features.

https://waveformmagazine.com/waveform-r ... rdax-data/

That being said. If this Korg unit fulfills your 'needs', it is definitely a cut above any number of other table-top or even current eurorack options, other than the DATA. (imo)

[WatchTheGuitar]

Well it’d be a piece of piss to add voltage readouts in a firmware update if the NTS-2 doesn’t already offer it.

I also had a thought that even though the NTS-2 isn’t eurorack I could probably stick it in a gooseneck stand right next to the rack and then it can be moved into view over the rack without taking up any precious rack hp. That’s pretty handy.

[Shabdahbriah]

Well it’d be a piece of piss to add voltage readouts in a firmware update if the NTS-2 doesn’t already offer it.

One would think.

I also had a thought that even though the NTS-2 isn’t eurorack I could probably stick it in a gooseneck stand right next to the rack and then it can be moved into view over the rack without taking up any precious rack hp. That’s pretty handy.

Yeah, that would do the trick. I invariably look at the potential for mounting things in the rack, or making a case that approximates the rack size/layout, even if only for visual continuity. The Volca stuff has its appeal in that way, and I may eventually pick up a Volca Drum, but it has never been a priority or enough of a g.a.s. compulsion to do so.

[WatchTheGuitar]

I invariably look at the potential for mounting things in the rack, or making a case that approximates the rack size/layout, even if only for visual continuity. The Volca stuff has its appeal in that way, and I may eventually pick up a Volca Drum, but it has never been a priority or enough of a g.a.s. compulsion to do so.

I do like units that are standalone, but that could later be racked.
This new one from Cre8Audio looks pretty fun and he says in the review it will fit in a rack if you want it to. Seems a cheap way to add a sequencer and oscillator, filter etc in 40 hp if the rumoured $250 price point is correct.

[whyterabbyt]

This new one from Cre8Audio looks pretty fun and he says in the review it will fit in a rack if you want it to. Seems a cheap way to add a sequencer and oscillator, filter etc in 40 hp if the rumoured $250 price point is correct.

Yeah,when I looked, I only noticed Crea8audio's 'RRP' which was 350EUR, more than I'd have thought about. But after you said that, I looked again and they actually gave an 'expected street price' of 250EUR, which much more interesting for me.

[vurt]

that does actually sound very nice

not sure it's for me at this moment, but the sequencer sounds interesting!! so maybe...

[Shabdahbriah]

I invariably look at the potential for mounting things in the rack, or making a case that approximates the rack size/layout, even if only for visual continuity. The Volca stuff has its appeal in that way, and I may eventually pick up a Volca Drum, but it has never been a priority or enough of a g.a.s. compulsion to do so.

I do like units that are standalone, but that could later be racked.
This new one from Cre8Audio looks pretty fun and he says in the review it will fit in a rack if you want it to. Seems a cheap way to add a sequencer and oscillator, filter etc in 40 hp if the rumoured $250 price point is correct.

Yes, the price is $249 (US), an unarguably good value, with the keyboard/sequencer, as well as everything sounds good, and is easy to randomize/adjust parameters on, and 'save'.

(aside)... I would not be at all surprised if a "West Beast" were in the works, as Pittsburgh are big fans of Buchla, and myriad forms of wave-folding, and randomization.

Superbooth version:

[vurt]

is that all anyone has posted yet?
cmon where's the stuff???