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

[vurt]

Does anyone have any hands-on experience with the Korg SQ-64? It’s discounted to $199 and I’m trying to see if it’s worth picking up at this price, considering the extra CV outs vs just using my existing gear and mid.

ive not used one, but theres a guy whos videos i watch, makes very good use of one, usually with strega

i too have been tempted, as it does some cool shit! but i have so many sequencers

[elxsound]

Does anyone have any hands-on experience with the Korg SQ-64? It’s discounted to $199 and I’m trying to see if it’s worth picking up at this price, considering the extra CV outs vs just using my existing gear and mid.

ive not used one, but theres a guy whos videos i watch, makes very good use of one, usually with strega

i too have been tempted, as it does some cool shit! but i have so many sequencers

Haven’t seen that, but I’ll look for that next. Seeing it in action is what I’m missing because the audio demos in these tutorial videos is pretty awful (so far).

I’m watching the loopop overview now. I like that it has dedicated controls for modulation (x2) which would be very useful.

OP-Z has modulation too but it’s not dedicated like on the SQ64. I have to have the OPlab module placed inside.

[vurt]

Does anyone have any hands-on experience with the Korg SQ-64? It’s discounted to $199 and I’m trying to see if it’s worth picking up at this price, considering the extra CV outs vs just using my existing gear and mid.

ive not used one, but theres a guy whos videos i watch, makes very good use of one, usually with strega

i too have been tempted, as it does some cool shit! but i have so many sequencers

Haven’t seen that, but I’ll look for that next. Seeing it in action is what I’m missing because the audio demos in these tutorial videos is pretty awful (so far).

I’m watching the loopop overview now. I like that it has dedicated controls for modulation (x2) which would be very useful.

OP-Z has modulation too but it’s not dedicated like on the SQ64. I have to have the OPlab module placed inside.

my apologies
its the sq1

[pixel85]

Does anyone have any hands-on experience with the Korg SQ-64? It’s discounted to $199 and I’m trying to see if it’s worth picking up at this price, considering the extra CV outs vs just using my existing gear and mid.

What would you like to know? I can point two minuses:
- MAJOR: lack of Song Mode. Pattern chain is limited to 16 which is super short.
- MINOR: led light bleed to left and right buttons which affects visibility quite a lot.

Besides that, I really like it. I trigger two mono synths (CV, Gate) and RD-9 (MIDI) with it. So far so good.
I should get Wavestate in a day or two so I'll have possibility to test poly recording etc.
I like sequencing with it. Different approach than piano roll in DAW makes me think differently. Actually I like to trigger steps and pitches randomly which sometimes can give nice unexpected outcomes. I think that I'll let my cat to walk on it in times when I'll have creativity blocks

If I had to buy it today, I would save a bit more and would get oxi sequencer to get more tracks and (especially) Song mode. I thought that 3 synths + drums will be enough but as I underestimated my spendings on hardware this year

[elxsound]

Does anyone have any hands-on experience with the Korg SQ-64? It’s discounted to $199 and I’m trying to see if it’s worth picking up at this price, considering the extra CV outs vs just using my existing gear and mid.

What would you like to know? I can point two minuses:
- MAJOR: lack of Song Mode. Pattern chain is limited to 16 which is super short.
- MINOR: led light bleed to left and right buttons which affects visibility quite a lot.

Besides that, I really like it. I trigger two mono synths (CV, Gate) and RD-9 (MIDI) with it. So far so good.
I should get Wavestate in a day or two so I'll have possibility to test poly recording etc.
I like sequencing with it. Different approach than piano roll in DAW makes me think differently. Actually I like to trigger steps and pitches randomly which sometimes can give nice unexpected outcomes. I think that I'll let my cat to walk on it in times when I'll have creativity blocks

If I had to buy it today, I would save a bit more and would get oxi sequencer to get more tracks and (especially) Song mode. I thought that 3 synths + drums will be enough but as I underestimated my spendings on hardware this year

Thank you for that. This was on my wishlist when it was first announced, but then I became aware of Oxi which I think Pekbro uses and later followed Whyterabbyt’s thinking that a computer makes for the best sequencer.

I still don’t want to spend as much as Oxi costs just because I don’t believe I’ll use it in a way that would justify the cost. $199 for a dedicated sequencer makes more sense the way I intend to use it.

I’m glad you confirmed the light bleed, That’s what I thought I was seeing in the videos. The Korg demo video make it seem like a feature as it also gradients between 0-127 levels of brightness on the LFO page, but that looked visually confusing.

I’ve ordered one at discount from Amazon. I can return it if I need to, so let’s see how this goes?

[vurt]

i cant even justify cables at the minute
and its gonna get tougher soon

[elxsound]

i cant even justify cables at the minute
and its gonna get tougher soon

I can’t even imagine with all the energy price increases.

I think I’m in a happy place for a while after this (and if I’m keeping). If anything I’ll have to get rid of things before adding anything new. Pulsar-23 is keeping me busy in a good way.

[vurt]

i cant even justify cables at the minute
and its gonna get tougher soon

I can’t even imagine with all the energy price increases.

I think I’m in a happy place for a while after this (and if I’m keeping). If anything I’ll have to get rid of things before adding anything new. Pulsar-23 is keeping me busy in a good way.

yeah, im lucky its come now and not two years ago or earlier, ive got a system i can do pretty much anything i want at the minute (famous last words...) and i can hopefully ride out the winter, with not too much discomfort.
dont think xmas will be as lavish as it has been in recent years

[WatchTheGuitar]

The Frequency Central Little Melody arrived, hooked it up and I like it. A bit like Grids I'm not really sure how it arrives at the things it does, but I get a nice tune, move some sliders and get another nice tune. Good enough with no need for overthinking it.

[bharris22]

Thank you for that. This was on my wishlist when it was first announced, but then I became aware of Oxi which I think Pekbro uses and later followed Whyterabbyt’s thinking that a computer makes for the best sequencer.

I still don’t want to spend as much as Oxi costs just because I don’t believe I’ll use it in a way that would justify the cost. $199 for a dedicated sequencer makes more sense the way I intend to use it.

I was on the fence for the same reasons as you, but have now pulled the trigger. In terms of hardware sequencers, I have a Squarp Pyramid (which is a little intimidating) as well as a Twisted Electrons Crazy 8 (which, without a screen, is a little inscrutable and has no ability to constrain to different scales). I am hoping that the SQ-64 could be a sweet spot in the middle of these two, and at the sale price doesn't seem like too much money to pay for (hopefully) immediacy.

I am interested in the discussion you mentioned, though, about the computer making the best sequencer, as this is where I feel like I am coming out, too - even though hardware sequencers provide more immediate gratification and control, especially if I have been using a computer for work all day. Would you mind sending a link to the thread where you guys are discussing this?

Thanks!

[elxsound]

Thank you for that. This was on my wishlist when it was first announced, but then I became aware of Oxi which I think Pekbro uses and later followed Whyterabbyt’s thinking that a computer makes for the best sequencer.

I still don’t want to spend as much as Oxi costs just because I don’t believe I’ll use it in a way that would justify the cost. $199 for a dedicated sequencer makes more sense the way I intend to use it.

I was on the fence for the same reasons as you, but have now pulled the trigger. In terms of hardware sequencers, I have a Squarp Pyramid (which is a little intimidating) as well as a Twisted Electrons Crazy 8 (which, without a screen, is a little inscrutable and has no ability to constrain to different scales). I am hoping that the SQ-64 could be a sweet spot in the middle of these two, and at the sale price doesn't seem like too much money to pay for (hopefully) immediacy.

I am interested in the discussion you mentioned, though, about the computer making the best sequencer, as this is where I feel like I am coming out, too - even though hardware sequencers provide more immediate gratification and control, especially if I have been using a computer for work all day. Would you mind sending a link to the thread where you guys are discussing this?

Thanks!

I pulled the trigger yesterday, and it arrived today!

That discussion was either this 2022 gear thread or, more likely, the 2021 thread for buying gear. It wasn't so much a discussion as some users making a point that after searching for various hardware sequencers, not finding any that were as useful or flexible as the computer (DAW) for sequencing hardware, including modular gear.

I think I agree as much, but I'm 100% right there with you having spent considerable time in front of a computer I need a way to look at one less and much of what I've purchased allows me to sketch ideas before needing to return to the computer.

I actually don't have a proper sequencer for modular gear outside of the 8 step 0-Ctrl, 8 step CVilization and then there's both the Beast & Pest which are both useful, but quirky.

I think this will fill some gaps, especially if I can save patterns with it. The small size is lovely. It's smaller than a full-size standard computer keyboard and slightly larger than a keyboard sans number pad.

There are many complaints about workflow and I was reading about some screen display bugs that popped up on some units on the Elektron boards.

For the sale price, I think I can be okay with workflow issues (if they weren't patched in an update).

[WatchTheGuitar]

I got an SQ-64 a while ago when I had a big splurge, but haven’t yet used it much, it was reasonably easy to set up, but I got a Digitakt around the same time and its got a better sequencer, can control up to 8 MIDI tracks at once and I don’t feel the polyphony or CV control the Korg offers is something I miss. Haven’t sold it as I might use it for a breakout area at some point if I ever get shot of my treadmill to make the space.

[elxsound]

I got an SQ-64 a while ago when I had a big splurge, but haven’t yet used it much, it was reasonably easy to set up, but I got a Digitakt around the same time and its got a better sequencer, can control up to 8 MIDI tracks at once and I don’t feel the polyphony or CV control the Korg offers is something I miss. Haven’t sold it as I might use it for a breakout area at some point if I ever get shot of my treadmill to make the space.

I think I'll use the CV control exclusively from this device. For the same Elektron reason, I don't think I'll need Midi sequencing from it, but it doesn't hurt to have it.

[WatchTheGuitar]

It definitely has some nice features. I’ve got an MS20 mini and it’s handy that it can output CV as either v/oct and Hz/v, the multi drum channel is good and there is some very nice fill functionality which can work on gates and also pitch to a quantised scale of your choice. I just wish it lit up more than the screen and the selected steps as you need to be aware of what you need to choose for different options, it’s harder to remember what things to click on than the Elektrons and that’s saying something.

For CV sequencing on eurorack I’ve got a Westlicht Performer and it’s the absolute tits.*

* as in, I like it.

[bharris22]

That discussion was either this 2022 gear thread or, more likely, the 2021 thread for buying gear. It wasn't so much a discussion as some users making a point that after searching for various hardware sequencers, not finding any that were as useful or flexible as the computer (DAW) for sequencing hardware, including modular gear.

Got it - thanks! I hope you enjoy it - I am curious to hear your thoughts once you have spent some time with it. Hopefully mine will get here before the weekend .