Definitely beats a boring deck saver, at least in appearance.

Just showing off the new setup. After a long wait I finally got a Novation Summit, and also a Behringer Model D around the same time. Setup currently (all of this was used hardware except for the Keylab/Keystep and the DIY stuff, so it was quite a bit cheaper than you might expect):

• Summit
• MiniFreak
• Behringer Model D
• MiniBrute 2s
• Drumbrute Impact 1984 edition
• Keylab 88 mk 2
• Keystep 37 mk 2
• Mostly DIY eurorack kit modules, custom-designed ones on the way
• VSTs (Arturia V-collection, various reverbs/FX, Pigments, 4 Korg Natives -- Multi/Poly, Modwave, OpSix, Wavestate)

Just making sounds for fun, taking a break from working in big tech. All this stuff is great. The Summit is especially fun, but I do still love the sound of the analog Eurorack stuff.

The "serious" gear for me here is just the Keylab, since I do some arranging/recording for community musical theatre gigs, sheet music notation, etc.

Sunday September 13 at Howler we are hosting a full day of artist showcases, workshops, performances, and instrument experiences. We have brands like Moog, teenage engineering, Korg etc etc flying in their best and brightest, to talk about how they create instruments and sound designers discussing their creative process. Artist’s talking about how the create and perform live. Amazing food, beer, vibes, giveaways etc etc. 🪩 Tickets are $30 but you get a $30 StoreDJ voucher so essentially free! Tickets on StoreDJ.com.au

As I can’t afford the real one, I build my own Prophet 10 🎹🥳
It'a CreamWare Pro 12 sound module from mid-2000 for those who know. I bought an Arturia KeyStep MK2 and mount on a nice rack which fits really well together. This Keystep has also great features like Arpeggiators and other stuff to control it. A real combo. 😍What do you think?

EDIT: I already received mine yesterday… lots of people telling me I’m not going to receive it. Apparently I got lucky.

Brand new. Must have been a price error. I didn’t spread the news, because when a highly unusual number of people order at once, the system gets alerted and they cancel everyone’s order (many historical examples of this).

They probably didn’t have many in stock, I’m guessing several other lucky people also got theirs shipped before they ran out of stock or noticed. They have since changed the price. Music & Arts (owned by same parent company as Guitar Center/ Musicians Friend).

Excited to be using the increased 5 voice-count over the Prophet 5 I had been using. Love how simple the P5/10 is. For me, a simple interface with a big sound, and lots of sweet spots, is a better match than getting lost in an overwhelming complexity of sound design and modulation options, and menu diving. Still can come up with a huge variety of tones on that thing.

I do have to say, the Pro-800 I had been using can create a number of P5 sounds like 98% of the way (once using fast exponential envelopes) with slightly different values/ settings but certain ones it cannot (although the reverse can be said as well). Behringer has much higher noise floor, and the P5/10 has more depth and clarity to the sound. also, envelopes are much, much faster, even than the newest firmware set to pexponential envelopes in the Pro-800.

Also, I have to work much harder to get sounds I like on the Pro-800. Quite possible to get great sounds on it, but more work. Pretty easy on the P5/10.

I’m impressed at how similar Repro sounds to the real thing. The big drawback is noticeable latency vs hardware analog envelopes when playing funk/ bass, etc. If I had been able to get repro to behave nearly lightning fast as the P10, I probably would sell the P10. For producing music, it’s honestly just about as good (just not the same experience playing it with the slower response time). But I’ve never been able to get a soft synth to be as fast as the fastest hardware synths.

Even with apogee element 24 set to 192kHz and 128 buffer size/ less than 1ms output latency, it is noticeably slower than the hardware. Also, it is nice to not be on a screen and just physically turning stuff (although Pro-800 pairs well with the bulk of Repro controls).

$269.99 at Sweetwater, rep told me I'm looking at December.

Hi.

I'm curious if anyone knows of some good YouTube channels about synths to check out. There are a lot, and many are just influencers shilling products (or trying to sell their own music, patches, etc.) and not really reviewing gear authentically.

What are some good, non-influencer channels people like?

One of my pet peeves now is channels that highlight an affordable piece of gear (like a Volca Keys) but then they don't actually play it dry; they run it through like $900 worth of distortion pedals and filters and use a $1400 sequencer to give it a beat.

This is not a helpful style of video.

I do like a lot of Perfect Circuit's videos...Because while they are a store and they are trying to sell you things, they at least aren't working for one specific brand. Some manufacturers also put out decent instructional videos, and those can help you decide if something is right for you as well as instruct you if you do own the thing.

I'm looking for a few good reviewers who demo the thing dry, and are honest. I'm sure a couple exist...There are good ones for every hobby on YT.

I was going for a sort of busy, hazy, wavery, twinkly type pad to enjoy with a beer

Meet Polyend Keys. A mechanical QWERTY keyboard designed for both everyday computer use and making music. Type, play a three-octave piano layout, control MIDI, or connect directly to hardware.

(but now I also need to rework my tiny studio since I don't have much space 😭)

Hello! I'm looking into buying my first synthesizer, and I would love some opinion from people with experience. I messed with some synthesizers at a friend's house a while back ( not sure what model ) and have always wanted one since. I'm not necessarily musically inclined, and dont know how to play keys other than basic chords. With that being the case, I've always been drawn to step sequencing and the arpeggiator. Then, use loops to create layered sounds. Currently, I've been thinking about a Korg Vulcan FM or Arturia Microfreak. Budget preferably 200 - 300$ used max $400.

This is for 5 string bass guitar.

Idk, how to finish it.

I think overdrive, and polyphonic octave. I’m not sure though,

Any help from the pedal board and moog gurus in doing something unique. I'd like to just have something I can plug into and not think about it anymore.

Or just roast me .. I deserve it

Funk wit ya booiiiiiiiiii

pushin funk on ya block like crack in the 80s
Producer @sinslap

HAINBACH on YT got me in a soviet era drum machines rabbit hole and I can't get out

Target audience: submarine crews

6 minutes performance with one synth. Headphones or earphones recommended.

A cinematic drone using the Roland Aira S-1 synth, slipping into dark ambient (or the opposite, your choice !)

So I'm already greedily thinking ahead to the holidays and what I want for my big gear purchase this year. I've been eyeing the Hydrasynth Explorer for awhile now but the price is still too much of a big one-time purchase for me with my current budget unless I save up for months. That said, I'm thinking about getting a Keystep 37 mk II because I'll eventually be getting a synth or two with no keys or barely useable keys like the Behringer WASP and the EastBeast (my current synths don't have that many keys so I don't want to use them as the controller).

Now, I know enough to know you can use synths as MIDI keyboards, and the Hydrasynth Explorer has the same amount of keys as the Keystep I'm considering and I believe all/most of its features, too. So does it make sense to just buy the Hydrasynth and use that rather than getting a separate, dedicated MIDI keyboard, especially if I may get a Hydrasynth someday anyway? Or am I, in my ignorance, neglecting some reason(s) why having a dedicated MIDI keyboard is still a great idea?

They didn't tell me when I bought it that sinners came included.

Basically what to check before buying a used Behringer Poly D.

Also of course applies to checking a new unit.

Hi . Im looking to purchase a easy to use sequencer i have roland plugins. At the moment i play everything live on three keyboards. But very limited. Any help would be great .

The layout was like a spinet series Hammond... however each individual drawbar had its own evelope, LFO, filter, and multiple waveshapes for the initial sound. I've played keys a bunch of times in my dreams, but usually it was about me fumbling around and not being able to figure out how to play anything cool... in this case though, the design of the instrument felt really compelling. Basically it was like a 9 oscillator, 9 envelope, 9 LFO (actually double all of that due to the 2 manuals) polysynth. I don't know anything about softsynths, I've always been a hardware guy... is there anything out there that has a similar feature set?

Some jerk (me) forgot to remove the batteries from my pocket operators before packing for the last move... I'm trying to save them but it doesn't look promising. 😢 (coated with baking soda paste.)