Gear thread

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Eight Bit Alien
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Gear thread

Post by Eight Bit Alien »

ZERO RESULTS FOR DEDICATED GEAR THREAD???????

Here's something that isn't world politics or board politics.

TALK ABOUT GEAR
OR GEAR YOU WANT
OR GEAR YOU HATE
OR GEAR YOU'VE USED OR WANT TO USE SOMEDAY IN SOME NEW WAY

I saw this today and I want it. It's NOT Behringer though so it costs 400 fucking euros


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Re: Gear thread

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THE DUST COLLECTOR
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Re: Gear thread

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Re: Gear thread

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I use the have drum machine the guitar player from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s uses. (Hooray for me, I guess)

How about bands with completely ridiculous signal chains. I think Vernon Reed takes the cake



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Re: Gear thread

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I’ve had this thing forever. Runs off a single AAA battery. They’ve made about a million versions of it now. I think mines about to fall apart.
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Re: Gear thread

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good luck with this thread everyone!
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Re: Gear thread

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Eight Bit Alien wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:02 pm Dust Collector vid
I saw this today and immediately checked the price and of course it's sold out. Seems like a great analog multi-effects unit without any menu diving, and I've wanted a spring reverb unit of some kind for a while.

Another thing I'd like to pick up is the KOMA Elektronik Field Kit FX - seems like a pretty good deal for $280



I've been meaning to pick up one of those Korg Monotrons for a while. I'm a sucker for little sound making gadgets, and kits. I have a Korg Nu:Tekt, Moog Werkstatt-01, and a couple Volcas (FM and Sample).
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Re: Gear thread

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Hunter wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:29 pm
I saw this today and immediately checked the price and of course it's sold out. Seems like a great analog multi-effects unit without any menu diving,
They're ALL ALWAYS SOLD OUT. Sometimes the person making it is such an internally-involved nerd that their website doesn't even say what the price is or where to buy it. It just states that it exists and is sometimes sold.
Hunter wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:29 pm
Another thing I'd like to pick up is the KOMA Elektronik Field Kit FX - seems like a pretty good deal for $280
This looks great! I just found out about HEINBACH pretty recently but his content is really solid compared to a lot of these other guis. Always showing off something I haven't heard of before, and his commentary is purposeful.
Hunter wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:29 pm and I've wanted a spring reverb unit of some kind for a while.
Image

I finally bought this just recently, having never used real spring reverb in my life. It's wild! This thing is barebones as hell, not really meant for recording stuff as I understand it. No true wet/dry, just the ability to coarsely control the decay time of the effect.
Still playing around and trying to figure out what I can use it for.

The rainbow thing on the display morphs as you twist the time knob, really fucking cool and dumb and of-the-era.
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Re: Gear thread

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I'm a shadow of my former gearwhore self. Topped out on eurorack modules early 2018, and have been regressing back to software, VSTs & apps ever since. My pedal collection is small, humble and utilitarian, whereas it used to be like a toy collecting passion. I have a Zedi 10 FX for a mixer/interface, which also has some nice digital effects. It's just enough for how I roll nowadays.

VCV Rack has come an incredibly long way. It has significant advantages over a real hardware eurorack, like fucking PRESETS...and as many of whatever module as you want to use. It's totally free and it's really sick now. Nysthi Convolvzilla is the coolest reverb ever. There are also a few different clones of Clouds, and loads of other Mutable modules. Alright Devices even has free Chronoblob and T-Wrex modules in there. :pizza: :pizza: :pizza: :pizza: :pizza:

Arturia just sweetened up my christmas. They're still giving me updates for Analog Lab, because I have a beat up old Keylab 49 (original version). Now, I was plenty satisfied with Analog Lab 4...Buchla, Synthi, Arp2600 and Matrix emulations, DX7, Oberheim, Moog Modular, Pigments etc...an absolute treasure chest of synth sounds, with a jaw dropping 6800 presets. I never even thought about how they could make it any better. Now they've just given me Analog Lab V, which only (yeah ONLY) has 2393 presets...but a lot of them are new patches for the Buchla, Synthi and Pigments, which only had a handful of patches each in v4, and my copy of v4 with the full 6800 presets still works fine too. There are also some new synths in the V collection that weren't in v4: a Juno 6, Vocoder, and Emulator II. The Emulator II is a godsend, comes with lots of great workstation sounds like you would expect from a Triton or a Motif. Really takes the whole package to the next level. The Vocoder is also very cool, just a little heavy on corny DJ patches. I can't think of anything that even competes as a total package. If you love presets, Arturia is just the motherlode. Horde Ov Smaug.

I've got an old ipad from 2012 or so that I only ever used for synth apps (won at a work xmas party). I have stuff like iKaossilator, iProphet, Waldorf Nave and Propellerheads Thor on there, and also use it a lot to program my Roland eurorack modules.

I need to start looking at more mics, and area/room mics. All I have right now is one SM58.
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Re: Gear thread

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I have a Dyson...
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Re: Gear thread

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Eight Bit Alien wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:46 pm
Image

I finally bought this just recently, having never used real spring reverb in my life. It's wild! This thing is barebones as hell, not really meant for recording stuff as I understand it. No true wet/dry, just the ability to coarsely control the decay time of the effect.
Still playing around and trying to figure out what I can use it for.

The rainbow thing on the display morphs as you twist the time knob, really fucking cool and dumb and of-the-era.
Wow, this thing looks awesome. I am a big fan of units like this, even if they're fairly limited - looks like you can smack this thing and speakers will blast a thunderous racket. The closest thing I have right now is tube with a long spring attached to a skin thats placed over one end. You can shake it, and it will produce that amplified spring sound, but I can't run any sound through it.
Warpsmasher wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:47 am VCV Rack has come an incredibly long way. It has significant advantages over a real hardware eurorack, like fucking PRESETS...and as many of whatever module as you want to use. It's totally free and it's really sick now. Nysthi Convolvzilla is the coolest reverb ever. There are also a few different clones of Clouds, and loads of other Mutable modules. Alright Devices even has free Chronoblob and T-Wrex modules in there. :pizza: :pizza: :pizza: :pizza: :pizza:
I found the VCV rack a few years ago and was pretty amazed that it was free! I didn't know how synths worked at the time, so I was just placing modules willy-nilly. Now that I understand most of the basic principals, I should jump back into it. Lately I've been trying to get away from sitting at the computer, which is the reason I've been leaning more toward physical gear in general. That plus, I have spent most of my life pretty broke and unable to afford unnecessary gear purchases, not to mention that I didn't have much space.
Warpsmasher wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:47 am Arturia just sweetened up my christmas. They're still giving me updates for Analog Lab, because I have a beat up old Keylab 49 (original version). Now, I was plenty satisfied with Analog Lab 4...Buchla, Synthi, Arp2600 and Matrix emulations, DX7, Oberheim, Moog Modular, Pigments etc...an absolute treasure chest of synth sounds, with a jaw dropping 6800 presets. I never even thought about how they could make it any better. Now they've just given me Analog Lab V, which only (yeah ONLY) has 2393 presets...but a lot of them are new patches for the Buchla, Synthi and Pigments, which only had a handful of patches each in v4, and my copy of v4 with the full 6800 presets still works fine too. There are also some new synths in the V collection that weren't in v4: a Juno 6, Vocoder, and Emulator II. The Emulator II is a godsend, comes with lots of great workstation sounds like you would expect from a Triton or a Motif. Really takes the whole package to the next level. The Vocoder is also very cool, just a little heavy on corny DJ patches. I can't think of anything that even competes as a total package. If you love presets, Arturia is just the motherlode. Horde Ov Smaug.

I've got an old ipad from 2012 or so that I only ever used for synth apps (won at a work xmas party). I have stuff like iKaossilator, iProphet, Waldorf Nave and Propellerheads Thor on there, and also use it a lot to program my Roland eurorack modules.

I need to start looking at more mics, and area/room mics. All I have right now is one SM58.
Definitely taking some notes on Arturia's offerings. I have wanted to play around with a Buchla ever since I saw the documentary on Suzanne Ciani. I do like presets - I like knobs and patch cables too, but I don't want to put on a sound designer hat every time I want to work on something.

I'm currently waiting for a Theoryboard Thy333 to show up, but looks like it will be another month before I'll have it in hand. It's basically a cheat code to get past learning chords on a traditional piano layout. Play a chord on the left side with one button, and the right side changes to have all the individual notes in several octaves that work with that chord.

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Re: Gear thread

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the awesome Assassin wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:38 am I have a Dyson...
Shut the fuck up loser.
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Re: Gear thread

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Hunter wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:26 am cheat code
Here is my favorite cheat code, super simple method for playing midi files on VST synths. It's basically reverse engineering once you start deleting and editing commands. This gives ordinary mortals the power to render amazing synth covers.

Using Reaper (free), click Insert > Media File, and select a midi file (it's good to have a lot to choose from, and they are free all over the internet). When the prompt box opens, uncheck all boxes and import as multichannel item on a single track. Then just set the cursor back to the beginning (it will automatically go to the end), click the FX button to the left of your midi track and choose a VST synth. Press play and enjoy. :cheers:

You can also import the tracks separately to isolate the guitar or drums or whatever, but it can get crashy if you try using a bunch of different synths all at once.
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Re: Gear thread

Post by Eight Bit Alien »

Mr. Smasher, is your cheat a method for importing all MIDI tracks into individual VST voicings quickly?
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Re: Gear thread

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Hunter wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:26 am Theoryboard
This is really cool! Never heard of it before. I bet this catches on.

Reminds me of Xfer Cthulhu, although this method has obvious advantages.
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Re: Gear thread

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Eight Bit Alien wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:14 pm Mr. Smasher, is your cheat a method for importing all MIDI tracks into individual VST voicings quickly?
No, this method is for all tracks being played by one synth, but if you check the boxes you can open separate tracks for each channel...that works up to a point, but finding a stable group of synths to work together is always tricky, so I usually just render one audio track at a time and work with those.
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Re: Gear thread

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Yer gonna have me reinstalling Reaper man...
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Re: Gear thread

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I first noticed this trick in Cakewalk, but that was so many DAWs ago. I've tried other implementations of it over the years, including in older versions of Reaper, but it always seemed to be full of roadblocks and headaches, until I recently decided to give it another shot with Reaper. It looks like they've made it as easy as it can get now, really. Fantom XR was the only piece of gear I was ever able to play downloaded midi files on, but that was fussy and limited too.

Awesome free VST synths with presets, off the top of my head: Radio Active, Mr. Alias 2, Atonoise, Alionoctis. Blood Bucket, Artemis, Crystal, Cygnus, Protoplasm, Swamp
Cool sequency ones: Analog Warfare, Pandemonium, Photon, Shoggoth. If you can find a crack of Analog Lab 4 though, definitely check that out.
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Re: Gear thread

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I feel like I've done that midi trick in Logic Pro, but maybe I just imported to different tracks. I'll have to try that again, and maybe make a quick X-mas cover album so I don't have to hear The Manhattan Transfer sing Little Drummer Boy at the in-laws ever again. "Replicant X-M45"

My current favorite 'cheat code' is stringing together a progression on the chordbot app on my phone, then emailing myself the midi export, then using that to drive some synths via the DAW.

Thanks for the free VST recommendations! I've been playing with the TyrellN6 for years - mainly because it worked with Garageband. I am not sure if GB allows for VSTs now, but it didn't for a long time. I need to start looking into some production plugins - I only have a few Native Instruments ones that came with the Maschine MK3 package.
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Re: Gear thread

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I almost threw my maschine into the fucking septic tank

Wound up selling it for more than i bought it but holy shit did it piss me off
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Re: Gear thread

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Wow, no kidding! Which Maschine? Was it the workflow that pissed you off? Did it come with the bundled software or were you using it with a different DAW perhaps? I got the MK3 instead of a Akai MPC a while ago, because many consider it easier to use - and I still use it more than most other gear I have.
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Re: Gear thread

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The Arturia V Collection is absolutely the best software series I've ever used. I'd rather have these plugins than a family or home.
I don't know what kind of black fucking magic they used for this sound processing, but it's worth selling organs for.

I didn't even know 8 was out until I read this thread... I honestly get confused which package is which, I got the one from 2019 (which is called V but also has shit labelled V3, as did much older emulations which weren't the same) and it's all I've thought about ever since.

I don't use the Analog Lab thing very much, I just load the individual plugins into a DAW. I'm sure it's really neat though, especially if you snag something from their hardware line.

The modern synth they've thrown in, Pigments, goes toe-to-toe with any of those wavetable dubstep things like Massive or Nexus IMO. Was easier for me to learn than Nexus, as well, and the presets were easier to tame (remove reverb, untangle linked parameters) and customize for me.

Arturia were just another company to me until 2019... I'm loyal for life, now.
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Re: Gear thread

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THEY GOT THE EMU

YEAH BITCH

I'm gonna rewrite Pretty Hate Machine
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Re: Gear thread

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My formula for fucking everything these days...

1. Load up some Arturia thing and pick a default template patch, mess around till its close to what I want
2. Send to FX... small amount of amp sim, small amount of barely-there reverb and delay
3. Clone synth, slightly change tune or lfo so that it sounds similar but distinct
4. Clone FX chain of first synth, give to second synth
5. Send synth 1 and 2 40% left and right respectively
6. Decouple both fx chains from master, Send both FX chains to third channel (this is their real voice output)
6. Tell myself I wont use Type A tape saturation and Valhalla Vintage
7. Use Type A tape saturation and Valhalla vintage
8. Noodle for 4 minutes
9. Watch Joe Rogan
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Re: Gear thread

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Well damn, if you've got the whole V collection you're even more loaded up than me. Analog Lab is just a shitload of tweakable presets taken from the V collection, for their keyboard controllers. It is so ridiculously better than any regular VST. I love being able to browse the patches by category and search results too. It also makes it efforless to change your Buchla /Pigments track to DX7/Moog or whatever on the fly, and flip around through presets while the midis play too. :ax:
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