The Hardware Megathread

[TheTeknomage]

The Volca FM only has 1/8 out headphone socket, but the good thing that I’ve recently found is I can use either 1/8 stereo to 1/4 left and right for stereo, or an 1/8 to 1/4 ts for mono. As I use it a lot for bass I prefer the mono. Midi on the other hand I don’t like the non din midi i/o, so I steer clear of stuff that doesn’t have it.

[jbvdb493]

That’s neat for the volca, it’s funny tho how I see it the opposite and would likely steer clear of mini jacks for audio!

[TheTeknomage]

I have the MS20 mini. which is also 1/8 out. Not all the Volcas are stereo, though the sample is. Not 100 percent sure about the FM, some say it is, but there is no panning on the unit.

[Schnork]

IIRC Volca Sample and Volca Drum (?) Are stereo, but all other Volcas are dual mono, because the audio out doubles as a headphone out. You can use a 1/8 trs to 1/4 ts cable.

A mono out just wouldn’t work as a headphone output.

[TheTeknomage]

all Volcas other are dual mono, because the audio out doubles as a headphone out. You can use a 1/8 trs to 1/4 ts cable.

I thought that was probably the case as there no pan on the FM, and the Mrk1 DX7 only had one audio out. I prefer the mono out as I’m usually using it for bass, and it allows me to pan a pad sound in the mix too. The dual mono is good for plugging into a stereo effect though…

P.S. Welcome back.

[canecreek]

Searched the bloody house and can’t find a 9vDC 150ma cenre negative power supply, so can’t use it yet

[White_Noise]

You read this month’s Osmose update yet? Delayed to mid-fall for the first wave, winter for the second, with winter 2021 listed for general availability.

On the bright side, more time to save for an MPE synth I suppose. I might make a run at Deckard’s Dream. Depends on if I keep my job or not and if I can de disciplined and order nothing else the rest of this year…

[canecreek]

Mid fall yes that why i bought the blooper

also just found a power supply that works, just sampling the radio now, love it.

[Schnork]

I thought that was probably the case as there no pan on the FM, and the Mrk1 DX7 only had one audio out. I prefer the mono out as I’m usually using it for bass, and it allows me to pan a pad sound in the mix too. The dual mono is good for plugging into a stereo effect though…

I don´t think there´s a difference between panning a mono signal and balancing a dual mono signal - or is there?
And wouldn´t a stereo fx treat a mono signal in the same way it would treat a dual mono signal?
When you plug in a mono cable, fx processors usually send the same signal to both sides and process it.
Isn´t that actually the same thing, that´s happening when you plug in a dual mono source?

P.S. Welcome back.

Thanks!

@canecreek
Nice photo btw!

[TheTeknomage]

I don´t think there´s a difference between panning a mono signal and balancing a dual mono signal - or is there?

probably not much, but the duel mono will be on both left and right, so in theory a single mono should be dead centre and easier to position. Also you’re only using one input on the mixer.

And wouldn´t a stereo fx treat a mono signal in the same way it would treat a dual mono signal?
When you plug in a mono cable, fx processors usually send the same signal to both sides and process it.
Isn´t that actually the same thing, that´s happening when you plug in a dual mono source?

In some not all. The VF1 has mono or stereo effects. In some of those say like Stereo Delay, you can have different delay times for the right and left channels. In Stereo Multis you can have left / right separate or linked.

[HyperstationJr]

The last year or so has been a crazy whirlwind of gear selling, trading, and buying… I sold literally 80% of my instruments, only keeping two (and I still might sell one of them).

First new toy I bought, after not having bought any music-related equipment in over a decade, was an Octatrack Mk1. I spent a lot of time with that thing, and loved how crazy is could get. I haven’t been so into an instrument since I bought my first Nord Modular.

Since I first bought the Octatrack, I sold it, bought an Octatrack Mk2, Analog Four Mk2, a Machinedrum UW+ Mk2, and traded for a Digitone.

I don’t really like buying a ton of new gear at a time, (can you tell…), and I tried to spend as much time with each piece individually as I could, and poor Octatrack sat in the corner, cold and unused. I even considered selling it for a Digitakt or similar.

I just turned it on after really not using it much at all in the last 6 months, and it blew my mind all over again. I really love some of the other gear I have, I sold everything else I didn’t, but the OT is seriously one of the most inspiring things I own next to the Nord Modular G2.

Anyway, moral of the story is bust out the gear you have sitting on the shelf, you bought it for a reason. If you don’t like it, maybe it’s time to sell, but maybe you’ll end up loving it all over again.

[Schnork]

Absolutely. I’m really jazzed to be able to just jam cables in the thing and have the routing already done. It’s a stereotype, but I really do sit and think “I’ll just connect up this thing and record it” and then look at the mess of cables and having to drag equipment around and then go find something else to do instead.

Not having to think about the boring, tedious crap opens up a lot of time for creativity.

It’s so nice to have everything accessible on the patchbay!
I ordered new cables recently, so I could connect more ins/outs to the patchbay. So far, I only had Octatrack and the synths on my desk connected.
Quadraverb, H9 could easily be patched into all of them via patchbay.
But now I also got the Analog Keys inputs, Octatrack inputs and 2x outs from my audio interface on the patchbay.

I should have done that earlier…Even though I had the AK sitting on my desk, I’d usually use Abletons Auto Filter for transitions etc.

Oh man…Analog Keys as stereo analog filter on drums can sound so damn nice!

[canecreek]

Patch bays, another head scratcher I’ve got planned to delve into…

[canecreek]

can’t stop thinking of these two albums whilst messing with this pedal…

[Artificer]

Patch bays, another head scratcher I’ve got planned to delve into…

So far, I’m loving it. You can kind of think of it like patch points on a modular, but for all your audio gear. Of course it’s not doing anything that you couldn’t do with regular cables, but having everything consolidated into a single place where you just patch outs to ins is really freeing. ‘Jumpering’ between outs and ins makes routing a breeze.

I’m shy a couple cables to have everything hooked up, but I’ve got 4 outs and 6 ins to my interface, which lets me route tracks into outboard gear and back, and connect external devices like synths and whatnot without fumbling around in the back of the rack. Combined with internal DAW routing, it’s easy to set up sends/returns for busses and whatnot.

For the $50-100, I think it’s a great buy for anyone with a lot of hardware.

I ordered new cables recently, so I could connect more ins/outs to the patchbay. So far, I only had Octatrack and the synths on my desk connected.

I just ordered a 30’ length of cable and some 1/4" males to make my own. Comes out to about the same cost as cheap patch cables, and I get to pick the length and higher quality. Right now I’ve scavenged all my patch cables and have a couple of way-too-long ones patched in - still the same spaghetti mess, just consolidated behind the patchbay for now.

I totally agree with the “I should have done this sooner” sentiment. It’s nice to get use of things that have just been sitting around.

[HyperstationJr]

It also saved me from having to buy a mixer. I’m never using all my hardware all at once, so I can use my MOTU828 and multitrack 8 channels, and choose which instruments get recorded or monitored.

Also a lot of my gear can also process other gear, so it makes routing audio into this or that synths filter, or into the Octatrack for resampling, way easier.

[AikiGhost]

Found the very well hidden Polyend Tracker manual… https://polyend.com/manuals-2/#quick-start-tips-tricks

The unlisted videos in here are really interesting… the performance mode videos espeically are very cool. This as the sampler and midi out to analogs is going to be great fun…

Performance mode

Performing with random patterns

[Schnork]

I really like iOS Ruismaker Troublemaker 303 but I’d like to have a dedicated clone of 303 some day for sure. There are so many now I’m kind of waiting on one to go on a stupidly priced no-brainer sale.

I’m soo in love with the Bass Bot
I was already prepared to spend some time with adjusting the trimmers for cutoff and resonance, but it sounds just gorgeous right out of the box!

Btw, not sure if it always comes with a decksaver (mine was b-stock), but the black version is already 50€ cheaper than the silver one, then the b-stock was additional 50€ off.
Usually I miss on those crazy deals (damn, still can’t get over the fact, that I missed that ridiculous sale Thomann had on the Elektron Analog Drive (89€) lol ), so I’m still cheering.

[Auto-meh-geddon]

I’m looking into H9 Eventide or Line 6 Helix fx.
Any opinions?

[Schnork]

Got the H9 (standart version) since a few month, bought a few additional algos.
All I can say it sounds amazing. The effects don’t layer on top of a signal (like some fx tend to do), but rather interweave in a very nice way. (If that makes any sense^^).
The ui isn’t fun obviously, but since there are only ten parameters on an algorithm, it actually works pretty well imho.
No midi feedback, though. So parameter jumps are unavoidable if you work with a midi controller (btw, there’s a nice nice midi controller for the H9

I love it, although some people seem not to like the ui at all…