The Hardware Megathread

#2201

Does anyone know why the Novation Impulse is so expensive? I’m pretty sure I can get an actual synth for that price.

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#2202

I don’t see how the DSP cards are a sensible route, particularly nowadays, unless it’s for some exclusive plug-ins. How though, are they really worth it? There are so many good quality alternatives around without the £$€ hardware requirements.

#2203

there are 49 key controllers more expensive than the Impulse 49’s $300 USD. Are you located somewhere that this thing is significantly more expensive?

#2204

I sort of got roped into UAD. I had a friend I was touring with (he’s a front of house livesound guy) upgrade the one he was using for the tour we were on and offered his old one up for a really good deal. It was only then that I thought to expand w more horsepower.

I’m working on a record for clients currently and the track counts are REALLY high (I didn’t track it, it was handed off to me. I’m in the “sort this out and mix it stage”) so the additional processing goes a long way.

That said, there will be a time that I’ll not be able to upgrade this computer any further and at that point this rig will just be what it is. I’m ok with that, so I figured I’d beef it up as much as I can.

#2205

back in 2004 when i first got DSP cards they were actually a good idea as CPU’s were pretty crap thus they took the burden, however today they really are just a ball and chain.

If you look at the time line of my post and the fact Mac Pro cheese graters were very popular in 2008 it now looks quite obvious to me that UA deliberately didn’t fix the UAD-1 PCIe in the timely fashion they should of in-order to sell UAD-2’s.

Because i bought the BAX EQ from Plugin Alliance they sent me a $20 off voucher, so I’ve just purchased their SSL 4000e channel strip for £30.37 :heart_eyes:

#2206

I can see the rationale there

#2207

Nice!

#2209

Mostly concerned with making house and techno. Any sub $300 sound making devices or essential FXs I’m missing out on? I have a Monostation, Model: Samples and iPad. I sketch songs on my gear and finish in DAW. I know there is some cool, inexpensive stuff these days but I’ve not been paying attention. No MIDI controllers.

#2210

This looks like a really cool little hardware FX box and a bonus synth voice when you need it.

#2211

At first glance that might actually be nice little multi-spice device for my setup. Great eye! Thank you. edit: also for 99USD? WTF.

#2212

And some programmers already release some cool things for it, from reverbs to actual groovebox

#2213

Second hand circuit or maybe model: FM or whatever the other one is called. Either would be minimal learning curve.

#2214

The model FM is on my list for sure circuit might be interesting as well, either would match up nicely as I’ve got their sibling already

#2215

I’m well impressed by the Digitakt. It doesn’t feel like something I play but something I carefully program and I’m really fine with it.
I feel I wrote the above already…

#2216

That’s pretty much how all the Elektrons feel to me. Some people seem to manage to play them live. I found them best for tweaking and programming variations on a loop. Despite having a sampler I’d really love to add a Digitakt to my collection.

Anyone here anything about the Behringer TB 303 clone? It has a really nice price tag as well.

#2217

I don’t own any Pittsburgh modules, however it was the first pittsburgh foundation that got me into Eurorack about 8/9 years ago i guess, i lose track of time.

I’m guessing you don’t own any eurorack…

Basically Pittsburgh announced the foundation and i had GAS, however just before i pulled the trigger on it i did a u-turn and bought a Doepfer 9u empty case instead.
The problem i foreseen with the foundation which turned out to be true is theres no room for expansion and theres a lot of gorgeous eurorack modules outhere, if you think your just going to use the foundation alone and not expand then your a braver man than me.

So here’s my point you’ll get a foundation, and as all the modules in the foundation are kinda lacklustre compared to what is outhere, you’ll catch the bug like everybody else does and buy other modules slowly replacing all the modules in the foundation (or not slowly as the craving to expand is immense) and you’ll end up with a heap of Pittsburgh modules that you don’t use.

As you mentioned your getting it cheap so maybe its worth it?, but just be warned you will end up with bigger cases and you will end up with Pittsburgh modules that you won’t use.

#2220

Why not just buy an empty case.

Then you can put exactly what you want in it,

i know its scary jumping in the water for the first time but its actually nice in there,

you only need about two modules, then instinct will tell you what module you need next.

PS i personally think the worst mistake people make when getting into eurorack, is they instinctly want to make a traditional voice when theres more to eurorack than subtractive synthesis.those type who bang on about filters all the time and buy loads of them only to find once you untap eurorack the last thing you look for is a filter.

#2221

Ive not done Eurorack but I would absolutely not even bother trying to build a traditional subtractive synth. All kinds of inexpensive good sound analogs on the market these days.

#2223

I spent a serious bit of time researching modules, buying modules and selling modules until I finally dialed in a pretty solid, truly live improvisational eurorack setup. It basically spits out industrial trash techno. 2 synth voices, complete percussion and 2 voices of sampling.

To do something like this it’s going to cost you but one could definitely make a similar but less capable setup for far less than I put into it. Unfortunately keeping this setup didn’t make financial sense, especially in these crazy times. But I had a shit ton of fun putting it together, learning about modular and jamming on the system for a while.

There isn’t too much straight up “here’s what you need” type guides out there. I found most people I would ask to often times give me the “only you can decide what you need” answer when I’d ask specific build questions. So, I made a guide of my own. First half is a complete walkthrough, second half is a totally live in the moment jam. Hopefully you can find this useful and not just spam…

Side note: I really wish someone would make a groovebox that operates this way. I don’t think it would be that tough conceptually. They could charge half the price I paid for the above and still make a killing.

#2225

I found vcv rack to be cool and somewhat useful but only really started getting a grasp on things once I got my hands on some modules.

Regarding your glitch rack have a look at this website. They aren’t producing modules anymore and much of their inventory is sold out. But with the robust secondhand community finding some of these shouldn’t be too hard if you wanted. There’s a couple pre built systems on here you could look at and google videos of.

Anyway, best of luck to you and your quest…