The Hardware Megathread

Really enjoyed both the videos. Loving the synth sounds in particular. Was having a little trouble hearing you over the sequence in the walkthrough video as you added more sounds, but I like hearing about all the modules and routing.

1 Like

Ive been in LA for work, spending my days working on Prophet 6’s and X’s, programming the ableton’s… etc. I decided to bring my Roland TB03 with me for this trip. its small, it can be its own interface, is battery operated and is an instantly recognizable sound.

What a fun box. I lent it to a friend 6 months ago or so and sort of forgot, not that i owned it, but that it was so much fun! I brushed up on the manual and discovered a function menu that offers different delay/verb types as well as distortion types. I had mainly used the sequencer in “pitch mode”, which is the sort of easy way of programming it, but watched a couple of tutorials and switched it back over to OG 303 style sequencing. Holy cow, the happy accidents… i punch in a scale or string of notes and then bash those old time mode buttons and hit Run. Its like the lottery, only your odds are better.

I cant wait to get back to use my MPC2500 to fire the sequencer’s “Trigger in” for even more interesting rhythmic manipulation. Motivating to put together a set w the TB03, MS20mini and SQ1 sequencer all driven by the MPC.

5 Likes

Can sequenced instruments like drum machines and synths sequence more than one bar?

Depends on the instrument and how precise you want to be with your timing. Most sequencers talk about length in terms of steps, which are usually delineated in 16th or 32nd notes (I think?).

For example, lets say you have a 64 step sequencer with 16th note steps. Normally, you’d think of that as 4 bars (64/16) at 120bpm, but if you wanted 32nd notes, you could also think of that as 2 bars with 32nd note grids (64/32) at 240bpm. Or, if you’re working with super quantized chords that don’t need many changes, you could just have it be qaurter notes at 1/4 the original bpm (64/4 = 16 bars at 30 bpm). Really depends on how you choose to use it and again, what instrument/sequencer we’re talking about.

The popular ones I guess

Elektron ones usually sequence 4 bars of 16 beats each, Akai MPCs can have sequences of 999 bars long (Might be less than that, but very long) so some people use a sequence as a single song, Korg Electribe I think have 4 bars.

On top of that you want to consider how many tracks can be played at once…

So yeah, quite a big question.

I’d say most popular sequencers/drum machines are more than one bar unless it is a dedicated recreation of some of the classic drum machines. Also, many of these machines would accept MIDI from your DAW so theoretically they could have as many bars as you need.

As others said this is a huge question that couldn’t easily be answered. Most reviews of gear cover this. It is a matter of doing the research yourself really.

4 bars 64 steps is pretty common for modern mid to high end gear.

1 to 4 bars is the standard fare these days for a normal synth or drum machine, but there are exceptions to that rule. If you want more powerful sequencing capabilities, then you need to look at workstation/groove boxes, or workstation keyboards. These give you pretty much limitless number of bars (enough to create a complete song at least over multiple tracks, usually 16 but some offer 32. The are only really restricted by note capacity. This can range from 100,000 notes to 400,000 notes. These can be made up as patterns, or complete songs.

3 Likes

Van Daal Electronics has the PreenFM2 in stock again after aaaages of being out of stock. Just ordered one in a fit of fiscal irresponsibility. Looking forward to this, I have lusted after this thing for years.
https://vandaal-electronics.com/product/preenfm-kit/

2 Likes

Thanks @White_Noise I kept forgetting about momentary mode but tried it last night and it’s brilliant.

This is trolling, right?

1 Like

I obtained a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro 250 Ohm monitor headphones per @_ms’s recommendation, and I can easily say these are the best headphones I’ve ever used.

My mixing/master game just got so much more intimate. Haha.

2 Likes

I actually wouldn’t mind spending some dough on a studio pair of headphones. I’ll wait for my Sweetwater and check from there. They’ll be on the list.

1 Like

That’s what I chose to go with. I have a small sized head, so they fit great. Super comfortable. I live in mine.

Just be quiet

I would have given you the same recommendation. :smiley: I have the “edition” version, primarily because of the looser fit as I have a huge melon. Great for mixing and I like them for listening/gaming equally.

this is very good content, i didn’t watch this vid but i checked some of the skinny puppy mixes out, and the compression one. very good shit

So I have been learning my minilogue xdm without a computer.
I do like the bag of tricks it contains.with some creative menu diving,it has some unique hidden gems.any how next month I was thinking of adding a beat step pro,however can I use it to run things in live,and the korg?or would it be a waste of money?
New comp coming soon.

I believe you could have a VST in live set to take MIDI from the beatstep yes. Don’t know live so I couldn’t tell you how, but I’m sure it’s doable.

1 Like

Yes. You just pick the Beatstep Pro as the MIDI input for the track your plugin instrument is on from a dropdown menu, assuming it’s plugged in to a USB port on the computer. I did this with my Squarp Pyramid a lot.

1 Like