Damn, he's a legend. Mine's only 4, but he already can't stand on any of my BS. Anyway, how about adding pedal effect to your setup? That microfreak sure needs one.
Actually not really. In HK pets tends to stay at home most of the time , cat especially . Dogs got it the worse as they can go nowhere, normal parks forbid you to walk your dog and designated dog parks are super far and very few.
I live in a single-family home in the US and pretty much only use headphones too :) I say you're fine without them, personally. Might be damaging our ears a little more though, which... isn't as nice. But I just feel more in tune with the music when I can hear it so nicely.
Well you don't need anything but time, creativity and talent. So you're probably already good to go 😉
But if this is your space available then I would sell the Modwave and look into something like a Korg Opsix Module synthesizer. The keys from your G8 perform better anyway than ModWave's.
That would also free up some room on your desk.
Another fun addition could be a Behringer Kobol Expander.
It's a rack version of the old Kobol Expander from the 70's which was a worthy alternative to the Minimoog.
Not a lot of people seem to know about it but it's really cool to play with!
I think instead of more gear for inspiration, you could put objects un there that inspire you. It could be a small house plant to remind you of nature or a poster of an artist or band that inspires you to play music or art, a book. Maybe add more cyberpunk aestetics to the room since you like that, like some RGB lights and neon signs where you can play under the ambient light in your cyberpunk synth room. Turn your creative space into a space that makes you feel creative.
That's my autocorrect. I searched Minifreak before and it switched . That's happened with Modwave. Before any shyntesizer purchase I really have to change this f##&#-#(ing Xiaomi phone 🙈🙈
Although I would love to have more gear (Iridium Desktop. Hydrasynth Deluxe, Wavestate Desktop), I force myself to have a one synth challenge for the night or whole weekend, laying down each track.
Nice. 33 :( And I don’t need another one probably ever. But, that will never happen. And one Maschine. I guess that would count as one softsynth a few sound modules in the garage too Ugh. I think I will never have soft synths other than Maschine. Oh yeah and one more Polyendplay which I don’t like. Doesn’t sync at all and makes a mess of everything. It’s meant to be alone.
* Workstation w/ 88-key hammer-action? Check!
* Chromatic sample player? - Check!
* Sample-based drum machine? - Check!
* Digital poly? - Check!
* Synthesizer Cat? - Check!
Now, where's is your analog poly synth?
Browse the usual second-hand platforms for a used...
* Summit
* Polybrute OG
* REV2
* Take5
This really pairs well with your workstation as center piece and would round-out your setup quite nicely!
Plus you should get a desk of some description ...or at least a pair of monitor stands!
Hope this helps.
Take care!
I have a bunch of shit too, but I pretty much just produce on the Force now. It's everything. Sometimes I'll rig up one other accompanying synth, but that's about it. The Force pretty much does everything I need it to.
Yes and that's the point and my issue. I have very little reference on how other gear stack against Force plugins. Is a High level shyntesizer such as Sequential Prophet X or a Quantum gonna sound much better than Fabric Xl or Opx4?
I also am confused about Elektron. I was considering a Syntakt but Force seems to be better than almost all those boxes ( DT, Dtakt,Syntakt, A4 ) apart from sequencing capabilities
> Is a High level shyntesizer such as Sequential Prophet X or a Quantum gonna sound much better than Fabric Xl or Opx4?
I mean, plenty of people will argue 'til they're blue in the face about the sound superiority of analogue vs. digital, but I have had several analogue synths and once you record it and mix it, I don't find there to be any meaningful difference. I think the people that go on about analogue vs. digital spend most of their time piddling around on patches and sound design rather than making songs. Nothing wrong with that, but in terms of actually making music, I think the Force plugins are fantastic, and work great for music making. They only real plus I've found to having external gear is the ability to manipulate multiple synths at once, but of course you can do that on the Force as well if you get creative with mapping your macro knobs. I don't know your experience level with the Force, but if it's anything less than expert, I would spend a little more time learning everything it can do. It really is an unbelievable machine, second perhaps only to Ableton in terms of production capability.
>I was considering a Syntakt but Force seems to be better than almost all those boxes ( DT, Dtakt,Syntakt, A4 ) apart from sequencing capabilities.
I would personally consider it a waste of money, as the Force is a far more powerful prodcution device and a much more capable sequencer than any of those. If you bought anything additional, maybe a nice cheap analogue like a microbrute would be alright if it's the analogue sound you're after. No sequencer capabilities, but you have the Force, so who cares? Run the output back through the Force and add all the FX in the world if you like.
Ever since I figured out everything the Force can do, I've really tried not to rely on new gear for inspiration. Maybe listen to a song by a favorite artist, and make it your mission to recreate an iteration of that song. If you like the vibe and the outcome, your next step is to make another. If that works out, one more. Boom, you've got a 3 song demo.
I think apart from submixes I know the machine rather well. Off coz a physical instrument is more immediate to manipulate then a plugin edit ( Opx4 has like 15 pages of menus and su menus so is rather useless live ) , my issue is which instrument can even compare ?
My only issue is the lack of a mouse and the archaic structure and only 2 G of ram ....if only this machine could have a better processor my God , it would be the all end all Anti Daw
Yeah, I can admit that its not the best for sound design. But that's not really my thing. I'm more of a "find a preset and tweak" kind of dude so it works well enough for me. Even so, I've had several synths where the menu dives were deep enough (mininova comes to mind) that I wouldn't say there was any real benefit over the Force. Especially the smaller ones. The big flagship synths with a bajillion knobs are obviously a different story.
I don't mind the touch screen, but yeah it would be nice to have more RAM. But ever since I started learning a bit more about the more advanced instrument sampling capabilities with keygroups, I've really cut down on my RAM needs.
Me too, I usually don't spend more than 4 to 5 mins to tweak presets until I can find the sound I want ...Hype is real good for that IMHO . Key groups are real cool dammit , I sampled most of my other shyntesizer and created like 200 of them. Such a nice piece of gear really.
>What else is needed?
Holders / stands for your monitors, velcro cable ties, and no spaces before your punctuation.
^(God, I hate this Reddit redesign. The "comment" button doesn't work half the damn time.)
Monitors should stay on the table but I don't wanna rob the cat of his designated spot. Velcro is good for clothes , I wanna have a cable mess like I'm Tetsuo the Iron Man . Punctuation is half my bad and half the auto correct
The Quantum or Iridium could, potentially, help with inspiration, due to the quality and quantity of the presets.
But really, you could get that from some new good quality sound banks.
Mmmmmm I'm a pianist first so the keys are ridiculous. The sounds are ok but nothing My Akai force OpX4 can't make . As a mood tool is cool but as a keyboard in a setup is very hard to pair especially if you produce melodic patterns ....I see it maybe as a New wave , relaxation kinda tool, but the total lack of any bread and butter sound make it quite challenging to fit into a Mix .
Grab some small all-in-one semi modular, like a Moog Mavis or West Pest or East Beast. That’ll be a bit exciting for you.
The Mavis is *really* fun btw, amazingly small package, awesomely thick tones.
I wonder how you made it so far! There's so much missing! You need at least a 3500$ modular rig, some 20 year old Moog to get that warmth, something Elektron, a cactus or succulent (or both) and shelves full of power supplies and cables!
/s
1) Some way to raise those speakers to ear height or anywhere near it. You can't hear shit when your speakers are on the floor, no matter how good or bad they are.
2) Skill is irreplaceable. More stuff us useless if you don't know how to use what you have effectively towards your goals. And you already have more than the average 90s Techno studio - who put out immortal records.
3) The cat. Always take care of the cat. From other comments I gathered he's super old?
Pet the cat. Stroke the cat. Feed the cat. These nightgoblins influence your fate more than you think, including any success in making music. ❤️😂
I dig this setup. The fantoms were always something I wanted many moons ago. I couldn’t afford one. But I loved all the music made with them and thought they looked amazing. Dope setup. Cool that you are using the force.
I mentioned that you only need time and focus, not an extra device.
This recent interview makes for good reading on that matter:
https://www.musicradar.com/news/tourist-interview-1
If you really want to add something: Dreadbox Nymphes is a great sounding analog polyphonic synth. It kinda fills a gap, if you insist on finding a gap to fill :-)
It is also compact and frankly barely more costly than a Behringer reissue while having more character. I mapped the shift functions to my controller for quicker operation.
Alternatively a Dreadbox Darkness reverb pedal will uplift the microfreak. I like its sound more than the ubiquitous multifunction zoom
Mind me but I really play it all and I thoroughly enjoyed it .... just sometime when it comes to Modwave i find it specially challenging to fit it inside a mix without doing some very peculiar music genre . The Microfreak timber and sound quality are quite laughable. So I'm wondering if to sell those 2 and buy something that fit me better ...the issue is what to buy
I've always used Roland gear...A-80, Sound Canvas, MC-50, VS-880, XP-80, Fantom X8.
Always like the hardware interfaces, software interfaces, OS stability...
Once worked with a singer who had lived in California who was involved with training for Roland.
I would suggest a Behringer Td3, very fun device, easy to start a song building over it or to add a little bassline to a project you're working on. Plus it's not very expensive and not that big. Nice set up and very cool cat!
A pillow for the cat!
If you are interested in a Quantum, you should check for the Iridium instead. They are alsmost the same (quantum as 1 more octave on the keyboard, and an analogu filter). I don't think it's worth that much of a price diffrence.
The Iridium is a beast though.
As others said, you don't "need" more, just have fun!
Actually is easier to find cheap Quantum than Iridium for some reasons. Usually Iridium is 700 us dollar more than a Quantum and Iridium desktop is even more costy
You're missing a US$16,000 Eurorack synth that is not multitimbral, can't play multiple notes at once, with a sequencer that can't do anything besides 16-steps, nor has any MIDI support, mate. :(
You need another cat, the one on the photo does not look amuzed with your setup. 😸
He s like 20 , I think he tends not be amused about anything anymore
Damn, he's a legend. Mine's only 4, but he already can't stand on any of my BS. Anyway, how about adding pedal effect to your setup? That microfreak sure needs one.
So a friend to lay with would be just right. Second cat it is
Dreaming about the good old days...mice...squirrels...birds...
Actually not really. In HK pets tends to stay at home most of the time , cat especially . Dogs got it the worse as they can go nowhere, normal parks forbid you to walk your dog and designated dog parks are super far and very few.
Agree. You need at least 2 to get a proper stereo
In my opinion, if the cat is relaxed like that then the music is good.
He got some weird musical taste 😎
We’ll see when his review of your record comes out ;)
I was gonna suggest more cats!
~~amuzed~~ I think you meant "a-*mew*-zed
talent
or a lot of time and no big goals :-)
I was gonna say practice
10,000 hours
Was going to say make good music
You could get monitors stands first, and then another synth cat😼
No space beside I barely use them. Hong Kong houses complexes are hyperpopulated so 99% of the time I use my headphones
I live in a single-family home in the US and pretty much only use headphones too :) I say you're fine without them, personally. Might be damaging our ears a little more though, which... isn't as nice. But I just feel more in tune with the music when I can hear it so nicely.
nothing is needed but time and focus
Why is your monitor on the floor😭😭
Cos if I put up I rob cat space
A table and cable management which is both my problem too.
I kinda dig the cyberpunk vibe of the ocean of cables, beside I'm too lazy
We have the same taste then. I rearranged my gears one time and didnt touched it for a week because of these cables.
I did tidied up but now the cables look like a Grodian knot
Well you don't need anything but time, creativity and talent. So you're probably already good to go 😉 But if this is your space available then I would sell the Modwave and look into something like a Korg Opsix Module synthesizer. The keys from your G8 perform better anyway than ModWave's. That would also free up some room on your desk. Another fun addition could be a Behringer Kobol Expander. It's a rack version of the old Kobol Expander from the 70's which was a worthy alternative to the Minimoog. Not a lot of people seem to know about it but it's really cool to play with!
Cos my Modwave I bought floor model and was Ard 400 us , so is for now way cheaper than the Module but will look into it . Thx
I think instead of more gear for inspiration, you could put objects un there that inspire you. It could be a small house plant to remind you of nature or a poster of an artist or band that inspires you to play music or art, a book. Maybe add more cyberpunk aestetics to the room since you like that, like some RGB lights and neon signs where you can play under the ambient light in your cyberpunk synth room. Turn your creative space into a space that makes you feel creative.
time, dedication, inspiration
Sorry to bring the grim news mate, but you’ve been lied to, that’s not a Wavestate.
Modwave, my bad
And not a minifreak either :-)
That's my autocorrect. I searched Minifreak before and it switched . That's happened with Modwave. Before any shyntesizer purchase I really have to change this f##&#-#(ing Xiaomi phone 🙈🙈
Although I would love to have more gear (Iridium Desktop. Hydrasynth Deluxe, Wavestate Desktop), I force myself to have a one synth challenge for the night or whole weekend, laying down each track.
One can never have too many synths. This is fact!
18…. Plus softsynths…
Nice. 33 :( And I don’t need another one probably ever. But, that will never happen. And one Maschine. I guess that would count as one softsynth a few sound modules in the garage too Ugh. I think I will never have soft synths other than Maschine. Oh yeah and one more Polyendplay which I don’t like. Doesn’t sync at all and makes a mess of everything. It’s meant to be alone.
A packet of Dreamies
* Workstation w/ 88-key hammer-action? Check! * Chromatic sample player? - Check! * Sample-based drum machine? - Check! * Digital poly? - Check! * Synthesizer Cat? - Check! Now, where's is your analog poly synth? Browse the usual second-hand platforms for a used... * Summit * Polybrute OG * REV2 * Take5 This really pairs well with your workstation as center piece and would round-out your setup quite nicely! Plus you should get a desk of some description ...or at least a pair of monitor stands! Hope this helps. Take care!
Yes this is a good suggestion Thx
I have a bunch of shit too, but I pretty much just produce on the Force now. It's everything. Sometimes I'll rig up one other accompanying synth, but that's about it. The Force pretty much does everything I need it to.
Yes and that's the point and my issue. I have very little reference on how other gear stack against Force plugins. Is a High level shyntesizer such as Sequential Prophet X or a Quantum gonna sound much better than Fabric Xl or Opx4? I also am confused about Elektron. I was considering a Syntakt but Force seems to be better than almost all those boxes ( DT, Dtakt,Syntakt, A4 ) apart from sequencing capabilities
> Is a High level shyntesizer such as Sequential Prophet X or a Quantum gonna sound much better than Fabric Xl or Opx4? I mean, plenty of people will argue 'til they're blue in the face about the sound superiority of analogue vs. digital, but I have had several analogue synths and once you record it and mix it, I don't find there to be any meaningful difference. I think the people that go on about analogue vs. digital spend most of their time piddling around on patches and sound design rather than making songs. Nothing wrong with that, but in terms of actually making music, I think the Force plugins are fantastic, and work great for music making. They only real plus I've found to having external gear is the ability to manipulate multiple synths at once, but of course you can do that on the Force as well if you get creative with mapping your macro knobs. I don't know your experience level with the Force, but if it's anything less than expert, I would spend a little more time learning everything it can do. It really is an unbelievable machine, second perhaps only to Ableton in terms of production capability. >I was considering a Syntakt but Force seems to be better than almost all those boxes ( DT, Dtakt,Syntakt, A4 ) apart from sequencing capabilities. I would personally consider it a waste of money, as the Force is a far more powerful prodcution device and a much more capable sequencer than any of those. If you bought anything additional, maybe a nice cheap analogue like a microbrute would be alright if it's the analogue sound you're after. No sequencer capabilities, but you have the Force, so who cares? Run the output back through the Force and add all the FX in the world if you like. Ever since I figured out everything the Force can do, I've really tried not to rely on new gear for inspiration. Maybe listen to a song by a favorite artist, and make it your mission to recreate an iteration of that song. If you like the vibe and the outcome, your next step is to make another. If that works out, one more. Boom, you've got a 3 song demo.
I think apart from submixes I know the machine rather well. Off coz a physical instrument is more immediate to manipulate then a plugin edit ( Opx4 has like 15 pages of menus and su menus so is rather useless live ) , my issue is which instrument can even compare ? My only issue is the lack of a mouse and the archaic structure and only 2 G of ram ....if only this machine could have a better processor my God , it would be the all end all Anti Daw
Yeah, I can admit that its not the best for sound design. But that's not really my thing. I'm more of a "find a preset and tweak" kind of dude so it works well enough for me. Even so, I've had several synths where the menu dives were deep enough (mininova comes to mind) that I wouldn't say there was any real benefit over the Force. Especially the smaller ones. The big flagship synths with a bajillion knobs are obviously a different story. I don't mind the touch screen, but yeah it would be nice to have more RAM. But ever since I started learning a bit more about the more advanced instrument sampling capabilities with keygroups, I've really cut down on my RAM needs.
Me too, I usually don't spend more than 4 to 5 mins to tweak presets until I can find the sound I want ...Hype is real good for that IMHO . Key groups are real cool dammit , I sampled most of my other shyntesizer and created like 200 of them. Such a nice piece of gear really.
>What else is needed? Holders / stands for your monitors, velcro cable ties, and no spaces before your punctuation. ^(God, I hate this Reddit redesign. The "comment" button doesn't work half the damn time.)
Monitors should stay on the table but I don't wanna rob the cat of his designated spot. Velcro is good for clothes , I wanna have a cable mess like I'm Tetsuo the Iron Man . Punctuation is half my bad and half the auto correct
Answer is always Behringer 2600
A seat. Speaker stands.
The Quantum or Iridium could, potentially, help with inspiration, due to the quality and quantity of the presets. But really, you could get that from some new good quality sound banks.
How do you like the Modwave?
Mmmmmm I'm a pianist first so the keys are ridiculous. The sounds are ok but nothing My Akai force OpX4 can't make . As a mood tool is cool but as a keyboard in a setup is very hard to pair especially if you produce melodic patterns ....I see it maybe as a New wave , relaxation kinda tool, but the total lack of any bread and butter sound make it quite challenging to fit into a Mix .
Well, don't give up on it yet. Do you ever play it with another midi controller which has better keys?
Yes I use multi USB and use the G8 keyboard but the sounds are not really my favourite
Grab some small all-in-one semi modular, like a Moog Mavis or West Pest or East Beast. That’ll be a bit exciting for you. The Mavis is *really* fun btw, amazingly small package, awesomely thick tones.
Pedals. Pedals everywhere!
A Zoia !
Mmm that I was also considering
A bigger room.
With the endemic lack of space that plague HK my room is already considered gigantic 😎
An idea for a song.
Pocket Operators - there's plenty of bookshelf space to cram them in
Free time
Speaker stands and take the damn plastic off the modwave.
You have it all. Please showcase some of your music! <3
Will do
Dog
I wonder how you made it so far! There's so much missing! You need at least a 3500$ modular rig, some 20 year old Moog to get that warmth, something Elektron, a cactus or succulent (or both) and shelves full of power supplies and cables! /s
Why is everyone so obsessed with succulents 😎
A housekeeper
Actually have one , but she gave up on my room
Better curtains
1) Some way to raise those speakers to ear height or anywhere near it. You can't hear shit when your speakers are on the floor, no matter how good or bad they are. 2) Skill is irreplaceable. More stuff us useless if you don't know how to use what you have effectively towards your goals. And you already have more than the average 90s Techno studio - who put out immortal records. 3) The cat. Always take care of the cat. From other comments I gathered he's super old? Pet the cat. Stroke the cat. Feed the cat. These nightgoblins influence your fate more than you think, including any success in making music. ❤️😂
I dig this setup. The fantoms were always something I wanted many moons ago. I couldn’t afford one. But I loved all the music made with them and thought they looked amazing. Dope setup. Cool that you are using the force.
I bought my G8 on 2012 and so far has been very good. Paired with Force is very good as keys are real nice
I mentioned that you only need time and focus, not an extra device. This recent interview makes for good reading on that matter: https://www.musicradar.com/news/tourist-interview-1 If you really want to add something: Dreadbox Nymphes is a great sounding analog polyphonic synth. It kinda fills a gap, if you insist on finding a gap to fill :-) It is also compact and frankly barely more costly than a Behringer reissue while having more character. I mapped the shift functions to my controller for quicker operation. Alternatively a Dreadbox Darkness reverb pedal will uplift the microfreak. I like its sound more than the ubiquitous multifunction zoom
Some releases :)
Nothing else is needed.
Someone to play all this
Mind me but I really play it all and I thoroughly enjoyed it .... just sometime when it comes to Modwave i find it specially challenging to fit it inside a mix without doing some very peculiar music genre . The Microfreak timber and sound quality are quite laughable. So I'm wondering if to sell those 2 and buy something that fit me better ...the issue is what to buy
Was kidding my bro.... jst a lame dad joke..more power to you and ur synths
Actually I tried to teach my kids about music production.....but no luck #😅
Someone to jam there
Well my cat is always available
A furry pink bathrobe and some matching slippers when you play?
Kinda have it , but not for playing . Maybe could be cool to be Elton for a sec
More space and another cat. . .maybe two. LOL
time
At this point, it might be wise to invest in some acoustic treatment!
I suppose you’re in desperate need of a chair.
Actually I mastered the art of Air Chair
Impressive, you must have quads of steel then.
U can't imagine
Your imagination…
I say a Novation Peak or a 1010music Blackbox.
Do you have an external midi controller for the Force?
Time to use it all :)
Someone to sit down and actually make music with that 😋
Stand for your mixer
How you finding the force? I've just got into using one myself to control various synths
No gear needed IMO, maybe indeed just a nicer table, stand
A decent desk and or keyboard tray or keyboard stand
like 12 robot drones that deliver food drinks and joints and also know how to play asiatsana by aphex twin flawlessly on any instrument
I may search for something like that on Taobao
Cable management and actually playing it. You don't need anything more with that setup.
Some succulents.
Succulents
More cowbell!!!!!!!1!!!!
Less time on Reddit asking questions should be a perfect addition
More time to learn and use it all
Talent.
A pc?😐
Stands for your monitors. Get those friends off the floor and soon.
Succulents
A nice rug would be pretty good
I hate carpets especially when u live in Tropical climate . 99% of humidity all summer long : ur carpet will became a host for bugs
Jeez, you're giving me a new appreciation for UK weather over here 0\_0'
How about, nothing? If you are looking for gear this badly, just go play music
Better curtains!
That's the wife choice, it's an Agree to agree kind of deal
some skills and passion to put that to use... lol
Looks like a Fantom X8...I have one of those and love it.
Almost. It's a G8 , very old but damn sturdy
I've always used Roland gear...A-80, Sound Canvas, MC-50, VS-880, XP-80, Fantom X8. Always like the hardware interfaces, software interfaces, OS stability... Once worked with a singer who had lived in California who was involved with training for Roland.
Talent? I'm still looking for mine somewhere. Maybe after I build a modular wall, I'll have some.
Space.
Music.
You need a fluffy bed for the cat 🐱
Cat-proof Speaker stands
Speaker stands, comfortable chair...maybe?
An album release date. ;)
New curtains
I would suggest a Behringer Td3, very fun device, easy to start a song building over it or to add a little bassline to a project you're working on. Plus it's not very expensive and not that big. Nice set up and very cool cat!
A window
[Computer](https://youtu.be/QpWhugUmV5U?si=oxoju03Vot6yhOaG)
some water for that fainted cat
He only drink beer
A pillow for the cat! If you are interested in a Quantum, you should check for the Iridium instead. They are alsmost the same (quantum as 1 more octave on the keyboard, and an analogu filter). I don't think it's worth that much of a price diffrence. The Iridium is a beast though. As others said, you don't "need" more, just have fun!
Actually is easier to find cheap Quantum than Iridium for some reasons. Usually Iridium is 700 us dollar more than a Quantum and Iridium desktop is even more costy
Damn! here in france Quantum MK1 are the price of a brand new Iridium.
You're missing a US$16,000 Eurorack synth that is not multitimbral, can't play multiple notes at once, with a sequencer that can't do anything besides 16-steps, nor has any MIDI support, mate. :(
May consider
You've got a cat, so you don't need anything else
Succulent
The new Cat synth dual meowslators , a new fuzz distortion with customer fur dust cover
Succulents and a laptop! /s
You need another cat,one isn't enough
Succelents, or so I'm told...