equipment that instantly inspires workflow

[phesago]

Yeah the 606 is pretty easy going. I love that thing.

Me too... it's so easy I used to play it while driving.
Just run it thru the tape deck!

Oh thats effing beastly! I can just see you pull up at a red light rocking this stellar jam and people looking at you, confused as to whether or not to be in awe or "WTF".

Now get some of those battery powered SP samplers from Roland and you can create entire tracks on the fly! I punned, lol

[skizzle]

my buddy played his monotribe through my tapedeck when he got it a couple weeks ago. hmmmmm, analog through tape. can't wait to see how my 606 and the monotribe get along(probably in a few hours) i've always thought about how cool it'd be to have a battery powered electronic meetup at the park.

[princefan3]

Hi skizzle.. i liked your post on how the arrival of the DX7 and D50 halted your ideas somewhat. do you think manufacturers should heed something from this.

there seemed to be a time when everything was fine with the world, then we go and complicate it all. what happened.?

[mharris80]

what happened.?

The 80's. My guess is, the lack of knobs is part of the reason the DX was able to come in at such a reasonable price point. Any time you look at electronic components, pots will typically be one of the priciest small parts you'll find. A single data slider, on the other hand.... Also, I think it was partly an aesthetic choice as well. It was 1983, after all, and the age of home computers was just getting under way. Something covered in knobs looked downright old-fashioned at that time.

[georgemarauder]

MV8800 - instant access to tons of samples/drums, sequences other gear with ease.
VGA monitor/mouse + DAW like interface minus a computer is a huge plus.

Yeah totally. I love my MV8800. I'm tempted to buy some more samples for it though, I only use the drums and stuff that shipped with the unit.

Best part of the MV8800 is that it records audio seamlessly. It's so easy to build a track just by recording each part one by one. Love it.

[skizzle]

Hi skizzle.. i liked your post on how the arrival of the DX7 and D50 halted your ideas somewhat. do you think manufacturers should heed something from this.

That wasn't me it was DigitalScreams.

[adekoyote]

Yamaha rs7000...very happy not to sit in front of Ableton for a while. Elegant, chunky, and accessible...wonderful to play ideas live. feels like an extension of will and reminds me of the same feel I got when I would party and dance all night at clubs...the real time remix and chord separate function are to die for...the realtime remix can rearrange recognizable preset phrases into something different lickety split...while the chord seperate function can be used to ignore the stupid arpeggiator(no box is perfect)...another thing that I love is the midi fx, the playfx...which provide great ways to "thicken" the sound and also give access to happy accident mixing of the drums. The effect are quick, to the point and accessible...I could see myself getting another one.

Roland MC808. My first groovebox. sequenced by ableton(it is a very awkward sequence)...but it does have a great arpeggiator and I just can't live without the chord memory function.(I am not musically trained)...I can write chords, melodies and bass lines in a quick efficient manner that makes me feel good....it also has the fantom engine...and that was the first engine I learned how to build patches on. I love the mod matrix...I wish they had made the software editor in VSTi format, but what can you do....it was the first synth I could get a hold of when I really wanted external digital synth hardware. I despise the sequencer...I will never like it and it almost gave me a creative stroke and made me question if I was just being spoiled...but I did realize a few important things...first you can record in realtime from ableton to the mc808...more importantly...if you use the MC808 to change the pattern...it instantly splits all the patches and fx settings....so with a bit of planning and paperwork....you can spawn several slightly dissimilar patterns...with exactly one midi note at a velocity of 1(mc808 cannot save empty patterns) and flip from pattern to pattern WHILE it is receiving midi from another source.

yamaha encourages improvisation... MC808 encourages careful planning.

the problem with the yamaha? If you don't plan carefully...you will have a harder time playing live and transitioning.

problem with the mc808...I have to organize everything on an excel sheet. and IF I play live, I have to either play with laptop plus ableton...or realtime record into the box.

I love my creative luxury problems...

[crystalmsc]

The Launchpad.

[bouzoukijoe1]

just purcahsed a Roland 707 on monday.

not only is it an instant machine with a groove, but a very close impression to the Linn LM1.
it sits in the mix well, with a little tinkering.

but to get ideas written down quick, you cant go wrong with this baby.

is there any other equipment you could mention that enables such easy workflow.

"easy workflow" and "inspires workflow" are two different things. easy is like an EMX/ESX or MS-2000.

for inspirational, definitely modular. not necessarily easy but it allows you to come up with the wildest things in the fastest way that would be very hard with a regular synth. there's nothing quite like it when it comes to fluid and accidental exploration. with regular synths, you have to wrestle trying to come up with new sounds, but with a modular it's the opposite. inspirational accidents happen all the time. but the challenge is how to control it. check this out. it starts at about 3:09.


and the more interesting stuff

[nathanscribe]

Workflow: simplicity and functionality, in that order.
Inspiration: simple gear hooked up in interesting ways. I can get more out of a monosynth and a cheap delay than I can out of something that makes me read 100 pages to program an envelope.

[samuraipizzacat29]

I have to say any good sequencer, arpeggiator or the like. Latch an arp and away you go!

A good sampler can also be the night and day difference between doing nothing and being inspired.

Also, just fooling with the i/o on your mixer or audio interface may be just what you need to get that circle of life moving in the right direction. Monitoring my pc interface with my mixer running into it as opposed to monitoring my mixer with my pc running i/o into the mixer made a HUGE difference to my workflow (considering I run maschine).

to me, the hardware itself is one thing, but how you use what you've got is something totally different.

oh, and if you want instant sonic gratification there's ummmmm .....errrrrr...... ipad.....

[krzeppa]

For me it would be the Supernova II....I feel instantly creative when I turn that thing on.
I also like the MonoPoly....it has it limitations, but it makes me think, and in turn new ideas pop in there.
....my newest piece that also gets me working is the Arturia Spark. It is just loads of fun to play with....I may never get to the recording process when playing with it, but I do come up with quite a few fun ideas.

[silikon]

For my workflow, Nothing seems to inspire creativity more than these few items:

Kyma (Pacarana)
EML-101 (now if I could only find a 200)
U&I MetaSynth
Most any of the Sample libraries from Sonic Couture (especially Ondes Martenot and Glassworks)
Masterwriter

I suppose right now that setup would be my 'deserted island' setup.

[garranimal]

Workflow: simplicity and functionality, in that order.
Inspiration: simple gear hooked up in interesting ways. I can get more out of a monosynth and a cheap delay than I can out of something that makes me read 100 pages to program an envelope.

On the subject of easing workflow, the best little investment I have made was a patchbay. I spend much less time fussing with wires behind my mixing desk and more time experimenting with different effect chains.

[bad andy]

My OB8 - every time I get on that thing I just want to crank it to 11. It just sounds so juicy and fat, good things always come from twiddling those knobs.