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I got into programming as a kid through a desire to make music (my first program was a "song" written in pascal, playing a series beep tones at different freque

I got into programming as a kid through a desire to make music (my first program was a "song" written in pascal, playing a series beep tones at different frequencies and durations.) I got into trackers (fast, impulse, buzz) in my teens, and then synths. These days I have a strong preference towards "hardware"* only music making -- I spend most of my waking life staring at a screen, so I find it satisfying to step away and be hands on when creating music. The brains of my studio is a Synthstrom Deluge, which is an amazingly intuitive little gizmo - it has a built in synth and drum machine, a looper, a sampler, and a MIDI sequencer allowing you to drive all other synths in the studio. I also have an Arturia Keystep, which has a great live MIDI sequencer. Another fun gadget is the Roland RC 505, which gives you 5 independent and dubbable loops - I drive one of the two fx sends from my mixer through it, letting me build loops live from any of the other synths. Aside from those I've collected a handful of synths, both FM and analog. (* quotes because pretty much all available synths, analog included, run on software. Most come with USB ports allowing you to connect and change settings, update firmware, etc.)

1290cc 7y ago
Precisely why I prefer using elektron machines. As awesome as ableton and NI's Maschine is I wanted to get as far away from a screen, a desk, OS updates, driver issues and all the junk you deal with as a developer day to day with software. Its great, when I flip on the little machines I know is music making time and I wont have to deal with any hurdles.
TomMarius 7y ago
Thats one of the most interesting hello worlds (like real first hello worlds) I've heard of.
mattmar96 7y ago
Curious, I was looking at a Keystep today. Can it be used as a regular MIDI keyboard as well? (No arp/sequence)
- flavor8 7y ago
  Yeah it can. The keys are small, but it has velocity and aftertouch - it's nice and expressive. Build quality is good.
  - mattmar96 7y ago
    Thanks ️
zupreme 7y ago
You should try Sonic Pi. Its up your alley.
npmaile 7y ago
I'd recommend you check out the Tennage Engineering OP-Z. It's a neat little thing that can do a bunch of the stuff you mentioned, but in a crazy small form factor.
WarDores 7y ago
I'm in the same boat. However, I love the flexibility of a DAW. My "hybrid" solution is the Ableton Push (small LCD screen, but not a monitor) and Komplete Kontrol S88 keyboard. Still get my soft synths, but I can do a ton without even looking at my monitor. I have both facing my window rather than my screen, and it's surprisingly easy to get in the flow.
- discohead 7y ago
  Same here.. I went all in on NI, Maschine Mk3, Jam, S49 Mk2 and Komplete Ultimate. It feels like the best of both worlds. Step sequencing and arranging on the Jam is so nice.
munificent 7y ago
I'm getting back into making electronic music now and I've agonized over where to go the software/computer/DAW route or hardware/groovebox/sequencer. Right now, I'm doing it all on a computer using Reason and a very nice MIDI controller (Arturia KeyLab 61 mkii <3 <3 <3). But I follow the r/synthesizers subreddit and all of the pretty blinky lights and buttons look so fun and the sounds can be amazing. The main things I like about doing it all on a computer are: * Great screen and interface. It's easy to drag and drop and see the composition visually. Boxes like the Digitakt look like a lot of fun, but then I watch a youTube video of it and it's like 80% knob-scrolling through menus on a tiny LCD screen and that doesn't look like fun. * Easy file and data management. It's all just files on a hard drive. It's trivial to switch between projects, back up, restore state, etc. Managing that when the data lives on flash cards across a handful of sequencers seems really stressful to me. I'd be so worried about accidentally losing a patch or something. * It's cheaper. If I want two separate delays with different settings, I can just add a second delay. I don't have to go on Sweetwater and drop another $200. Sure, Eurorack stuff is "modular", but each module requires shelling out cash. In Reason, I can wire up huge racks of crazy stuff without spending a dime. But..., man, the hardware stuff looks like a lot of fun. I also feel like it can be a real struggle to get something that sounds rich and full out of Reason. I can get there, but it takes effort. It's default sound tends to be kind of brittle and dry, which is to be expected from software but can be uninspiring. (I should maybe check out a different DAW, but I know Reason well and exploring different software is a whole other can of worms.) With a lot of hardware gear — at least judging by videos online — you power it up and it sounds fat immediately. I think what really matters the most to me is finding a path that gets me finishing music I like quickly. I don't want to just noodle, but I also want something fun and immediate enough to stay in the moment. I'm still not sure if software or hardware (or a mixture of both?) is the right path for that. Any thoughts on how to dip my toes in the water with hardware to see if that's a better fit?
- space-dandy 7y ago
  Here are some sequencers you could look at (that I've personally owned) Zaquencer - $200. The most sequencer you can get at that price point. But lots of knob turning, no real displays. Its fun though. Toraiz Squid - $600. But it has some great features, and its very 'playable'. You can also drag and drop all of your midi from the device into the DAW. I would suggest starting with purchasing a MIDI interface and a sequencer. Just use them to control software instruments in your DAW. This is my workflow. Make a bunch of patterns in a sequencer. Record audio or MIDI into the DAW. Arrange the patterns. You get you brainstorming done on the hardware but the editing on the software.
discohead 7y ago
My story is similar to yours. I've just recently gone from 100% hardware to a more hybrid setup. I found that while I was having more fun with the hardware setup I wasn't finishing songs. Personally, I still need a computer to do editing and arranging. My new setup is a small eurorack skiff, Bitwig 3 and NI Maschine Mk3/Jam/S49 Mk2 w/ Komplete Ultimate. The integration between NI hardware and Maschine/Komplete Kontrol is amazing, feels like the best of both worlds. I'm definitely considering the Push 2 for Bitwig, although the Maschine Jam does a pretty good job as Bitwig controller.

1290cc 7y ago

Precisely why I prefer using elektron machines. As awesome as ableton and NI's Maschine is I wanted to get as far away from a screen, a desk, OS updates, driver issues and all the junk you deal with as a developer day to day with software. Its great, when I flip on the little machines I know is music making time and I wont have to deal with any hurdles.

TomMarius 7y ago

Thats one of the most interesting hello worlds (like real first hello worlds) I've heard of.

mattmar96 7y ago

Curious, I was looking at a Keystep today. Can it be used as a regular MIDI keyboard as well? (No arp/sequence)

flavor8 7y ago
Yeah it can. The keys are small, but it has velocity and aftertouch - it's nice and expressive. Build quality is good.
- mattmar96 7y ago
  Thanks ️

zupreme 7y ago

You should try Sonic Pi. Its up your alley.

npmaile 7y ago

I'd recommend you check out the Tennage Engineering OP-Z. It's a neat little thing that can do a bunch of the stuff you mentioned, but in a crazy small form factor.

WarDores 7y ago

I'm in the same boat. However, I love the flexibility of a DAW. My "hybrid" solution is the Ableton Push (small LCD screen, but not a monitor) and Komplete Kontrol S88 keyboard. Still get my soft synths, but I can do a ton without even looking at my monitor. I have both facing my window rather than my screen, and it's surprisingly easy to get in the flow.

discohead 7y ago
Same here.. I went all in on NI, Maschine Mk3, Jam, S49 Mk2 and Komplete Ultimate. It feels like the best of both worlds. Step sequencing and arranging on the Jam is so nice.

munificent 7y ago

I'm getting back into making electronic music now and I've agonized over where to go the software/computer/DAW route or hardware/groovebox/sequencer. Right now, I'm doing it all on a computer using Reason and a very nice MIDI controller (Arturia KeyLab 61 mkii <3 <3 <3). But I follow the r/synthesizers subreddit and all of the pretty blinky lights and buttons look so fun and the sounds can be amazing. The main things I like about doing it all on a computer are: * Great screen and interface. It's easy to drag and drop and see the composition visually. Boxes like the Digitakt look like a lot of fun, but then I watch a youTube video of it and it's like 80% knob-scrolling through menus on a tiny LCD screen and that doesn't look like fun. * Easy file and data management. It's all just files on a hard drive. It's trivial to switch between projects, back up, restore state, etc. Managing that when the data lives on flash cards across a handful of sequencers seems really stressful to me. I'd be so worried about accidentally losing a patch or something. * It's cheaper. If I want two separate delays with different settings, I can just add a second delay. I don't have to go on Sweetwater and drop another $200. Sure, Eurorack stuff is "modular", but each module requires shelling out cash. In Reason, I can wire up huge racks of crazy stuff without spending a dime. But..., man, the hardware stuff looks like a lot of fun. I also feel like it can be a real struggle to get something that sounds rich and full out of Reason. I can get there, but it takes effort. It's default sound tends to be kind of brittle and dry, which is to be expected from software but can be uninspiring. (I should maybe check out a different DAW, but I know Reason well and exploring different software is a whole other can of worms.) With a lot of hardware gear — at least judging by videos online — you power it up and it sounds fat immediately. I think what really matters the most to me is finding a path that gets me finishing music I like quickly. I don't want to just noodle, but I also want something fun and immediate enough to stay in the moment. I'm still not sure if software or hardware (or a mixture of both?) is the right path for that. Any thoughts on how to dip my toes in the water with hardware to see if that's a better fit?

space-dandy 7y ago
Here are some sequencers you could look at (that I've personally owned) Zaquencer - $200. The most sequencer you can get at that price point. But lots of knob turning, no real displays. Its fun though. Toraiz Squid - $600. But it has some great features, and its very 'playable'. You can also drag and drop all of your midi from the device into the DAW. I would suggest starting with purchasing a MIDI interface and a sequencer. Just use them to control software instruments in your DAW. This is my workflow. Make a bunch of patterns in a sequencer. Record audio or MIDI into the DAW. Arrange the patterns. You get you brainstorming done on the hardware but the editing on the software.

discohead 7y ago

My story is similar to yours. I've just recently gone from 100% hardware to a more hybrid setup. I found that while I was having more fun with the hardware setup I wasn't finishing songs. Personally, I still need a computer to do editing and arranging. My new setup is a small eurorack skiff, Bitwig 3 and NI Maschine Mk3/Jam/S49 Mk2 w/ Komplete Ultimate. The integration between NI hardware and Maschine/Komplete Kontrol is amazing, feels like the best of both worlds. I'm definitely considering the Push 2 for Bitwig, although the Maschine Jam does a pretty good job as Bitwig controller.