#21

I think I have collected a nice selection of gear, but the truth is that it feels overwhelming. Too much choices to make.

Sometimes thinking on all the cables, connections, learning curves, etc. stops me from making music.

Also I’m a hobbyist, and having thousands of euros unused also feels a waste of money…

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#22

I’ve done it. I’ve had -a lot- of synths. I sometimes miss certain ones (CS-80, Synthi AKS, matrix-12, Buchla 200e, nord G2, Yamaha DX-1…) but overall I’m happy with my setup now which is mostly computer driven.

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#23

I sold A LOT of gear to help with the downpayment on a house last summer. The truth of the matter is that most of it wasn’t getting much use. I’m sad about the Rhodes and Juno 60 as they’re such good foundational pieces in a studio, but I’m at a very good place with a pared down setup. Still lots of options in a lot of ways, but aside from recording/field recording/mic sort of stuff, I have a 6u modular, Octatrack, and OP1. Between that and MAX and the fact that I’m not really playing guitar over the last couple of years (I guess I have my dad’s nice old Guild acoustic too), I’m quite happy and, of course, am very glad we bought the house in many ways.

Tough call to let everything go, but it can definitely be good to scale back and remind yourself of the priorities in the moment. Hoarding can be hard to avoid if you keep thinking ‘well, I might need this at some point down the road’…

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#24

I sold about 1200 of my records last summer in anticipation of moving and having a baby. I only regret a few of them, otherwise very happy. I had sold most of my jazz LPs (~300) about 10 years ago as a kind of test run. Moving records is the absolute worst so that helps keeping regret at bay.

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#25

The eurorack bug bit me so hard a couple of years ago and since then I’ve sold all my other gear and my record collection to fund it. So far I’ve managed to buy all of those modules from selling the other stuff, but it’s been some tough decisions a few times for sure. Most of the stuff has just been sitting there and stared at me. The eurorack serup is being used at least. Trying to keep this in some sort buddhism kinda way.

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#26

When I got into Eurorack I sold off most of my other hardware that I wasn’t using much. No regrets there.

I do like having a lean-and-mean system, and could probably trim back a little more (but I don’t want to do any major downsizing). Lately the stuff I’ve been trying to sell hasn’t been going, though.

#27

I think the worst thing I ever sold was my monitors, I swore I’d never do it again and I’ve now had the same Focal CMS for about 5 years now. Same goes for cans, I love having a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT990’s on hand or similar. And of course a laptop. My interface remains to be quite cheap, I would love to upgrade it. Maybe a Babyface Pro 2. And an audio recorder. I have what I’d call a rather cheap PMD620, again I’d love to upgrade there. Not sure if I need to go full Sound Devices or Nagra, maybe something halfway between pro and prosumer but not quite consumer.

Anyway, that’s the barebones for me, anything less and I feel like I’m just making things harder for myself, because those things I always buy back. I am actually currently regretting selling a DSLR recently, knew I shouldn’t have sold it because now I just need another one. But anything above that is basically fit for the chopping block.

I’m excited about building my first modular soon, but not in a position to do it just yet. And I like having a couple Elektron boxes around which I sort of buy and sell the different models depending on what mood I’m in. I am really fascinated by the interlinking of computer and hardware, I think that excites me a lot, with field recordings and synths in the mix too.

But yeah. Headphones. Interface. Recorder. Monitors. Laptop. Camera. That’s the bare minimum for me.

#28

I recently moved out a 12U case+OT to 2x skiffs.

I decided to do this when I realised my energy levels oriented towards making music were being sapped just from looking at the frankenstein I had created. It meant letting go of some hard to find pieces (modcan quad lfo) and things I loved but couldn’t fit (verbos HO).

The SUM so far is that it has been a cleansing experience. I decided to focus each remaining skiff into instruments, containing choice modules which I hadn’t previously taken the time to sufficiently dig in. To supplement the loss I also adding a couple of things that intrigued me (teletype) and now find myself with 1x mungo / macro machines instrument and 1x mannequins / monome instrument.

The process so far has been crystallising and productivity is starting to emerge again. It’s still early, but the signs are good.

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#29

I’m definitely in the process of downsizing my gear. I was thinking about this old synth I had, a microkorg, and how (because it was the only synth I had at the time) I had formed an in-depth relationship with it, and was able to wring amazing sounds out of it by spending so much time playing it. eventually I realized that there were a lot of pieces of equipment that I really didn’t have that relationship with. Instead of buying something and learning it’s idiosyncracies, I would instead just buy new things for new sounds, which would be good and well if I actually used them. but…I don’t, so I’ve imposed a moratorium on any new gear purchases indefinitely.

If I need new sounds, I’d much rather modify an existing piece of hardware, or try and get the sound I want with what I already have.

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#30

I once made the mistake of selling my DSI Monoevolver keyboard. Every time I went to make a sound or do a song, my mind went to how I would do it via the MEK, and it was a maajjorrr gripe on my process and enjoyment. I just recently bought another one though, and already feeling better about life. :slight_smile: My only two synths are a Shruthi that I built and the MEK, so pretty spartan.

#31

This has been my thinking for the last couple of months and I am committing to it. The thing that got me over the edge was Meng Qi’s comment in the recent Sound + Process podcast to the effect that too many choices limit your expression. this was in my head for a few weeks prior to hearing this but this articulated it perfectly. Ironically I have the Teletype on the way and will get an ER 301 when I can for a 4U case. I’ll have a few modules to swap in and out but it will be a monome/Mannequins focussed compositional instrument. So I have some learning to do but I feel it is modular in terms of the learning and ideas as opposed to the GAS and thinking of what else is “needed” to achieve x or y.
The whole thing ties in with some serious household shedding and recently losing some weight and improving health.

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#32

Agree real hard to Meng Qi’s comment there. I bought a 6u 51hp case for my synth a while back and feel like even that is too big for what I want, and how I think about making music. I’m considering either a complete rethink of that case, or work everything right down to a 60hp 3u or similar. Thinking about a Teletype to help me with this, in that I can ‘design’ a little more with it. Maybe. I’d like to try one first!

#33

Yes especially eurorack stuff. I went from 6u 104 hp just right down to just 42 hp. 4 modules. Apollo twin maschine and Roland juno 106.

I’m much more productive with less stuff.

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#34

What modules, out of curiosity?

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#35

Morphagene contour coldmac and W/ :slight_smile:

Loads of euro was a huge distraction for me personally. I only had 6u!

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#36

Sounds ace. Would love to hear what you’re doing with it!

Right now my thinking is something like Kermit/CV Trinity/Tromso/VCA/Teletype, and a SoftPop in front of the case for use with and without the modular. Determined to get just the essentials for what I need.

#37

I sold a lot of my eurorack stuff when I saw that using the modular as my core performance tool wouldn’t work for me. There’s still a few pieces to sell, but I’m only keeping 84hp 3U. Modular works best for me when I’m not replicating what I could do with a non-modular synth.

I saw someone doing very exotic stuff by pushing a couple of modules to the limits. That reminded me of my own beginnings.

I don’t get better results when I have more. I could get more voices running at the same time, but multi tracking removes the need for that.

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#38

i always followed one rule: only keep in the studio what i also gig with. i changed a lot of different setups in the years. now i’m on a 12u eurorack, just sold my octatrack to fund a grid+ansible which will come in a few days. i must add that i have an er-301 in the rack which is really helping keeping it all together and ensuring an additional layer of complexity. i’m very comfortable with what i have now, no gas at all (i’m not too much prone to that in general). i can bring the 12u live as it’s in a portable case. backpack with cables, psu,microphones,a flute, rack, mixer, ready to go.

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#39

I’ve been through a strange year myself, as far as gear acquisition and shedding goes. When I started my first true, “adult” job a few years back, I took the plunge into eurorack after 1-2 years of research and pining — started with just a DPO and Maths, and slowly built up from there.

A year later, I had a bigger case, and GAS was strong. Like most others, I was splurging on big, splashy digital effects modules, and something just wasn’t clicking; the more I put in, the less I got out. The turning point for me started around the time I discovered Mannequins and Ciat’s Mobenthey line - those gave me great pleasure, and the former line still does (naturally). One day, I decided that almost all of my Eurorack had to go, save for my Mannequins stuff and a few others I kept in a small skiff. What I desperately wanted was a Cocoquantus and a Plumbutter.

Once I got those two, my methods changed dramatically. I let the PB go last month, as it wasn’t getting as much love as it needed, but I kept the Coco - that one is staying for life. I really credit Ciat-Lonbarde with forcing me to think creatively within fixed architectures, and though I’m now back in the Euro game building a Monome/Mannequins instrument, I’m trying to keep a like-minded focus in that context - maximize creativity/flexibility in a small footprint.

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#40

I sold everything I could at one point to fund a move. The only thing I /really/ regret parting with is my Korg Trident. Modular is really my way to get back to music and keep it concise from the outset.

If your gear doesn’t support your creative goals, you probably don’t need it. Your goals can change. It’s always worth checking in with yourself about where you are.

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