These past few days I’ve been writing about my journey into hardware-based music production these past few years, and how it’s totally reignited my love and passion for music production in an unexpected way. I’ve mentioned that it all started with switching from FL Studio on the PC, which had been my main tool for producing for almost a decade, to an MPC One, which I initially got just to be able to sample records and bang out rhythms with the pads. Being a fan of soulful, sample-based rap beats, this was originally my main intent for buying an MPC, but my experience with it actually ended up taking me in a much different direction in the end. The MPC felt a lot more like using an instrument than using a DAW on the PC, so I ended up buying an Arturia Keylab Midi controller, which apart from having 61 keys, also has 16 pads, just like the MPC. With a USB switch which wasn’t too expensive, I was able to connect my Keylab with both the MPC as well as my PC, and to quickly switch between the two depending on which one I was going to use. This basically allowed me to have much the same workflow on FL Studio as I now had with the MPC, except for the sampling records part, which I was doing exclusively on the MPC. I began to enjoy FL Studio a lot more than I ever had, but that’s not to say I didn’t continue on with my hardware journey. After seeing the capabilities of the MPC, and coming to understand that although it got me away from the computer, it was actually, in a way, a DAW in a box, I decided to get something that was even more hands-on and which required much less menu-diving, namely the Elektron Digitakt. The famous Elektron workflow, which includes parameter locks of individual steps, among many other interesting features, had me creating intricate and trippy rhythms in no time. It wasn’t better than the MPC, it was just different. Another way to say it is that, it was better than the MPC in certain aspects, while the MPC shined in other aspects. I realized that each one of these machines had its own workflow, and that each one could lead to very inspirational results if I spent the time learning it and mastering it. Seeing the possibilities of hardware-based music production, and understanding how all these devices could connect and interact with each other, I decided to start building a studio around these two machines. Having become a fan of the Elektron workflow, I bought a Digitone, which is a four-part multitimbral FM synth, meaning that it’s actually four individual synth voices in one. I also got the extremely powerful Arturia MicroFreak. Without knowing it, the MicroFreak was actually a compact version of what would eventually become my newest obsession, namely modular synthesis or Eurorack. Basically, modular synthesis allows the user to connect countless modules together with 3.5mm patch cables, and to arrange these modules to one’s liking in different cases and racks. The possibilities of what one can create are basically endless, and it’s completely up to one’s imagination, since every part of the audio signal flow can be manipulated through CV, or control voltage. What I mean by the MicroFreak being a foreshadowing of this for me is that, although the MicroFreak is not a modular or semi-modular synth and has no patch points, it does have an internal mod matrix that one can use, along with its small menu screen, to modulate certain parameters of the signal flow with other parameters. The possibilities aren’t nearly as endless as with modular synths, but at that time I wasn’t even aware that modular synthesis exists, and I was having loads of fun creating patches on the MicroFreak and saving them for future use on my productions, as well as just having fun playing them with my new Midi Keyboard, the Keylab 61, also by Arturia. Fast forward a few synthesizers, and lots of YouTube tutorials and research into synthesis, and I started to get much more interested in sound design as a whole, not only for the purpose of music production, and I jumped straight into the world of full-on modular synthesis. I’ll get more into this in tomorrow’s post though.
I appreciate you reading.
rebel eye 