sweepstakes

Yeah I think the chiptune tonal palette is largely (and weirdly) untapped territory. People like little-scale and cTrix have done fucking amazing shit with the old hardware. And there's chip-based stuff, especially from the first Eurorack boom ~10 years ago, that's kind of forgotten now but is particularly for things like drone, really aggressive basses or brittle pads, harsh percussion, etc.

MAPSQUEST is the first release of the MAP CORPS netlabel. All proceeds go to the Union of Concerned Scientists to assist their research into climate related activities. Each of the 18 tracks was created by an artist aligned with the emerging aesthetics of so-called "mapcore". MAPSQUEST by MAP CORPS

This might be a weird recommendation but you could get a Norns and either use one of the existing apps or code up your own that does exactly what you want. I can't think of many things more capable for the size. A run of the shield version is open for preorder right now, supposed to ship in July: https://market.monome.org/ Full disclosure: I hang out with monome-adjacent people on the innernets so I'm kinda biased.

I agree. Canned tuna is tragic and offensive on like 4+ different levels and this is the most important one.

Current (2x84) and smaller rack I'm spinning off to learn TT (48HP)

What makes y'all miss the S20?

Me too, I didn't even realize HAB predated it until he mentioned that - I didn't learn about it until a couple years after i first heard FMWT. It made something click for me, though - there's some common aesthetic thread between the two releases (as well as "Freeman, Hardy, and Willis Acid") and it goes a little deeper than chopped-up, fast, more-or-less jazzy drums. There's this kind of breathless, cathartic melodic sense and dreamy weightlessness to the synth textures. Sort of carefree and natural and non-self-conscious. I crave more of that.

I'm sure I wrote about it elsewhere on here, but I reflect on my time with the micron with dark feelings. ymmv but it's less than the sum of its parts.

On the contrary; the comments are a gift.

Interesting that you have 3 Functions - do you just like having EOC/EOR and don't really use Maths mixer/logic? Also that Brain Seed was really intriguing to me before I bought anything. I think if I wanted that facility now I'd just code it up in Crow.

Yeah there is a point with gear where it just seems like a gigantic pain in the ass to integrate all of it unless it's your job. I love gear but I'm also a bit sloppy with it (and only use 1 or 2 things at a time), so that it remains fun. YMMV I guess.

Yes. The layout, the gross light-up pads, and the color touch screen like a smart phone. And look and feel matters when it comes to gear. If you truly don't care about look and feel and you fancy yourself a very practical goal-oriented music-maker, then in general software + cheap MIDI controllers are the tools for you.

Yeah it really sounds like the right choice. Some people are MPC people and it sounds like you might be one. I think the sampling workflow on the MPC is unparalleled, at least for a more cut-up (i.e. 90s hip hop or big beat, 00s house) workflow. FWIW I find the newer MPCs hideous and I have no interest in using one, looking at one for more than 30 seconds, or bringing one into my home. You're not wrong about the Octatrack either. The sequencer is kind of fun for some things but as you get bored it's too easy to just throw LFOs, retriggering, and effects on everything. Also I find it pretty awkward for melodic work unless you just use it as a MIDI sequencer. It has a lot of benefits for coming up with drums quickly, though.

Dig the 80s Roland manual font/kerning/formatting

What a miserable person lol.

Why wouldn't you have bought one?

Model:Cycles rules. I'm enjoying it more than the Octatrack these days. The handle is somewhat silly but it does seem to qualitatively improve the experience. There's definitely some bias in effect, but the beta testers I've heard from have had nothing but positive things to say about it. I think the AA batteries were a smart choice too. It does look a bit derpy but not as much as having a USB brick hanging off it. And it looks a lot better laying on a table, tucked under it as a stand. The Cenk "It's me or the handle" comment was fucking hilarious though.

This still hits fuckin' hard.

I mean... they're not wrong... Context? EDIT: Haven't heard Atol Scrap, was referring to the rest

Ha, I was just wondering the other day what SidStation prices are like nowadays.

I think it's more like $50,000-$100,000 tbh

Your Soundcloud has some pretty great stuff on it - you got any releases on Bandcamp or the like?

I don't know much about the FPAA stuff but does it let you build things like BBDs or old digital EEPROMs clocked by modulate-able oscillators? Because that early digital sound is chunky and I tend to GAS for those kinds of sounds more than analog mojo alone.

It is somewhat affirming though - since I first saw her, I subconsciously read those eyebrows as expressing a bursting pretense of Disney princess essence. It really all makes sense for me. It is still baffling to reconcile with her dad joke of a brother, though.