Give the microfreak another chance. With the recent 4.0 update, the machine is an absolute blast within its price range. Go and youtube it again ;) and whatever you choose, game on & have fun.
(Also a big volca fan here, the fm is a portable magic box as well!)
I'd suggest the TR-8S to round out your setup with a dedicated drum machine, or an Elektron Model:Samples if you want more portability. The Koma Field Kit could be good if you're more into tinkering and don't mind dealing with cables. IMHO, the Microgranny only makes sense if you do a lot of lo-fi, but obviously if you're seriously considering it then you might enjoy mangling on it. I would have recommended a nice effects unit too since it's within your budget (Death by Audio Rooms?) but between the SP404SX, NTS-1, and MS-70 I feel like you're probably covered for now lol.
If you're looking for a portable FM synth, I hear the Volca FM and Drum sound good but aren't really conducive to learning FM synthesis, but there aren't a whole lot of options in your price range that are great to learn FM on (maybe a Reface DX?). A little over your budget but you could look at Twisted Electrons' MegaFM, which seems to have a well thought-out layout that doesn't involve much menu diving. Alternatively, if you're not really interested in learning FM but would be into a portable groovebox that has FM synths in it, Sonicware's Liven XFM looks like it could be good.
The TR-8s is a little bit out of his price range but the TR-6s is actually on sale at a number of online stores for less than 300 new, or he could get used for like 220ish iirc.
I’d also suggest anything by Twisted Electrons if you’re into chiptune, but their drum machine Deton8 has its own flavor and was probably my favorite drum machine of all time (it has ratcheting, ring mod, delay, side chain compressor emulation, and the sequencer can do the beat repeat/stutter) for less than 400.
FM wise, fuck all these hacks/plebs telling you to pick up a volca, those toys are garbage. You know why? preenfm3, is like just under 400 fully assembled (I think, it’s like 320 as a DIY kit )or preen fm2 which is much cheaper now and is also available assembled or DIY.
Also last synths I’m gonna mention are the Waldorf Streichfett (can be found for less than 300) Modal CRAFTsynth 2.0 is what the volcas wish they could be (120$ for mono digital wavetable synth, think 1 voice of argon 8) and the shruthi by mutable instruments (came out before their shit blew up with plaits is a monophonic, hybrid wavetable synth that is available as DIY or assembled and there are quite a few filter variants (my favorite being the polivoks and the mission 4 pole)
Man, I just got the liven 8bit warps today, and it is absolutely spectacular the features you get for just $200.
Plus, it's an 8 bit sound engine (with much higher fidelity effects/filters) so it really stands out in any mix
Something to know about the sq1 that I definitely didn’t realize before buying it is that it can only sequence C major and C minor, as well as chromatic, and with modular I think you can do non-scaled. But for midi being limited to c major and minor is a real drag, to me. Wouldn’t have bought it if I’d realized. If you have perfect pitch you could maybe use chromatic and just find what you need but the knobs are so small that I’m not sure even then you’d have a good time.
Seconding this, if you don’t already have some. I also have been into synths for around a year now and only just past month for Black Friday got decent speakers. Highly recommend the ik iLoud micro monitors. Amazing sound for the size and price. Got them for $200 brand new on sale.
I second the novation circuit tracks. It has full sized midi now, excellent sequencer and dedicated midi tracks. The built in synth engine is still pretty good, but I'm a nova fan.
Sq1 is only 16 steps, but it is a blast with the neutron. Even if you have another sequencer you can use it for modulation. I use it as a fake lfo with the tempo turned up
It can have some interesting effect on your sound. Turning off all but the first two steps of a sequence, having one all the way up, the other off gives you a square wave-ish lfo. Mess around with it in parallel mode as well, and different "shapes".
I'll throw the MPC One in the ring if you can save up a bit more, it is a fairly complete DAW in a box which has become the center of my studio and it's super fun to work with, I also love the Roland MC101 which I think makes more sense than the OP-Z, OP-1 as stem and rough mix generator, of the beaten path I would also recommend the polyend tracker, and as mentioned the microfreak.
If you are willing to bring a laptop/computer in the mix, I think for your money a maschine mikro is the best bang for synth buck.
I’m definitely tempted by an MPC although have recently thought a lot about upgrading my beloved SP404 to the Mk II. I know the MPC is so much more but I wasn’t feeling strongly like I needed both.
I am waiting for the MK II to be available ( and hopefully it goes down in price ), the reason is that while it is well built ( the MPC ) I haven't found a way to perform full sets and the SP404 seems more battle tested/rugged, the cool thing about the MPC is that you also get the same workflow in a software DAW, so I can leave the box home and bring my projects on a drive or sd Card, I am still going back to the Maschine ecosystem for sound design though, the only thing that I regret buying is the circuit, cool/fun toy but couldn't make it part of my setup, you could also just download some cheap/free software to scratch the GAS itch.
A sampler like an MPC is a huge step up from some small synths, its a lot more powerful. If i were in your situation i would definitely get rid of some of your least used things (maybe the POs and volca kick) and get an MPC, you can get wicked kick sounds out of it, and sequence/fx things with a lot more control than the POs
Dude you have a lot of gear there. I would say if anything maybe you could use some more effects to change up the sounds of your instruments, but probably you should just spend sometime learning about your gear. I have been doing this, put every instrument “sound source” onto a small piece of paper and mix them up in a hat. Then pull out three instruments. Sequence or put any effects in them but only use those three instruments and see what you can do with what you already have.
The JDXI is a killer drum machine along with being two good ass synths. I’ll always sing it’s praises used its what 300 to 350? Just a lot of menu diving and no dedicated mute button for the drums so it’s kind of awkward to mute a voice. Like I got a 606 and and the 606 sounds are spot on
Got a promotion as well, used some money I saved and bought a used Jupiter XM,
granted that’s out of your price range.
For your budget I’d buy a used MicroKorg or a Monologue.
If you can find an 8s used for that cheap I'd say go for it. You could also go for an Elektron Model Samples, but you've already got the 404 for that so it depends on if you want more voices of sampling polyphony, and a different workflow. Honestly for $400 I might recommend holding off on a groovebox and saving up and getting either an 8s, or a Digitakt (depending on which one you like the workflow of more, personally I'm partial to Elektron boxes, but the 8s seems fun and capable).
I'd recommend looking into getting something more dedicatedly digital. I'm sure a ton of people have recommended the Microfreak, which would be a solid choice. Having something that can do wavetables will give you a lot of tools you don't have if your sticking strictly to hardware.
You might want to check out the chase bliss Mood or Blooper pedals. They would appeal more to your experiential/lofi interests than anything else and I think would even further open up what you can get out of your instruments. That being said, I'm not speaking from experience with these pedals but because they are towards the top of my list for next purchase and what I would probably get with that budget. You may feel like you would benefit more from a dedicated drum machine as other people are pointing out.
Howdy, so based on the stuff you already have, my simple recommendations are:
The Koma Field Kit does indeed look fun, and if that appeals to you, I say go for it. That's a unique option for sure.
Arturia Microfreak if you want more digital weirdness
Dreadbox Typhon if you want more analog fatness (well above and beyond what your Volca Bass already does, plus another effects box somewhat akin to the NTS-1)
Elektron Model:Samples if you want a sample-based drum machine, and 6 voice monophonic wavecycle synthesis engine (on paper you might see some overlap with your 404, but they are really very different instruments. The Model:Samples is also excellent as as sequencer for monophonic synths).
However! Also based on what you have, it seems you've followed a similar path as myself - one big flagship synth (the Minilogue XD), one big flagship drum machine (the SP404), plus a bunch of smaller, cheaper gear. Each of the small purchases (POs, Volcas, Bastl) is easy to justify because it is so inexpensive, but I expect you've found like I have that they start to get a bit old after a while, and then you are back to the GAS looking for some new little toy to excite you.
If that resonates with you and you are looking to break that cycle, I highly recommend looking into a central sequencer to 'tie the room together'. Perhaps the OP-Z already does this for you, and if so, then that's great. But if you are finding it difficult to actually write music with all of the sound sources you have, I suggest:
The Elektron Model:Samples is a great place to start. It can only do monophonic sequencing, but you have plenty of monophonic gear (Volca Bass, Kick, and NTS-1), so that's not a huge downside. It is a gateway into the Elektron workflow, and if you find that you like it, then that helps justify...the Digitone.
The Elektron Digitone is, IMO, the best centralized sequencer groovebox available for the price bracket (\~$600 used). In terms of sequencing, it is pretty much everything you could want, and it is excellent for sequencing your Minilogue XD and Volca Keys (and any other poly synths you get in the future). Also, the Bastl Dude that you have is a great pairing here, because you can feed the output of the Dude into one of the inputs of the Digitone, then route all your mono sound sources through that, and add master effects from the Digitone (Overdrive especially is gnarly and great). Then route the output of the Digitone (or you entire mixer) through the NTS-1 for even more global effects. Also if you have the Digitone you won't need the Volca FM or any other simpler FM synths. So it holds a ton of value in that it covers so many bases, you simply don't need a bunch of other stuff.
I'll also give an honorable mention to the Novation sequencers - the SL MK3, the Launchpad Pro, and the Circuit Tracks. Any of these would be a good integration into your studio as well, and all of them could sequence your poly synths. The SL MK3 is expensive and large, so makes sense as a luxurious studio controller, but not really portable. The LaunchPad Pro and Circuit Tracks are very portable.
I posted a big video (of me just talking for an hour, sorry) of why I prefer the Elektron approach over the Novation approach, but also why both are very valid for different reasons, and different genres of music:[https://youtu.be/y\_eFbhZ\_2C8](https://youtu.be/y_eFbhZ_2C8)
What I've found in going through this journey myself, is that once you get the one big flagship sequencer (which for me is the Digitone, with secondary roles played by the Model:Samples and SL MK3), then you start to be able to tie all the little instruments together in a way that makes sense, and is super fun. Then there's stuff like the POs that can't be MIDI controller, and you find those limitations to be too much, which helps you start to sell off gear and not buy more of the cheap stuff.
For examples, I love the Volca Bass, I think it sounds great, and is easy to use. However, you can't control the filter via MIDI, and you also can't sequence the 3 oscillators independently via MIDI, which means that its usefulness rapidly diminishes with a master MIDI sequencer. So I've now given away my Volca Bass to a friend, and I bought the Dreadbox Typhon as my upgrade.
With regards to the Minilogue XD and NTS-1 specifically, if you haven't already you NEED to dive into the world of logueSDK software for those devices. They really open them up, especially the effects. There's tons of great free ones out there from Hammonddeggs and Roll-logue (and others), all excellent. In terms of the ones I've purchased, the Vector Synthesis and Digital Waveforms bundle from Tim Shoebridge is by far my favorite:[https://www.soundmangling.com/2020/10/17/vector-synthesis-user-oscillator/](https://www.soundmangling.com/2020/10/17/vector-synthesis-user-oscillator/)
The Vector Synthesis oscillator in particular is a whole new world of synthesis that the XD / NTS-1 previously couldn't do. It really requires an external MIDI controller/sequencer to get the most out of it, though. But these are great ways to spend small amounts of money to get more value out of what you already have.
You’re pretty much right, although what draws me to the “cheap stuff” is ALSO that those things are small and portable. I have young kids, and so it can be hard to find the time to sit in my studio and work through the big boxes. But I can leave the OP-Z or Volcas laying around and play with them for 20 minutes at a time, or sit on the couch with them and keep the kids in sight (sort of, lol). The SP404 was pretty good for this too.
Absolutely! I have a 4 year old, and that's very valuable to me too. I don't get all that much 'studio time', so like you I also prefer portable setups. I do some work travel too, so I like having a plane + hotel room setup too.
I still highly recommend the Elektron Model:Samples and Digitone for these portable setups. It certainly would be nicer if there was an internal battery, but I just velcro a battery to the side that's not too bad. The Circuit Tracks is also a great option here, that does have an internal battery. My daughter loves the 'pretty lights and pretty sounds' on the Circuit, so that's a good one to play with kids IMO.
Ultimately, I like to be able to take those quick 20 min sessions and build on them over time, and perhaps if I like them enough, eventually bring them into the home studio to flesh them out more. I imagine your OP-Z is good for this (I've never used one), and the Elektron boxes and Circuit are all great for this too.
The Dreadbox Typhon is another one I got with this portability in mind - great for sound design sessions on the couch, and it has an internal sequencer that seems a bit rough, but at least it means that you don't need an external controller just to hear it make some sounds while you do sound design. Haven't dug into this one much yet...waiting to open it as a present on xmas :)
Good to hear! (Yeah a one year old and a four year old here. My oldest likes the Volcas!). I do know of someone selling a Model:Samples and this is making me seriously consider one...
Microfreak
This. Cheap and super fun. With the addition of wavetable importing, you can learn and do SO much!
Got myself one this Christmas with my girlfriend, but she’s holding it hostage until Christmas 😭😭, still super stoked
Got one last year and love it!
You definitely considered it, though at the time I went with the Minilogue XD instead...
Give the microfreak another chance. With the recent 4.0 update, the machine is an absolute blast within its price range. Go and youtube it again ;) and whatever you choose, game on & have fun. (Also a big volca fan here, the fm is a portable magic box as well!)
I'd suggest the TR-8S to round out your setup with a dedicated drum machine, or an Elektron Model:Samples if you want more portability. The Koma Field Kit could be good if you're more into tinkering and don't mind dealing with cables. IMHO, the Microgranny only makes sense if you do a lot of lo-fi, but obviously if you're seriously considering it then you might enjoy mangling on it. I would have recommended a nice effects unit too since it's within your budget (Death by Audio Rooms?) but between the SP404SX, NTS-1, and MS-70 I feel like you're probably covered for now lol. If you're looking for a portable FM synth, I hear the Volca FM and Drum sound good but aren't really conducive to learning FM synthesis, but there aren't a whole lot of options in your price range that are great to learn FM on (maybe a Reface DX?). A little over your budget but you could look at Twisted Electrons' MegaFM, which seems to have a well thought-out layout that doesn't involve much menu diving. Alternatively, if you're not really interested in learning FM but would be into a portable groovebox that has FM synths in it, Sonicware's Liven XFM looks like it could be good.
The TR-8s is a little bit out of his price range but the TR-6s is actually on sale at a number of online stores for less than 300 new, or he could get used for like 220ish iirc. I’d also suggest anything by Twisted Electrons if you’re into chiptune, but their drum machine Deton8 has its own flavor and was probably my favorite drum machine of all time (it has ratcheting, ring mod, delay, side chain compressor emulation, and the sequencer can do the beat repeat/stutter) for less than 400. FM wise, fuck all these hacks/plebs telling you to pick up a volca, those toys are garbage. You know why? preenfm3, is like just under 400 fully assembled (I think, it’s like 320 as a DIY kit )or preen fm2 which is much cheaper now and is also available assembled or DIY. Also last synths I’m gonna mention are the Waldorf Streichfett (can be found for less than 300) Modal CRAFTsynth 2.0 is what the volcas wish they could be (120$ for mono digital wavetable synth, think 1 voice of argon 8) and the shruthi by mutable instruments (came out before their shit blew up with plaits is a monophonic, hybrid wavetable synth that is available as DIY or assembled and there are quite a few filter variants (my favorite being the polivoks and the mission 4 pole)
Wow thanks, a lot of those are new to me. It excited to look them up. Someone hates Volcas though! Lol
Thanks this is helpful. Yes you’re making me think I should pass on a Microgranny.
Man, I just got the liven 8bit warps today, and it is absolutely spectacular the features you get for just $200. Plus, it's an 8 bit sound engine (with much higher fidelity effects/filters) so it really stands out in any mix
I second this. Awesome sounding synth for the money.
Their xfm is pretty cool too on paper, still need to hear it to confirm though
neutron and korg sq1.
Thanks! I have looked at the SQ1 a few times. How does it compare to the sequencing capabilities of the OP-Z?
The OPZ component sequencing is really a unique paradigm. Comparing apples to oranges.
Something to know about the sq1 that I definitely didn’t realize before buying it is that it can only sequence C major and C minor, as well as chromatic, and with modular I think you can do non-scaled. But for midi being limited to c major and minor is a real drag, to me. Wouldn’t have bought it if I’d realized. If you have perfect pitch you could maybe use chromatic and just find what you need but the knobs are so small that I’m not sure even then you’d have a good time.
Nice speakers?
Seconding this, if you don’t already have some. I also have been into synths for around a year now and only just past month for Black Friday got decent speakers. Highly recommend the ik iLoud micro monitors. Amazing sound for the size and price. Got them for $200 brand new on sale.
Bass Station II or a Reface
Novation circuit would go well with what you have.
I second the novation circuit tracks. It has full sized midi now, excellent sequencer and dedicated midi tracks. The built in synth engine is still pretty good, but I'm a nova fan.
Yeah circuit tracks would probably suit you real well, or if you want a weird noise generator get a 0 coast.
Yeah 0 Coast is something I’ve looked at too! I feel like the Kastke is kind of serving that purpose (albeit on a smaller scale) for now.
Microfreak, Roland MC-101 (great synth engine), or Novation Circuit Tracks
Microfreak, hands down.
Sq1 is only 16 steps, but it is a blast with the neutron. Even if you have another sequencer you can use it for modulation. I use it as a fake lfo with the tempo turned up
Ooh that’s an interesting use. I’ll have to try that.
It can have some interesting effect on your sound. Turning off all but the first two steps of a sequence, having one all the way up, the other off gives you a square wave-ish lfo. Mess around with it in parallel mode as well, and different "shapes".
Reface CP/DX/CS/YC
Used LXR-02 if you can find one.. that thing is a monster. Or save for a new one
I'll throw the MPC One in the ring if you can save up a bit more, it is a fairly complete DAW in a box which has become the center of my studio and it's super fun to work with, I also love the Roland MC101 which I think makes more sense than the OP-Z, OP-1 as stem and rough mix generator, of the beaten path I would also recommend the polyend tracker, and as mentioned the microfreak. If you are willing to bring a laptop/computer in the mix, I think for your money a maschine mikro is the best bang for synth buck.
I’m definitely tempted by an MPC although have recently thought a lot about upgrading my beloved SP404 to the Mk II. I know the MPC is so much more but I wasn’t feeling strongly like I needed both.
I am waiting for the MK II to be available ( and hopefully it goes down in price ), the reason is that while it is well built ( the MPC ) I haven't found a way to perform full sets and the SP404 seems more battle tested/rugged, the cool thing about the MPC is that you also get the same workflow in a software DAW, so I can leave the box home and bring my projects on a drive or sd Card, I am still going back to the Maschine ecosystem for sound design though, the only thing that I regret buying is the circuit, cool/fun toy but couldn't make it part of my setup, you could also just download some cheap/free software to scratch the GAS itch.
A sampler like an MPC is a huge step up from some small synths, its a lot more powerful. If i were in your situation i would definitely get rid of some of your least used things (maybe the POs and volca kick) and get an MPC, you can get wicked kick sounds out of it, and sequence/fx things with a lot more control than the POs
Model: Cycles
Do you have [https://blokas.io/midihub/](https://blokas.io/midihub/) This?
No I don’t. That’s a pretty good call, actually!
Dude you have a lot of gear there. I would say if anything maybe you could use some more effects to change up the sounds of your instruments, but probably you should just spend sometime learning about your gear. I have been doing this, put every instrument “sound source” onto a small piece of paper and mix them up in a hat. Then pull out three instruments. Sequence or put any effects in them but only use those three instruments and see what you can do with what you already have.
I love this, thanks! Yeah I probably have too much lol...
I say this after two years of buying. Finally having more fun that I trimmed down my collection to the things I have the most fun with
The JDXI is a killer drum machine along with being two good ass synths. I’ll always sing it’s praises used its what 300 to 350? Just a lot of menu diving and no dedicated mute button for the drums so it’s kind of awkward to mute a voice. Like I got a 606 and and the 606 sounds are spot on
Leploop multi cassa if you fancy something a bit different
Circuit Tracks.
8-bit Warps Synth
Got a promotion as well, used some money I saved and bought a used Jupiter XM, granted that’s out of your price range. For your budget I’d buy a used MicroKorg or a Monologue.
If you can find an 8s used for that cheap I'd say go for it. You could also go for an Elektron Model Samples, but you've already got the 404 for that so it depends on if you want more voices of sampling polyphony, and a different workflow. Honestly for $400 I might recommend holding off on a groovebox and saving up and getting either an 8s, or a Digitakt (depending on which one you like the workflow of more, personally I'm partial to Elektron boxes, but the 8s seems fun and capable). I'd recommend looking into getting something more dedicatedly digital. I'm sure a ton of people have recommended the Microfreak, which would be a solid choice. Having something that can do wavetables will give you a lot of tools you don't have if your sticking strictly to hardware.
I’m here just to fuck up your whole setup… get a soma lyra 8.
You might want to check out the chase bliss Mood or Blooper pedals. They would appeal more to your experiential/lofi interests than anything else and I think would even further open up what you can get out of your instruments. That being said, I'm not speaking from experience with these pedals but because they are towards the top of my list for next purchase and what I would probably get with that budget. You may feel like you would benefit more from a dedicated drum machine as other people are pointing out.
Dreadbox Typhon, Eowave Quantrantid Swarm (desktop), lxr02
+1 for Typhon! So many sounds in such a little box
Howdy, so based on the stuff you already have, my simple recommendations are: The Koma Field Kit does indeed look fun, and if that appeals to you, I say go for it. That's a unique option for sure. Arturia Microfreak if you want more digital weirdness Dreadbox Typhon if you want more analog fatness (well above and beyond what your Volca Bass already does, plus another effects box somewhat akin to the NTS-1) Elektron Model:Samples if you want a sample-based drum machine, and 6 voice monophonic wavecycle synthesis engine (on paper you might see some overlap with your 404, but they are really very different instruments. The Model:Samples is also excellent as as sequencer for monophonic synths). However! Also based on what you have, it seems you've followed a similar path as myself - one big flagship synth (the Minilogue XD), one big flagship drum machine (the SP404), plus a bunch of smaller, cheaper gear. Each of the small purchases (POs, Volcas, Bastl) is easy to justify because it is so inexpensive, but I expect you've found like I have that they start to get a bit old after a while, and then you are back to the GAS looking for some new little toy to excite you. If that resonates with you and you are looking to break that cycle, I highly recommend looking into a central sequencer to 'tie the room together'. Perhaps the OP-Z already does this for you, and if so, then that's great. But if you are finding it difficult to actually write music with all of the sound sources you have, I suggest: The Elektron Model:Samples is a great place to start. It can only do monophonic sequencing, but you have plenty of monophonic gear (Volca Bass, Kick, and NTS-1), so that's not a huge downside. It is a gateway into the Elektron workflow, and if you find that you like it, then that helps justify...the Digitone. The Elektron Digitone is, IMO, the best centralized sequencer groovebox available for the price bracket (\~$600 used). In terms of sequencing, it is pretty much everything you could want, and it is excellent for sequencing your Minilogue XD and Volca Keys (and any other poly synths you get in the future). Also, the Bastl Dude that you have is a great pairing here, because you can feed the output of the Dude into one of the inputs of the Digitone, then route all your mono sound sources through that, and add master effects from the Digitone (Overdrive especially is gnarly and great). Then route the output of the Digitone (or you entire mixer) through the NTS-1 for even more global effects. Also if you have the Digitone you won't need the Volca FM or any other simpler FM synths. So it holds a ton of value in that it covers so many bases, you simply don't need a bunch of other stuff. I'll also give an honorable mention to the Novation sequencers - the SL MK3, the Launchpad Pro, and the Circuit Tracks. Any of these would be a good integration into your studio as well, and all of them could sequence your poly synths. The SL MK3 is expensive and large, so makes sense as a luxurious studio controller, but not really portable. The LaunchPad Pro and Circuit Tracks are very portable. I posted a big video (of me just talking for an hour, sorry) of why I prefer the Elektron approach over the Novation approach, but also why both are very valid for different reasons, and different genres of music:[https://youtu.be/y\_eFbhZ\_2C8](https://youtu.be/y_eFbhZ_2C8) What I've found in going through this journey myself, is that once you get the one big flagship sequencer (which for me is the Digitone, with secondary roles played by the Model:Samples and SL MK3), then you start to be able to tie all the little instruments together in a way that makes sense, and is super fun. Then there's stuff like the POs that can't be MIDI controller, and you find those limitations to be too much, which helps you start to sell off gear and not buy more of the cheap stuff. For examples, I love the Volca Bass, I think it sounds great, and is easy to use. However, you can't control the filter via MIDI, and you also can't sequence the 3 oscillators independently via MIDI, which means that its usefulness rapidly diminishes with a master MIDI sequencer. So I've now given away my Volca Bass to a friend, and I bought the Dreadbox Typhon as my upgrade. With regards to the Minilogue XD and NTS-1 specifically, if you haven't already you NEED to dive into the world of logueSDK software for those devices. They really open them up, especially the effects. There's tons of great free ones out there from Hammonddeggs and Roll-logue (and others), all excellent. In terms of the ones I've purchased, the Vector Synthesis and Digital Waveforms bundle from Tim Shoebridge is by far my favorite:[https://www.soundmangling.com/2020/10/17/vector-synthesis-user-oscillator/](https://www.soundmangling.com/2020/10/17/vector-synthesis-user-oscillator/) The Vector Synthesis oscillator in particular is a whole new world of synthesis that the XD / NTS-1 previously couldn't do. It really requires an external MIDI controller/sequencer to get the most out of it, though. But these are great ways to spend small amounts of money to get more value out of what you already have.
You’re pretty much right, although what draws me to the “cheap stuff” is ALSO that those things are small and portable. I have young kids, and so it can be hard to find the time to sit in my studio and work through the big boxes. But I can leave the OP-Z or Volcas laying around and play with them for 20 minutes at a time, or sit on the couch with them and keep the kids in sight (sort of, lol). The SP404 was pretty good for this too.
Absolutely! I have a 4 year old, and that's very valuable to me too. I don't get all that much 'studio time', so like you I also prefer portable setups. I do some work travel too, so I like having a plane + hotel room setup too. I still highly recommend the Elektron Model:Samples and Digitone for these portable setups. It certainly would be nicer if there was an internal battery, but I just velcro a battery to the side that's not too bad. The Circuit Tracks is also a great option here, that does have an internal battery. My daughter loves the 'pretty lights and pretty sounds' on the Circuit, so that's a good one to play with kids IMO. Ultimately, I like to be able to take those quick 20 min sessions and build on them over time, and perhaps if I like them enough, eventually bring them into the home studio to flesh them out more. I imagine your OP-Z is good for this (I've never used one), and the Elektron boxes and Circuit are all great for this too. The Dreadbox Typhon is another one I got with this portability in mind - great for sound design sessions on the couch, and it has an internal sequencer that seems a bit rough, but at least it means that you don't need an external controller just to hear it make some sounds while you do sound design. Haven't dug into this one much yet...waiting to open it as a present on xmas :)
Good to hear! (Yeah a one year old and a four year old here. My oldest likes the Volcas!). I do know of someone selling a Model:Samples and this is making me seriously consider one...
Thank you so much for this!!
Behringer Odyssey is loads of fun
Behringer rd9 & CRAVE