Stop me from buying all this gear
I've been producing on and off for about 20 years. Mostly completely in the box in Ableton. I have a Push 2 and a TD-3 and used to have a Roland TR8S, but I sold it cause I didn't use it.
The TD-3 I'm also hardly using, since I can create patterns much more easily and faster in Ableton.
What I struggle with is that I'm already spending so much time with my computer in my job. So I don't want to sit in my studio doing the same thing after work.
I've been thinking about buying more hardware and having a hybrid setup. Especially after seeing Colin Benders and attending STOOR a few times I think it's so much fun to just jam with machines.
Long story short, I want to buy more gear to move away from my laptop.
What I'm planning to buy:
- Oxi One sequencer: it can do all the things I'm using a lot in Max 4 Live sequencers, such as ML-185, MDD Snake in combination with LFOs for modulation. It can also sequence my TD-3, so I don't have to program the TD-3 and I can jam with the cutoff and distortion.
- Shakmat Battering Ram (modular kick module with the best kicks I've ever heard)
- Noise Engineering Basimilus Iteritas Alter: for weird and raw patterns, metallic textures, etc.
- Behringer Eurorack Go case
- Later I want to add a Syntakt or Digitakt
For the time being I'd like to run all this into Ableton, so I can use delays, reverbs, distortion, limiters, etc without having to buy expensive hardware modules. I can control these with my Push 2.
I could also run samples in Ableton, so therefore I don't buy an expensive Digitakt, Octatrack or other sampler yet, but I'd like to move away from Ableton, except for FX.
Roast my setup and give me reasons why I should buy it and why I shouldn't buy it. And would you advice to add a Syntakt, Digitakt or other device?
UPDATE 1 DAY LATER:
After sleeping on it for a day I do have a different opinion than yesterday. When I was commenting I thought, fuck it I'll buy all the stuff and have fun. I was searching for second hand devices that I listed in my post. I'm happy I didn't find them right away, because I would have spent €1500 in a blink.
Some comments here (e.g. by u/egb06tb and u/usagiyojimbo209 made me think though. The Noise Engineering devices are also available as plugins. The things the Oxi One can do can be replicated in Ableton. It's mostly the tactile workflow with knobs while jamming that I like the most. And not getting lost in menus, searching for samples or presets.
I want to limit myself and simulate a hardware setup in Ableton. Have a fixed template with a device/plugin per channel. E.g. Punchbox 2 for the kick drum, NE Basimilus plugin on channel 2, etc.
Then have some macros per channel and control these with my Push 2 or extra midi controller.
I'm thinking about buying an extra midi controller with faders and some knobs per channel (like a Faderfox, Faderpunk or Novation Launch Control) for some more controls. By using a fixed template with everything mapped to the knobs I can jam right away.
By doing so I hope I can replicate more of a musical experience of jamming instead of being in a computer mode.
So thank you all for the good suggestions, the enthusiasm for hardware and the reality check!
It might be that in the end I'll still buy a small eurorack case with some devices, but for now I'll try to replicate hardware with a midi controller and fixed template with everything mapped.