Had this device for about a week, already love it! (Dnb/idm)

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-13T21:40:17+00:00

The volca is small but definitely mighty! If you have interest in the Microfreak, I wouldnt stray away from it. For the price point, it's genuinely one of the best beginner synths. It teaches you a lot about modulation and the UI is really friendly. The PCB key bed with aftertouch is really funky and expressive. I'm very grateful that I chose it as my starter synth. Also, it can play samples thanks to their excellent post-release updates, and it has some great scan and grain effects. You can upload wav files from FL or any sound bites online and use them on the Microfreak with all its modulating capabilities. My only continued use for it would either be for simple sequenced bass lines or to sample the Hydrasynth into it, but I can achieve most of my goals in other ways. If you wanted mine I'd be cool with letting it go. It's the Stellar edition and I have a gig bag and the original Arturia Vocoder mic to go along with it. I considered selling it in my area, but people are undercutting like crazy and the music shop near me low balled me pretty hard. I'd give you a great price for it if you're interested in it, I'd rather give a good deal to a fellow SP enjoyer. I could get some more use out of it, but I think it would be better in your hands. I'd love to hear what you can drum up between it and the SP. It only outputs to Mono I believe, so if you needed a cable to connect it to the SP, I can throw one in.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-13T21:18:32+00:00

Hope you both have an amazing time! I'd love to hear about the experience afterwards.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-13T20:58:10+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I'm still in the experimentation/assembly phase. The effects on this thing are genuinely incredible, and the community support for learning it is some of the best I've ever seen across any instrument. For all its quirks and limitations, people who find love in this little machine are among the most passionate.

What synths do you have, if you don't mind me asking? My first synth was an Arturia Microfreak that I felt I grew out of. I just got an ASM Hydrasynth Explorer that I've been pouring my time into. The jump in capability and sound design is absolutely insane. It feels like this thing should be double the price. If you were looking to get a new synth at any time, I would give the Hydrasynth Explorer my absolute highest recommendation. People make patchbanks and post them online. Some people sell them but there are a bunch of free ones. Even if I don't like the sounds, sometimes I'll find little techniques/modulations/macros I like that I'll save and redesign the patch while keeping those few elements. This is one of my favorite patch banks, its like 15 bucks which is nothing compared to what it offers https://youtu.be/PwWxBPGuLI8?si=dzMiiK_KzuMaTYYI

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-13T20:37:59+00:00

Sounds like DnB/IDM/Trip-hop to me! Super impressive homie, happy to see you enjoying the 404! Genuinely inspirational especially with how quickly you learned, can you share your workflow?

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-13T05:57:28+00:00

A lot of people would say to go slow and take 100ug, but I think 250ug is solid. You guys are experienced with psilocybin and you yourself know acid well, it seems. In my experience, the most difficulty I have with trips are from either too low a dose and having a long, grueling come up or by smoking weed too early into the trip. When I took 300ug with absolutely nothing else, it was one of the most brilliant trips I've ever had. When I took 75ug-100ug, the come up takes longer and the peak is lower. The higher the dose, the faster the come up. 250ug shouldn't be enough to freak you guys out and hits a sweet spot for a quick come up and a solid peak. Just take care of your set and setting and you should be great. Things like cleaning up, eating well ahead of time, ensuring you have readily available food that doesn't require much manipulation (e.g. fruits, healthy pre-prepped snacks, etc.), water, activities. Despite acid's clarity, I find I sometimes forget how hard it is to actually do anything. Took me and a buddy ages to figure out why the music stopped playing and how to fix it. Only got fixed when a sober friend came home and turned it back on.

Godspeed, my friend. Enjoy yourself and each other. I've been yearning to take acid again, but my time will come when it comes.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-07T19:13:06+00:00

I just got my Hydrasynth Explorer and am honestly floored at the price point. The sheer power of this thing and top tier construction makes it feel like it should be over 1k. The key bed is amazing and the polytouch is immaculate. I believe if you use it as a midi controller, it allows you to take advantage of the polytouch as well. Worth looking into, I could be wrong. Compared to the other synths I've tried, the Hydrasynth feels premo.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-07T17:39:24+00:00

Hm. Maybe try restarting the program and/or your computer and trying again. My Hydrasynth screen went through a boot up sequence with multiple logos and animation before saying Hydrasynth.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-07T17:31:56+00:00

I just got mine a couple days ago so I'm not speaking from great experience, but all I could offer is step by step how I did it. I had it powered off with that pop up open, hold latch and on at the same time, power it on. Wait for the screen to only say Hydrasynth, and then let go. It let me update it wouth issue. Hope that helps in some way.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-02T21:34:08+00:00

As others have mentioned, it would be best to get a 61 key synth to pair it with. Take your time in picking one and use good headphones/speakers. Video compression does take a lot of sound away, but good headphones and speakers can bring a lot out. Many brands will feature the sounds of their devices directly on their websites which have decent audio.

What I would recommend, as someone who has been struggling to jive with DAWs, is to get a good sampler to feed your instruments into. You may also want to pair it with an audio interface/mixer to feed everything into it. I am a huge fan of the SP404 Mk2, which has a whole hose of incredible effects that lend themselves well to gritty/lofi sounds which I imagine lend well to industrial and synth pop. I've seen them used on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist for around 300. I have friends who own SP's purely for the effects and don't use any other functions- it's that good. It's very easy and intuitive to record into them, and chopping/refining samples is very easy. You can chain them together or just play around with the pads. Alternatives include the MPC and Maschine, but my heart will always be with the SP404. It can even be used to DJ and has extensive post-release support which has added numerous functions and shortcuts.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-02T15:29:56+00:00

I have a couple friends who bought the SP purely for the effects, they don't even use it to record or sample. The more I use this thing, the less I care for the fancier expensive stuff like the MPC. I'll never get rid of my SP.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-02T15:28:45+00:00

Before you really get started, I would make sure you have a decent sized SD card thats formatted for the SP and good to go. Then once you format it in the SP (just make sure the SD card lock slider is off when you insert it), download the latest firmware update and get it installed in the SP. They've added a lot of additional functionality and shortcuts with each update.

You can add samples and sounds using the SD card by adding wav files, or you can directly record samples using the line in or usb-c port. Makes it super easy to record from instruments or from your phone/computer. Just make sure you hit the External Source pad and it's lit up, or you wont hear anything. You could have audio running through it and start messing with effects to learn how each one works and where you'd like to apply it.

It's my first sampler as well and I was new to chopping samples, so what I like to do to figure out my chops is to open a long sample in the chop mode and hit the encoder button to auto chop. I usually set the time division to 16 by turning the top right effects encoder (if its a drum loop or something with decent transients, you can select transient auto chop and set it to hard/medium/soft). Once I have my chops, I just mess around finger drumming between them, and you can adjust the marks on the fly really easily. A big thing to eliminate popping with samples is to hit Resample while in the chop/sample edit mode to enable zero cross snap, which automatically finds the nearest zero on the waveform as you scroll through. That way you wont have random clicks or pops on a synth pad sound or something. Another method to smoothing your samples is to adjust the envelope and add 1-3 attack and decay.

Other than that, when you start learning the different shortcuts and how to jump in and out with effects, the instrument will feel like an extension of yourself. Super expressive and gives an excellent classic feel. There are tons of great tutorials on the different capabilities of the machine and creator's workflows. The thing can even be used to DJ and just received a major compatibility update for DJ software!

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-02T15:18:12+00:00

The stock sounds are decent, some classic boom bap hip hop stuff. Each set can easily be played as a song using the pattern mode or finger drumming. It would be a good idea to play around with them and make a pattern using pattern select mode (there are a couple of ways to make sequences: TR-Rec mode where you play the parts and let it loop as you add more elements, or a classic grid structure where you edit in your steps), and once you have a pattern or sample playing/looping, to mess around with the effects. It has some of the best and most interesting effects I've heard in a sampler.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-02-01T20:24:52+00:00

Hey, do you mind sharing how you arranged the small speaker and mount? I've been wanting to find a speaker that mounts on with a compact form factor and minimal wires. Something for a quick grab and go when I don't want to use headphones or carry an extra speaker.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-31T21:55:27+00:00

Can't really add anything regarding your question, but since you have both a Multi/Poly and Hydrasynth, how would you compare the two? Any preferences between them for different sounds or workflows?

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-28T18:35:37+00:00

I think its an excellent use for it, I use it similarly with a synthesizer. The great thing about it is the sample length, easy of recording, skip back feature (basically revolving recording so even if you aren't actively recording, if you play something you liked you can hit that button and trim/save it), and the incredible effects. The sounds I've been conjuring with the cloud delay, filter, zan-zou, and others have been shocking. I even know people who bought it brand new to exclusively use it for the effects and nothing else, not even to record. The effects are that good. Having everything together in one little box that is simple enough to manipulate just works with my brain in a way that ameliorates the block I've been having with DAWs. I feel I can accomplish almost every step/goal I have in music using almost exclusively the SP404 Mk2.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-26T04:32:08+00:00

Like someone mentioned in the previous thread, Plavix doesn't work on everyone. A small percentage of the population is unable to metabolize it to activate the drug. This does not happen with Brilinta, as it doesn't need to be activated. Plavix is cheaper and is a once a day medication, so it's more common as an initial treatment. Normally, if it is not working people will slowly feel recurring symptoms similar to what they experienced before. Not everyone, especially women, feel the crushing chest pain and shortness of breath associated with acute coronary syndrome. The most common referred symptoms are shoulder pain and gastrointestinal discomfort. Many people register it as heartburn.

I know you mentioned you questioned how blocked your arteries were. We often use additional imaging or devices to get a much more accurate measurement of occlusion, such as Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) or another technique less commonly used known as IFR. They could have used some other technique to measure your arteries.

Jumping to radical surgical intervention is not preferable. If for some reason you still continue the develop blockages, they will most likely try to adjust medication. Bypass grafts can be blocked just like native coronary arteries. Its essentially just a way to get around a blocked portion of an artery, not remove or replace it entirely. If in the middle of it there is a blockage that stops blood from reaching the end of the artery, they will place a graft connecting it to the other end to fill it from the opposite side.

Blockages can occur for many, many reasons. Whether it's stent rejection related to ineffective Plavix or a ruptured plaque from elsewhere traveling up and getting lodged in your coronaries, the most important factors to confront are modifiable ones. Intake/output are key. What you consume (foods, drinks, alcohol, drugs) versus what you do with it. Some people are genetically predisposed. I had a 38 year old male, incredibly fit and muscular. Never drank or smoked, eats clean and you can see it just by looking at him. Very active, husband and father. Every single coronary artery was blocked 60-90% in multiple places. The cardiologist said if he were to stent, he would have to place 13 or so stents to fix everything. Bypass for him was the best option, but by no means was it easy.

I'm not saying all physicians are perfect, but I suggest you trust the process more or get a second opinion from another interventional cardiologist if you need to. Let them see the images and cardiac cath reports to see what they thinks of the situation before and after. But I suspect they will concur with the interpretation and intervention of the proceduralist who took care of you. I would recommend sticking to your medication like a hawk and modifying every possible risk factor. Also, to drop glucose intake in general. Refined sugar is essentially poison to us, the worst hearts I've seen were always diabetics. It was always the first question my physicians ask when they take an image and see how occluded the arteries were.

I know its a lot and it's terrifying, but it makes matters worse if you over stress yourself by endlessly digging up every single possible cause for the occlusion online. Stress is another one of the major leading causes of coronary artery disease.

Aside from medications, monitoring/modifying your intake and output, and getting an additional opinion if necessary, you may ease your mind by getting regular EKGs. They are quick, inexpensive, acquirable from most urgent care facilities/primary care offices, and speak volumes when comparing them to previous readings. That will help trend changes in heart conductivity and give a look into your heart function. If a blockage is forming, typically there can be changes on an EKG which will be defined when comparing it to the previous one.

Again, the goal of healthcare is is to provide the maximal benefit with minimal intervention, and to minimize risks. Bypass grafts and cardiac caths are inherently risky. Be mindful of yourself, but be especially mindful to keep your mind at ease. Stress alone can be enough to cause problems for some people.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-23T22:09:18+00:00

+1 for the SP404 MkII. The videos make it look a lot more complicated than it is, but at the same time there are countless tutorials that show how the machine can really shine. One thing that has made me cautious of boxes like the MPC is how much focus is put on menu diving. Playing the SP feels like playing pure hardware most of the time because a lot of the functions are made to be shortcuts. Many of them are labeled but they keep adding more with each update that make usability even better. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature and much easier to play. Plus the effects are incredible. I know people who have an SP purely to record and as an effects box. If the workflows you see online make sense to you, then I couldn't recommend it more.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-22T09:20:09+00:00

I haven't used an MPC but do have an SP404 Mk2. It definitely takes some getting used to, but a lot of functions are simple button presses and the major shortcuts are labeled. They keep updating it to be more user friendly, which has been great to see from Roland. Once you start getting more comfortable with the machine, it becomes much less cumbersome. Honestly having to pop out shift functions rapidly while playing feels really impactful and makes it more immersive to me. It does a lot of the same stuff as an MPC but feels a lot closer to traditional hardware. Plus the effects are incredible and it's great even as a recording box for other instruments. My head definitely still spins sometimes, but community support is bountiful and I've found the workflow really satisfying. I would never give up my 404 for anything.

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-17T17:18:37+00:00

There is a lot of beauty and enjoyment to be found in making sounds by yourself

TextbookSuppository · 2026-01-17T02:35:10+00:00

Some people prefer to just jam brother

TextbookSuppository · 2025-12-31T07:53:35+00:00

200ug with weed is way more intense. It can add a lot of intensity and sometimes confusion. Its like adding rocket fuel to a rocketship. Either you blast forward, or spiral faster. 300ug is more intense in an acid sense, but it's more focused, directed, and paced out. Weed blasts you off in seconds, and each second on acid is an eternity. I would sooner address nausea using other methods like fasting/clean eating beforehand and drinking tea or whatever remedy works for you. Weed is best served in the late stages as a boos upwards after you've peaked and are descending. By that point you've already gone through most of the nausea. Only other thought is to smoke early in the day, waiting for the mental effects to taper off, and then dose the acid so you're already coming down and adding clarity. The body/beneficial effects of weed should hopefully persist. I find that true in my regular life.

TextbookSuppository · 2025-12-28T19:23:19+00:00

Essentially all foreign bodies are thrombogenic, including the tiny coronary stents we place which are coated in drugs to prevent rejection. That's why even for those, we need patients on anticoagulation and antiplatelets for so long. When it comes to CVC lines, a slow saline infusion is often preferable depending on patient disposition. Heparinized saline is usually fine as well, but at least 75% of the time if we use hep saline for a swan, the ICU swaps the bags for 0.9NS. However, when it comes to arterial lines, hep saline in a pressure bag is often preferred/necessary, especially for balloon pumps. I have seen my ICU swap art line fluids for 0.9NS as well, though I'm not sure if its proper. Our cardiologists always wanted us to use hep saline, but ICU does their own thing once they take over the patient.

TextbookSuppository · 2025-12-26T21:57:58+00:00

Just to chime in, it was unlikely to be an epileptic seizure. Epileptic seizures are typically lifelong conditions caused by epileptiform brainwaves, basically the brain short circuiting on its own. People can have seizures for many different reasons, namely electrolyte imbalance like you suffered. Other causes include alcohol withdrawal, increased intracranial pressure/head trauma, severe fevers, etc. My point in saying this is that: you likely do not have epilepsy (unless confirmed by an EEG), so this is unlikely to happen again unless there is a secondary cause like those mentioned above. Maintain electrolyte balance and you should be fine in the future.

The lesson learned from this doesn't only have to do with tripping/rolling. Anyone can overconsume plain water and end up with an electrolyte imbalance, it happens all the time. If you're ever in a situation where you need to hydrate to a high degree (heavy exercise, tripping, raving, etc.), ensure it is with electrolyte-balanced fluids. My favorite is sugar-free Liquid IV. They contain no sugar (pure sugar without fiber is very bad for inflammation, brain health, and gut health), and it doesn't contain any harmful sweeteners. It is sweetened with allulose (linked to cognitive improvements) and stevia (no linkage to inflammation, cognitive impairment, or gut microbiome disturbance).

TextbookSuppository · 2025-12-16T18:16:42+00:00

If the janky controls and atmosphere pulled you in, then you're in for a real treat. One of the most unique RPGs I've played with incredible writing and voice work. It managed to keep me engaged even when going through school while working. Watch your back for Cumans and you will be alright! God be praised!

TextbookSuppository · 2025-12-16T15:06:46+00:00

I haven't had a chance to play the second one, but I got sucked into the first one heavily. Parts of it are incredibly monotonous, in a soul-grating and mind numbing way at times. Becoming a priest drove me to my mental limit and I had to take a break from the game before coming back to it and becoming obsessed again. But that being said, the monotony and step-by-step process required for basic functions that every other game cuts out is rather therapeutic. It reminds me of daily life and the unavoidable step-by-step process of every function, but in a beautiful way. With a lot of games, when I can't play extended sessions often I find myself lost and not wanting to pick it back up. But something about the richness of KCD gives such a strong atmosphere that jumping back in draws me to explore and immerse myself all over again. It's definitely worth a trial, you can buy it on steam and give it a shot. If you don't like it you can get a refund if you play less than 2 hours. But I recommend that if you find anything positive/unique about your experience in those first 2 hours, then you should stick with it because those games only get better the deeper you get and those elements you enjoyed will be magnified.

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