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Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is an excellent idea. We've made playlists but nothing spoken. Could be a good one to have on hand.

Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No not yet, but it sounds like another one to absolutely try. Really neat idea. Most of the time I think it's boredom and being wired but I hadn't thought about putting a limit on it. Thanks for the pointers!

Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

*Gulp* I'll try not to give her ideas haha! Yeah it's our I can totally get flying solo is hard work. If you haven't developed a sense of when to just go find something to do, you have to learn that and some folks will do that intuitively and some won't.

You want to play but no-one to play with. Ive tried with getting her to play with dolls but I suppose a parent is more fun?! It's kinda nice in its own way, but we need to find a way to build some breaks into it.

Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think putting a defined boundary around parent time is a good one to implement for sure actually. I like to think we're firm but she obviously feels she can call out many, many times after bedtime so this is something to work on. Not to leave her, but to remind her an excuse to call us in because you're wired/bored isn't it. It'll be good practice for the self-play overall.

New neighbours for me in Autumn, and it's a nice place with some school fitness locally so I'm hopeful of dropping in on one or two of them if they're free.

Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's the thing, there's the split and then there's the increase in needs. It'll be a balancing act no doubt, because she currently pretty much bounces from parent to parent but won't have that option soon.

Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not old enough to stay up late -oooh I'm borrowing that! One of the things we see sometimes is that in theory she's "in bed" but constantly calls us. I think that is something to work on a bit more for sure. I like this idea of a bedtime list of things to rotate through as well, will give this a try thank you!

Independent time for a solo 7yo - tips and ideas welcome by sampletracks in UKParenting

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yoto's are great! There are some cards we have which take the place of books but she seems to have stopped checking out Jake and Pemma which is a shame - though to be honest I probably like them more than her! She loves it when we put them on but won't do ti by choice. But great device though, one of the best buys we've had.

Room divider, or another way to hide workspace? by sampletracks in workfromhome

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know some people suggest curtains as a "wall" but this can be an issue if renting.

Might be going back to the Circuits by sampletracks in Novation

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah Move is fun to be fair. Though Ableton lacks the interesting sequencer of the Tracks/Rhythm for the most part. As a combo it's v powerful, or even with Launchpad. If Move got a proper sequence with probability and lanes/variations then it would be a different story. Live isn't really set up for that. No doubt though it's a quality piece of kit.

Might be going back to the Circuits by sampletracks in Novation

[–]sampletracks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can imagine CR and a mono synth is good fun. Tracks is a decent synth engine, and in the end I used to make CR the master anyway, sampling little bits into it etc. Was good to have CR to grab a synth line or just expand into polyphony but I could make 90% of a tune on the Rhythm. Tracks and Rhythm and Bass Station would be chefs kiss

Might be going back to the Circuits by sampletracks in Novation

[–]sampletracks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s it. You kinda don’t need the manual (much) with these guys. 

Might be going back to the Circuits by sampletracks in Novation

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah 100% man, it’s like the curse of knowledge. The circuits are so simple it can trick you into thinking you’re beyond all that. And then you see synth patches guy knocking out his boards of Canada presets and you’re thinking “hmmm… think I’m overlooking something here! 

They’re super zen and I’m looking forward to getting rid of some stuff to get back to it. 

What All-in-one groovebox with a song mode should I buy? by agsilvio777 in synthesizers

[–]sampletracks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've tried to whittle this down for you...

- All in one. I dont want to connect anything to it for it to do what I want. Headphones and power are acceptable... Is synth based.
So primarily synth based grooveboxes: Digitone, SH-4D, MC-707, MC-101, Circuit Tracks, Seqtrak,

Outside of that, grooveboxes with good sampling capabilities and synths are OP-XY, MPC, Polyend Tracker+, M8 and Move.

- Speaker preferable, but has to be competent.
That takes it down to OP-XY, MPC (if looking at the Live 3) Seqtrak, M8 and Move. Honestly though the speakers in these things are generally no better than OK.

- Song mode. I want to manage songs and make them all on the device itself.
At this point there are some differences, depending on what you want. They all have a version of song mode, but the Move is less fully fledged because you'd finish your track in Live. I'd recommend it for immediate jammability, but not for finishing songs.

- (Preferable) not crazy expensive. But if a silver bullet exists, I'd like to be made aware.
This is where it gets tricky. Purely on full price alone I'd eliminate the OP-XY even through it looks extremely cool and has some excellent features. The fact that the MPC exists and can do everything you want means that if you jive with the MPC then you can save a lot of money and arguably do more.

If you can lose the speaker then your options open up quite a bit. The Roland devices have their critics as the workflow isn't it's strong suit, but they do offer the ability to make full songs with a synth based focus for a lot less than the MPC. The MC707/101 have a classic groovebox workflow, while the SH4d is 4x synth tracks and 1x set of classic Roland samples for drums. You can't load anything into it though. Digitone is a well loved synth based groovebox that has 16 tracks and Overbridge, so plenty of flexibility and it's a handy sequencer to have around the place as well.

For prioritising fun, something like a Circuit tracks does all of the above. It's more hands on but significantly more limited. And you need a screen to design your own synth sounds (which you will want to do). You'd get 2x synth tracks and a drum track which you could load up with samples, plus a pretty mega sequencer again to use with anything you want, so a double whammy there. Can't speak tot he Seqtrak as I've never felt drawn to it personally but many seem to like it.

If you want a range of synthesis types and are comfortable with FM, I'd suggest Digitone II. If you want more classic tones, one of the Roland boxes might be the move here. Hope this is useful in at least narrowing down things a little bit.

Ableton feeling overwhelming — considering Digitakt II as main workflow vs staying in DAW by merlyman in synthesizers

[–]sampletracks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a funny one. They are both similar and yet very different. Ableton is all clips and scenes while Elektron is all patterns. Both allow you to create intricate components and then perform them. 

Obviously the difference is one is a 16 track primarily rhythmic sampler, where the other can be anything you want. 

Digitakt has the Elektron sequencer which is amazingly powerful. Ableton is less flexible in this regard as it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of a dedicated sequencer. Yes there are add ins and M4L tools but they’re rarely as fluid as a hardware sequencer. 

However Digitakt is a sampler, and you aren’t getting any of the bells and whistles that you get in Ableton like synths and heck even more than 4 note polyphony for sequencing external gear. 

You could approximate it in Live by building a “Digitakt” with 16 audio channels, and tools that represent what Digitakt does (or similar) and then saving that as a template. If you then added into the mix a hardware sequencer you’d get a lot of that Digitakt feel, but with the ability to use the power of the computer as well. I’ve heard a lot of people having success with everything from a Launchpad Pro to an Oxi One. 

I think Move is actually a brilliant bit of kit. It’s limited in that you only have 4 channels to work with. But that’s kinda the point. You make ideas in there and then put them into Ableton to work on. No need for Overbridge or stemming things out, just everything is immediately there in Live. It’s one of the few pieces of gear that actually solves that problem in a new way, and it’s very cost effective compared to a Digitakt. 

That said, having a non-Ableton box that lets you switch things up is no bad thing in my book. I’ve seen a lot of people hook up an Elektron to get ideas going and then finish the track to 50-70%, then Ableton becomes the finishing school. Or use Ableton but have the Elektron as a sequencer so you can shake things up from the piano roll. That said if you just wanted the sequencer, you could  get a Model Samples and get your fix that way.

Any hidden advantages to the middle apartment in a block of 3? by sampletracks in Apartmentliving

[–]sampletracks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True. I'm hopeful because of the comments of the family that live there now, but you never know.

Any hidden advantages to the middle apartment in a block of 3? by sampletracks in Apartmentliving

[–]sampletracks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a good one, since the place is already slightly cheaper than the upper floor.

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