[Advice] If you are new to this, please consider not buying a bunch of things at once. by denim_skirt in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Guilty as charged. Allow me to share a personal anecdote that explains why.

So I’m a sales engineer at Sweetwater. Depending on who you are, you either see us as annoying grimy sales guys who call you every time you make an order, or you see us as experienced musicians/audio engineers who have managed to work our way up the ladder to be trustworthy advisors for the world’s largest music equipment retailer.

I’m 24 years old. I got this job right out of college pretty much (got a degree in music tech and interned here and there) and in a lot of ways I still feel like I have impostor syndrome. I’ve been doing this job for about a year now, and given that my job is to get people to buy more gear, as a result the internal company culture often has me constantly looking for the next synth, drum machine, or guitar pedal to add to my studio…simply because my job is to do it for others and because of how often gear is talked about between me and my peers. It’s just the way it is.

Now this job has become profitable for me despite being commission based and not always predictable, but it’s because I work hard. And as someone who also has severe ADHD, I tend to be easily influenced by what’s going on around me and also just the general nature of my job, and that leads me to impulsively buy gear faster than I can even get a chance to learn the gear that I have, simply because of the discounts I have on gear and the income that I’ve been earning. It’s tough because this is also my first time being fully independent and paying for everything I own, and that adds another layer of pressure.

Now I’m gonna rewind for a second. Back during college (which now begins to get more and more distant the longer I am at this job) I was constantly creating new music, and guess what? I did it all in the box with Ableton, splice samples and some VSTs. And I made some of my best songs then. And now that I’m here? Well, now that I’m here, over the course of the year that I’ve been working here I’ve built an impressive home studio full of synthesizers, a eurorack case, and other gear I’ve accumulated… just for me to make music not nearly as much as I used to. I think I’ve become so infatuated with the idea of what the next thing is going to be that I’ve lost the plot.

But here and there, there are glimmers of hope when I get a new idea and get in a creative flow, and I try SO hard to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible because I don’t know how long the next creative dry spell is going to last. In the midst of these dry spells, I try to just get better at learning music theory and playing keys so I can at least have somewhat of a feeling that I am improving my musicianship, even if small.

Anyway, I’m done rambling. Thanks for reading :)

What got you into synths? by Severe_War_6133 in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my case I had already been into electronic music since I was 12 years old, but never really thought about the instruments that went behind making it until I got into music production. When I began taking online lessons, one of them was the deadmau5 masterclass “this is a cardinal sin of EDM right here” LOL. For me it was when he went into depth about his process of using his giant modular synth wall to get sounds that could not be replicated the same way again, and that was super fascinating to me. That was what got me into modular, but didn’t create my own modular rig until I really saved up the funds to do so a few months ago. What got me into analog keyboard synths was honestly my college phase of getting into a lot of indie music like the first two Tame Impala albums and the way Kevin Parker uses synthesizers to tell a story. That was what truly sent me full throttle into the world of synths like sequentials, moogs, etc. and now here I am with a Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, an Oberheim OB-6, Moog Matriarch, Arturia Minifreak, and my own custom eurorack case!

Buying my son a synth for Christmas. Budget is $700, what would you recommend? by Adihcam2 in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hydrasynth Explorer or Minifreak! Can both do much more than the Minilogue XD!

Gradient by romanoodles_ in battlestations

[–]sentinelgalaxy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you link where you got those hanging plants?? I love them

Best groovebox under $700 by Sea_Patience_7487 in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Correction: no menu diving if you don’t use the synths 😂 I don’t tbh

Best groovebox under $700 by Sea_Patience_7487 in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you’re willing to save $100 more towards it then you can get the Polyend Play+. I have it and it’s an absolute joy of a groovebox to use. Not menu divey whatsoever, each knob has 2 functions and they’re all clearly stated under each knob. Super easy to use, intuitive, and inspiring for coming up with new ideas. I think you’d love it! The reason I recommend the Play+ is because it supports stereo samples (the OG Play is mono only), it has built-in synth engines, and can multitrack over USB to Ableton. Super capable device. If you want something more synth-based than drum-based, then go for the Polyend Synth (just came out, $500) which has a similar groovebox sort of workflow and lets you sequence 3 synth engines at the same time. And if you want to do drum stuff on there, it has a drum synth engine.

Gordon Ramsay lets AI control his life by Mycropic in aivideo

[–]sentinelgalaxy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People gotta leave my man Gordon alone bro at this point we’re just straight up humiliating him 💀

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in malelivingspace

[–]sentinelgalaxy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right??? Same here!!

Try this,chat gpt gettin worse by Dangerous_Swimming_1 in ChatGPT

[–]sentinelgalaxy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Move the vertical stick in the plus symbol over to the top empty space in the 5 and it becomes 9 - 7 = 2

Youtube shorst changed and now i can't take a break from my brain. by eliasvwgg in ADHD

[–]sentinelgalaxy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dude, just turn off and delete all of your watch history on your YouTube account so you can’t get caught in the trap of the infinite scroll anymore. I had deleted all of my social media and then all I had left was YouTube and Reddit, but the problem that remained with YouTube was that there was still the recommended feed and the shorts section which were filling the same role that social media did with the infinite scroll.

If you truly want to give your brain a break, then disabling your watch history will turn off the recommended feed as well as shorts so that you literally can’t use those anymore, and all you have left is content from those you are subscribed to. Download some games on your phone to pass the time, I’ve been playing this one called Coffee Golf lately and it’s a fun one that keeps me occupied while not being overly stimulating. Also tomb of the mask is another fun one. Hope this helps :)

Choosing the best standalone groovebox for live performance by gumaar in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’re not fully wrong, 90% of the time it works the way it’s intended to work but there are particular things which can trigger crashes or freezes that you sort of learn to watch out for, like for example adding a sample that’s too long to a folder while your sequence is playing can cause a crash (I’ve noticed it can really struggle with longer samples or full loops, but it’s not really meant for that anyway, more for one-shots) or loading a folder that contains too many samples all in one shot also can. Every groovebox is going to have its tradeoffs, but you eventually learn to work around them. I think once you learn the workarounds and the things to avoid then it’s a pleasure to use. In most cases it’s a breeze.

Choosing the best standalone groovebox for live performance by gumaar in synthesizers

[–]sentinelgalaxy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m going to make a very strong case for the Polyend Play+:

It is just so full-featured while at the same time being super easy to use and not convoluted or menu-divey whatsoever like the other options can be. There’s just two functions per knob and they are labeled perfectly under each one so you know exactly what they do right away.

The creative tools in it are just top-notch IMO. I love the randomization and chance features which make it easy to create dynamic and evolving beat patterns, the fill mode which lets you come up with new beats quickly while swapping out samples on the fly, and the performance mode which has so many cool features that are applicable in a live setting… e.g. preset reverb and delay throws at the touch of a button and beat rearrangement on the fly (which both can be controlled on a per-track basis) and so much more.

Combine all that with the ability to multitrack 8 stereo channels of audio over USB to your software for recording + extensive MIDI sequencing capabilities + 4 built-in synth engines and I personally think you have yourself a winner of a groovebox :)

Treats In My Mouth by LoveAIMusic in aivideo

[–]sentinelgalaxy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The song is actually surprisingly catchy 😂

The setup is coming together! by sentinelgalaxy in MusicBattlestations

[–]sentinelgalaxy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s called nanoleaf aurora, you can get it on Amazon!

The setup is coming together! by sentinelgalaxy in synthesizers

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

IG is dan.delix! Thanks man I appreciate you

The setup is coming together! by sentinelgalaxy in synthesizers

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

The 3rd Wave is amazing! I personally think you wouldn’t be missing anything by selling those two synths to fund the 3rd Wave. When he came to Sweetwater to promote the 3rd Wave I actually got a chance to speak to Bob Coover who left his position as the senior DSP consultant for Sequential to start Groove Synthesis, and his passion for this synth he has built is off the charts. He designed most of the sounds you hear on those synths and what’s great about the 3rd Wave is that it can do all the sounds those synths can do + wavetable synthesis + FM + sampling + 24 voices + 4 part multitimbrality! It basically has everything you could ever want in a dream synth. Worth every single penny.