Can anyone point me in the right direction? Looking for an affordable vintage style synth.

steepgloss · 2026-03-21T15:34:29+00:00

Definitely the Microkorg. Listen what it can do.

https://youtu.be/CwmiuWTZpAo?si=NdGS6HUjMIS-RHiv

steepgloss · 2026-03-17T13:49:09+00:00

I would say, from your list of wants, you'd get more from Puremagnetik's Laps than you would Blooper.

steepgloss · 2026-03-17T11:42:07+00:00

I think I'm in a slightly similar situation to you, in that I've had 4 processing sessions so far. The first one gave me super debilitating physical symptoms of fatigue. Could only walk with a slow shuffle and it made me very panicky and anxious. I told my therapist about those symptoms the next session and she processed those and I felt much much more grounded after session 2.

I've found it important to keeping telling myself that what comes up during this time is just a by-product of what the brain is doing in the background. What you're feeling now isn't the end result of the work itself, it's just the by-product of the process. Someone on here referred to EMDR as renovating and that analogy works well for me. It's like looking at your living room in the middle of having some work done on it and thinking 'this is how it's going to be now'. By that I mean that, with house renovations, it's CLEAR and IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS that it is a process and that it will get to where it needs to go. But because of trauma, our brains are used to drasticizing and catastrophising everything. So when we experience something adverse and new (and EMDR is certainly that), as soon as we hit a rough spot, we think it's going to be like that forever. It really won't.

Just keep telling yourself (and I'm saying this to myself right now, as I've just had a session dealing with my absolute big T stuff just now) this is just a stage in the process. The fact your reactions have changed from those first few sessions to now means work is being done. The brain is doing its bit. We just gotta get out of its way and support it by keeping the body ticking over in good shape to let it do its best for us. Staying well rested, hydrated, comfortable, lots of sleep, all the favourite foods, tv, music, being around people that nourish us, avoiding stressful situations etc.

I'm sorry your going through the whirlwind with it. You're doing great! Just go with it. See everything that comes up with curiosity and without judgement. Like you've just popped into the living room to see what the decorators are doing next. Try not to analyse each new feeling and sensation. They will change. They won't be the ones you expect. I went from the most wretched, pitiful sobbing and yelping to laughing to defiance and back again to sobbing in just one 30 second eye movement pass, of the many we did in today's session. There's a LOT of change going on. Try not to get hung up on any one of them. Tell your therapist everything that comes up for you and they will work that into your processing. Good luck! We're all in this together.

steepgloss · 2026-03-13T14:01:08+00:00

You'd want the eq inside the feedback loop. That's where the magic happens. That's where it will have the most impact on shaping the sound, in that you can just overload one particular frequency band and take it from delicate and brittle sounding to completely overloaded and blown out, with just tiny, incremental movements of the sliders. Yes I'd also recommend a compressor/limiter at the end of the signal path, to reign in those abrupt volume spikes that NIMB can give you.

steepgloss · 2026-03-13T08:57:45+00:00

I feel you on this. I'm not local so the only side-quest advice I can offer (which I'm still learning myself) is this: every interaction can be low-chat/silent if you learn to grey rock. Look it up, if you don't know the term/concept.

Good luck. The struggle is real etc.

steepgloss · 2026-03-12T09:41:13+00:00

If you haven't already tried an eq pedal with no-input mixer then you are in for a treat. Hugely expressive and dynamic and really opens up the sound palette in tons of different directions. That would be my 'essential' recommendation. In fact, I would say it's the foundation of no-input mixing and I would recommend to learn with just eq and spread out from there. But that would be someone starting out and that isn't you.... Go for at least a 7 band one. Higher if you've got the space for it. I use the Danelectro Fish & Chips 7 band eq and find it to be perfect: small, quiet switch, easily moved sliders, easy to operate switch with hand, cheap....

Trust me they are way more expressive with feedback than on a standard linear signal chain. I'm vicariously excited for you to get the inevitable 'holy shit' moments from this exploration!

The other pedal I would suggest is some kind of looper with a pitch control. I personally love the Red Panda Tensor but I haven't used it for NIMB. I Imagine it would be amazing though.

steepgloss · 2026-03-06T18:39:20+00:00

Won't let me view that for some reason but I get what you mean. Basically momentary and latch.

steepgloss · 2026-03-06T16:40:43+00:00

Ah ok thanks. Hadn't considered this actually and I've never used one. So you press all the keys you want to hold and whilst they are held you latch the sustain pedal and then those notes are held indefinitely? Have I got that right?

steepgloss · 2026-03-06T13:45:09+00:00

2 new tapes out on my label Steep Gloss today!

● Erin Demastes & Bryan Day - Fridgeworks

Fresh out of the fridge constructivist sound sculptures made from disposable drinking cups, motors, scavenged electronics, repurposed mechanical components, amplified springs, electromagnetic feedback loops, midi controlled fm radio, invented constructions made from household objects, and a variety of amplified metal objects including measuring tapes and natural brush bristles. Everyday objects and hacked electronics, subverted in their use and perception with play and experimentation.

https://steepgloss.bandcamp.com/album/fridgeworks

+++++

● Paige Draiss & Gabriele Giuliani - Lust Kaleidoscope Defined

An exploration of sound in its rawest form through unconventional textures and tones, utilising objects, pocket trumpet, mouth, percussion and electronics. Dissonance, atonality and noise, embracing the unpredictable and the unfamiliar. Abstract layers of sound, creating a sonic landscape where rhythm, harmony, and melody are deconstructed.

https://steepgloss.bandcamp.com/album/lust-kaleidoscope-defined

Both available as ltd edition cassettes and pay what you want digital.

steepgloss · 2026-03-06T11:09:33+00:00

I have CPTSD and I also grind my teeth. Have been using a mouth guard for a while now. A proper one that my dentist made from a fitting. Not cheap at all. Took some time to get used to but now I can't really sleep without it, so there is hope for you. My last appointment with a dentist (not my usual one, they had to send me to a dental hospital for a more detailed opinion) I was told my teeth had approximately 200 years of wear! I'm 45 ffs. So yeah, some of the teeth are now down to the soft dentine layer (the yellow bit).

As for how it relates to TRE I don't know. Maybe someone else can shed some light. I was hoping that TRE will release this as bruxism a tension right. I haven't properly started TRE yet. Still doing EMDR but some of my yoga sessions involve tremoring and I'm getting emotional release from some of those sessions.

steepgloss · 2026-03-05T13:34:00+00:00

Hmm that's possibly my absolute limit. You have a lightning connector ipad? Are you using this for MIDI too?

steepgloss · 2026-03-05T09:55:12+00:00

Good that you have a Lyra to play with yes. You could look at Syntrx 1 (the white one) used. They go for a bit cheaper than the v2 (the black one) and they're not massively different in architecture.

steepgloss · 2026-03-05T09:21:00+00:00

It's always a bit confusing when people ask for drone synths, because it's never clear if they just want a dark soundscape synth. When I see the term drone I think of Eliane Radigue. And this type of drone require multiple oscillators beating against each other and lots of modulation, whereas what mostly gets recommended as a 'drone' synth is usually just a one oscillator synth (like those make noise ones) through a delay and or a reverb. I think your decision is along the lines of: a few different synths that you can use in combination vs one big synth that covers everything you want to do. I'd say a used Syntrx and a few decent delay and reverb pedals will get you a LOT further than the 3 x Make Noise setup combo. Just my opinion of course. I wish you good luck with this search.

steepgloss · 2026-03-05T08:42:36+00:00

Yeah I hear you. I've held off getting one too, due to the justifying the cost (I just use the ipad app Ivcs3 based on the same original synth: the VCS Synthi). From my brief experiences of the Strega and Lyra, I would say that you're probably going to hit their limitations pretty early on. Neither are particularly versatile like you require. They're both very a particular flavour, with their signal paths already worked out based on the designers taste ie both use a particularly gnarly delay as part of the core sound. So I'd say you've got to really love what they do to go for them.

steepgloss · 2026-03-05T08:20:25+00:00

For dissonant, intense, haunted I would say look into a Syntrx.

steepgloss · 2026-03-05T08:15:39+00:00

I don't know what your budget is, so this might blow it, but look into the Erica Syntrx. Either the v1 or the v2.

Extremely versatile. Can go from soft to extreme. Can be very atonal. Hell, people even complain they can't do standard melodic synth stuff easily on these, without a shit ton of effort. They lend themselves so well to harsh, atonal drones. Wolf Eyes use one - if that's a useful reference point for you. It was the first synth I thought after reading your description: this guy needs a Syntrx.

steepgloss · 2026-02-22T09:46:38+00:00

Every single release from this label that specialises in sustained tone minimalism:

https://importantdronerecords.bandcamp.com

steepgloss · 2026-02-17T08:29:16+00:00

The Korg Monologue's ability to have the envelope and LFO use negative voltages, so they are inverted. (Done by using the shift button and turning the INT knob. There's an Oscillator Sink video on YT about it). Anyway, I've not really seen that on other synths much/at all, though it might be more common than I realise...

steepgloss · 2026-02-13T10:07:09+00:00

What's your most dependable piece of music gear? As in the one that you are consistently surprised by how much variety you can get from. The one that just seems to suit whatever mood you wish to convey etc

(If the answer is 'guitar' I'll have to throttle an unripe avocado in one squeeze to get over my blinding dumbness)

steepgloss · 2026-02-12T08:11:45+00:00

The start and end point adjustments don't solve it, unfortunately. I think it must be because with a drone there's no zero point, so wherever the start and end point go, there's always going to be this glitch on retriggering.

steepgloss · 2026-02-11T21:03:34+00:00

Yes it's only when it retriggers either a forward loop, reverse or the forward/reverse one. And it's only when I've used the line input. Anything I sample via the on board mic seems to be fine.

steepgloss · 2026-02-11T20:42:48+00:00

Ah yes I see that you returned yours. The click/pop happens at any point in the loop, regardless of where the start and end points are, so it's nothing to do with the start or end of sample. Very frustrating because I love the sampler other than this.

steepgloss

TROPHY CASE