Best Synth for the Subway

General Gear Discussion - effects, synths, etc.

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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by gila_crisis »

Volcas! TO go to work I have to take a train (20minutes ride). times to times I take one of my volcas with. Funny trips! :D

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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by echorec »

Chris @ C&G--
Running the Organelle on batteries is possible, and it shouldn’t damage the hardware or SD memory, but we don’t officially recommend it for a couple reasons. Both of these have to do with the batteries running low. First, the Organelle will power off without shutting down. This shouldn’t damage the hardware (or SD card which is read only), but files could get corrupted on the USB drive. Many of the patches write files to the USB drive, so you want to make sure those processes finish before power is removed. The second issue we noticed happening is loud noise coming from the audio output when the batteries die (enough power to have the audio hardware powered up, but CPU powered down), which is not really workable in any kind of live setting!
So it is possible, but only for experimental / use at your own risk scenarios.
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by UglyCasanova »

So, basically, no. :lol:
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by 01010111 »

For my uses, it seems like one of the teenage engineering synths or one of the Yamaha QY series would be the best bet. For fun and ease of use, it seems like the OP-1/Z would win. For price the QYs win

The volcas and every other synth I’ve looked at are a little too single-purpose. The Volca Sample’s more flexible, but integrating it with other gear via midi is a nightmare
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. »

what kind of power specs does the organelle run off of? 5V?
seems like u just need to be mindful of your battery life is all.
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by spacelordmother »

I run my Digitone on a battery. :snax:
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. »

me too.. well digitakt.
i tried to put my own lipo battery inside of it (there is a ton of empty space in there)
but the current draw the DT needs to boot up was too much and it wouldn't go past the boot screen :(

i run mad shit on battery actually but the organelle is a different beast w/ its needing a clean shutdown.
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by spacelordmother »

Yeah, think I remember reading that it needs over 1a at startup. The battery I bought also has 9v and usb taps, so I can run DN, a few pedals, and Axoloti all at once. :joy:

Digitakt and Digitone would be rad on the subway, so long as you don't mind carrying it around and can protect the encoders when it's in your bag...
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. »

yea its around 1A, couple that w/ the extra current needed to step up from 3.7V to 12V and it was no bueno. woulda be so dope tho.

same my battery has 12V, 9V and 2 USB ports. i have all sorts of different power tips and reverse polarity adapters to cover almost every situation.
best investment ever

which battery do u have? mine is ravpower
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. »

haha slap a few stickers on it and make it beautiful
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by Ghost Hip »

Jussayin you can get this set up for $60...

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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by fcknoise »

OP-1 is amazing, and I'm sure you'll find a lot of use outside of the subway for it. If you are spending that much money on a synth, maybe see how it fits with how you work at home as well?

SP404 otherwise? OP-1 is probably better but just throwing it out there
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. »

yea ds10 is rad. u could also gameboy it (u mentioned a gameboy i think) lsdj or nanoloop
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Re: Best Synth for the Subway

Post by 01010111 »

fcknoise wrote:If you are spending that much money on a synth, maybe see how it fits with how you work at home as well?
This^ is why I don’t want to go the gameboy route. Though, the Korg DS-10 is a wonderful synth app, I wish they would’ve released something as fun for the 3DS... I want whatever I use to be able to be integrated easily with the rest of my stuff. I know there are solutions to help sync gameboys with other gear, but they all require real gameboysand I pretty well only use my portable retropi these days.

I tried to run my Digitakt on battery power too and ran into the same boot problem. It’s part of why I got rid of mine, but not the main reason. The Digitone would be interesting if it can be battery powered, I could just get a deck-saver for when I stick it in my bag.

The SP-404’s a little too big to conveniently carry around. It looks like it’s almost the size of one of my Roland Boutiques.

The OP-1 really looks like the best option (unless the OP-Z is a ton funner than it looks)
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