Best Synth for the Subway

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

i went back and forth on the deluge for months and months at one point. i think same type of boat as u.
it seems like it does everything, but then i remembered that sometimes things that do everything aren't actually that great to use (too many options type of thing maybe)
i'm not at all saying this about the deluge (it looks rad, and plenty of ppl swear by it)
but i just went w/ my instinct and personal preference in the end that sometimes i actually get more out of limited hardware than limitless.

[01010111]

That’s exactly what my instinct says too. Where I have essentially the same reservations about the OP-1 (an all-in-one wonder-groovebox vs an all-in-one wonder-groovebox)), I think it’s a better idea to pick the wonderbox that has a better chance of integrating nicely with the rest of my setup?

So, I’m going to cancel my OP-1 order and get the Synthstrom.

[01010111]

So, I’ve had the Synthstrom for a few weeks now and I’ve been able to spend some time with it. It isn’t as portable as I’d like, but it is both the easiest to use and the most powerful “groove box” I’ve used. To improve portability I might try removing the wood end cheeks. It’s pretty easy to develop ideas and add additional nuances to ideas. So far it’s not super inspiring to use, and the internal synth engine’s a little cheesy sounding, but for programming drums and writing songs it’s pretty nice.

It kind of makes me want to ditch my Roland Boutiques and build a Volca army to command using this. Then I can just grab a volca to take with me, come up with a sound/song sketch I like, then build a longer/more complex song when I get home to the Synthstrom.

[fcknoise]

So, I’ve had the Synthstrom for a few weeks now and I’ve been able to spend some time with it. It isn’t as portable as I’d like, but it is both the easiest to use and the most powerful “groove box” I’ve used. To improve portability I might try removing the wood end cheeks. It’s pretty easy to develop ideas and add additional nuances to ideas. So far it’s not super inspiring to use, and the internal synth engine’s a little cheesy sounding, but for programming drums and writing songs it’s pretty nice.

It kind of makes me want to ditch my Roland Boutiques and build a Volca army to command using this. Then I can just grab a volca to take with me, come up with a sound/song sketch I like, then build a longer/more complex song when I get home to the Synthstrom.

Interesting! I have looked at that one before but I realize it comes quite close to an op-1 anyways in what it does so i don't need it. But you can sample your own sounds onto it as well right? And why couldn't you do it with your boutiques?

You've inspired me to go after the sh-01a, and that one seems way cooler than any volca offerings

[01010111]

Mostly because size-wise the boutiques are roughly the same size as the Synthstrom. They’re a little too big to easily carry around. Carrying around a volca fm/keys/beats is a little nicer than carrying around any of the Boutiques. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of the SH01a or SE02, but I might flip the Deepmind 6 and pick up a couple of Volcas. Then I’d basically be able to carry any synth I own with me depending on my mood/whim.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

if u think thats not so portable, try the "portable" mpc live....

man u hit exactly all the points why i was hesitant to pull the deluge trigger

volca's cool, the keys one is really expansive sound wise. i loved all the detune options but after awhile i got sick of the lil keyboard interface.
i also like the boutiques too. they are dope. actually traded volca for boutique and couldn't be happier

[01010111]

Don’t get me wrong, so far I’m really enjoying the synthstrom. I haven’t really opened the manual for it, but I’ve been able to figure out how most of the features work. So, it gets a lot of of points in my book for being this intuitive while incorporating so many features.

I’ve just been using the internal synth to just get an idea of what my song sounds like

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

nice, didn't mean to imply that u weren't digging' it if that was the case

most deeper devices take a lil bit to get really funky anyways

thought i saw there was a firmware update for it in the last day or so?