Very true. I think I am not a very good creator and a great consumer at the moment. Not good at all. I look for that Dawless setup that is so fun and easy to work with and support vocals very well. Mv-1?
@@magnuseriksson8081 same here. All this gear is too damn sexy to pass up. More gear, more sounds, mote options and yes more money. But sell what you don’t use after a year of experience.
I started out with an Electribe 2 as main sequencer, having no clue of midi sequencing in the beginning there were some hard (and costly) lessons learned. Now I am using a Synthstrom Deluge, a very flexible unit with great connectivity, internal synth, FX, drums and sampling ability. The grid based sequencer is a great help to me... My tips is to go for: - good sequencer - drumcomputer (tr-8 ish) - a solid monosynth - a simple polysynth (minilogue-ish) - start out small - get to know the gear you have and only then buy more... - buy second hand and have patience, do not buy impulsive like I did a lot of times. - get yourself a nice mixer with plenty channels and FX send/return possibilities. - FX will beef up your sound! Get some great sounding FX (pedals or rack mounted) for reverb, delay, distortion etc... Midi connectivity can be useful (especially for delay effect). - use midi splitters like a kenton 5 e.g. - have patience and do not expect to turn out hits all the time. - when not using a DAW to record, use a good recording device like a Tascam dr-5 e.g. - keep on practicing and force yourself into the studio even when you don't feel like jammin. Getting started sometimes is the hardest part. But when you're get going it's tons of fun!!! Hope this will help you! Sweet jamming✌️✌️
I love diy aspect and apply it to my music stuff. Table for jams, decorations, hybrid case/stand for volcas, autonomous power supply for all my synths, midi splitter that can cost few bucks if you can solder. And the happiest moments happen when i jam outside with other people, having just 1 or 2 synths, one of them is modded monotron delay :). Tons of fun stuff, learning, making music, and we don’t aim to make hits, it’s all about fun, learning how to listen to one another, to make pauses where needed. Discipline and feeling the music flow makes jam really shine
@@wickeddubz Ha that sure sounds like the way it should be!! Same here, I made my own little sit/stand studio by modding a standard electrically operated small office desk into a whopping 4 meters wide synth platform/desk. Soldered my own "Vellerman" vocoder (a €10,- diy kit) some time ago and enjoy creating those kind of little projects. I however have no friends actively participating in the jamming side of life, I tried to persuade one of my best friends but unfortunately the fire didn't light up🤪... With three young kids I am a happy man when I even make it to the studio haha. But when I do it's satisfying and time flies... It's a passion I guess... Thanks for the nice reply!!! Take care!
ACIDis ACIDis man great advice! I am starting this year and I am thinking of a TR-8S, a Roland SE-02, TD-3. What do you think is essential? Do I need a extra sequencer? Can you guys recommend me one? Also I need to decide for a mixer and some FX...
FuZZbaLLbee Absolutely this. Everything I own is second hand. I’ve amassed a pretty decent live jamming rig for pennies on the dollar. The best of which is my Akai XR20 for $50. A totally underrated baby MPC that is the hub of my rig
You can get some crazy outcomes from trying to push a synth to its limits. With limitations you need to think of work arounds and other ways to achieve what you're going for. You can also learn the ins and outs of your machine easier with a simpler setup and truly unlock its full potential
I agree. I love the idea of having a huge, endlessly capable monster of a synth - but most times I try to mess around with something complicated I get so lost that I end up doing the exact same simple stuff that anything else is capable of (i.e. ooh let's throw two saw waves together and detune it, that's fun)
My advice, buy one thing and learn it. Read the manual from cover to cover. Then play it endlessly. Then read the manual again. Until you reach its limitations you won’t reach yours. Which means you ain’t growing
You wont see much advice like that on a clickbait sponsored video that has been done on every synth enthusiast channel setup to showcase products. Consumerism is death to creativity. All hail getting more crap. There are people with more talent than I will ever have who just have sticks and pails. Number 1 be a musician.
Great points in this video. I know a few people who don't use a computer at all, and they all have something in common - they dislike computers in general, and none of them understand computers enough to operate them trouble-free. This is a HUGE factor. Computer nerds develop background skills that they're not even aware of. Simple things like a backup schedule aren't obvious to non-nerds. I see multiple comments in this thread about running into issues on a computer and giving up. Not everyone wants to spend countless hours mastering the dark art of troubleshooting Windows issues.
Great video. I’m a drummer and also play guitar, and a friend showed me his Korg Volca bass. Being a long time fan of Kraftwerk, I just thought that little thing was so cool! A few years later I finally got one and told myself ‘this is really the only electronic gear I’m interested in’ Six months later I’ve got several of the Volcas and now I’m just so intrigued with everything. Just got a MS20 Mini so I can learn modular. It’s sure addicting! Lots of fun, and very different from making music with a drum kit and electric guitar. Thanks again for the video. I’ve subscribed to your channel and look forward to more of your videos.
This was a great vid that I missed when it came out. As a guitarist for decades who bought a monotribe years back and couldnt figure out how to work it. At the start of the year I got a b1 and a behringer 606 clone and then it clicked. I went through a lot of gear through the year buying, trying and selling , beatstep, beatstep pro, circuit etc. and the thing that is hard that (I never would have believed this previoulsy) it is very personal as to what clicks and feels natural. That is hard to glean from reviews, I think. The great thing now is there is some cool well priced stuff around so its a good time to sell something you dont get on with at minimal loss. I've been using a digitakt for sequencing but just got an mpc one+ (loved you dabbling on the one vid). Feels like it will be the 'one' for me😁 kind of more what I'm used to on the daw, but seperate but can add the plugins etc. and then of course hook into the daw if you like!
Thanks for describing the Roland MC-707 as a sequencer because the idea is the golden ticket that I needed to hear for creating and maintaining a dawless setup! 🏆🎉🔥🎊
I sync my synth with my DAW because sequencers are more expensive and I feel that I have less control. Just got into synths, really, been making music forever but just got into buying synths and doing jams and stuff, it’s been fun so far. My wallet may be hurting but my happiness is greater, totally worth it. Falling in love with synths and hardware electronic instruments. Great video, bro
Not saying sequencers are more expensive than a DAW, just saying I already have a daw, so I don’t want to spend money on a sequencer if I can use something I already have to sequence
You are ticking many points that made me starting electronic music dawless. I do stare at a screen all day for a living, tried daws since long time, I just can't stand keep to it after hours even if they are really powerful to do anything. And more cost efficient as you said (and by far). You're also right on the point the fun part is very important, especially to the hobbyist of music making. But to me it's a journey rather than a goal, you don't have to get everything on the first day you want to start making music. No need for a 24-track mixer or super expensive synths to get started. Maschine looks very appealing to me at this point, as well as the Akai MPC One ! They are the hybrid stuff that perhaps will allow me to improve my productions, still without sitting at the computer and mouse, and keeping the synths bleepings and the knobs to play with =)
Never liked working with a mouse and a screen, and ever thought that a DAWless setup would bring back my passion. Bought a bunch of synths when I was starting, wathever could, big, BIG mistake. Now I'm selling out everything, never really used any of them properly. If you wanna go DAWless and you just starting, avoid quantity, focus on using what you got really well, and there's where the magic happens. Lately bought a simple piano, but commited myself to learn and grow a relationship with it. Best thing I've ever done to me when it comes to music. Some times you don't need a different setup or better gear, but to get better at your craft.
What I recommend for starters is a circuit tracks with 2 external synths because you can control 2 midi tracks independently and even automate effects on your synths from the circuit tracks! You have an amazing sequencer and 8 instruments to control in total (2 internal synths on the tracks, 4 sample tracks and 2 external synths). For the external ones I recommend the arturia micro freak and a volca as they're pretty compact.
Just getting into this and have all used gear. Circuit tracks, volca bass, rev2, grandmother and Dreadbox. A bit too much gear for me to start but I’m learning I guess.
I use a hybrid system. I have hardware instruments to work with and a USB mixer that can record all my tracks simultaneously. This inspires me to play a performance live and do my best not go make a mistake. Practice makes perfect. After recording I mix and master in the box. For me the best of both worlds works.
@@RoomAtTheTopStudio not at all! music knows no age and I'd still be using my tascam 4-track if they didn't explode. lol. do you have any videos showing how you rig a setup like that?
@@wetwork6553 my videos with the Arturia Drumbrute are all using the individual outs from the analogue drum machine, then stereo tracks from the Korg Prologue and mono tracks from the Moog Sub37, Yamaha SK30, CS10, Hammond B100, Korg ARP Odyssey and Logan String Melody II. Everything goes through the Soundcraft Signature. What I can sequence is sequenced and I play the rest live or track live to build up the track. Check out my videos for examples.
This was SO helpful. I know it's an older video now, but it really holds up so well. I learned a lot of principles here that I can then apply to my own situation in a number of ways. Thank you!!!
Great vid. One thing that caught me, don't forget cables. Even though they're cheap individually, it quickly becomes shocking how much of an investment it becomes. You never have enough, you never have the right one and they're always to short, or way to long. So be cognizant of what you will need when planning your set up. It's not fun gear to think about, but maybe the most important.
I sequence SP-404 patterns, two volcas, and a Reface-DX using a Beatstep pro, while using resample method to record loops from the reface to the SP-404. sometimes my friend brings his CS and we extend it to jam and make crazy leads. For me the dawless setup is about jamming primarily. If I'm actually writing a song it's usually still in my DAW. Sometimes I use loops from the volca or whatever to make my songs but I don't really record the whole setup to write music. The dawless setup is going to be my live performance piece rather than my writing workstation. I'm surprised other people aren't really interested in large scale jams like that. I also use it to jam with my live band as well. There's a lot that can be done of you don't think about the dawless setup in terms of limitation.
i build mine recently i am extremely happy its such an expansion and you get to walk around from one instrument to the other, 100%hands on. but either you are a musician and know your pieces or you better jam and record on the same session otherwise its gonna be hard (and you might not even want) to repeat the session, once you change settings of the analogues its hard to keep track of all presets. its the real state of Flow. of course then you have limitations if you used to make music with loads of automation in a dawless set up you cant really control everything at the same time. and an advice if you wanna build a Dawless setup Learn what each instrument does and what not so you dont get surprises in the way, inputs outputs, sizes, Distances in you space, monophonic polyphonic sequencers/controllers, because i missed a couple things that i had to work around. Peace
Back in the early 90s all I had was a hardware sequencer a few synths, drum machine, and guitars. I had great fun pairing the hardware into a analog 4-track recorder mixer. After moving to the DAW setup I’ve found it feel much more like work, with software issues ruining the day.
Back in the late 90s all I had was ONE music keyboard. There was a step sequencer in it which makes everything sound unnatural and robotic. A DAW might have a "randomization" function which makes everything sound more natural. I don't think hardware can do this. Anyway, I hate DAWs because they look too cluttered. I hate VST plugins because they don't have the sound I'm looking for. So now I have an all hardware setup BUT no sequencer even for the drums. I just play them by hand so that everything sounds natural.
I tried to go Dawless for a while, but in the end I went with a hybrid setup where I use Ableton to sequence my hardware analogs live. That way I can get the best of both worlds. I use a Lanchpad so I can control any number of sequences and synths cleanly and easily
Yeah I think hybrid is good. As of now I'm using Bitwig(switched from Ableton recently) With controllers. Found a nice controller script for launchpad which changed the whole game for me. I now sequence drums and midi clips right on the launchpads. While Ableton live was fun, Bitwig is hands on now, feels like working with hardware. Mixer control, devices control, sequencing, playing and stopping clips, recording clips... everything can be done without touching the mouse or keyboard. I'm thinking in the near future I will add a few hardware synths and drum machines and go hybrid rather than all in the box.
Still recording into ableton but playing everything live has changed my approach to music entirely. Amazing the difference in fun playing hardware/eurorack vs software :D
There is an undoubted "je ne sais quoi " about playing hardware instruments. It is the immediacy and accessibility available. Most of us balk at "menu diving" for the same reason because it is pulling you back into a DAW-type world. From a cost, space and flexibility perspective a DAW and a good computer with keyboard / control surface is absolutely the logical, sensible choice but the lure of GAS is difficult to escape if you can afford it.
@@IrrationalRecreation hahahhaha right! Sensibility isn't novel though ;p and the GAS is real in the modular world, make sure to put side enough money for a car before diving in :D
This is a great video, and it’s still funny to me because I’ve always stayed hardware mainly because the DAW-studio really intimidates me. It seems like lots of work and hassle to make music that way, and I find hardware way easier to deal with. Maybe this has to do with the fact I don’t use computers in my everyday life, I guess they are less scary when you work with them in an office or something. Sometimes I ponder going soft, but I just imagine years of frustration and headaches before I can actually get some music done on a computer. Therefor I giggle a little bit inside when people say that it’s more complicated to make music without computers. Thanks for another great video Bo.👍
I spent the first 15 years of my making electronic music doing it on a Korg Workstation, a Boss Drum Machine and an Akai rack mount sampler. When I started the only DAW option was getting an Atari ST with an early version of something like cubase, it was a non starter for me (although I spent £1500 on a Korg 01/w when I earned £4000 a year). So I have always been a 'dawless' composer. When I first got Logic Pro, about 20 years back, I simply couldn’t get on with it, and though I have, over the years, learned to use DAWs, and still have to finish tracks in Logic for nearly all my projects, I still feel most creative when sat in front of hardware synths and samplers. One thing I would say for having a fairly big hardware set up is the flexibility it gives me. I work as a solo artist and as part of a duo, and the two set ups are almost totally different, with only the Digitakt being used in both. The different sequencers and arpeggiators in many synths lead you to make different creative decisions, lead you in different directions, and make me make music I simply wouldn’t do with a fixed daw workflow. Dawless is costly, and not cost effective, but I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it.
Hey Bo, after 20 years been playing vinyl and making noise with Ableton, I've bought my first hardware synth a few days ago.... Just before this video of yours. One size does not fit all, which is good, otherwise everyone would be listening to my music of course 🤣. Me? I won't go completely DAWless MAKING music, but live play? Yes definitely planning to.
I built myself a small modular synth, consisting of different modules that make up a synth: oscillator, filter, ADSR, even got a delay in there. It is small and compact so it can be carried around anywhere without problems. When I wanted to design sounds with it, it didn't work. Everything was patched up correctly - the way a sound chain should be. I couldn't figure out what was wrong - until I looked at the manual of the ADSR (Doepfer) - and it turns out one lever was in the wrong position. Everything works now. Moral of the story: sometimes it's good to read the manual :)
What a nice compilation of thoroughly thought out ideas. Thank you so much for sharing! 1:22 "Hardware sequencers are generally more difficult to learn" - Interestingly, with regards to operating _synthesizers_ , it was actually the other way around for me. In many VSTs, I never really understood how exactly a patch's sound can be efficiently shaped, as they had 100 different features, settings, routing capabilities. Thus, only after I purchased my first hardware synth, I really understood sound design in a thorough way (would be interesting though to go back to VSTs, now that I understand OSCs, LFOs, fiters etc in and out). 8:33 "Don't get too many big synths" - While I agree to that, I would add "Don't get too many tiny or cheap synths/sequencers as well!". It might be nice to get some fresh inspiration at a relatively low cost. Nevertheless, from my personal experience, it can be really frustrating to realize that a given mini synth or sequencer or FX device doesn't offer a particular highly-needed sound design feature, or simply has a tremendously bad MIDI implementation, or has dealbreaking design flaws, malfunctions or bugs. Thus, one might stop using them altogether because they can't be used efficiently in a live setup and/or production environment. When looking at my Volcas and comparable devices for example: While I do understand why I bought them back then, I now regret having bought them altogether, cause when I would sum up all costs, I could have afforded a full-fledged pro synth or so, which would combine all features in a single device, while eliminating the need to power up 5 devices, to learn each individually, mix them all together, keeping them dust free etc. -> Buy cheap, buy twice...
I don't care about paying more for dawless setup. All this login to do this and signup to do that is totally unacceptable. Companies are more interested in getting your info for spam then they are promoting music creation.
I completely agree. I got so tired of the constant bugs and updates and forgetting login information and whatever else that making music with a computer entails, plus spending nearly half of my jam sessions getting distracted with other shit on my computer lol It was a little pricey at first, especially having mainly used soft synths in the past + being a horn player for the majority of my life…but after getting a Keystep Pro on sale, a MicroKorg for fairly cheap, a bunch of Volcas (bass, drum, fm & keys) and updating my interface, getting a midi splitter and stocking up on cables etc blah blah blah, I’ve honestly been able to be a lot more productive with my time and not having to jump through hoops to make music just makes everything more enjoyable overall tbh. Plus with being as lazy as I can be, having to fire up my laptop, load up my daw and find all sorts of files takes not a crazy amount of time, but enough to turn me off from wanting to jam or practice sometimes for sure. So having the ability to play in a DAWless environment that can very easily be transferred into a DAW when needed or wanted was a HUGE plus for me.
DAWs seem to be going the Adobe route, where you have to rent your tools for a fee. There's always a chance the company will get a new CEO, draw people into the "cloud", then lock out previous versions under new terms.
I made a lot of expensive mistakes with hardware. I recently sold about £5K worth of gear and don't miss it in the slightest. I had/have GAS but without a purpose. I now have a hybrid set up with a lot less that I can now have plugged into the mixer and actually make music. I was originally addicted to just buying synths that others made sound good on TH-cam. I have a V Synth XT and a Waldorf Q that I feel I am going to let go. I feel guilty but just can't justify them sat there doing nothing. I use Studio One with a Behringer XR18r mixer. Great advice as ever!
Great tips. I personally started music playing piano, and then saxophone, and finally guitar. I tried DAW-based composing for years and it was always an effort in frustration. I found myself having to manage the software more than I was actually producing any music. DAW-less has been drastically better for me, personally, in spite of the additional hardware/cost.
Timely video, thanks! I am just starting out making electronic music and although I have taken quite a few classes to learn how to use my DAW, I haven't really been "feeling it" composing and sketching in the software. Just got my first hardware two days ago, an MC-707, and already having tons of fun and loving the tactile experience. Thanks for the tips on how to keep this newfound hardware love from spinning out of control.
I’ve been wanting to buy my 1st drum machine & 1st synth, & have been planning to build my 1st DAW-less setup. Working OT right now to buy the drum machine. This video was very helpful. Thank you!
I had a dawless techno live setup in the early 2000s. It was a Yamaha DX200, Korg Electribes A and S, a SP-303 and sometimes a Boss DR-202 for even more drums ;) . It just worked. I just had to put the DX200 at the start of the MIDI chain because i never figured out how to get it to play as MIDI slave, it insisted to be the master:D Still have them all here...
Thanks for the great advice. Much appreciated. I found your channel about 2 1/2 years ago, and you have been a huge help to me. Two things stood out here that resonated with my situation. First, your comments on getting a good sequencer (something I'm kind of lacking right now), and second, your advice about avoiding the large equipment. I am basically crammed into the corner of our bedroom (my wife is very tolerant), and the biggest things I own are a Monologue and Drumbrute Impact (I watched your review before I purchased that one!). When I do make a purchase anymore, I lean towards small stuff that works for me, I even have a PO 35 Speak😊. Thanks again for the great content, and best of luck on your new studio. It looks super cool.
Haha my situation is almost the same! My “studio” is a small space between me and my wife’s bed and my dresser. The “door” to my “studio” is a laundry hamper. Hell, my chair is just a pillow and I use a shoebox as a desk. I have gotten my wife into playing music though, she now has a bass, a guitar, a ukelele, and a mic with pedals.
Pauul Kubasek - oh my gosh! We had a similar strategy, I started my wife on piano lessons two years ago and she loves it! It really does help, doesn’t it? 😁 Sounds like you are even more cramped than me. I at least scored a cozy corner of the bedroom, even if a bit cramped. I’m thinking about going “up” is some fashion to obtain more space. Might just work.......🙏🙏
Charles Neuzil yeah going up seems to work. I’ve updated to a good sized ottoman for chair and an actual nice dining chair (we have a few we don’t use ) that functions as a nice mini-desk (it’s enough to fit a laptop and my key step), and i can fit most of my hardware underneath (tascam 4 track, a few Korg volcas, pedals) . One day though, renovations willing, I’ll be able to move all of my gear to a more suitable spot, haha!
I think there's something to think about : the ability to play continuously, especially if you play live. This it true for both computer based, DAWless or hybrid set-up. We often have to wait until the next project (song) is loaded or need time to change the presets of the synths or load sequences. IN that case, a simple sampler or looper could be great. So you can sample a portion of the playing tune and play it continually with effects while setting all the stuff for the next tune. I used a SP-303 for years and use now a Kaos Pad, but any simple sampler could do the job. Of course, in some cases and depending of the style of music or kind of live we play, there's no need because each part of the set-up is changed while the other ones are playing. But this obliges to think about the whole live instead of creating tunes one by one. A simple live sampler gives much freedom. And it can be used for many other things.
That's a good point. My main sequencer is the MPC One and because I've already got a Volca Sample and Mono Station I'm figuring out how to transition to them to carry things while I switch songs on the MPC. A looper appeals but the cost of a decent looper is not in the budget right now.
@@iqi616 another solution for very low budget is to have a simple but powerfull instrument like a PocketOperator that will be devoted to transitions. This could also be one of the other Volcas. In any cases, the important point is the ability to synchronize, but there's also a trap if the next tune has a different tempo. The device in charge for transitions must not be synchronized otherwise tempo will change suddenly when the next project is loaded, but must have the ability to change tempo while playing, that all samplers can't do.
I have a hybrid set up built around Maschine, highly recommended and really fun. Maschine controls my Drumbrute and modular synth via midi, and soft synths with audio coming out of an interface. Everything going back into the Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK, and recorded into Ableton. But if I just want to have a bit of fun, I can leave the computer off and just play around with the modular and the drumbrute.
I have a small setup and I plan on buying my first hardware synthesizer.. im thinking about getting something from behringer... just something to add analog warmth and get my fix for twisting knobs
I have the Model D. If you don't have a workforce keyboard synth yet, consider the Deepmind. It's very versatile and you can do really good emulations of the Juno 60/106 with it. In used gear, the Alesis Ion and Micron can emulate a lot of classic synths and have a deep editing capability through a routing matrix and you can layer sounds. The Micron is smaller and about $200. It does a little more but is a pain to edit. The Ion is bigger and twice the price but is much larger and you have lots of dedicated knobs for subtractive synthesis. These are digital but do great at analog sounding warmth if you filter them correctly. Just a suggestion.
@@davidpetersonharvey thanks man.. ya I kinda wanna stay away from digital right now.. maybe down the line when I get a few nice analog pieces in my collection.. see i have a daughter and my goal is to get some stuff that I know will age well and not only hold its value but ill be able to sell them all when she wants to go to college.. my first synth will probably be a moog of some sort
After a long hiatus from music production, I decided to purchase the MPC Live II. And I'm loving it. It can act as a standalone sequencer, sampler, workstation, has good expansion options, built in monitor speakers, and a is rechargeable. I'm not stuck needing a power outlet all the time!! It can be used in conjunction with a DAW and has an Ableton link, but you don't need them to get starting having fun. It also costs less than the NI Maschine+. It's probably the best way for a beginner to get started.
I see the limitation of hardware only as the biggest selling point for going daw-less. For many years I thought that I need all possibilities. And as long as possible during the process from idea to finished track. Nowadays I envy limitations and I am more creative then ever and also my mixes sound way better now since being daw-less also stopped me from overproducing.
5:30 Wow, thanks to your video, I recently bought a MIDI thru box (the Kenton). *Man* is that a *gamechanger* ! Nobody (online or offline) ever told me it would be good to get one and it never came to my own mind that these boxes even do exist. Although I don't have _that_ much gear, before, I was constantly swapping MIDI cables or powering up devices I didn't use, just because they were earlier in the daisy chain. Or wasn't even able to create a particular routing because a device didn't have proper MIDI thru... Might sound pathetic, but it eliminated like 40-50% of 'problem thinking' while producing, freeing up so much capacity to actually concentrate on music instead of technicalities!
Cool vid! I just got the Tascam model 16 as my dawless/multitrack recording solution and I am totally in love with it. Coming from an analog recording school, it's a real life/time saver, not that expensive and very versatile mixer.
Thanks, Bo! There's a lot of practical and smart advice here. I definitely have a few thoughts! Preamble: I started super lo-tech in the late '80s, way before DAWs were even an option, then gradually evolved to laptops and trackers, piano scroll type composition apps, and then to organic layering in audio editors. I managed to remain mostly ignorant about MIDI. I'm surprised there's little mention of multi-track recording here as a possible option. Maybe I'm old-school in this way, but bouncing tracks around on a Boss Micro BR lately removes some editing and mixing flexibility, but there's an honesty to it as well. One method of "hybrid" that's not discussed is to use the computer as a hardware configuration tool (VERY common nowadays), and to gain MIDI patchbay flexibility. A great example is using MIDI Patchbay to overcome the Korg SQ-1 lowest note value of 48, thus allowing me to sequence the entire note range of the drum sounds in my old Roland romplers! I use my Mac mainly for these two cases, as well as a means of further processing and editing work using Audacity and a number of AUs and VSTs. Since early in my electronic music dabblings, I've been easily overwhelmed by the technical and engineering side, and learning a DAW beyond something like Reason or LMMS was just too much, and the complexity threatened to extinguish the creative spark of the moment. If I have one piece of advice to offer, it's this: add complexity slowly. There's a lot of truth in that saying that the tools don't make the artist. Aim to know fewer pieces of gear with depth, and you will create amazing things!
I've recently ordered a Polyend Tracker with the intention of going DAWless and can't wait. I'll still use a DAW (probably Cakewalk) for recording purposes though.
Might be harder to learn on physical devices but its multitudes more fun and gets one away from being glued to a computer (some of us spend ALL day for work) whilst letting you jam. The more you jam the more fun and sounds you make. That is priceless in my view!! (But awesome video and points by you non the less!)
Thanks for the video. I'm a software developer and own a couple of synths. I completely disagree with the idea that computer applications have a better UI. Some synths are harder to learn than others, but when the functions aren't hidden in menus the "user interface" of a hardware synth can be much more intuitive. It doesn't get more easy for the brain than a knob you can touch and feel its position and we can do that simultaneously with our fingers.
I'm just getting back into synths, so I'm enthusiastic. And I've been watching all of these synth demo and review videos. And so I've had a bad case of GAS. (excuse me) As a result (you guessed it) I have bought a bunch of gear that I got bored with in a hurry. It's not bad, it just doesn't speak to me. One thing I returned to Sweetwater right away; the rest will be listed on Reverb soon. I got a too-small mixer without fx send/return. So I guess that will go on Reverb as well, once I figure out what to replace it with. Even if this video had come out sooner it probably would not have helped me. I had to learn the hard way. In regards to getting used gear- I did find ONE synth to buy used because it was reasonably priced. Other stuff I could have saved a few bucks on, but when you consider the 2 year warranty and tech support Sweetwater gives it just is not worth it. No, I do not work for Sweetwater. Too many folks out there are trying to "get their money" out of their gear. Stop it. That's just not how it works, and why do you want to get your money anyway? Maybe you bought new, but now it's used and the buyer is taking a chance. Be a mensch. Do unto others, etc. I know I am going to take a hit when selling my stuff and it's not the end of the world. I'm not rich, but it's only a few bucks. Bo, thanks for the video anyway! :)
What about the Akai FORCE? Nobody talks about it but: -it is a great sequencer without length and tracks limitation -has a lot of sounds into -can be used in dawless and hybrid setups (or both at the same time) - if you are into ableton the transition is quite seamless (as in my case) There are many complaints about this machine but I simply love it.
Awesome video as always BoBeats, but you're making me feel old. When I started making electronic music I had nothing but hardware and tape machines. The original dawless jamming :)
I’m pretty much Dawless as I use an MPC One as a sequencer , sampler and drum machine as well as a recorder. It’s also great because of the 8 audio tracks for hardware synths and other instruments, in addition to the 128 midi tracks. Only time I use a Daw is for mastering. With this set up though you need a small mixer to act as a pre amp for vocals and mic’d instruments.
Great video Bo! I absolutely agree with the general conclusion that going DAW-less is more about creativity and less about production. I may add #11 which was the most surprising (though obvious) issue for me: Cables 😂 Does quality matter? Absolutely Do you need a ton of them? Even more! So, does it cost you a fortune? Sure!
Great video. My biggest issue is a background hum from electrical interference. Either a poorly wired apartment building that I can't change or I have insufficient shielding on the cables.
You need to go power-grid-less, too. Battery powered stuff. ;) Or one of those ancient analogue instruments like piano or violin - those even have microtonal scales ;)
While some the logistical issues are touched on here, MIDI Thru Box and Mixers, it is important to understand that when setting up that first hardware setup 10-20% of the budget is going to go on boring things that are routing signals and cabling. That may seem like an extreme cost to some, but it quickly adds up and gets out of hand. So if you are budgeting for a new setup of synths costing around £5000 then likely £500-1000 is needed within the budget for all that boring non-synth stuff to get that setup working to a good standard.
I would say it also depends on the music style and sound you're going for. If you want to produce oldschool 90's techno for example, you'll want to have synths and gear of that era to get the authentic sound.
Nah, you can emulate most of them really well with plugins. I own classic gear like the Juno 60 and the Akai S950 and model them on other gear and on the computer quite often. Also, plenty of rereleases of old synths for cheap now.
I know people are different and do different music workflows, but in my opinion the most thing if you go DAW-less is a sampler as the main workhorse! For example just with an Octatrack (really suprised you did not mention it) and a small flexibel synth you can already produce complete tracks. Also to be able to use sounds that you already created using an existing DAW setup makes the transition much easier.
5:13 I loved my RM1x! I also let mine go during a lull in my music production many years ago and have always missed it. Getting by with a Digitakt. (TBH, I love my DT too, so it's all good.)
The Akai Force is often overlooked as a complete dawless production setup. Though it easily connects to Ableton Live after the latest firmware update and does multi-track recording, where one can master and polish up the final track on Ableton. At it's current sub $1000 price, it's a pretty compelling purchase. Another fantastic kit is the Toraiz SP16, built like a tank and is as immediate and intuitive as a Circuit in use. They've added a second effects channel now, which expands it's possibility a lot. It has very little sound mangling capabilities though, but of all my grooveboxes, this is the gear I end up using the most. My other grooveboxes and drum machines include, an Octatrack, Digitakt, Korg iElectribe, Yamaha RM1x, Akai Force, Arturia Drumbrute Impact, Yamaha RS7000, Roland TR8s and a Circuit. Of the lot, the SP16 is the most fun to use, and has the nicest sound fidelity straight out of the box.
@Trololo Inc ® I think Pioneer goofed up big time trying to market it as a fleshed out "production" unit. It is far from one. The SP16 has an arrangement mode though which supports pattern chaining. But it's quite inflexible. Completely agree on the missing poly rhythm capabilities.
I think finding one direction with analogue gear and keeping track is the most difficult part. I went from DAW to DAWless and back, since i wanted to produce music without a computer, but had problems with sequencing everything, and sampling some parts wasn't the ideal way either. My studio grew on 2 Focusrite Scarletts with 18 inputs in total and Ableton Push2, so buying a mixer with enough inputs and outputs (which typically go via USB, for recording purposes only) to go dawless again would be much money thrown out of the window, despite I would need a "better" sequencer. And I WANT effects on my channels. EQ and compression make the most of my Drumbrute kick and are more controllable in the DAW in my oppinion. As Bo said: you want to have everything controlled by one sequencer, so Push2 and Live come in very handy. But on the other hand I am SICK to have to have the PC turned on all the time and staring to a screen most of the time to produce music.
The answer is, the Deluge! I make and mix entire songs on mine (see my channel) and it is fantastic. I have also recently got into AE Modular and the Deluge is great for providing MIDI and/or CV and Gate outputs. It also has none of the limitations and menu diving of devices like the MC 707, for example. I think Native Instruments Maschine + is looking to be another potential player but, for me who is a software developer and sit looking at a screen all day, the Deluge is the perfect dawless solution.
Bought a Moog 37, bought a module: sampler and I bought a mixer... Now I'm having trouble with figuring out how to connect it to my soundcard and or if I should replace the soundcard with the mixer.. This was another problem I ran into. I don't know anything, I don't even know what to look for when I need to problem solve lol. But I can play my synth and the sampler in FL studio on a mono input.. yay.. what a messy way to play lol I'm not sure I got any closer to solving the issue, but I really enjoyed your video and It had allot of good points! thank you and god bless
My latest addition to dawless set up is an acoustic guitar. I also have Digitakt and Circuit along with some synths, bass, finger piano as well as a midi keyboard. It's dawless :-)
I've made a few releases in the past, and then I got away from music for a while until I watched Stranger Things. The analog sounds playing in the background captured my attention and ignited my passion for making music again. I use Ableton as a recording instrument, I do everything live using external sequencers and synths. I love the fact I can use my iPad to play my synths wirelessly using Fugue machine while in sync using Ableton link. Using Ableton solely to make music is boring and uninspiring to me. I want to be able to automate that sound using my hands, it feels like I'm in control of the end result, and extremely fun to play. P.S: Distrokid is awesome! been using it for almost a year and it makes it super easy to release tracks to all major platforms, the 35.99 year option is the best one since you can also have your own record label. BoBeats sold me a Hydrasynth, Wavestate, Keystep Pro, and few other instruments. 😁
great overview, especially the tip about too many flagship synths. Get one and then go smaller for your others. Thumbs up for Maschine Studio or MK3 as well.
I am primarily a guitarist, who likes to use synths to build interesting textures and rhythms to set my guitar work against. I started out years ago with Cubase, but being behind a computer was never a comfortable place to play guitar. Things improved the minute I installed Ableton Live, but its with Push 2 that I have really found my place. I get the benefits of DAW, without bound to a computer. I like to play standing up (also just practicing or creating), and I got Push 2 to hand to running Live. I have a MatrixBrute, MiniBrute 2s as hardware synths, and Komplete Kontrol MkII for handling VSTs. Computers (and DAWs) bring some many useful sounds and tools to the creative process, but you need to find a way that works for you to access it all musically and not through the Keyboard/Mouse/Screen interface which was never intended to be a musical instrument. There is no universal solution that will suit everyone, though.
Large synthesizers usually offer you a lot more features for an overall lower price. Then you Pan the camera around your awesome collection and I'm thinking wait that doesn't take up much space. There is always space for more gear!
DUDE! The Tascam Model 12 is a MUST HAVE for DAWless! If you need more inputs go for the model 24..... but it’s a DAWless setups dream! It records and mixes in box, or you can hook it up to a daw, and even control the daw with it! It’s a MUST have in my opinion!
There's also the shortcut to dawless working which is by using tools like a loop eg. the rc505 in stead of complicated sequencers. You can loop 5 tracks with as much overdubs as you want and it also has an internal clock that can be synched by midi. The only issue is that when using this as a recording interface you do get some noise level in your recording and you can't undo overdubs so you'd have to record/process the tracks as they are. But it gets you a good start on working with several hardware instruments at ones.
This is the way I jumped in. I had the 505 with a mic and a line from Kontrol with a 25key. I decided I wanted beats from another machine so I added drumbrute Impact. Very fun. Very spontaneous.
@@memoryracer2643 yeah at times I work with just one or two synths, the looper (and a drumcomputer) and then I built all my basic tack ideas. Sometimes even without the tr! and then just using the internal drums of the rc and then later doing a decent beat on a drumcomputer or with samples. I then later do a more filled rework in my daw. Most of my own production works like this. Sometimes I use upto 4 different synths, a wavedrum, a tr8, vocals an live instrumentation and I record all parts into the rc to create intricate track ideas. I'm not 100% satisfied with the sound quality but as long as I leave a tiny bit of silence at the start of the loop I can filter the noise later :-)
@@unfinishedmonkeyrecords wow you've got some things going ive never thought of! I may end up going even more that direction with the 707, monologue, and uno synth I have on the way. I may have to check back with you to get it all figured out!
@@memoryracer2643 Feel free to! There's also some in depth settings you can handle with the rc505 like master compression and different kind of revirbs on inputs and outputs, it's quite a decent machine to use as a mini "multitrack recorder", watch out though the output is always just stereo, not multitrack so you have to resample track by track into your daw for editing afterwards or record the whole song live as you imagine it in the flow and then just do some mastering in the daw, also possible but not ideal. I think even the ground noise can be solved when all your power is decently grounded and you use the right amounts of in- and ouput level. Just haven't been 100% satisfied yet with the audio that comes out.
That makes me feel sooo old. An entire generation who have only ever recorded with computers. Actually that's a good thing - it gives me hope that being an old fart is NOT the reason I've gone DAW-free for recording! 😀
@@iqi616 you're lucky that maybe you started before computers, that gives you more experience and a different point of view. I use analog mixers and I have some hardware too but I would never would go dawless, definitely they are two completely different worlds with the same purpose. And I was always curious about it. I'm a Dj too and I did learn before CDs so to me is amazing that I started playing music with vinyls.
@@DioZambrano Cool. I was never dexterous enough to DJ. There are advantages and disadvantages to having old knowledge. I remember some of the tricks I used to get around things - like planning a set-list to suit the patch changes on my analogue monosynth (handy today for avoiding my Neutron getting stuck on one patch for an entire set). On the other hand we had a "realism" mindset back then that limited my thinking about synths until the failure of ROMplers to meet my needs opened my eyes. It's so refreshing to see what "youngsters" (many are in their forties!) do without the preconceptions. Yes, sometimes there's cute naïvité like "What plugins did Kraftwerk use on Autobahn?" but far more often I'm kicking myself for failing to see the potential in the analogue gear other people were offloading for almost nothing in the 90s. One reason I bought my MPC One was to become a rookie again and get away from the tape paradigm that has limited my creativity.
I already have a hardware synth setup, built up over the decades. I use a sequencer, but it's a stand-alone software sequencer. I am at present trying out a DAW and software synths, but it's a real battle getting anything to work.
Bo, my main pleasure is to improvise Guitar Pod HD 500, Synths, Rhythm Machines, Vocals with Voicelive 3 xtreme, and Electronic Percussion. I bought the Roland Mx1 Mixer, boss Rc 505, Analog 4 MkII, Roland TR 8S, Minilogue XD, and had very much fun doing music, I found limiting to change from improv to new improv in a smooth way mainly because almost everything electronic was running from the Analog 4 MKII so I bought a Digitone. Now I really want to be able as my goal to go dawless in the sense of music making but being able to capture everything in ableton live so I can create the main live rig to go touring, I don´t pretend to go with all my gear for a live act at festivals, I would like to take Push, Laptop, and The korg Minilogue, and Vocals and Guitar effects in one case and a small backpack. Yes the midi splitters are the saviours. Thanks for sharing so much.
Ordered a couple of synths and midi boxes and a mini mixer, and whilst that was missing in transit, started seeing where Akai's MPCs were at. Ordered an MPC One, and found USB replaces the need for midi boxes , and if I had picked this up way before everything else, I wouldn't have got the Reface CP as there is a built in electric keys sound in the MPC, and I could send two synths into the back of of the MPC one and use it's FX, so I could have held off on the mixer. Seems the MPC One and a couple of synths would have been a nice tidy start to my set up. Now have an Elecribe 2 sampler to get rid of. My lost in transit stuff arrived 8 weeks after ordering.
I recently decided to build an All-Moog Dawless synth setup (using the 3 main semimodular synths - the DFAM, M32, and Subharmonicon, + a 4th Minitaur)... and while its a lot of fun just running each of the units sequencers internally, and syncing them up, its been a real struggle to get them all to respond to 'a single controller' like a Beatstep Pro. They're more like a quasi-Eurorack setup than individual synths that are easily controlled from a sequencer box.
Excellent advice on many levels. After 20 or so years in the game I would find it difficult to give up either option. Today...the hybrid options between are so incredible there's no real reason to totally ditch the DAW or totally ditch your hardware and external sequencing and recording options.
My wife is a synth player. I just started to get into it hard in the last year or so. I wanted to go hardware to learn synthesis because i figured it would be a bit harder and I could focus on different types of synthesis to learn. Right now rocking a Kawai Q80 sequencer, a Kawai K1r, Kawai K4r, Yamaha CS1X, Roland SH201 and a Microbrute. Looking for a DX7 next and a old hardware sampler.
Don't overlook multitrackers for DAWless. I dug out my old Korg D1600 and can sync my MPC One to it. That gives a lot more audio tracks. Not only that but I can throw ideas onto it and sample them on the MPC.
If i would start now i would be start with p-33. I had shocked about dawless approach after this tiny thing. It is different at everything what you expect before. But believe me. If you are not comfortable to make track with joy with that little thing, you will always be dissatisfied about dawless.. limitations should be your friend in dawless. And when you understand the point here it is core thing. Yes, first so many days you will sit with those papers with “how to guides”. But you will get that original sound from metal box instead of something you’d see on monitor of your pc. And driving it with fingers is the key thing here 😀
This was an excellent and informative video. Thanks Bo. I do think though, that having too many sequencers in your setup can be daunting and ultimately create too much texture thus sounding like noise. Also note, that almost ALL synthesizers have their own sequencer powered by the engine of that particular synth. You can never have too many synths! Ha Ha! One of the things I have loved about software and the DAW setup is that I get to SEE the tracks, instruments, length, patterns, etc. Trying to write legit music without the visual would seem difficult for me.
For me the point of multiple sequencers is either to bring them up or down in the mix for interest or to transition between them so you can change songs in one while the other plays (like a DJ) for extended jams. I only have an MPC One but I'm trying to learn how to do transitions between that and my Volca Sample + Mono Station.
My tip would be if you do want to produce complete songs that have any degree of complexity with a dawless setup, make sure the main sequencer you get is powerful enough to handle that. So if that's your goal a sequencer like Synthstrom Deluge or Squarp Pyramid will serve you better than a Keystep Pro, for example.
I spent a year with a DAW and synth software to learn how electronic music was made. I always knew I wanted to move to hardware synths. This summer I finally made the move and got 3 synths (one poly, two semi-modular monos). Now I am at the hybrid stage. Hardware synths, connected with MIDI and a DAW to be my sequencer and drum machine. I will continue to move into 100% DAW-less but that will take (more) money and time. You are right, hardware synths are about fun, in the box DAW and softsynths are a for me a composition tool. Both worlds are fun and overlap. Just be sure to enjoy the whole thing or don't bother.
I think you summed that up well. I like to jam, personally nothing does it better for me than hardware. That's what inspires me most. Then later on you can build upon an idea or recreate it with the software instruments for composition purpose.
I think it is good to go hybrid. You will learn dawless with its flaws especially on recording certain live environments and learning a DAW where you can then explore and hence your recordings infinitely. You make a good point of not having too many flagship keyboards I agree. In my home pro studio I have a lot of modular hardware synths as opposed to my professional studio that has a huge digital mixing and mastering set up. Learn one synth at a time feel comfortable with it as you said have one master sequencer this is a good idea and step by step it will all come together :)
I wouldn't recommend anybody going dawless or going hardwareless. Especially if you're just starting out and getting into this. Go for both from the get go. A DAW offers up all the tools you can't afford for your dawless setup at an affordable price and it lets you instantiate endless instances of plugins, until you run out of CPU power. I would skip getting a midicontroller and instead get a synth that can be used as midicontroller as well. And I would skip getting an audio interface and instead get something like a groovebox such as the digitakt or oktatrack which can also be used as an audio interface, or a digital mixer or something like that. Combine use cases where possible so that you can kill more birds with one stone and keep overall costs down.
I've resisted for quite a while on using DAW to compose music, but you are 100 percent on spot! DAW is sooo much easier to compose because of the ability to view all tracks and scenes, along with their respective effects! Also, editing is on the fly versus replaying the notes and praying that Quantizing hits the note! LOL Ableton Live 10 is around the corner...
Replaying without quantize is better in the long run. At first it will be laborious but it will get easier like anything that takes practice. Quantizing and editing MIDI killed my emerging keyboard skills in the 90s. Editing audio killed my bass and sax skills in the 00s. Within a year of going DAW-free I've recovered my bass chops and making good progress on the keyboards. Next year is for getting back my sax chops.
To all this, I would add a good dynamic microphone and a vocoder or vocal fx box, also delay and reverb pedals to use as aux fx on a cheap analog mixer. I just record the stereo signal to my android phone or tablet via a class compliant usb audio interface. You can use even more hardware units (expensive!) for mastering or just master your track in a DAW (much cheaper) to make it a shiny masterpiece... 😊
Funny you mention the Yamaha RM1x. It's the first piece of hardware I've got from by brother. Still have it laying around here behind me but it's buttons are in bad condition, hope to restore it one day! As for me I heavily enjoy sample based music so I wanted an MPC 4000 and got one, was able to make some 'okaaay' loops with it but the MPC and especially the 4000 is DEEP. So I would NOT recommend at all as one of your first pieces of hardware. Now I have the time and money to invest in music, I've started to look for cheap drum computers, picked up a Drumbrute impact, LOVED it. Needed a synth, bought a Microbrute, LOVED it. Then picked up a cheap second hand Crave for some extra sounds. Kinda started missing sample based music, bought a Polyend Tracker, and for the last two weeks this is what I've been doing. I dunno.. To me it depends on what you want to make
Here's gear I recommend for a synth setup & your studio. This is almost exclusively gear I have used in my studio and know to work. (All links are affiliate links)
MIXERS (all of these can record multiple channels at once)
Bluebox Mixer
US: imp.i114863.net/b4ELm
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/504944?offid=1&affid=623
Soundcraft MTK 22
US: imp.i114863.net/6a2GG
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/359305?offid=1&affid=623
Soundcraft MTK 12
US: imp.i114863.net/35b7d
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/359304?offid=1&affid=623
Tascam Model 12
US: imp.i114863.net/Vro4E
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/483453?offid=1&affid=623 (affordable!)
Presonus 16 channel
US: imp.i114863.net/RxJRb
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/423722?offid=1&affid=623
Presonus 32SC (the one I use)
US: imp.i114863.net/vLe2j
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/462793?offid=1&affid=623
MIDI THRU BOXES (midi splitters)
US: imp.i114863.net/LvenY
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/220156?offid=1&affid=623
iConnectivity MioXL (there's a smaller one too!)
US: imp.i114863.net/xxAy1
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/476770?offid=1&affid=623
SYNTH STAND
Jaspers: thmn.to/thoprod/443021?offid=1&affid=623
GOOD FX
Zoia
US: imp.i114863.net/5b6MAL
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/463334?offid=1&affid=623
Blackhole
US: imp.i114863.net/jExYb
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/503207?offid=1&affid=623
Tricerachorus
US: imp.i114863.net/MXJDDK
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/529760?offid=1&affid=623
EURORACK
Rackbrute Case
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/431059?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/16j3g
Nifty Case
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/499147?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/nOrmR
Affordable eurorack modules (Dreadbox Chromatic Series)
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/486796?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/kjeaad
PATCHBAY:
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/118484?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/XxbLLg
SEQUENCERS (makes no sounds themselves)
Novation SL Mk3 // 8 track keyboard/sequencer/controller:
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/450573?offid=1&affid=623
US:imp.i114863.net/QqZ79
Arturia Keystep Pro // 4 track sequencer/controller: redir.love/wcdKr2aG
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/483153?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/M4G7Y
SYNTH & SAMPLERS WITH SEQUENCER
Roland MC101 // portable 4 track synth
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/473345?offid=1&affid=623
US:imp.i114863.net/74Lq5
Roland MC707 // 8 track synth and sampler
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/473348?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/rvkmd
Novation Circuit Tracks // 4 track Sequencer & Synth
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/512775?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/0kgRJ
Elektron Digitakt // 8 track sampler, 8 track sequencer
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/409950?offid=1&affid=623
US:imp.i114863.net/yDJYB
Elektron Digitone // 4 track FM synth + 4 track sequencer
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/431568?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/4kOXL
NI Maschine+ // standalone sequencer/sampler
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/501389?offid=1&affid=623
US:imp.i114863.net/m69Yy
GOOD STARTER SYNTHS
Original Minilogue
EU:thmn.to/thoprod/379052?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/2PbZM
Korg Minilogue XD
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/465932?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/Rxg72
Cobalt8
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/506277?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/eDP4X
Argon8
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/473936?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/0bKWL
Microfreak
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/457192?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/ZknZK
Dreadbox Typhon
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/496419?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/GPva6
Korg NuTekt NTS1
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/473592?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/2OR10
Reface CS
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/368212?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/PLJLR
HydraSynth
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/527778?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/5b6MZ2
DRUM MACHINES
Roland TR8S (very versatile!)
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/434284?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/PLJoR
TR6S (tiny!)
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/504204?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/QBzL6
Analog Rytm MK2 (pricey but amazing!)
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/503365?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/WjW7O
Pulsar-23 (a bit overkill for a beginner)
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/504302?offid=1&affid=623
US: bit.ly/pulsar23
Drumbrute Impact
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/444377?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/LJod3
SPEAKERS:
IK MTM
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/457892?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/XxbL25
ADAM
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/540649?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/mgAXoD
Eve Audio SC3070
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/510035?offid=1&affid=623
I have an rm1x in alright condition. Wanna trade?
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge.🇬🇧
I love my 1010 Music Bluebox since can record live performances for use later on and resample, chop up samples in my OP-1 or Octatrack.
I love synths and it's fun to go shopping, but remember yalllllll: Be a creator, not a consumer! Great video Bo, good advice as always!
Thanks mom
Don’t let anyone tell you what to do with your life (nice paradox :)
Very true. I think I am not a very good creator and a great consumer at the moment. Not good at all. I look for that Dawless setup that is so fun and easy to work with and support vocals very well. Mv-1?
@@magnuseriksson8081 same here. All this gear is too damn sexy to pass up. More gear, more sounds, mote options and yes more money. But sell what you don’t use after a year of experience.
Thanks for the shoutout homie! Suuuper appreciate it :)
🥰
This is too cute
Two of my favorite synth TH-camrs on one comment/thread! Keep it up, fellas!
I started out with an Electribe 2 as main sequencer, having no clue of midi sequencing in the beginning there were some hard (and costly) lessons learned. Now I am using a Synthstrom Deluge, a very flexible unit with great connectivity, internal synth, FX, drums and sampling ability. The grid based sequencer is a great help to me... My tips is to go for:
- good sequencer
- drumcomputer (tr-8 ish)
- a solid monosynth
- a simple polysynth (minilogue-ish)
- start out small
- get to know the gear you have and only then buy more...
- buy second hand and have patience, do not buy impulsive like I did a lot of times.
- get yourself a nice mixer with plenty channels and FX send/return possibilities.
- FX will beef up your sound! Get some great sounding FX (pedals or rack mounted) for reverb, delay, distortion etc... Midi connectivity can be useful (especially for delay effect).
- use midi splitters like a kenton 5 e.g.
- have patience and do not expect to turn out hits all the time.
- when not using a DAW to record, use a good recording device like a Tascam dr-5 e.g.
- keep on practicing and force yourself into the studio even when you don't feel like jammin. Getting started sometimes is the hardest part. But when you're get going it's tons of fun!!! Hope this will help you! Sweet jamming✌️✌️
Y’all are so awesome and positive.
@@xVadaRose Making music is always a positive thing😃✌️
I love diy aspect and apply it to my music stuff. Table for jams, decorations, hybrid case/stand for volcas, autonomous power supply for all my synths, midi splitter that can cost few bucks if you can solder. And the happiest moments happen when i jam outside with other people, having just 1 or 2 synths, one of them is modded monotron delay :). Tons of fun stuff, learning, making music, and we don’t aim to make hits, it’s all about fun, learning how to listen to one another, to make pauses where needed. Discipline and feeling the music flow makes jam really shine
@@wickeddubz Ha that sure sounds like the way it should be!! Same here, I made my own little sit/stand studio by modding a standard electrically operated small office desk into a whopping 4 meters wide synth platform/desk. Soldered my own "Vellerman" vocoder (a €10,- diy kit) some time ago and enjoy creating those kind of little projects. I however have no friends actively participating in the jamming side of life, I tried to persuade one of my best friends but unfortunately the fire didn't light up🤪... With three young kids I am a happy man when I even make it to the studio haha. But when I do it's satisfying and time flies... It's a passion I guess... Thanks for the nice reply!!! Take care!
ACIDis ACIDis man great advice! I am starting this year and I am thinking of a TR-8S, a Roland SE-02, TD-3. What do you think is essential? Do I need a extra sequencer? Can you guys recommend me one? Also I need to decide for a mixer and some FX...
Buy second hand. Then when you have collected a lot of gear the you don’t actually use, it is easier to sell without losing a lot of money.
FuZZbaLLbee Absolutely this. Everything I own is second hand. I’ve amassed a pretty decent live jamming rig for pennies on the dollar. The best of which is my Akai XR20 for $50. A totally underrated baby MPC that is the hub of my rig
...indeed! You may even get a return 👍
Yes, i do this so much, it's like renting for basically free.
Absolutely. Great way to learn what you like too.
@@monsirto I second that sentiment!
The limitations of the hardware is whats inspires me. Give me everything and i don't know what to do with it.
Exactly, limitations force creativity.
Well said!
You can get some crazy outcomes from trying to push a synth to its limits. With limitations you need to think of work arounds and other ways to achieve what you're going for. You can also learn the ins and outs of your machine easier with a simpler setup and truly unlock its full potential
Anything?
I agree. I love the idea of having a huge, endlessly capable monster of a synth - but most times I try to mess around with something complicated I get so lost that I end up doing the exact same simple stuff that anything else is capable of (i.e. ooh let's throw two saw waves together and detune it, that's fun)
My advice, buy one thing and learn it. Read the manual from cover to cover. Then play it endlessly. Then read the manual again. Until you reach its limitations you won’t reach yours. Which means you ain’t growing
You wont see much advice like that on a clickbait sponsored video that has been done on every synth enthusiast channel setup to showcase products. Consumerism is death to creativity. All hail getting more crap. There are people with more talent than I will ever have who just have sticks and pails. Number 1 be a musician.
Mac, I agree! The manual has always been my secret weapon.
Random guy: "How did you know that?"
Me: "erm... RTFM" 😁
Great points in this video. I know a few people who don't use a computer at all, and they all have something in common - they dislike computers in general, and none of them understand computers enough to operate them trouble-free. This is a HUGE factor. Computer nerds develop background skills that they're not even aware of. Simple things like a backup schedule aren't obvious to non-nerds. I see multiple comments in this thread about running into issues on a computer and giving up. Not everyone wants to spend countless hours mastering the dark art of troubleshooting Windows issues.
#11: Less is more. Get LESS gear and use it MORE often.
Which is amusing, because DAWless *requires* more gear than in the box :)
Sage advice. :)
GAS is a wallets worst enemy
@@Psychlist1972 Yeah, but no need to buy 10 synths.
To me the best is to take advantages of both worlds.
Limitations force creativity.
Great video. I’m a drummer and also play guitar, and a friend showed me his Korg Volca bass. Being a long time fan of Kraftwerk, I just thought that little thing was so cool! A few years later I finally got one and told myself ‘this is really the only electronic gear I’m interested in’ Six months later I’ve got several of the Volcas and now I’m just so intrigued with everything. Just got a MS20 Mini so I can learn modular. It’s sure addicting! Lots of fun, and very different from making music with a drum kit and electric guitar. Thanks again for the video. I’ve subscribed to your channel and look forward to more of your videos.
This was a great vid that I missed when it came out. As a guitarist for decades who bought a monotribe years back and couldnt figure out how to work it. At the start of the year I got a b1 and a behringer 606 clone and then it clicked. I went through a lot of gear through the year buying, trying and selling , beatstep, beatstep pro, circuit etc. and the thing that is hard that (I never would have believed this previoulsy) it is very personal as to what clicks and feels natural. That is hard to glean from reviews, I think. The great thing now is there is some cool well priced stuff around so its a good time to sell something you dont get on with at minimal loss. I've been using a digitakt for sequencing but just got an mpc one+ (loved you dabbling on the one vid). Feels like it will be the 'one' for me😁 kind of more what I'm used to on the daw, but seperate but can add the plugins etc. and then of course hook into the daw if you like!
Thanks for describing the Roland MC-707 as a sequencer because the idea is the golden ticket that I needed to hear for creating and maintaining a dawless setup! 🏆🎉🔥🎊
I sync my synth with my DAW because sequencers are more expensive and I feel that I have less control. Just got into synths, really, been making music forever but just got into buying synths and doing jams and stuff, it’s been fun so far. My wallet may be hurting but my happiness is greater, totally worth it. Falling in love with synths and hardware electronic instruments. Great video, bro
Not saying sequencers are more expensive than a DAW, just saying I already have a daw, so I don’t want to spend money on a sequencer if I can use something I already have to sequence
You are ticking many points that made me starting electronic music dawless. I do stare at a screen all day for a living, tried daws since long time, I just can't stand keep to it after hours even if they are really powerful to do anything. And more cost efficient as you said (and by far).
You're also right on the point the fun part is very important, especially to the hobbyist of music making.
But to me it's a journey rather than a goal, you don't have to get everything on the first day you want to start making music. No need for a 24-track mixer or super expensive synths to get started.
Maschine looks very appealing to me at this point, as well as the Akai MPC One ! They are the hybrid stuff that perhaps will allow me to improve my productions, still without sitting at the computer and mouse, and keeping the synths bleepings and the knobs to play with =)
Never liked working with a mouse and a screen, and ever thought that a DAWless setup would bring back my passion. Bought a bunch of synths when I was starting, wathever could, big, BIG mistake. Now I'm selling out everything, never really used any of them properly. If you wanna go DAWless and you just starting, avoid quantity, focus on using what you got really well, and there's where the magic happens. Lately bought a simple piano, but commited myself to learn and grow a relationship with it. Best thing I've ever done to me when it comes to music. Some times you don't need a different setup or better gear, but to get better at your craft.
What I recommend for starters is a circuit tracks with 2 external synths because you can control 2 midi tracks independently and even automate effects on your synths from the circuit tracks! You have an amazing sequencer and 8 instruments to control in total (2 internal synths on the tracks, 4 sample tracks and 2 external synths). For the external ones I recommend the arturia micro freak and a volca as they're pretty compact.
Just getting into this and have all used gear. Circuit tracks, volca bass, rev2, grandmother and Dreadbox. A bit too much gear for me to start but I’m learning I guess.
@@SlavicSon that's great man!
Take it easy take your time and above all, have fun!
I use a hybrid system. I have hardware instruments to work with and a USB mixer that can record all my tracks simultaneously. This inspires me to play a performance live and do my best not go make a mistake. Practice makes perfect. After recording I mix and master in the box. For me the best of both worlds works.
the usb mixer is mixing all your tracks simultaneously to two stereo tracks or individually as separate tracks? Either way, sounds like a lot of fun!
@@wetwork6553 Individually as separate tracks. Just like individual channels going to tape. Sorry if I'm showing my age but yeah I love it. :D
@@RoomAtTheTopStudio not at all! music knows no age and I'd still be using my tascam 4-track if they didn't explode. lol. do you have any videos showing how you rig a setup like that?
@@wetwork6553 my videos with the Arturia Drumbrute are all using the individual outs from the analogue drum machine, then stereo tracks from the Korg Prologue and mono tracks from the Moog Sub37, Yamaha SK30, CS10, Hammond B100, Korg ARP Odyssey and Logan String Melody II. Everything goes through the Soundcraft Signature. What I can sequence is sequenced and I play the rest live or track live to build up the track. Check out my videos for examples.
Me, too, and I love it!
This was SO helpful. I know it's an older video now, but it really holds up so well. I learned a lot of principles here that I can then apply to my own situation in a number of ways. Thank you!!!
Thanks Michael! Glad you found it enlightening
Great vid. One thing that caught me, don't forget cables. Even though they're cheap individually, it quickly becomes shocking how much of an investment it becomes. You never have enough, you never have the right one and they're always to short, or way to long. So be cognizant of what you will need when planning your set up. It's not fun gear to think about, but maybe the most important.
Very true!
I sequence SP-404 patterns, two volcas, and a Reface-DX using a Beatstep pro, while using resample method to record loops from the reface to the SP-404. sometimes my friend brings his CS and we extend it to jam and make crazy leads. For me the dawless setup is about jamming primarily. If I'm actually writing a song it's usually still in my DAW. Sometimes I use loops from the volca or whatever to make my songs but I don't really record the whole setup to write music. The dawless setup is going to be my live performance piece rather than my writing workstation. I'm surprised other people aren't really interested in large scale jams like that. I also use it to jam with my live band as well. There's a lot that can be done of you don't think about the dawless setup in terms of limitation.
i build mine recently i am extremely happy its such an expansion and you get to walk around from one instrument to the other, 100%hands on. but either you are a musician and know your pieces or you better jam and record on the same session otherwise its gonna be hard (and you might not even want) to repeat the session, once you change settings of the analogues its hard to keep track of all presets. its the real state of Flow. of course then you have limitations if you used to make music with loads of automation in a dawless set up you cant really control everything at the same time.
and an advice if you wanna build a Dawless setup Learn what each instrument does and what not so you dont get surprises in the way, inputs outputs, sizes, Distances in you space, monophonic polyphonic sequencers/controllers, because i missed a couple things that i had to work around. Peace
Back in the early 90s all I had was a hardware sequencer a few synths, drum machine, and guitars. I had great fun pairing the hardware into a analog 4-track recorder mixer. After moving to the DAW setup I’ve found it feel much more like work, with software issues ruining the day.
Back in the late 90s all I had was ONE music keyboard. There was a step sequencer in it which makes everything sound unnatural and robotic. A DAW might have a "randomization" function which makes everything sound more natural. I don't think hardware can do this. Anyway, I hate DAWs because they look too cluttered. I hate VST plugins because they don't have the sound I'm looking for. So now I have an all hardware setup BUT no sequencer even for the drums. I just play them by hand so that everything sounds natural.
I tried to go Dawless for a while, but in the end I went with a hybrid setup where I use Ableton to sequence my hardware analogs live. That way I can get the best of both worlds. I use a Lanchpad so I can control any number of sequences and synths cleanly and easily
Yeah I think hybrid is good.
As of now I'm using Bitwig(switched from Ableton recently)
With controllers.
Found a nice controller script for launchpad which changed the whole game for me.
I now sequence drums and midi clips right on the launchpads. While Ableton live was fun, Bitwig is hands on now, feels like working with hardware.
Mixer control, devices control, sequencing, playing and stopping clips, recording clips... everything can be done without touching the mouse or keyboard.
I'm thinking in the near future I will add a few hardware synths and drum machines and go hybrid rather than all in the box.
Still recording into ableton but playing everything live has changed my approach to music entirely. Amazing the difference in fun playing hardware/eurorack vs software :D
There is an undoubted "je ne sais quoi " about playing hardware instruments. It is the immediacy and accessibility available. Most of us balk at "menu diving" for the same reason because it is pulling you back into a DAW-type world. From a cost, space and flexibility perspective a DAW and a good computer with keyboard / control surface is absolutely the logical, sensible choice but the lure of GAS is difficult to escape if you can afford it.
@@IrrationalRecreation hahahhaha right! Sensibility isn't novel though ;p and the GAS is real in the modular world, make sure to put side enough money for a car before diving in :D
@@IrrationalRecreation 100% I am the same. Instant gratification comes at a price. But for some us, it's worth it.
You really nailed at the start "tired of looking at screens"
Most important step: ideas. If they are lacking, DAW or not will make no difference
Where those ideas come from can be the equipment you use. It certainly is for me.
@@danpreston564 Agreed. Workflows on specific equipment can hold you back from being productive.
Inspiration > Ideas
johngannon inspiration is just generating ideas. They’re one and the same
@@unseen370 Totally, it made no point
This is a great video, and it’s still funny to me because I’ve always stayed hardware mainly because the DAW-studio really intimidates me. It seems like lots of work and hassle to make music that way, and I find hardware way easier to deal with. Maybe this has to do with the fact I don’t use computers in my everyday life, I guess they are less scary when you work with them in an office or something. Sometimes I ponder going soft, but I just imagine years of frustration and headaches before I can actually get some music done on a computer. Therefor I giggle a little bit inside when people say that it’s more complicated to make music without computers. Thanks for another great video Bo.👍
I spent the first 15 years of my making electronic music doing it on a Korg Workstation, a Boss Drum Machine and an Akai rack mount sampler. When I started the only DAW option was getting an Atari ST with an early version of something like cubase, it was a non starter for me (although I spent £1500 on a Korg 01/w when I earned £4000 a year). So I have always been a 'dawless' composer. When I first got Logic Pro, about 20 years back, I simply couldn’t get on with it, and though I have, over the years, learned to use DAWs, and still have to finish tracks in Logic for nearly all my projects, I still feel most creative when sat in front of hardware synths and samplers. One thing I would say for having a fairly big hardware set up is the flexibility it gives me. I work as a solo artist and as part of a duo, and the two set ups are almost totally different, with only the Digitakt being used in both. The different sequencers and arpeggiators in many synths lead you to make different creative decisions, lead you in different directions, and make me make music I simply wouldn’t do with a fixed daw workflow.
Dawless is costly, and not cost effective, but I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it.
Ahhhh regrets. I do miss tracking on the ST sometimes. It was pretty quick back in the day and I shouldn't have given it away.
I still have the ST and 2 x S3000XL. Debating whether to use the Octatrack as the sequencer.... GAS 🤣😂
The st is my main sequencer!
I still have my ST but it's just waiting for me to finish transferring my DX patches and to play my Cubase songs into Reaper.
Hey Bo, after 20 years been playing vinyl and making noise with Ableton, I've bought my first hardware synth a few days ago.... Just before this video of yours.
One size does not fit all, which is good, otherwise everyone would be listening to my music of course 🤣.
Me? I won't go completely DAWless MAKING music, but live play? Yes definitely planning to.
I built myself a small modular synth, consisting of different modules that make up a synth: oscillator, filter, ADSR, even got a delay in there. It is small and compact so it can be carried around anywhere without problems. When I wanted to design sounds with it, it didn't work. Everything was patched up correctly - the way a sound chain should be. I couldn't figure out what was wrong - until I looked at the manual of the ADSR (Doepfer) - and it turns out one lever was in the wrong position. Everything works now. Moral of the story: sometimes it's good to read the manual :)
After watching your vids got myself a MC707, CS Reface and Circuit Mono Station to learn and noodle. Loving them!
I did exactly what you were talking about, and got what I really wanted and started off with a sampler first
What a nice compilation of thoroughly thought out ideas. Thank you so much for sharing!
1:22 "Hardware sequencers are generally more difficult to learn" - Interestingly, with regards to operating _synthesizers_ , it was actually the other way around for me. In many VSTs, I never really understood how exactly a patch's sound can be efficiently shaped, as they had 100 different features, settings, routing capabilities. Thus, only after I purchased my first hardware synth, I really understood sound design in a thorough way (would be interesting though to go back to VSTs, now that I understand OSCs, LFOs, fiters etc in and out).
8:33 "Don't get too many big synths" - While I agree to that, I would add "Don't get too many tiny or cheap synths/sequencers as well!". It might be nice to get some fresh inspiration at a relatively low cost. Nevertheless, from my personal experience, it can be really frustrating to realize that a given mini synth or sequencer or FX device doesn't offer a particular highly-needed sound design feature, or simply has a tremendously bad MIDI implementation, or has dealbreaking design flaws, malfunctions or bugs. Thus, one might stop using them altogether because they can't be used efficiently in a live setup and/or production environment. When looking at my Volcas and comparable devices for example: While I do understand why I bought them back then, I now regret having bought them altogether, cause when I would sum up all costs, I could have afforded a full-fledged pro synth or so, which would combine all features in a single device, while eliminating the need to power up 5 devices, to learn each individually, mix them all together, keeping them dust free etc. -> Buy cheap, buy twice...
I don't care about paying more for dawless setup. All this login to do this and signup to do that is totally unacceptable. Companies are more interested in getting your info for spam then they are promoting music creation.
I completely agree. I got so tired of the constant bugs and updates and forgetting login information and whatever else that making music with a computer entails, plus spending nearly half of my jam sessions getting distracted with other shit on my computer lol
It was a little pricey at first, especially having mainly used soft synths in the past + being a horn player for the majority of my life…but after getting a Keystep Pro on sale, a MicroKorg for fairly cheap, a bunch of Volcas (bass, drum, fm & keys) and updating my interface, getting a midi splitter and stocking up on cables etc blah blah blah, I’ve honestly been able to be a lot more productive with my time and not having to jump through hoops to make music just makes everything more enjoyable overall tbh.
Plus with being as lazy as I can be, having to fire up my laptop, load up my daw and find all sorts of files takes not a crazy amount of time, but enough to turn me off from wanting to jam or practice sometimes for sure.
So having the ability to play in a DAWless environment that can very easily be transferred into a DAW when needed or wanted was a HUGE plus for me.
DAWs seem to be going the Adobe route, where you have to rent your tools for a fee. There's always a chance the company will get a new CEO, draw people into the "cloud", then lock out previous versions under new terms.
👏👏👏👏
I made a lot of expensive mistakes with hardware. I recently sold about £5K worth of gear and don't miss it in the slightest. I had/have GAS but without a purpose. I now have a hybrid set up with a lot less that I can now have plugged into the mixer and actually make music. I was originally addicted to just buying synths that others made sound good on TH-cam. I have a V Synth XT and a Waldorf Q that I feel I am going to let go. I feel guilty but just can't justify them sat there doing nothing. I use
Studio One with a Behringer XR18r mixer. Great advice as ever!
Same here. Too much gear and not much time to learn them all.
Bo! Thanks for all the advice ❤️ Also, for what it's worth, the Tascam Model 12 is a beautiful and affordable usb multi-track mixer.
Great tips. I personally started music playing piano, and then saxophone, and finally guitar. I tried DAW-based composing for years and it was always an effort in frustration. I found myself having to manage the software more than I was actually producing any music. DAW-less has been drastically better for me, personally, in spite of the additional hardware/cost.
Timely video, thanks! I am just starting out making electronic music and although I have taken quite a few classes to learn how to use my DAW, I haven't really been "feeling it" composing and sketching in the software. Just got my first hardware two days ago, an MC-707, and already having tons of fun and loving the tactile experience. Thanks for the tips on how to keep this newfound hardware love from spinning out of control.
I’ve been wanting to buy my 1st drum machine & 1st synth, & have been planning to build my 1st DAW-less setup. Working OT right now to buy the drum machine. This video was very helpful. Thank you!
I had a dawless techno live setup in the early 2000s. It was a Yamaha DX200, Korg Electribes A and S, a SP-303 and sometimes a Boss DR-202 for even more drums ;) . It just worked. I just had to put the DX200 at the start of the MIDI chain because i never figured out how to get it to play as MIDI slave, it insisted to be the master:D Still have them all here...
Thanks for the great advice. Much appreciated. I found your channel about 2 1/2 years ago, and you have been a huge help to me.
Two things stood out here that resonated with my situation. First, your comments on getting a good sequencer (something I'm kind of lacking right now), and second, your advice about avoiding the large equipment. I am basically crammed into the corner of our bedroom (my wife is very tolerant), and the biggest things I own are a Monologue and Drumbrute Impact (I watched your review before I purchased that one!). When I do make a purchase anymore, I lean towards small stuff that works for me, I even have a PO 35 Speak😊. Thanks again for the great content, and best of luck on your new studio. It looks super cool.
Haha my situation is almost the same! My “studio” is a small space between me and my wife’s bed and my dresser. The “door” to my “studio” is a laundry hamper. Hell, my chair is just a pillow and I use a shoebox as a desk. I have gotten my wife into playing music though, she now has a bass, a guitar, a ukelele, and a mic with pedals.
Pauul Kubasek - oh my gosh! We had a similar strategy, I started my wife on piano lessons two years ago and she loves it! It really does help, doesn’t it? 😁
Sounds like you are even more cramped than me. I at least scored a cozy corner of the bedroom, even if a bit cramped. I’m thinking about going “up” is some fashion to obtain more space. Might just work.......🙏🙏
Charles Neuzil yeah going up seems to work. I’ve updated to a good sized ottoman for chair and an actual nice dining chair (we have a few we don’t use ) that functions as a nice mini-desk (it’s enough to fit a laptop and my key step), and i can fit most of my hardware underneath (tascam 4 track, a few Korg volcas, pedals) . One day though, renovations willing, I’ll be able to move all of my gear to a more suitable spot, haha!
I think there's something to think about : the ability to play continuously, especially if you play live. This it true for both computer based, DAWless or hybrid set-up. We often have to wait until the next project (song) is loaded or need time to change the presets of the synths or load sequences. IN that case, a simple sampler or looper could be great. So you can sample a portion of the playing tune and play it continually with effects while setting all the stuff for the next tune. I used a SP-303 for years and use now a Kaos Pad, but any simple sampler could do the job.
Of course, in some cases and depending of the style of music or kind of live we play, there's no need because each part of the set-up is changed while the other ones are playing. But this obliges to think about the whole live instead of creating tunes one by one. A simple live sampler gives much freedom. And it can be used for many other things.
That's a good point. My main sequencer is the MPC One and because I've already got a Volca Sample and Mono Station I'm figuring out how to transition to them to carry things while I switch songs on the MPC. A looper appeals but the cost of a decent looper is not in the budget right now.
@@iqi616 another solution for very low budget is to have a simple but powerfull instrument like a PocketOperator that will be devoted to transitions. This could also be one of the other Volcas.
In any cases, the important point is the ability to synchronize, but there's also a trap if the next tune has a different tempo. The device in charge for transitions must not be synchronized otherwise tempo will change suddenly when the next project is loaded, but must have the ability to change tempo while playing, that all samplers can't do.
@@WilliamWarinDhavernas I'm thinking about making a master MIDI clock based on an Arduino. That way I can change the tempo during the transition.
I have a hybrid set up built around Maschine, highly recommended and really fun. Maschine controls my Drumbrute and modular synth via midi, and soft synths with audio coming out of an interface. Everything going back into the Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK, and recorded into Ableton. But if I just want to have a bit of fun, I can leave the computer off and just play around with the modular and the drumbrute.
I have a small setup and I plan on buying my first hardware synthesizer.. im thinking about getting something from behringer... just something to add analog warmth and get my fix for twisting knobs
I have the Model D. If you don't have a workforce keyboard synth yet, consider the Deepmind. It's very versatile and you can do really good emulations of the Juno 60/106 with it. In used gear, the Alesis Ion and Micron can emulate a lot of classic synths and have a deep editing capability through a routing matrix and you can layer sounds. The Micron is smaller and about $200. It does a little more but is a pain to edit. The Ion is bigger and twice the price but is much larger and you have lots of dedicated knobs for subtractive synthesis. These are digital but do great at analog sounding warmth if you filter them correctly. Just a suggestion.
@@davidpetersonharvey thanks man.. ya I kinda wanna stay away from digital right now.. maybe down the line when I get a few nice analog pieces in my collection.. see i have a daughter and my goal is to get some stuff that I know will age well and not only hold its value but ill be able to sell them all when she wants to go to college.. my first synth will probably be a moog of some sort
After a long hiatus from music production, I decided to purchase the MPC Live II. And I'm loving it. It can act as a standalone sequencer, sampler, workstation, has good expansion options, built in monitor speakers, and a is rechargeable. I'm not stuck needing a power outlet all the time!! It can be used in conjunction with a DAW and has an Ableton link, but you don't need them to get starting having fun. It also costs less than the NI Maschine+. It's probably the best way for a beginner to get started.
I see the limitation of hardware only as the biggest selling point for going daw-less. For many years I thought that I need all possibilities. And as long as possible during the process from idea to finished track. Nowadays I envy limitations and I am more creative then ever and also my mixes sound way better now since being daw-less also stopped me from overproducing.
5:30 Wow, thanks to your video, I recently bought a MIDI thru box (the Kenton). *Man* is that a *gamechanger* ! Nobody (online or offline) ever told me it would be good to get one and it never came to my own mind that these boxes even do exist. Although I don't have _that_ much gear, before, I was constantly swapping MIDI cables or powering up devices I didn't use, just because they were earlier in the daisy chain. Or wasn't even able to create a particular routing because a device didn't have proper MIDI thru...
Might sound pathetic, but it eliminated like 40-50% of 'problem thinking' while producing, freeing up so much capacity to actually concentrate on music instead of technicalities!
Cool vid!
I just got the Tascam model 16 as my dawless/multitrack recording solution and I am totally in love with it. Coming from an analog recording school, it's a real life/time saver, not that expensive and very versatile mixer.
tascam is ultimate No computer at all!
Thanks, Bo! There's a lot of practical and smart advice here. I definitely have a few thoughts!
Preamble: I started super lo-tech in the late '80s, way before DAWs were even an option, then gradually evolved to laptops and trackers, piano scroll type composition apps, and then to organic layering in audio editors. I managed to remain mostly ignorant about MIDI.
I'm surprised there's little mention of multi-track recording here as a possible option. Maybe I'm old-school in this way, but bouncing tracks around on a Boss Micro BR lately removes some editing and mixing flexibility, but there's an honesty to it as well.
One method of "hybrid" that's not discussed is to use the computer as a hardware configuration tool (VERY common nowadays), and to gain MIDI patchbay flexibility. A great example is using MIDI Patchbay to overcome the Korg SQ-1 lowest note value of 48, thus allowing me to sequence the entire note range of the drum sounds in my old Roland romplers! I use my Mac mainly for these two cases, as well as a means of further processing and editing work using Audacity and a number of AUs and VSTs.
Since early in my electronic music dabblings, I've been easily overwhelmed by the technical and engineering side, and learning a DAW beyond something like Reason or LMMS was just too much, and the complexity threatened to extinguish the creative spark of the moment.
If I have one piece of advice to offer, it's this: add complexity slowly. There's a lot of truth in that saying that the tools don't make the artist. Aim to know fewer pieces of gear with depth, and you will create amazing things!
I've recently ordered a Polyend Tracker with the intention of going DAWless and can't wait. I'll still use a DAW (probably Cakewalk) for recording purposes though.
@@rorz999 Thank you! I was a big Octamed fan in the 90s and early 2000s so I'm really excited about it.
Might be harder to learn on physical devices but its multitudes more fun and gets one away from being glued to a computer (some of us spend ALL day for work) whilst letting you jam. The more you jam the more fun and sounds you make. That is priceless in my view!! (But awesome video and points by you non the less!)
Thanks for the video. I'm a software developer and own a couple of synths. I completely disagree with the idea that computer applications have a better UI. Some synths are harder to learn than others, but when the functions aren't hidden in menus the "user interface" of a hardware synth can be much more intuitive. It doesn't get more easy for the brain than a knob you can touch and feel its position and we can do that simultaneously with our fingers.
that jam at the end was dope. def a flawless experience
Very beefy and informative guide! Plus it made me love and hold on to my Maschine Studio even more! Thank you, Bo! Stay safe and God bless! 👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏
I'm just getting back into synths, so I'm enthusiastic. And I've been watching all of these synth demo and review videos. And so I've had a bad case of GAS. (excuse me) As a result (you guessed it) I have bought a bunch of gear that I got bored with in a hurry. It's not bad, it just doesn't speak to me. One thing I returned to Sweetwater right away; the rest will be listed on Reverb soon. I got a too-small mixer without fx send/return. So I guess that will go on Reverb as well, once I figure out what to replace it with. Even if this video had come out sooner it probably would not have helped me. I had to learn the hard way. In regards to getting used gear- I did find ONE synth to buy used because it was reasonably priced. Other stuff I could have saved a few bucks on, but when you consider the 2 year warranty and tech support Sweetwater gives it just is not worth it. No, I do not work for Sweetwater. Too many folks out there are trying to "get their money" out of their gear. Stop it. That's just not how it works, and why do you want to get your money anyway? Maybe you bought new, but now it's used and the buyer is taking a chance. Be a mensch. Do unto others, etc. I know I am going to take a hit when selling my stuff and it's not the end of the world. I'm not rich, but it's only a few bucks. Bo, thanks for the video anyway! :)
This video is EXACTLY what I've been looking for!!! Thank you so much for this.
What about the Akai FORCE? Nobody talks about it but:
-it is a great sequencer without length and tracks limitation
-has a lot of sounds into
-can be used in dawless and hybrid setups (or both at the same time)
- if you are into ableton the transition is quite seamless (as in my case)
There are many complaints about this machine but I simply love it.
Awesome video as always BoBeats, but you're making me feel old. When I started making electronic music I had nothing but hardware and tape machines. The original dawless jamming :)
I’m pretty much Dawless as I use an MPC One as a sequencer , sampler and drum machine as well as a recorder. It’s also great because of the 8 audio tracks for hardware synths and other instruments, in addition to the 128 midi tracks. Only time I use a Daw is for mastering. With this set up though you need a small mixer to act as a pre amp for vocals and mic’d instruments.
Great video Bo! I absolutely agree with the general conclusion that going DAW-less is more about creativity and less about production.
I may add #11 which was the most surprising (though obvious) issue for me: Cables 😂
Does quality matter? Absolutely
Do you need a ton of them? Even more!
So, does it cost you a fortune? Sure!
Great video. My biggest issue is a background hum from electrical interference. Either a poorly wired apartment building that I can't change or I have insufficient shielding on the cables.
You need to go power-grid-less, too. Battery powered stuff. ;) Or one of those ancient analogue instruments like piano or violin - those even have microtonal scales ;)
@@elekktrikk_home_video i'll keep that in mind haha
While some the logistical issues are touched on here, MIDI Thru Box and Mixers, it is important to understand that when setting up that first hardware setup 10-20% of the budget is going to go on boring things that are routing signals and cabling. That may seem like an extreme cost to some, but it quickly adds up and gets out of hand. So if you are budgeting for a new setup of synths costing around £5000 then likely £500-1000 is needed within the budget for all that boring non-synth stuff to get that setup working to a good standard.
Not tired, but it's good looking at things from a new perspective so now and then.
I would say it also depends on the music style and sound you're going for. If you want to produce oldschool 90's techno for example, you'll want to have synths and gear of that era to get the authentic sound.
Nah, you can emulate most of them really well with plugins. I own classic gear like the Juno 60 and the Akai S950 and model them on other gear and on the computer quite often. Also, plenty of rereleases of old synths for cheap now.
I know people are different and do different music workflows, but in my opinion the most thing if you go DAW-less is a sampler as the main workhorse! For example just with an Octatrack (really suprised you did not mention it) and a small flexibel synth you can already produce complete tracks. Also to be able to use sounds that you already created using an existing DAW setup makes the transition much easier.
5:13 I loved my RM1x! I also let mine go during a lull in my music production many years ago and have always missed it. Getting by with a Digitakt. (TBH, I love my DT too, so it's all good.)
The Akai Force is often overlooked as a complete dawless production setup. Though it easily connects to Ableton Live after the latest firmware update and does multi-track recording, where one can master and polish up the final track on Ableton. At it's current sub $1000 price, it's a pretty compelling purchase.
Another fantastic kit is the Toraiz SP16, built like a tank and is as immediate and intuitive as a Circuit in use. They've added a second effects channel now, which expands it's possibility a lot. It has very little sound mangling capabilities though, but of all my grooveboxes, this is the gear I end up using the most. My other grooveboxes and drum machines include, an Octatrack, Digitakt, Korg iElectribe, Yamaha RM1x, Akai Force, Arturia Drumbrute Impact, Yamaha RS7000, Roland TR8s and a Circuit. Of the lot, the SP16 is the most fun to use, and has the nicest sound fidelity straight out of the box.
some solid tips right here
@Trololo Inc ® I think Pioneer goofed up big time trying to market it as a fleshed out "production" unit. It is far from one.
The SP16 has an arrangement mode though which supports pattern chaining. But it's quite inflexible. Completely agree on the missing poly rhythm capabilities.
I have been seriously impressed with the sound of the SP16, though simple the workflow is super intuitive.
@Trololo Inc ® i just brought a quicklock QL400 stand for mine, great option worth looking into imo.
I think finding one direction with analogue gear and keeping track is the most difficult part. I went from DAW to DAWless and back, since i wanted to produce music without a computer, but had problems with sequencing everything, and sampling some parts wasn't the ideal way either.
My studio grew on 2 Focusrite Scarletts with 18 inputs in total and Ableton Push2, so buying a mixer with enough inputs and outputs (which typically go via USB, for recording purposes only) to go dawless again would be much money thrown out of the window, despite I would need a "better" sequencer.
And I WANT effects on my channels. EQ and compression make the most of my Drumbrute kick and are more controllable in the DAW in my oppinion.
As Bo said: you want to have everything controlled by one sequencer, so Push2 and Live come in very handy. But on the other hand I am SICK to have to have the PC turned on all the time and staring to a screen most of the time to produce music.
The answer is, the Deluge! I make and mix entire songs on mine (see my channel) and it is fantastic. I have also recently got into AE Modular and the Deluge is great for providing MIDI and/or CV and Gate outputs. It also has none of the limitations and menu diving of devices like the MC 707, for example.
I think Native Instruments Maschine + is looking to be another potential player but, for me who is a software developer and sit looking at a screen all day, the Deluge is the perfect dawless solution.
Bought a Moog 37, bought a module: sampler and I bought a mixer... Now I'm having trouble with figuring out how to connect it to my soundcard and or if I should replace the soundcard with the mixer.. This was another problem I ran into. I don't know anything, I don't even know what to look for when I need to problem solve lol.
But I can play my synth and the sampler in FL studio on a mono input.. yay.. what a messy way to play lol
I'm not sure I got any closer to solving the issue, but I really enjoyed your video and It had allot of good points! thank you and god bless
My latest addition to dawless set up is an acoustic guitar.
I also have Digitakt and Circuit along with some synths, bass, finger piano as well as a midi keyboard.
It's dawless :-)
I've made a few releases in the past, and then I got away from music for a while until I watched Stranger Things. The analog sounds playing in the background captured my attention and ignited my passion for making music again.
I use Ableton as a recording instrument, I do everything live using external sequencers and synths. I love the fact I can use my iPad to play my synths wirelessly using Fugue machine while in sync using Ableton link. Using Ableton solely to make music is boring and uninspiring to me. I want to be able to automate that sound using my hands, it feels like I'm in control of the end result, and extremely fun to play.
P.S: Distrokid is awesome! been using it for almost a year and it makes it super easy to release tracks to all major platforms, the 35.99 year option is the best one since you can also have your own record label.
BoBeats sold me a Hydrasynth, Wavestate, Keystep Pro, and few other instruments. 😁
great overview, especially the tip about too many flagship synths. Get one and then go smaller for your others. Thumbs up for Maschine Studio or MK3 as well.
I am primarily a guitarist, who likes to use synths to build interesting textures and rhythms to set my guitar work against. I started out years ago with Cubase, but being behind a computer was never a comfortable place to play guitar. Things improved the minute I installed Ableton Live, but its with Push 2 that I have really found my place. I get the benefits of DAW, without bound to a computer. I like to play standing up (also just practicing or creating), and I got Push 2 to hand to running Live. I have a MatrixBrute, MiniBrute 2s as hardware synths, and Komplete Kontrol MkII for handling VSTs. Computers (and DAWs) bring some many useful sounds and tools to the creative process, but you need to find a way that works for you to access it all musically and not through the Keyboard/Mouse/Screen interface which was never intended to be a musical instrument. There is no universal solution that will suit everyone, though.
Large synthesizers usually offer you a lot more features for an overall lower price. Then you Pan the camera around your awesome collection and I'm thinking wait that doesn't take up much space. There is always space for more gear!
DUDE! The Tascam Model 12 is a MUST HAVE for DAWless! If you need more inputs go for the model 24..... but it’s a DAWless setups dream! It records and mixes in box, or you can hook it up to a daw, and even control the daw with it! It’s a MUST have in my opinion!
good tip!!
Yep. I got the model 24 before the 12 came out. Kinda wish I had waited for the 13.
The op-z is what got me back into this world. I still love it to pieces, but the Deluge is where I landed. It is so so so good!
There's also the shortcut to dawless working which is by using tools like a loop eg. the rc505 in stead of complicated sequencers. You can loop 5 tracks with as much overdubs as you want and it also has an internal clock that can be synched by midi. The only issue is that when using this as a recording interface you do get some noise level in your recording and you can't undo overdubs so you'd have to record/process the tracks as they are. But it gets you a good start on working with several hardware instruments at ones.
This is the way I jumped in. I had the 505 with a mic and a line from Kontrol with a 25key. I decided I wanted beats from another machine so I added drumbrute Impact. Very fun. Very spontaneous.
@@memoryracer2643 yeah at times I work with just one or two synths, the looper (and a drumcomputer) and then I built all my basic tack ideas. Sometimes even without the tr! and then just using the internal drums of the rc and then later doing a decent beat on a drumcomputer or with samples. I then later do a more filled rework in my daw. Most of my own production works like this. Sometimes I use upto 4 different synths, a wavedrum, a tr8, vocals an live instrumentation and I record all parts into the rc to create intricate track ideas. I'm not 100% satisfied with the sound quality but as long as I leave a tiny bit of silence at the start of the loop I can filter the noise later :-)
@@unfinishedmonkeyrecords wow you've got some things going ive never thought of! I may end up going even more that direction with the 707, monologue, and uno synth I have on the way. I may have to check back with you to get it all figured out!
@@memoryracer2643 Feel free to! There's also some in depth settings you can handle with the rc505 like master compression and different kind of revirbs on inputs and outputs, it's quite a decent machine to use as a mini "multitrack recorder", watch out though the output is always just stereo, not multitrack so you have to resample track by track into your daw for editing afterwards or record the whole song live as you imagine it in the flow and then just do some mastering in the daw, also possible but not ideal. I think even the ground noise can be solved when all your power is decently grounded and you use the right amounts of in- and ouput level. Just haven't been 100% satisfied yet with the audio that comes out.
Words, i have more than 15 years producing with computers, and yesterday i did get my first machines, i'm very excited :)
Wow!!!!
That makes me feel sooo old. An entire generation who have only ever recorded with computers. Actually that's a good thing - it gives me hope that being an old fart is NOT the reason I've gone DAW-free for recording! 😀
@@iqi616 you're lucky that maybe you started before computers, that gives you more experience and a different point of view. I use analog mixers and I have some hardware too but I would never would go dawless, definitely they are two completely different worlds with the same purpose. And I was always curious about it.
I'm a Dj too and I did learn before CDs so to me is amazing that I started playing music with vinyls.
@@DioZambrano Cool. I was never dexterous enough to DJ. There are advantages and disadvantages to having old knowledge. I remember some of the tricks I used to get around things - like planning a set-list to suit the patch changes on my analogue monosynth (handy today for avoiding my Neutron getting stuck on one patch for an entire set). On the other hand we had a "realism" mindset back then that limited my thinking about synths until the failure of ROMplers to meet my needs opened my eyes. It's so refreshing to see what "youngsters" (many are in their forties!) do without the preconceptions. Yes, sometimes there's cute naïvité like "What plugins did Kraftwerk use on Autobahn?" but far more often I'm kicking myself for failing to see the potential in the analogue gear other people were offloading for almost nothing in the 90s. One reason I bought my MPC One was to become a rookie again and get away from the tape paradigm that has limited my creativity.
I’m just moving to dawless setup. I bought Sequentix Cirklon for my heart of setup. It’s hardware sequencer what doesn’t have limits.
Cirklon is definitely a good buy! Long wait list still right?
BoBeats At the moment waiting list is something like 18 months 😄
I already have a hardware synth setup, built up over the decades. I use a sequencer, but it's a stand-alone software sequencer. I am at present trying out a DAW and software synths, but it's a real battle getting anything to work.
Bo, my main pleasure is to improvise Guitar Pod HD 500, Synths, Rhythm Machines, Vocals with Voicelive 3 xtreme, and Electronic Percussion. I bought the Roland Mx1 Mixer, boss Rc 505, Analog 4 MkII, Roland TR 8S, Minilogue XD, and had very much fun doing music, I found limiting to change from improv to new improv in a smooth way mainly because almost everything electronic was running from the Analog 4 MKII so I bought a Digitone. Now I really want to be able as my goal to go dawless in the sense of music making but being able to capture everything in ableton live so I can create the main live rig to go touring, I don´t pretend to go with all my gear for a live act at festivals, I would like to take Push, Laptop, and The korg Minilogue, and Vocals and Guitar effects in one case and a small backpack. Yes the midi splitters are the saviours. Thanks for sharing so much.
Ordered a couple of synths and midi boxes and a mini mixer, and whilst that was missing in transit, started seeing where Akai's MPCs were at. Ordered an MPC One, and found USB replaces the need for midi boxes , and if I had picked this up way before everything else, I wouldn't have got the Reface CP as there is a built in electric keys sound in the MPC, and I could send two synths into the back of of the MPC one and use it's FX, so I could have held off on the mixer. Seems the MPC One and a couple of synths would have been a nice tidy start to my set up. Now have an Elecribe 2 sampler to get rid of. My lost in transit stuff arrived 8 weeks after ordering.
I recently decided to build an All-Moog Dawless synth setup (using the 3 main semimodular synths - the DFAM, M32, and Subharmonicon, + a 4th Minitaur)... and while its a lot of fun just running each of the units sequencers internally, and syncing them up, its been a real struggle to get them all to respond to 'a single controller' like a Beatstep Pro. They're more like a quasi-Eurorack setup than individual synths that are easily controlled from a sequencer box.
I love the Elektron gear for this and had great results once learning the workflow. Octatrack can do entire shows.
Excellent advice on many levels. After 20 or so years in the game I would find it difficult to give up either option. Today...the hybrid options between are so incredible there's no real reason to totally ditch the DAW or totally ditch your hardware and external sequencing and recording options.
Love Dawless setups! I have a lot of gear, but the TR-8s is such a fun way to make music, I highly recommend it!
My wife is a synth player. I just started to get into it hard in the last year or so. I wanted to go hardware to learn synthesis because i figured it would be a bit harder and I could focus on different types of synthesis to learn.
Right now rocking a Kawai Q80 sequencer, a Kawai K1r, Kawai K4r, Yamaha CS1X, Roland SH201 and a Microbrute. Looking for a DX7 next and a old hardware sampler.
Don't overlook multitrackers for DAWless. I dug out my old Korg D1600 and can sync my MPC One to it. That gives a lot more audio tracks. Not only that but I can throw ideas onto it and sample them on the MPC.
If i would start now i would be start with p-33. I had shocked about dawless approach after this tiny thing. It is different at everything what you expect before. But believe me. If you are not comfortable to make track with joy with that little thing, you will always be dissatisfied about dawless.. limitations should be your friend in dawless. And when you understand the point here it is core thing. Yes, first so many days you will sit with those papers with “how to guides”. But you will get that original sound from metal box instead of something you’d see on monitor of your pc. And driving it with fingers is the key thing here 😀
This was an excellent and informative video. Thanks Bo. I do think though, that having too many sequencers in your setup can be daunting and ultimately create too much texture thus sounding like noise. Also note, that almost ALL synthesizers have their own sequencer powered by the engine of that particular synth. You can never have too many synths! Ha Ha!
One of the things I have loved about software and the DAW setup is that I get to SEE the tracks, instruments, length, patterns, etc. Trying to write legit music without the visual would seem difficult for me.
For me the point of multiple sequencers is either to bring them up or down in the mix for interest or to transition between them so you can change songs in one while the other plays (like a DJ) for extended jams. I only have an MPC One but I'm trying to learn how to do transitions between that and my Volca Sample + Mono Station.
My tip would be if you do want to produce complete songs that have any degree of complexity with a dawless setup, make sure the main sequencer you get is powerful enough to handle that. So if that's your goal a sequencer like Synthstrom Deluge or Squarp Pyramid will serve you better than a Keystep Pro, for example.
I spent a year with a DAW and synth software to learn how electronic music was made. I always knew I wanted to move to hardware synths. This summer I finally made the move and got 3 synths (one poly, two semi-modular monos). Now I am at the hybrid stage. Hardware synths, connected with MIDI and a DAW to be my sequencer and drum machine. I will continue to move into 100% DAW-less but that will take (more) money and time. You are right, hardware synths are about fun, in the box DAW and softsynths are a for me a composition tool. Both worlds are fun and overlap. Just be sure to enjoy the whole thing or don't bother.
I think you summed that up well. I like to jam, personally nothing does it better for me than hardware. That's what inspires me most. Then later on you can build upon an idea or recreate it with the software instruments for composition purpose.
I think it is good to go hybrid. You will learn dawless with its flaws especially on recording certain live environments and learning a DAW where you can then explore and hence your recordings infinitely. You make a good point of not having too many flagship keyboards I agree. In my home pro studio I have a lot of modular hardware synths as opposed to my professional studio that has a huge digital mixing and mastering set up. Learn one synth at a time feel comfortable with it as you said have one master sequencer this is a good idea and step by step it will all come together :)
The MPC one, live, and x are perfect for bridging the gap between hardware and software music production
How long did it take you to build up all that awesome gear?
Years and years and years and money, and tears
I wouldn't recommend anybody going dawless or going hardwareless. Especially if you're just starting out and getting into this. Go for both from the get go. A DAW offers up all the tools you can't afford for your dawless setup at an affordable price and it lets you instantiate endless instances of plugins, until you run out of CPU power. I would skip getting a midicontroller and instead get a synth that can be used as midicontroller as well. And I would skip getting an audio interface and instead get something like a groovebox such as the digitakt or oktatrack which can also be used as an audio interface, or a digital mixer or something like that. Combine use cases where possible so that you can kill more birds with one stone and keep overall costs down.
I've resisted for quite a while on using DAW to compose music, but you are 100 percent on spot! DAW is sooo much easier to compose because of the ability to view all tracks and scenes, along with their respective effects! Also, editing is on the fly versus replaying the notes and praying that Quantizing hits the note! LOL
Ableton Live 10 is around the corner...
Replaying without quantize is better in the long run. At first it will be laborious but it will get easier like anything that takes practice. Quantizing and editing MIDI killed my emerging keyboard skills in the 90s. Editing audio killed my bass and sax skills in the 00s. Within a year of going DAW-free I've recovered my bass chops and making good progress on the keyboards. Next year is for getting back my sax chops.
To all this, I would add a good dynamic microphone and a vocoder or vocal fx box, also delay and reverb pedals to use as aux fx on a cheap analog mixer. I just record the stereo signal to my android phone or tablet via a class compliant usb audio interface. You can use even more hardware units (expensive!) for mastering or just master your track in a DAW (much cheaper) to make it a shiny masterpiece... 😊
Funny you mention the Yamaha RM1x. It's the first piece of hardware I've got from by brother. Still have it laying around here behind me but it's buttons are in bad condition, hope to restore it one day! As for me I heavily enjoy sample based music so I wanted an MPC 4000 and got one, was able to make some 'okaaay' loops with it but the MPC and especially the 4000 is DEEP. So I would NOT recommend at all as one of your first pieces of hardware. Now I have the time and money to invest in music, I've started to look for cheap drum computers, picked up a Drumbrute impact, LOVED it. Needed a synth, bought a Microbrute, LOVED it. Then picked up a cheap second hand Crave for some extra sounds. Kinda started missing sample based music, bought a Polyend Tracker, and for the last two weeks this is what I've been doing. I dunno.. To me it depends on what you want to make