So a lack of space looks to be a pressing concern in my future. I don't have the money for a spare room for a studio and I'm going to need to get rid of the very modest one I have now. The thought of not having a little studio space to make music in makes me feel pretty crappie though. I was wondering what the most fully featured, versatile and complete yet, tiny setup would be that would have:

Sampler/drum machine
Analog mono
Analog poly
Hybrid poly
Digital poly
Mixer/soundcard/headphone amp
And maybe a versatile fx box as well.


Fantasy land could have it all in one small corner desk with a computer taking minimal space but being able to make full tracks. DAWS are great but they aren't fun the way gear is alas.

Thoughts? Is this madness or should I just give it up and use my laptop

Do you have anything or are you starting from scratch? What is your budget and priorities, what kind of music do you make?

For fun, if money was no object I'd probably do something like:

Sampler/drum machine: Analog Rytm MK2
Analog mono: Minimoog
Analog poly: OB-X8
Hybrid poly: 3rd Wave Desktop
Mixer/soundcard/headphone amp: SSL Big Six
And maybe a versatile fx box as well: Eventide H90

Thanks for your reply! That sounds great. I imagine that all that would be too large, not to mention costly as it is though. But great suggestions.

I currently have a few bits which I had planned to grow but times are tough so had to readjust. I make vaguely lofi acidy/detroit y/techno/electro stuff. I like making sample based ambient stuff on the computer too

I just sold a pro 3. I loved it but it is huge and the lack of 303 glide kind of made it somewhat limited for me. Needed the money but I will miss the tone and the depth.

Getting rid of

Mpc 1000
Behringer rd-8
Digitech studio quad

And considering getting rid of my sequential a take 5 ( but think probably not. It's pretty amazing and powerful analog poly)

Keeping my dirtywave m8 and yamaha rex 50, both fit the bill for high power to size ratio

Ok, well for sampler / drum machine I would for sure go for a used Digitakt for $400 or so.

I'd then look at a nice MIDI keyboard of some sort and have that on a drawer under your desk. Then for an analog synth go for something like the OB6 or P6 desktop to save space.

Maybe MOTU M6 for your audio interface. FX, used Eventide H9

Yeah Digitakt is probably the best size/performance ratio.

Also, smallest analog poly would likely be the Nymphes.

You make "vaguely lofi acidy/detroit y/techno/electro stuff." This gives me a fun challenge! I'm also assuming that given your budget restriction you don't want to spend too much money.

Mixer/soundcard/headphone amp: Audient Evo (you can choose the appropriate model).

Analog mono: Novation Bass-Station 2

Analog poly: Korg Minilogue (original version), or if you want to spend more and get a more capable but smaller device, Supercritical Redshift 6

Hybrid poly: Arturia Minifreak or Novation Peak

Digital poly: Korg Opsix Module or Wavestate Module (Wavestate would also be good for the ambient stuff you like to make as well!)

Sampler/drum machine: Korg Drumlogue

And maybe a versatile fx box as well: Use your DAW/Plugins

I've gone though what you're about to, many times, and I feel I'm somewhat of an expert at this point. Here's a few things I've learned...

Ditch all keyboards, except for one. If you can make it a synth, all the better. Double duty. If I were picking a synth for such a thing at this point, I'd pick the Arturia PolyBrute 12 for its very good expressive capabilities and unique and flexible sound. If your horizontal space is too narrow for 61 keys, there are many great keyboards that are fewer keys.

So from there you can get modules. It might seem like you are limited, but there really are good choices in module format. Even better if you can find something rack mountable.

Sampler/drum machine: Something by Elektron, or maybe pick up a Native Instruments Maschine. I'd go with Maschine, because you get all the abilities of a hardware machine, plus the flexibility of a software plugin. It can also be used as an effects processor.

Analog mono:

Look at all the desktop and rack mounted models from Studio Electronics. Finer analog synths are not available, IMO. I have an ATC-X that's got four different filters on board that covers a lot of ground.

Analog poly

I'm partial to the Sequential synths, but there are a lot of fine choices out there, all with desktop models.

Hybrid poly

If you pick up something like the Nina, you can get a VCO based analog poly that's also got a digital wavetable oscillator. Alternately, there are things like the Xena (Ambika) that are cheap and sound great. Korg makes the Prologue XD that sounds pretty good to me as well. Waldorf M... Prophet 12... all great choices.

Digital poly

If you must stay in hardware, I'd say Iridium, but frankly I'd save space and use software, which sounds just as good. Not that there's an Iridium plugin, but there are plenty of equally capable synths out there, and you could also get different synths for different purposes.

Mixer/soundcard/headphone amp

I use an old UAD Apollo FireWire and a Behringer ADA8200 for a total of 8 analog inputs. No need for a bulky mixer, I mix everything in the DAW. If you get something like a Native Instruments Kontrol S series controller, you can use its knobs for mixing like a hardware mixer.

And maybe a versatile fx box as well.

I'd stick to software for this. Get the Eventide full bundle and you'll have everything you could ever need or want. Or pick and choose various plugins.

All that should fit in a fairly small desk, with the right stands.

Sampler/drum machine: LmDrum
Analog mono: Boog or one of the others
Analog poly: Pro 800 (edit: Synth King's patch demo really shows what a little monster this is)
Hybrid poly: Overcycler, Pro VS
Digital poly: preenfm ?
Control the above with a slim master keyboard like a Keystation 61 or similar (as seen in Synth King's vid in the link above).
Mixer/soundcard/headphone amp: Xenyx 1202 or similar
And maybe a versatile fx box as well: Zoom MS-70CDR

Take a look at the Zoom LiveTrak L6 mixer. It’s tiny, has a surprisingly deep set of features, has some basic built in effects, and it can be an audio interface.

The Zoom MS70-CDR is a classic small all in one fx pedal. If you want some spice check out the Chroma Console which you could put on a send of the L6 mixer.

Yes, imho its madness and the question and more so the answers are waaayy too gear centric consumerism. Too verkopft also.
In a way that makes the whole world turn ash and grey. And with depression comes madness.

What music do you make, what music do you want to make, what music do you have within you?

For a while I had nothing but Sunvox on a phone. Made an EP with that within 3 or 4 days.

What I learned from this was, I have the music and my sound within me and its totally detached from any gear.

What do you need, to express yourself and free the music within you?

A keyboard, I suppose. Not necessarily so, but probably.
What keyrange, what feel-to- play.

What synth, small, affordable, brings that. Could be something odd, like an old Emu rompler keyboard, which has a full synth engine, and last time I had one I paid 150,- max.

Start your plans from there.

How do you work. How could you work. You may even try the Sunvox experiment yourself to figure it out.

Etc.

My odd advice: dont listen to the gear hoarders in such a situation. They are the Sirens. Stuff your ears with wax.

OP have a brick and mortar store nearby?
If so go thee hence and check out some smallish gear?

Here's some ideas for you maybe?

I had to move to a more posh yet much smaller apt, and had to downsize my home rig considerably. While I also have a project studio near the new apt, I also wanted to retain the option of being able to write ideas at home. Ended up with this "cupboard" setup:

Maschine+ and Syntakt are the main 2 grooveboxes, covers pretty much anything digital (samples / several styles of synthesis) plus some analogue (4 analogue voices on the Syntakt). No separate fx units, but both Syntakt and Maschine+ can process ext signals

Instead of a master keyboard, I am using a Launchpad Pro MK3 for note / chord input. Wired via DIN MIDI to give MIDI notes to both Syntakt & Maschine+

There's room for one more instrument on the work area. At first, I used a Modal Skulpt, then later switched it out to Cobalt8M and currently, that spot is occupied by a Behringer Edge. I am thinking this spot will probably be used for rotating a single instrument in and out from the rig, as context and mood dictates.

On the mixing & output side, I am using an OTO instruments Bebe Cherie as my mixer. It offers great sound and some mixbus sweetening via its Bliss & Compressor functions. It then feeds a Lake People G-109 headphone amp for "best possible signal transmission" (Lake People's words, not mine), I can hook up to two sets of cans to it.

I am using a Komplete Audio 6 audio interface with my Maschine+, but it isnt something one would absolutely need. I use it for getting a bit more flexibility on the I/O into M+, for sampling and being able to mult out the kick etc

Here's a photo showing the rig

Now, this setup doesnt cover all the bases you outlined, but just to give you some ideas. Good luck!

why not start with what you minimally need (that is: a DAW if you want to use one, interface monitors/headphones and probably one keyboard). All the rest is optional.

I don't think you need this armada of "Analog mono, Analog poly, Hybrid poly, Digital poly" (and probably best two of each, so they have a friend). A small setup can easily fit into a single desk (with some cusom design) or a cupboard.

Something like an MPC One (or similar) can fulfull the need for some computer-free jamming (there are quite a bit plugins, it has effects and all that).

The rest is just stuff you do not actually "need".

Maybe also think first how to set it up (where? which cupboard, which desk?), then you know how much space you actually have.

I’ve tried a great many ways to save space as well, truthfully for me the answer was always a DAW based setup, and the trick was in that proper setup… really getting to grips with MIDI, CCs, templates and such. Done once it’s done forever.

I want it all though - 88 notes for pianos/felts/orchestral… nice pres for guitar and my terrible voice (thanks, oVox and Tune realtime).. and crazy synth sonic scapes. For me that’s an iMac, an 88 key Nektar, a Focusrite interface and a couple of feature HW synths I can bring ‘in and out of the drawer’.

I usually keep one ‘feature synth’ for a direct UI experience - now I’ll have two, a Makenoise Easel and arriving today is an IK UNO Pro X which I couldn’t pass up at the price they go for.

Akai MPC Key 37 + IK Multimedia Uno Synth Pro Desktop (and a warranty...).

Maybe a Key 61, it's got more RAM and plugins bundled. But 'small' is 37.

I'm a hopeless GAS-addled dumbass and bought the Key 37 just to find out what it could do, write about it, maybe return it if I didn't like it. Instead I sold two Novation boxes, a Keylab controller, an OP-Z and an EP-133. And I'm using the VSTs in it quite happily because it's all just /there/.

I've got an Analog Keys, Hydrasynth, Argon8, Polyend Synth, Malevolent, some Behringers inc. Odyssey and 2600 and so forth, and more still kicking around (including the aforementioned Uno Synth Pro, which has some quirks and reliability questions looking at forums, but there's no denying that it sounds good), Since getting the MPC I'm really questioning what I need to 'make music I'm enjoying making as a hobbyist' over 'collecting and owning a lot of synths'.

If I could gather EVERYTHING I've ever owned and try to just make it something I'd really have enjoyed but also really minimalist and small footprint, I think I'd have MPC Key 37, a Moog Voyager, the Casio PX-S7000 (nicest piano keyboard I've ever played, ignore the Casio bit), and Hydrasynth. Possibly a D-550/D-05 and JD-800/990/JD-08. And I'd learn how to use the MPC to do the recording and so forth.

This is serious, btw, I'm not trolling - the kind of person who genuinely almost bought a Synclavier to restore in the early 2000s, who shoved 20 synths and a 48 channel desk into a room then constantly tried to play improvised tracks using all of them at once because composing and recording hurts my brain, I got an MPC keyboard last week and I'm like "shit, I have wasted thousands of pounds and years of my life, this is depressing but also NOW I WILL PUT IT IN FRONT OF MY COMPUTER AND USE IT EVERY DAY".

I know there are better sounds etc. but I'll cross that bridge when I've created something worth investing in.

I've seriously considered selling my OP-1 Field and buying a second MPC Key 37 or one of the keyboardless ones just to have one sitting next to my work computer so I can write and noodle at the same time. The damn things can even be connected on ethernet.

Maschine+ has a killer reverb, sampler, orchestral sounds, nice physical modelling synth, midi sequencer and arranger.

Add in two or three wisely-chosen hardware synths, a small mixer and you're golden.

if I had to do everything all over again and small i'd get:

deepmind desktop
X32 rack (for the FX as well)
elektron stuff
then just add whatever else small things I could fit, dreadbox probably
JD990

if I couldnt even fit the desktops and racks i'd just use the elektrons as soundcards and mixer ins

If you enjoyed yourself, was it a waste? Lots of people spend huge amounts of money on gear and memberships to clubs and spend a lot of time trying to hit a little white ball into a hole.

Are there "better sounds?" I don't think so. There are different sounds, but I'd hazard to call them better. Maybe better at a specific thing, but do you need that? For instance, I had a MFB Dominion 1 for a long time. Great sounding instrument. Somewhat of a pain in the butt, as there were some weird design choices, but the sound was amazing and it is super versatile. It's very deep, though, and this became a source of problems. No editor for it, so it had to be pretty central, and that meant having to keep my computer monitors very far back. It was generally very awkward to fit into my world.

Finally, I decided to see if I could replace it with something else. There really isn't a hardware replacement, so I dug into software and I was very surprised at how good I could get Softube Modular and Reaktor. I could never get every filter model to sound similar, but I could always get something as good. In the end, I was able to let it go and not miss it.

Have you seen the new jasper desktop stands , could be useful

https://www.jaspers-alu.de/artikelau...id=3&sprache=2

My desk continues to evolve (just got a Cioks Sol to power 5 pedals - and it dropped the noise floor by 15db+).

One thing you forgot: desktop stands. My favorite brand is SynthRise (formerly known as KVGear).
Another thing you'll need: cable management.

Also, I now use a Digiface USB +Ferrofish Pulse 16 to route everything in/out of the computer. And a MioMIDI to route MIDI. And a Midronome to send MIDI clock to gear (based on audio from the PC). Etc. There's a lot of "supporting characters" behind the scenes.

Not to mention at least 100+ cables going this way plus that with stuff on a desk 6' wide. I actually work my day job on this desk (a separate laptop) so can't take up all the desk space with a big keyboard controller.

Here's a slightly dated photo of my desk. It's missing the Audioscape Bus Comp and monitor arm, for starters.

I know I didn't create a list of gear, but you can see much of what I have (that isn’t tucked away out of sight), which is a fair and respectable bit in a small space.

This resonates with me so hard. I brought the MPC Live when it first came out. At the time I was working with a wall of modular, half a dozen synths, mixer, Logic, multiple guitars, 500 series rack half full of modules. Most of that is now sold or in storage.

I am playing an hour long set on Sunday with nothing but the Live. I used my Hydrasynth as a midi controller to record many of the non-drum midi parts but it really could have been anything with a decent keyboard. I added a few samples from my modular and guitar but everything else is either from my personal sample library, one of the MPC expansions or an MPC plugin.

To the OP if you have not looked into the Nukai MPCs, definitely take a look. I see your MPC 1000 but these new boxes are on a whole different level. It would be my 1st recommend for a modern production experience outside of the DAW. Add a decent keyboard controller, monitors and a small mixer and you will be on your way. If you need the 303 sound, add one of the various clones. I'm sure you'll get tons of recommendation for analog synths. I would see what you get out of an MPC before spending analog money.

I dont need stands right now. Everything is there within reach. I prefer standing when using the gear, making dance music always "feels" wrong if I'm sitting

Some of it for sure was a waste, I neglected other things that mattered to me pursuing gear or chasing down issues instead of making music. The distraction wasn't the synths so much as the recording, and trying to capture 20 synths on secondhand ideas and secondhand kit in the late '90s as a young 20-something with no education in this stuff, just some ability with electronic things.

But that's why the MPC Key has impressed me so much. If I'd never played a Moog Voyager I wouldn't know why it was better or more satisfying than the Mini-D or other VSTs in the MPC. When I started I was happy with a CX5M and a Korg Poly61, a JV-50 and a four-track tape.

The MPC was like falling back into that 'this preset is good, can I tweak it, can I record it, CAN I MAKE A SONG OMG!' unfettered silliness. So I wish I'd had an MPC Key in '91 or '98.

OTOH if I could send one back in time I'd leave a load of presets and samples with a few warnings about wars, politics, financial crashes and volatile stocks.... and people to avoid.

Just get a quality workstation.

Oh, the mixers. SO MANY MIXERS. And wires. And preamps and gain and (not so much now but in the old days and vintage gear) ground hum and hiss and ARGH.

Right now I have THREE mixers and I don't even do that much. Stupid numbers of cables. I'm always re-evaluating the analogue stuff and what can be created with it, and the space, but I do wonder if that desire to make analogue noises would be satisfied by just selling /most/ of the things and getting the Behringer System 55. Then, as you say, sampling what I create (and by implication, creating more because I've got one instrument, not ten).

MPC key 37, Behringer System 55, Analogue Keys, Hydrasynth and Behringer Wave (or that posh rack one that's always being advertised here if I win the lottery or something). That sounds like it would cover a huge range of tastes and nostalgia + exploration.

Tiny studio?
Modern quiet laptop with a modern interface doing everything in the box. Get a good sounding pair of headphones and use a small 49 key controller. Now you have a very portable and very powerful setup you can take anywhere, which takes up very little space, and can be expanded when you are ready.

Sampler/drum machine - Roland P6

Analog mono - Toraiz AS-1, Roland SE-02, Dreadbox Typhon (which also can be an effects processor), or Waldorf Rocket (technically a hybrid)

Analog poly - Behringer Pro800

Hybrid poly - Behringer Pro VS

Digital poly - Roland S-1, Roland J-6, AudioThingies MicroMonsta, or 1010 Music Lemondrop

Mixer/soundcard/headphone amp - Zoom LiveTrak L6

And maybe a versatile fx box as well. - Line6 HX Stomp, TC Plethora X1/X3, Zoom 70CDR+ or MS-50G+

If going that route, where portability really matters, there's no reason to get a laptop over an iPad Pro.

But that wasn't the ask, I don't think.