We are the music makers - producers?

I have the older Saffire and the matching Octopre. I don’t know why the newer Octopre is like twice the price of the old one. They may actually be compatible with the Scarlett, but don’t quote me on that.

The Behringer is by all accounts fine. Nothing special but also not shit.
I need the same at some point!

Thanks both. I think i'll just order it - £138 quid for 'not shit' will do me fine.

I have a midi/usb keyboard that doesn't get used much.
I'd like to use it as a stand-alone keyboard. I want to play chords and also sequence some chords/notes and perhaps eventually connect it to my MPC via midi.
Is there a simple synth I could get that will do this or should I forget about the controller I have and look at buying a synth/keyboard?
I don't want to use a computer for this stuff.
Thanks

That’s confusing ;)

Is your current keyboard midi over USB or traditional five pin midi? If it’s five pin midi ... that should work with all the stand-alone MPC samplers (I believe). The MPC will also sequence (again, assuming the MPC model is a standalone MPC sampler model rather than one of their sample players or controllers).

The Keystep is a hugely popular keyboard+sequencer. I think it’s 2 and a bit octaves. Maybe you want a full size keyboard?

Any five pin midi-out synth can also function as a midi controller. Any will do. Something like a Yamaha Reface would be good. I bought an ancient Kawai K1 digital synth to use as a controller because a) it costs the same as a new controller-keyboard b) it sounds like a terminator.

The controller I already have is a Korg Micro Kontrol. And it's a stand-alone MPC.

If I understand correctly, you want a synth module to connect the keyboard to? And the synth should have a sequencer on board, and be able to play chords (ie not monophonic)?

Some of the Roland boutiques might fit the bill, eg the SH-01A or the D-05. But I think it largely depends on what features & sounds you want from the synth. The Korg Minilogue XD is a bit bigger and more expensive but another option.

So you want a synth module to make noise via midi from your Korg?
If you want to play chords, you’ll need something polyphonic - 4 note polyphony is the bare minimum but quite limiting, 6+ is better. Budget and what kind of sounds would narrow it down further... There’s a huge range of analog and digital options at the moment.

@Regal @Dramatic_Hammer
Yes that's exactly what I'm after! Sorry for the confusion this sort of thing is new to me.

Waldorf Blofeld? Should probably cover fair bit of ground sonically for not too much money, and looks to be multi timbral as well.

Blofeld has no sequencer. Also its interface isn’t exactly simple.

Ah, ok, missed that part. An MPC could of course handle midi sequencing tasks, but I digress.

How many notes of polyphony? 4? 6? 8? 16?

What sort of sounds? Classic analogue? Digital/FM? Realistic sound library (eg piano, orchestral, acoustic)?

How much hands-on control of parameters do you need? Eg, is having lots of knobs and sliders important or are you ok with presets and menu diving when you want to edit a sound?

What sort of features are you expecting from an on board sequencer? Simple note chains or longer arrangements? Do you want them to be able to be saved and recalled?

Lastly - budget?

Curious...

https://twitter.com/behringer/status/1184424333017399297?s=21

https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/41990

Oh don’t worry, I’m aware how gross their business model is.

glad to say the US adapter and step down transformer work a treat with the Portastudio! I was very paranoid plugging in and switching on the first time

Thanks all for advice

Nice one!

I miss my old PortaOne, demoed absolutely everything my old band recorded on it... Traded it with a mate for a valve hi-fi amp that never materialised, wish I still had it... 😟

Porta one is loads of fun. I will find some more subtle way to use it, but here is a quick and dirty demo:

https://youtu.be/dUME5oDNbnc

We got into our rehearsal space yesterday. Needs a lot of work but it's super cheap. This was the first jam after we hooked everything up

https://youtu.be/2-avseawyOY

Check this out, some mad cunt made a very tiny FM synth that's midi powered and basically the size of the plug.

https://hpi.zentral.zone/flash

That. Is. Bonkers.

^ Bonkers indeeed.

I am doing a bit of a bedroom reshuffle because I want to get all the equipment neatly laid out. At the moment I am plugging/unplugging/moving things around and got cables all over the place.

I'm considering doing a bit of DIY acoustic treatment. Bass traps (edit: in corners) seem to be the most effective but also look sh*t so I don't want any, as the rooms primary usage will always be as a bedroom. Am I doing to see any real benefit from having a few panels (likely to my immediate L+R and on the ceiling) + diffuser on back wall?

Bedroom measures approx 6.5 x 3.0 x 3.0 and I'm using it lengthways.

TLDR: If you are going to do a half-arsed job on acoustic treatment is there any point in bothering?

In my opinion, yes. Even just sorting out first reflections will take a lot of the ringing out of a typical bedroom.

What bass trap design are you trying to avoid? Mounting panels slightly off the wall increases their effectiveness at lower frequencies but corner traps (or soffits) or really thick panels on the back wall are best for bass. Something I’m looking at doing as I have no wall/wall corners available is using the wall/ceiling corners on top of shelves. You could also hide wall/floor corner traps under a bed for eg.