First experiment with Soma Laboratory Pulsar 23 

So, funny (but long) story - yes I *had* the Pulsar 23 finally. I'd been looking forward to it so much, and had pretty much set my mind on the idea that it would really work out for me and be absolutely what I needed and wanted for my set-up. But then reality set in, and after a couple of weeks I just really wasn't finding a way of getting it to work. I could make it play on its own nicely, and was having some fun there by sampling it, but I couldn't align it with the great Octopus which is the Tracker/Eurorack combination I really work from. I have therefore - somewhat reluctantly, but ultimately for the best - returned it. I'm taking it as a lesson in being careful about what you wish for. Pretty much the only thing worse than not getting what you want is getting what you want ... I did sample it a bunch, though, so have that to fall back on through the Tracker and/or Bitbox. I therefore decided instead to boost my melodic and tonal set-up, so I got the God Emperor of synths in the form of the Waldorf Iridium. It has an incredible range and diversity, and I'm already really enjoying the sound design possibilities. It also plays very nicely with the remaining set-up. I definitely value Soma's approach to sound and kit design. I'd toyed with getting a Terra, for instance, but - again - have ended up valuing synergy over novelty. For the moment. I definitely might get an Ether, though, since I think that would possibly make for some great glitchy noises to sample ...

@@joelnicholson I know what you mean about the Soma gear - my Lyra8 and Ornament sort of exist in a world outside everything else in my setup, and it doesn’t really help me compose interesting stuff. But it’s there when I need to hear some wailing FM noises. The Waldorf looks sweet, never played one but those machines appear to go deep. And that screen! The last module I bought was Mordax data - it really helps me if I can visualise the music. Stuff like the Terra and Lyra are a bit like buying a theremin - amazing, responsive, but does it do anything else? And do you need to skill-up in order to play it? I haven’t bought anything for a while but have enough in the bank now for some new gear. I look longingly at the Syntrx2 but i don’t know - there’s always an expectation that new gear will trigger a creative surge, and it sometimes does, but with much kit I end up going back to what I work with most often, like yourself with the Tracker and Bitbox. “God Emperor of synths” 😄