I'm going to update/rate anything I missed or forgot below in this comment: MPC Live - B MPC Force - D MPC Keys - B Yamaha H80 (1st gen) - A Mackie CR5-X - F Roland VP-770 - B MOTU 828 - F MOTU M6 - D
You should try the Squarp Hapax which does 10x more than the Pyramid ... even though stuff like the Deluge with it's open source Os can work as a live looper (and probably calculate your biorhythm with a dedicated knob on its front), the Hapax still replaced my Polyend Seq. Until I bought a 2nd Seq of course, which is a killer setup 😂
I wouldn’t know what to do with a collection that big, I would feel a giant responsibility to use all of it and feel shitty if I didn’t end up using some gear. Even if it was gifted to me, I’d probably end up giving 75% away just because of the overwhelm 🤣🤣 I have 2 synths and a guitar right now and I feel like I should be using them more lol
Did he actually show the TR-8S or just talk about it when he talked about TR-8? I'm considering picking one up, but the TR-8 is a lot cheaper and does most of what I want...
Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou! If this stuff makes my 55 y.o. O.G. Celesrton 8" Muskatov telescope useable (as in bearable to touch), I will owe you a beer.
@@petermanning3811 happily, you will owe me a beer. This is one of my favorite tips I've learned. Get it on a rag, use elbow grease, and it works like gangbusters
The soft touch components which tend to gas out make the sticky feeling so one should just use some alcohol solution like isopropyl alcohol and you’re good to go! Stay away from acetate/acetone solutions as they can make it worse
I think you are way more original now vs others reviewing gear and we have finally someone who said it. Most gear reviewers are slaves of marketing and probably don’t even enjoy doing it long term .
Less than 1% of the people who make RU-vid channels get a following and earn a living from ad revenue/patreon/endorsements. Its a mixture of luck, talent and hard work and even then there are thousands of good channels that won't get a following. Us average folks may get sick of outright shilling but if Boss, Roland, Moog, Arturia send you an email asking for a product demo ...most people would be thrilled.
Benn would be the first to say he's just some asshole on the Internet. If you like it, *you* like it, and no one else matters. Until you get bandmates lol.
Had a similar experience to the Zoom F3 data loss issue with a Tascam DR-05. Was recording a once-in-a-lifetime jam session with an incredibly prolific producer/DJ directly off a main mixer. In the days that followed, I spent so many hours trying to recover the missing files. They were just not there.. Like the unit gave up and just stopped writing. I've gotta have multiple recorders for any similar session now. I'd rather have duplicate copies than none at all.
I feel you. I still save compulsively in any software due to Photoshop's habit of simply and suddenly disappearing back in the late 90s/early 00s. Lost many hours of work before developing the habit of saving between every action...
I can’t believe I watched the whole thing. I often wonder if I’m a gear hoarder but thanks to you I feel like Marie Kondo 😊 love your content. Keep up the great work.
As a beatboxer who loves the RC505 mk1, uses all 5 tracks with my hands, and holds on it to avoid the menu diving of the newer mk2, this video still has my full support 🎉 Thank you for this glorious tirade 😅
Hey Benn, Just wanted to say a HUGE "thank you" for rating ALL of your gear! Your intelligent and concise review of everything in your studio, combined with the tier ranking was a real fun experience to watch. So much of the gear you had tucked away was stuff I'd seen for sale and never really had reviews on, and some of the S-tier stuff you mentioned, and the passion with which you spoke about it really made me want to look at a few of those that I hadn't seen before. In addition, you helped me make some decisions about gear that I had been on the fence about. I can understand how that whole experience must have felt invasive, and I just wanted to express my appreication for pressing on and making yet another amazing video that keeps me coming back to your channel again and again. Well done!
Correction: Korg Volca FM has as many operators as DX-7 else you wouldn’t be able to load DX-7 patches, but it only has 3 polyphony, where DX-7 has 16.
@@alecdurbaville6355 If I follow your logic, are you saying that Korg Volca FM2 has 12-OP, due to that it has 6 voices instead 3? [Double as many voices as Korg Volca FM1]
Benn, do you not have an Elektron Machinedrum? I was really looking forward to your review, especially after all this time and how highly sought after/regarded it is. Did you sell it? Either way, that must have been a mammoth video to make so thank you for it
As a huge fan of Marc Rebillet, seeing the RC-505 get a D and a "who is this *for*?" hurt my soul a little. 😅 Love the video though, and it's simultaneously a helpful series of snippets and a good reminder that a lot of taste is subjective and people don't have to like the same things. 💜
Here's something you can do with the Nymphes to reduce noise, it comes with a power input cable(it's USB C) and you can give it power it externally from your compuiter(it reduces the noise)
Excellent post! Now I need to let my wife watch this, so she'll know it could be much worse. Good plug for the Medusa. I helped write the v1 version of the manual, and early on, much closer to the scheduled release date than it should have been, the list of capabilities was still far from solid. Best thing is that Polyend ran with it none-the-less, patching some of the early issues, and coming up with some GREAT ideas (a lot beyond anything initially discussed), and they really brought it home with the updates.
I have the same Tascam DR-60D and it was the backbone of so many events I covered and only had one bad recording when I removed the external power too early. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it but I love it so very much.
Sometimes I look at my cluttered studio and think to myself "Well, you've done it. You've achieved maximum gear acquisition and am now a golden god." Then I see how much shit Ben has. And there's clearly levels to this game.
As a recent subscriber, this was really cool watching you give an opinion on gear that was never even on my radar. It was also a little heart-wrenching seeing gear I genuinely like get a lower rating than I'd like, but all the more reason why I enjoy the candid takes!!
Yeah, as someone else who bought a TR-8 early on and has always felt some regret about not having the S, hearing that felt like having something deep inside me healed.
That sticky rubber can be removed with paint thinner. Just check on the back of your gear if the plastic or what ever it's made out can handle this liquid. This way I revived some sticky bite alarms (among other stuff) that were too gross to handle.
I saw you in Chicago with Bogdan many many years ago and you were using that air fix and I was like whoa that awesome. Then I bought one and I was like whoa this is shit lmao.
Dear Benn, many many thanks for all your works! Looking forward to all you are going to be sharig with us! Most health, peace, love and happiness to each and everyone! One Love! Always forward, never ever backward!! ☀☀☀ 💚💛❤ 🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼
Thanks Benn. I agree, i wish other well known producers would simply talk us through their kit in an honest reflective way. It might be a long video but your kit list actually seemed really reasonable for a successful professional artist with a long career. I see so many you tubers with huge stacks of expensive keyboards behind them and just think they are just kit hoarders who don't actually make music with any of it.
Happy to see the S-tier rating for the MRCC, it is indeed a huge problem solver and ingenious. Fact that it is rackmountable too is awesome. If I only had one complaint to make about the MRCC is that the small screen menu navigation just is kinda clunky. I don't mind small screens for something I don't need to change settings on very often, but I feel like a lot of other things out there have done a much better job with menu navigation in the same form factor. Like, it *could* have been better.
The Launchkey, for Ableton workflow, is incredible. When paired with a launchpad, their ability to control the software is unbeatable for the price. Solid A tier for Ableton users. Maybe not FL users.
Yeah, I am not a fan of DAW-focused controllers. However, it seems like the Launchkey line is fairly programmable. I watched Taetro's video on creating a template for the Launchkey Mini for the Yamaha SeqTrack and almost bought one on the spot since they were on sale for under $100 at the time. I fought back the GAS successfully.
A "D" for the Boss 505? I love this looper. It's such a fun way to draft music. I guess it's about the opposite of a tracker, which seems to be your go-to starting point, so it makes sense.
I got my M-Audio FTU second hand about 17 years ago and it's still holding up good. What I like is that it doesn't require any drivers because it's class compliant (I think it has some USB-quirks in the Linux kernel though).
Just want to let you know I watched the whole thing and learned some new details about gear that will come in handy. For example I had never heard of RME audio interfaces
Great video. Sorry to hear the Zoom F series has been failing you, I use an original 24 bit F8n for lots of personal recording but would probably never let it touch something where money is on the line. You are probably already familiar with lots of production sound gear given the amount of field recording that you do, but just in case you are not, you might find something like the Sound Devices 833 interesting?
I was REALLLLLY hoping for another Moog Labyrinth video. MAN ALIVE! What a time to be alive. Like a thousand Moog Labyrinthvideos appeared in my feed in a single day!!
Thank you Jordan for taking all this time to create a video that is both fun to watch, as well as quite educative! And most importantly, I feel it will inspire a lot of us to get rid of all the useless gear we have somehow mindlessly accumulated through the passage of time. It will surely bring a lot of relief, as well as contribute to our mental peace. Thank you!
Gear in common: The Osmose (S tier), Neutron (B tier), Both the Meris Reverb & Delay Units (S tier), MiniFreak (A Tier) and I think that's it. Newer gen gear noted that I own were Montage M8x, Hydrasynth Deluxe but sold it, analog rytm MKII. Surprisingly I have gear you don't have or didn't show like Korg PA5x, Yamaha YC73, Behringer Pro-800, BC Deckard's Dream, Iridium desktop, SeqTrak, Gamechanger light pedals, Korg Opsix and I think that's all I have.
I appreciate your candor around the actual practicality of using some of the Erica / Soma things. I feel the same, really nice to use but would never end up in a track
Couldn't agree more on RME I had 2 at one point, one in my studio another for live. I sold the more expensive AIO card as I didn't need it and just kept the OG Babyface, I've had that about 13 years as my only interface and it's never crashed never failed, never misbehaved. the audio quality is flawless. Definitely S+++
Absolutely love the NDLR. Arpeggiator on steroids doesn’t even do it justice. I almost bought the MRCC but have the iConnectivity MioXL which I like better because 1) it’s rack mounted and 2) the browser based UI is excellent.
15:52 qy10's not that bad imo. it's basically like an arranger keyboard that you can quickly make your own styles with (albeit with the difference that you have to program the chords ahead of time). it's kinda fun.
Sound devices have released a musician app for their recorders to turn them into multitracks. Me I’m happy with my Sony d100 apart from only a 3.5mm stereo input
To answer your question of who the target audience might be for the rc505- it’s pretty great for brass and woodwind players. We don’t have to bring any extra gear to be able to use that looper outside of the mic
was honestly thrilled when I hovered down and saw the video was an hour and a half long. I've spent so much time researching gear but never getting to be hands on with whatever it is that I can't afford myself so this video was very enjoyable to watch.
I just picked an akai fire but to use with ableton and the max for live objects that come with isotonik crossfire (remote script). Perfect for prototyping your own sequencers
Don't write the synth's name on AC/DC adaptors with a permanent marker. Engrave it. (Just kidding). However, - a much better option is to make glow in the dark/fluorescent labels and use transparent boxing tape to attach them (don't be sparing with the tape that surrounds the sticker). If you're like me and prefer darkened studio when working on your music, - this way you will never make an error. Only one 20 watt black light source will make every sticker and writing highly visible. Third option - labels on the cords - cord labels are sold everywhere. Make sure you get the ones that hug the cord tightly and don't slide. The 2 latter options will not alter resale value, - you can always take off glue from old tape using alcohol swab, or unclip the cord label. From personal experience - removing the permanent marker writing from AC/DC adaptors before putting the unit up for sale can be difficult especially when the adaptor has rough surfaces.
Noticed that too, but he probably meant not as many voices :-) (3 voices on the OG Volca FM, instead of 16 on the OG DX7. Now 6 voices on the Volca FM2)
That Behringer FEX800 reminded me that I've got the MIC800 somewhere, only have it because we urgently needed a cheap mic preamp for a recording session and we were impressed at how good it was.
Better than a Furman Power Conditioner is a Furman Power Sequencer (with Power Conditioning). Having your monitors power on after everything else and be the first to power off when shutting down does wonders for maintaining sanity from awful pops when powering on a mixer or audio interface. Sure, you can do it manually. But flicking a switch and not having to think about the order is nice.
yoooo ben! You mentioned itemizing for insurance earlier, could you do a video elaborating on insurance as it relates to music and live shows? Honestly, it would be amazing if you did some vids on the backend stuff, considering your time as a paid musician and experience. Appreciate you, keep being you and the massively helpful content!
Even with the 82 minutes runtime, this is a greatly condensed source of useful and widely applicable information. Nice one! And very nice to see the Korg Radias in the A-tier!
Semi-pro tip for the maple syrup goo butylene rubber crap: literally exactly what you'd expect, rubbing alcohol. I would like to look into the chemistry and find a solvent that will just dissolve it without damaging nearby plastics, but if you're willing to spend a few minutes of gentle scrubbing, alcohol does the trick.
Yeah, anything he showed my first thought was can I do it with my laptop? Theres a couple things he showed that definitely would enhance what my laptop does though, like the Sub Bass Monitor, the MRCC Ringo Starr controller!
That is, it does all things for a few years. After that you have a mix of different versions of everything installed, running out of local RAM, and basically extremely sorry that you ever started going DAW.
Agree on the TB-3, TR-8, and TT-303!! TT-303 is the best for acid. (and I also love acid) The TR-8 was definitely more fun to use than the S. The S can do more, but it's not as fun. I value fun. Same with the TB-3. It's fun! Oh, and... the Yamaha QY-10... agree there... ...except... The Korg SQ-8 is worse. The Medusa is nice! Had one years ago, and had a lot of fun with it. After I sold mine, it had some really nice updates.
Favorite mic I own is Octava mk219. Incredible for vocalists and instruments. Also love my AKG C430Bs. I don’t do video so I can’t comment there. I can see how it would be specialized and difficult.
This was really fun. Thanks for all the work you put in your videos, Ben! If it helps you in any way in the future. I had good experiences with the Sound Devices Mix Pre Series: 32 Bit Float, SD Card + USB backup, XLR, Timecode (both internal and external BNC in some models), Good Pres and headphone amp, Ambisonics (plug in extension), etc. Relatively affordable imo for what they offer.
However a capacitive touch with snappy processor like my PA5x you can literally DJ off the touch screen. Pedal manufacturers probably don't invest enough for proper application.
since the moment i got mine i've said the medusa is S-tier desert island. the FM stuff just made it my favorite FM synth as well. i just wish they'd let us edit the wavetable waveforms/upload our own/etc. and light pressure on the pads
Gotta invest more time into my Medusa and Microfreak. On the Beebo - it’s my favourite looper. Looping is all I use that pedal for - does occasionally misbehave, but super powerful
I thought with my 17+ pieces of gear I thought I had separation anxiety and wife thinks I'm a hoarder but now after watching this I'm a free bird after all.
I had the same micro-SD issues with my Zoom H5. Messed up an entire radio project I was working on. I complained to Zoom about it but they ignored me. I also painstakingly scraped the rubbery gunk off my zoom H5 with a razor blade
Thank you for the great content! 🙌 I would just leave the Zoom Recorders near my trash because I think a SoundDevices MixPre-6-II is superior in every way when it comes to Field Recording. I love everything about this recorder and never had an issue with it - totally worth the money if you like field recording
No no man, the Roland SH-32 is a synth that I should never have sold. Beautiful 'dusty' oscillators, cool drum modes, abysmal 'Roland' interface - count me in! So sorry I let mine go. I see them go for 2-3x what I sold mine for a decade+ ago. Wish I still had it!
Loved this video! Made some cloudberry jam while watching/listening to it :). You validated some of my gear choices and also helped me towards the realization that I don't need to have everything plugged in and ready to go - it's such a boring quest that requires so much infrastructure and a million cables. I should just make and record some noise instead of trying to make everything work together (without a DAW). All of your videos are a joy to watch. Thank you for sharing!
