I haven’t written anything about my homestudio for a while. I think I can write something about it since I feel it is now in state which you could say ready. You can use any other word which means it doesn’t need any changes for now. No major investments needed.
I made kind of new year’s resolution but not really to stop buying new music gear for a year. If something breaks I will buy replacement and upgrades are allowed but nothing really new for a year. I broke that already once because one plugin I have been looking for sometime was in sale for small price. I could have done without it but it was cheap. Next breaking of this plan might happen with Make Noise’s DXG. I could justify it by saying it is upgrade to Optomix. DXG is stereo low pass gate. Optomix is mono low pass gate. Both are same size. Optomix is in stereo system. Having stereo low pass gate would make more sense. I am not sure if I will get DXG or not. Need see and hear more of it. Optomix might be better in some patches.
It is bit weird to have feeling your home studio can do everything you could want from it considering the size you can dedicate to it. Bigger real studio could do much more but I couldn’t expect more from space I have dedicated. I think starting to record guitar and bass gave me this feeling. Everything just clicked. I stopped thinking what I could need in future. I started to think what I can do with what I currently have.
One of the last changes I made was to start using audio interfaces outputs. I added pedal board which allow me to use stereo pedals with everything. Now I can use different synths’ external inputs from DAW. Have planned to do that for ages. Finally did it. Should have done it much earlier.
The last change was hardest to make. I took Minibrute 2S away from setup and replaced it with Lyra-8. I had not used Minibrute 2S since I got eurorack cases. Played with it for a while but I couldn’t justify keeping it in setup when Taiga and other modules can do almost everything it can. Yes there is difference in sound but it creates other option which doesn’t really matter. I can do much more with Taiga case than with Minibrute 2S. Only thing Minibrute 2S can do what Taiga case can’t do is sequencer trick I use in video below. I don’t use external sequencers too often. That video is only time I have done something I have released with external sequencer.
I think it is good idea to limit unnecessary options. Lyra-8 gives something no other synth gives. Have had Lyra-8 for several years. I have used it only in one video. It has been more of a therapeutical thing I use every now and then when I need to get my mind away from something. Not sure what to do with BARP 2600. Haven’t used it either since I got eurorack cases. It can still stay because it doesn’t free space like Minibrute 2S did.
I am almost same point with camera gear. There are two lenses I kind of want to get. I could replace older lenses with them. I could call that upgrade which it would really be. My GAS has got to a point where I have started to think about selling gear without getting anything new. Weird feeling.