A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Compared to some people, I don’t really have that much gear. I have, at points in my life, had as many as 18 keyboards (with keys, never mind rack mount units) and twenty-odd guitars. Now I’m down to seven guitars, a bass, six hardware synths, one drum machine, and two controller keyboards. Now that I’ve typed that out, it does seem like a lot, and perhaps I should thin the herd even more. Ironically, in my advanced age I can now afford more gear; I suppose I could conceivably buy a Buchla 200e or Oasys should the fancy strike me. (My wife might have some thoughts on that subject, though.)

But I seem to have entered a post-gear phase. What I’d really like to have is a real piano and a better storage system for the shit I already have. DSP-based synths are experiencing this convergent evolution thing where there are very few that are unique (the MonoMachine comes to mind), analog is what it always was, and, well, you only really need three guitars (an archtop electric, a solid-body electric, and an acoustic.) So I think I’m gonna thin the herd further before we move.

In that vein, I’m sitting here pondering what it is a multi-instrumentalist that makes electronic-based music actually needs to enjoy the music-making experience. Here’s the list I’ve come up with:

1. A good polyphonic analog. I have my MKS-80, and provided it doesn’t break, it is deep and competent. I would be sadface ftl if I had to swap that out, but I could deal with it.

2. A good monophonic analog. Anyone that knows analogs knows that a monosynth and one voice of a polysynth aren’t really the same thing at all. I currently have three mono analogs: The Source, the Mopho, and a CS-5 which is getting repaired by the fine folks at Synthwood. After having the Mopho for a while, I think it’s safe to say that I can probably get rid of the Source and the CS-5. The Mopho may not have the mojo of the Source or the filtering of the CS-5, but it is a fuck of a lot more convenient, and it is under warranty.

3. Something for the digital sounds. The MonoMachine is a weird, quirky, balky, noisy little bitch. And it gives me all the digital I need. Keeping that.

4. A drum machine. One single drum machine. I have, in my past experiences, been guilty of having far too many drum machines. Take it from me: nobody needs more than one. I currently have and love a MachineDrum, but I would trade it in a heartbeat for a 909 in good working condition. Which should tell you everything you need to know about that.

I would like to have a Wurlitzer 200a, a Rhodes, a Yammie CP-70, a Steinway baby grand, a 57 Gretsch Duo Jet, a Hi-Watt half-stack, a 12-panel Serge modular, and a warehouse to keep it all in. But do I need any of that shit to make music? No, not at all. All I really need is a laptop.

There was no real point to this post except to put my thoughts on this subject out in the open for criticism. Am I losing my mind? Has the shiny lost its luster? What are the instruments that will be buried with you?