What to do next!

[Merlot]

If you follow this forum, you know the trouble I have been having with gear. I am not sure what to get people. I thought I would run stuff by you guys and see what you think. Maybe if you own any of the gear, you might give me some feedback on it compared to what else I am considering.

Things in the definite possibility range (not all, I will have to narrow it down to $2500):
Elektron monomachine - for its originality and step sequencer
Mackie 624 monitors - want these b/c I am using shitty, old M-audio Sp-5b's
Minimoog Voyager - I have the KC for polyphony and pads/fx and want the monophonic voyager for basses and leads. I think the price is too fucking much for a monosynth though I do love the sound of it.
line 6 pod pro xt - for its fx and guitar sounds, as I am better guitarist than I am on keys.

THings in the I am considering range:
New mac dual 1.8G5 - Right now I am on a powerbook 1Ghz
Roland MV-8000 - for its dums programming and sequencer. I would sequence on this thing and mix and master in logic. I love the hardware feel of sequencing as I used to own a MPC.
Nord G2 - lovely sound, but hate the fact that it is Computer based.

Basically in my home studio, I am lacking hardware drum programability, as I hate doing it over the mac. Most of my tracks never make it to finished b/c of this (call em lazy, but I hate doing it over mac). I am also thinking the computer for the long haul as it would allow me not to have to update for another 3-4 years. But I also love the idea of new sounds to have access to. I am fucking lost mates as you can see I have contradicted myself ten times over. I produce everything from breaks, house, trip hop, downtempo, acoutsic guitar, etc. . . What would ya do? Also I plan on waiting after Messe '5 to see if anything interesting happens.

[jasedee]

As far as the monitors go (624's), try to find somewhere that has a wide range of monitors and listen to them. If you know a shop well enough, they will let you take some monitors home and try them in your environment.

When I listened to both the 642's and the 824's, I thought that the 624's were weak. The 824's were quite nice but IMO not worth the asking price. What really got my attention were the Dynaudio BM6a's....they were super cool, clear, clean, and cum-worthy.

Also, spend some time (and money) on optimizing your room. Treat the hot spots (First reflections) and do a modal analysis on your room (maybe hire an expert) and but some bass traps where needed. Keep your monitors away from walls and especially corners!!!!!! Make sure they are at ear height, and spaced apart the correct distance.

You can buy the best monitors in the world and they will sound like shit of your monitoring environment is shithouse.

Good luck!!!!

[Merlot]

Jase,
I tested out monitors and liked these the best. My space is small so dont need the 824's. Not to mention I am sitting about 3-4 feet away from monitors. I also looked at the Dynaudio BM5a's, but have not had a chance to listen to them.
As far as the room goes, it is not permanent, so there is no sense in me acoustically treating everything as far as I am concerned. I plan on moving in about a year and a half. Thanks for the suggestions though. Much appreciated.

[Hollowcell]

I tend to agree with Jase on the monitors - specially if you're doing dance stuff.

As far as your other choices there, I have no idea really. The Moog would be nice for sure, but then again, so would the G2. Alot of the list you have there isn't really comparable though.

Good luck with it all Merlot.

[Merlot]

Originally Posted by Hollowcell

Alot of the list you have there isn't really comparable though.

Yeah, I know! That is what is making this hard. Every piece is different. I have gaps I am wanting to fill, but which comes first?

[Tomer=Trance]

try out the new adam anf1,passive monitors around 800 euro.
a hafler amp would go great with thos.

also try dynaudio.

[blay]

is anyone here using dynaudio bm5a's?
been looking at the specs but im a little concerned about bass response.
about 1/3 the price of the bm6a's so these two evil little words 'cost effective' came to mind

[Tomer=Trance]

thats exacly what they are.
i wouldnt trust 5` monitors when it comes to bass responce.
but im sure you can set up a great monitors+sub setup with the bm5s.
anyhow i would look for 6.5` at least.

[Hamstar]

You might want to check out this site to try and find music gear (if you have not done so already). I think its all used, but you can occasionally find some good deals. Guitar Centers that have trouble selling their gear put it up on this site and alot of gear gets sold at a lower price than they would ever give you if you were to buy at their stores. Plus most of the items that are put up never get bid on, or you only have to bid against like 1 or 2 people. I don't think many people know about this site yet... There's some brands that I have never been able to find (Elektron comes to mind), but brands like Roland+Korg+Yamaha are of course all over. You can occasionally find some Clavia, Access, and Waldorf gear though. Hope you can find yourself a good deal

http://www.instrumentexchange.com/

[tranzash]

Hey Merlot, I had the Monomachine for like 3 or 4 days and returned it for the G2 because Mm was defective. I remember making lot of phat leads on it. Programming is really menu driven on the mono. You know, only 5 or 6 knobs. I think Mm was a polyphonic synth but could'nt play it polyphonically(maybe it was defective)

I bought the G2 for expanding sound synthesis. It's a beast though, maybe get a used G2 engine. When you go to electro-music.com, go to the patch section and under effects patches they have some wicked mp3. check those out. I know under clavia's website they don't have enough mp3 to show the power of G2

Moog Voyager How about the M5 hehe
I have the G5 dual 2.0 aswell. Running DP4.5, 2408mk3, very good for audio.
Good luck finding the right gear