abstractlion's Electronic Synth Setup
October 12th 2021 My Korg Volca Fm , SQ1 , &PO33
More gear photos from abstractlion
Gear in this photo
This rig
~$414
Value by category
- Keyboards and Synthesizers 53.9%
- Studio Equipment 29.1%
- Headphones 16.9%
Price mix
All 3 priced items fall in the budget range for their categories.
Boldest pick: Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator PO-33 KO!
Only 8 pro artists on Equipboard own it, but it's ranked #12 in Tabletop Synthesizers.
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator PO-33 KO!
Avg price: $93.07
Possibly the coolest thing in the world
I'm serious with the header of the review . Just being able to sample anywhere at anytime itself is cool as hell , but this little thing has granular like sample trimming , real time pitch shifting , and HP/LP cutoff filters . I don't think could ask for anymore . The sound quality isn't for everyone as it's very low fidelity and in mono , personally I love 8/12bit samplers so that was just another plus . It allows up to 256 notes , and lots of samples (although short) , My only real gripe with it is the lock tab (why would anyone need this?? Mabey for a display model?) If the lock tab accidentally breaks off you'll have to solder the 2 contacts together so you can start making patterns and adding samples again which not everyone is able to do. Besides that love it and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it and highly recommend for anyone who's dream machine is a portable lofidelity sampler for there pocket!
Preferred Settings + Usage:
Recording samples from my daw or phone at a fairly high-speed into the PO33 so I can slow it down within the pocket operator and preserve a ton of recording memory (old-school method)
Avg price: $120.60
It's a decent sequencer but very limited
You get what you pay with the SQ1 its limited to 16 steps , features no internal memory , and trying to punch in notes is a pretty tedious task. It almost feels like the smallest minuet bumps can throw all your notes off the path you programmed them to because the knobs are just that sensitive even when locked onto a scale , Besides all that I stated I do enjoy this sequencer because it links up to both my Pocket Operators and Korg Ms10 fairly easily and I like the decent variety of play options it has , I feel like I got my moneys worth and will definetly keep it around for random fun jam sessions but not for any serious projects / albums
TASCAM TH-200X Studio Headphones
Avg price: $69.99
Not too bad , wish it had a better tone with higher frequencies
I have been using the Tascam TH-200X headphones consistently since December 2018 , they were a huge step up from the skull candy earbuds I was using prior. I use them for almost everything from vocal monitoring to mixing to producing full on albums . They look really nice and fit comfortably, the sound is good but it could be alot better . It feels as if the high ends get lost during any presence of low end / bass notes which is a bit unfortunate. That being said it's okay if your a creator on a budget looking for something decent while you save up for something better.
About this setup
This gear photo by abstractlion features 4 pieces of gear, including Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator PO-33 KO!, Korg Volca FM, and Korg SQ-1. The setup spans Keyboards and Synthesizers, Studio Equipment, and Headphones, with mostly budget pieces. Artists with this kind of gear are most often found in the Electronic, Rock, and Pop scenes.