[sayrer]

If you really want one of these things, and you use Ableton, get this one. I've used a Native Instruments Maschine and and Akai APC, and they just don't integrate that well with Ableton. But I've found I end up using a keyboard (Native Instruments Komplete) most of the time, even for drums, and that does integrate well.

[seanp2k2]

I picked up an MPC X for a great deal some years ago but I find that using it feels like using a limited DAW instead of inspiring much creativity. As an engineer as well, I always have the urge to try to preserve and record my noodling with the ability to recreate it and perhaps change out synths, so the MPC works decently well as a midi and CV hub / router that can record, but I can’t say I’ve ever had tons of fun with it. That’s probably more on me for never finishing the MPC Bible ebooks.

On the other hand, the Linnstrument is fantastic for bringing out creative ideas, and it plays well with the many MPE instruments available for iPads. Add in an iConnectivity interface that can simultaneously hook up with a laptop to record everything including the resulting audio and that’s a powerful machine.

My only regret in modern music creation is now that I can afford all the fun toys and now that we have nearly limitless potential to create any sound we could never imagine, I don’t have nearly as much time as when I was a kid with an Alesis Ion and a pirated copy of Reason, so I end up creating a quarter of the music with 20x more gear :/

[ben174]

I strongly feel that with the more year that I acquire, the less creative I become. I don’t think it’s an age thing that slowed me down, it’s an over abundance of options. The few times I’ve been stuck with just my laptop and a copy of FL studio, the old creative me comes back.