StōbeMusic

All my life I’ve had a fascination with the piano. It’s something that I’ve always been drawn to. I would practice some songs such as The Rose and gospel songs for church. I’ve been asked to do several weddings and played for the youth ministry when I used to go to church. Music has always been a way to communicate feelings that I can’t with words alone. There are so many songs and melodies that I have crafted just to get me through a hard time, or when I’m feeling happy. My partner has really been on me to start recording them so that I can finish them eventually. It’s nice to have someone in my corner to encourage me to do so.

As with the piano, I have really been getting into synthesizers. These machines nowadays are CRAZY. They can do just about anything you can imagine. I have however been finding myself getting a little too involved with the latest and greatest offerings on the market. I recently sold a board just to get a Yamaha Modx M7. Now, that thing was fantastic, and if you’re in the market for one, it’s definitely an impressive piece of kit. I already own a Korg Kronos that I got preowned (from a church I assume based on a lot of the loaded in presets) and that thing is amazing. Kronos made its debut in 2011 and I have upgraded the ram to the max 3GB and added a 128GB solid state in it. A major upgrade from its 1GB of ram and 30GB of storage. Now Korg has re-released the Kronos 3 and I can purchase all the sounds that come with the new offering. So there’s no need to upgrade. Even without the upgrade, I was able to use the Modx and basically copy the exact sound on the Kronos. It was redundant. I was just wanting something brand new and shiny when what I have is enough. Well enough. OVER ENOUGH. I don’t even know how to use every option on the board yet after owning it for 3 years. So the Modx is going back.

If you want my opinion, I’d say look out for a used Kronos or Kronos 2 for a bargain. You’re getting the SAME offering except the faster loading times and better improved touch screen. Neither of those things are enough for me to want to upgrade and I’ve already upgraded the RAM and SSD. Easy enough for anyone to do. If I had money to throw away, sure I’d get a 3, but it’s really not necessary at all.

After deciding to send back the Modx, I’ve decided to learn to love what I have. I am so very fortunate to have what I already do, it’s time I really show my gratitude and produce some amazing songs without getting seduced by the next big flashy offering. Besides, I’m sure the next boards are going to have some AI BS in them, and that’s just not me. I absolutely HATE the Jupiter XM’s AI ARP. It’s awful. My opinion, but yea, it’s not worth using.

Anyway, I’ve decided to pump the brakes a little bit and fully learn to use and love what I have already. There’s only so many ways you can make a piano or a saw wave sound. Sure there’s always something that one board will do better than the other, but I’m happy with what I have. I’m going to try and apply this to not only my music hobby, but to other things in my life. I don’t need the latest and greatest of everything regardless of what the marketing tries to suggest.