post your most unique piece of gear

reignbear · Post by **reignbear** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:54 pm

I'm curious to what hidden or oddball gems others on here are working with.

i'll get hings started, mine would be the vestax faderboard. I wanted one of these so bad when they first dropped, but was waaay to broke to even think about getting one, and then 3 or so years later when places started clearancing them out for like $250 I was still to broke....

until this last december i found one on e-bay in the UK and watched it like a hawk and scored it for $140 (105 pounds)...

i find it excels at making crazy drones and noises.

lets see what you got!

stylesforfree · Post by **stylesforfree** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:36 am

I picked this up today from some guy who works at a hospital radio station. He gets stuff donated to him from broadcasting companies, obsolete and un needed equipment, because he works for a charity radio station for a hospital in Liverpool city.
Its an AKAI MG1214 mixing desk.

I picked it up for £50 which is about 70 dollars. The 12 channels are routed to the 14 track tape recorder which utilised Akai's own audio 1/2" tapes.
each channel has a parametric 3 band EQ, 2 effects sends, a mic XLR, pan and track sends. Apparently the beatles might have used it at one time and the guy didnt seem like the type to bullshit, but who knows?
Havnt had a chance to use it yet, its fricken massive and VERY heavy.
I dont know what year it was made and I cant find that much info about it, although I havnt looked too hard.
I'll get back when ive hooked up some stuff and recorded something.

drewzle · Post by **drewzle** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:51 am

^

@ both those joints

reignbear - so it's a synth? what are those faders for?

fauna · Post by **fauna** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:21 am

first, that is a sweet desk. man.

and then the 14 track tape as well? wah? that's an external fing you already have, or...?

fauna · Post by **fauna** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:27 am

i have a circuit bent casio that a friend built for me. I hope this works....images always get messed up for me...

it has a patch bay, three five-way dials, a pitch bend (1/2 step) and other crazy shit.

reignbear · Post by **reignbear** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:47 pm

Drewzle wrote:^ @ both those joints

reignbear - so it's a synth? what are those faders for?

yeah, it's like a pcm based synth but it can also sample too. the faders act as the keyboard with a master fader to cut them all on/off. it also has built in effects by korg.

stylesforfree - that shit looks like no joke, and 1/2" to boot! i bet that thing sounds nice a thick!

Fauna - that's fresh, i just found a sk-1 a few weeks ago for $7, but i've been thinking about bending it (or getting it bent, as i'm afraid to mess it up), but i'm pretty happy with it the way it is. too much fun for lo-fi sampling and coming up with cool loops to put into the sp-404. I've just been holding the built-in mic up to my monitors while listening to music at random and then playing/finding cool loops that way...

DREWDANK · Post by **DREWDANK** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:07 pm

fauna wrote:i have a circuit bent casio that a friend built for me. I hope this works....images always get messed up for me...

it has a patch bay, three five-way dials, a pitch bend (1/2 step) and other crazy shit.

where can i learn to circuit bend i already looked at youtube...nothing.

fauna · Post by **fauna** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:44 pm

@ reignbear - yeah, mine's obviously an sk-1 as well, and i still use it as a straight-up keyboard. i LOVE the flute, trumpet and brass sounds. the advantage of circuit-bending the sk-1 is that you can use that one-touch-play thing to record a phrase and play it back with one hand, while flicking dials and pluggin in cables with the other.

@ sargent - there are a lotta resources online for bending. i typed "circuit bending" into google and the first hit was this:

http://www.anti-theory.com/soundart/circuitbend/

Nicknw · Post by **Nicknw** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:26 pm

styles for free, that thing is fuckin sick! also noticed a few UK heads here now...

It's a melodica I got for my birthday lol, sounds like an accordion.

I'm gonna trade it in for a model with normal shaped keys tho, the buttons aint too nifty.

fauna · Post by **fauna** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:56 pm

melodicas are rad.

stylesforfree · Post by **stylesforfree** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:13 am

MELODICA!!!!! hell yeesssss, I want an Ocarina and a Melodica

! I have no 1/2" tape for the mixer yet, I found a website with brand enw tapes for £25 a pop though, the 14 track tape is built into the desk with all the channels hard wired to it, thats the block box thing on the right side of it.

Casop SK-1 = the don!

Any more weird and wonderful mentalness?

Jmoki · Post by **Jmoki** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:28 pm

Yeah!!! who is from the uk on here? Just out of interest....
I know nicknw is and styles for free....
oh and me haha

stylesforfree · Post by **stylesforfree** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:35 pm

Update on the akai, its dusty as fuck and the pan pots crackle and its just a big dusty fucken duster, I need to open it up and clean all the contacts probably, but it sounds decent. I picked up an s3000XL today for 50 quid too.

I need a cheap EB16 effects board now.

haha jmoki, MansVegas? you from manchester?
I live just outside liverpool.

What stuff you using jmoki?

Jmoki · Post by **Jmoki** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:08 am

Just my 303 at the moment...and a pair of nasty turntables....numark tt1625s...ew
Oh and mansvegas....haha theres a story behind that...
[quote]I come from a place In near Nottingham called mansfield...They were planning on building the uk's first "super casino" so ever since then me and my friends been calling it mansvegas haha...
I do own a stylophone tho, they are kinda fun

What sp are you using?

stylesforfree · Post by **stylesforfree** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:25 pm

Ah, Nottingham, the british bronx!
I use the 808, just for the sampling and effects, I dont sequence on it because its a NIGHTMARE. you got any links to your beats/tracks?