I'm going to update/rate anything I missed or forgot below in this comment: MPC Live - B MPC Force - D MPC Keys - B Yamaha H80 (1st gen) - A Mackie CR5-X - F Roland VP-770 - B MOTU 828 - F MOTU M6 - D
You should try the Squarp Hapax which does 10x more than the Pyramid ... even though stuff like the Deluge with it's open source Os can work as a live looper (and probably calculate your biorhythm with a dedicated knob on its front), the Hapax still replaced my Polyend Seq. Until I bought a 2nd Seq of course, which is a killer setup 😂
I wouldn’t know what to do with a collection that big, I would feel a giant responsibility to use all of it and feel shitty if I didn’t end up using some gear. Even if it was gifted to me, I’d probably end up giving 75% away just because of the overwhelm 🤣🤣 I have 2 synths and a guitar right now and I feel like I should be using them more lol
Did he actually show the TR-8S or just talk about it when he talked about TR-8? I'm considering picking one up, but the TR-8 is a lot cheaper and does most of what I want...
I think you are way more original now vs others reviewing gear and we have finally someone who said it. Most gear reviewers are slaves of marketing and probably don’t even enjoy doing it long term .
Less than 1% of the people who make UA-cam channels get a following and earn a living from ad revenue/patreon/endorsements. Its a mixture of luck, talent and hard work and even then there are thousands of good channels that won't get a following. Us average folks may get sick of outright shilling but if Boss, Roland, Moog, Arturia send you an email asking for a product demo ...most people would be thrilled.
Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou! If this stuff makes my 55 y.o. O.G. Celesrton 8" Muskatov telescope useable (as in bearable to touch), I will owe you a beer.
@@petermanning3811 happily, you will owe me a beer. This is one of my favorite tips I've learned. Get it on a rag, use elbow grease, and it works like gangbusters
The soft touch components which tend to gas out make the sticky feeling so one should just use some alcohol solution like isopropyl alcohol and you’re good to go! Stay away from acetate/acetone solutions as they can make it worse
I can’t believe I watched the whole thing. I often wonder if I’m a gear hoarder but thanks to you I feel like Marie Kondo 😊 love your content. Keep up the great work.
Benn would be the first to say he's just some asshole on the Internet. If you like it, *you* like it, and no one else matters. Until you get bandmates lol.
As a beatboxer who loves the RC505 mk1, uses all 5 tracks with my hands, and holds on it to avoid the menu diving of the newer mk2, this video still has my full support 🎉 Thank you for this glorious tirade 😅
Had a similar experience to the Zoom F3 data loss issue with a Tascam DR-05. Was recording a once-in-a-lifetime jam session with an incredibly prolific producer/DJ directly off a main mixer. In the days that followed, I spent so many hours trying to recover the missing files. They were just not there.. Like the unit gave up and just stopped writing. I've gotta have multiple recorders for any similar session now. I'd rather have duplicate copies than none at all.
I feel you. I still save compulsively in any software due to Photoshop's habit of simply and suddenly disappearing back in the late 90s/early 00s. Lost many hours of work before developing the habit of saving between every action...
Hey Benn, Just wanted to say a HUGE "thank you" for rating ALL of your gear! Your intelligent and concise review of everything in your studio, combined with the tier ranking was a real fun experience to watch. So much of the gear you had tucked away was stuff I'd seen for sale and never really had reviews on, and some of the S-tier stuff you mentioned, and the passion with which you spoke about it really made me want to look at a few of those that I hadn't seen before. In addition, you helped me make some decisions about gear that I had been on the fence about. I can understand how that whole experience must have felt invasive, and I just wanted to express my appreication for pressing on and making yet another amazing video that keeps me coming back to your channel again and again. Well done!
Correction: Korg Volca FM has as many operators as DX-7 else you wouldn’t be able to load DX-7 patches, but it only has 3 polyphony, where DX-7 has 16.
@@alecdurbaville6355 If I follow your logic, are you saying that Korg Volca FM2 has 12-OP, due to that it has 6 voices instead 3? [Double as many voices as Korg Volca FM1]
Sometimes I look at my cluttered studio and think to myself "Well, you've done it. You've achieved maximum gear acquisition and am now a golden god." Then I see how much shit Ben has. And there's clearly levels to this game.
Excellent post! Now I need to let my wife watch this, so she'll know it could be much worse. Good plug for the Medusa. I helped write the v1 version of the manual, and early on, much closer to the scheduled release date than it should have been, the list of capabilities was still far from solid. Best thing is that Polyend ran with it none-the-less, patching some of the early issues, and coming up with some GREAT ideas (a lot beyond anything initially discussed), and they really brought it home with the updates.
As a recent subscriber, this was really cool watching you give an opinion on gear that was never even on my radar. It was also a little heart-wrenching seeing gear I genuinely like get a lower rating than I'd like, but all the more reason why I enjoy the candid takes!!
I was REALLLLLY hoping for another Moog Labyrinth video. MAN ALIVE! What a time to be alive. Like a thousand Moog Labyrinthvideos appeared in my feed in a single day!!
As a huge fan of Marc Rebillet, seeing the RC-505 get a D and a "who is this *for*?" hurt my soul a little. 😅 Love the video though, and it's simultaneously a helpful series of snippets and a good reminder that a lot of taste is subjective and people don't have to like the same things. 💜
Yeah, as someone else who bought a TR-8 early on and has always felt some regret about not having the S, hearing that felt like having something deep inside me healed.
Thank you Jordan for taking all this time to create a video that is both fun to watch, as well as quite educative! And most importantly, I feel it will inspire a lot of us to get rid of all the useless gear we have somehow mindlessly accumulated through the passage of time. It will surely bring a lot of relief, as well as contribute to our mental peace. Thank you!
Thanks Benn. I agree, i wish other well known producers would simply talk us through their kit in an honest reflective way. It might be a long video but your kit list actually seemed really reasonable for a successful professional artist with a long career. I see so many you tubers with huge stacks of expensive keyboards behind them and just think they are just kit hoarders who don't actually make music with any of it.
Dear Benn, many many thanks for all your works! Looking forward to all you are going to be sharig with us! Most health, peace, love and happiness to each and everyone! One Love! Always forward, never ever backward!! ☀☀☀ 💚💛❤ 🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼
I have the same Tascam DR-60D and it was the backbone of so many events I covered and only had one bad recording when I removed the external power too early. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it but I love it so very much.
I saw you in Chicago with Bogdan many many years ago and you were using that air fix and I was like whoa that awesome. Then I bought one and I was like whoa this is shit lmao.
The Launchkey, for Ableton workflow, is incredible. When paired with a launchpad, their ability to control the software is unbeatable for the price. Solid A tier for Ableton users. Maybe not FL users.
Yeah, I am not a fan of DAW-focused controllers. However, it seems like the Launchkey line is fairly programmable. I watched Taetro's video on creating a template for the Launchkey Mini for the Yamaha SeqTrack and almost bought one on the spot since they were on sale for under $100 at the time. I fought back the GAS successfully.
Benn, do you not have an Elektron Machinedrum? I was really looking forward to your review, especially after all this time and how highly sought after/regarded it is. Did you sell it? Either way, that must have been a mammoth video to make so thank you for it
was honestly thrilled when I hovered down and saw the video was an hour and a half long. I've spent so much time researching gear but never getting to be hands on with whatever it is that I can't afford myself so this video was very enjoyable to watch.
Yeah, anything he showed my first thought was can I do it with my laptop? Theres a couple things he showed that definitely would enhance what my laptop does though, like the Sub Bass Monitor, the MRCC Ringo Starr controller!
That is, it does all things for a few years. After that you have a mix of different versions of everything installed, running out of local RAM, and basically extremely sorry that you ever started going DAW.
Happy to see the S-tier rating for the MRCC, it is indeed a huge problem solver and ingenious. Fact that it is rackmountable too is awesome. If I only had one complaint to make about the MRCC is that the small screen menu navigation just is kinda clunky. I don't mind small screens for something I don't need to change settings on very often, but I feel like a lot of other things out there have done a much better job with menu navigation in the same form factor. Like, it *could* have been better.
Even with the 82 minutes runtime, this is a greatly condensed source of useful and widely applicable information. Nice one! And very nice to see the Korg Radias in the A-tier!
That sticky rubber can be removed with paint thinner. Just check on the back of your gear if the plastic or what ever it's made out can handle this liquid. This way I revived some sticky bite alarms (among other stuff) that were too gross to handle.
I thought with my 17+ pieces of gear I thought I had separation anxiety and wife thinks I'm a hoarder but now after watching this I'm a free bird after all.
Extra engagemometrics boost from microfreak touchplate Stan here! Can't believe you dislike it, AND have failed keys. Super disappointed on multiple fronts. (Not really)
Just want to let you know I watched the whole thing and learned some new details about gear that will come in handy. For example I had never heard of RME audio interfaces
Why did I just watch 1+ hour of nerd talk about studio equipment? What’s wrong with me?? Can’t wait to see the 3 hour special of Benn building his new studio! 😂
I loved this rapid fire, highly subjective tier list video. Congrats on your new studio Benn! Your content is refreshing and inspiring in a world that rewards toxicity.
Couldn't agree more on RME I had 2 at one point, one in my studio another for live. I sold the more expensive AIO card as I didn't need it and just kept the OG Babyface, I've had that about 13 years as my only interface and it's never crashed never failed, never misbehaved. the audio quality is flawless. Definitely S+++
Loved this video! Made some cloudberry jam while watching/listening to it :). You validated some of my gear choices and also helped me towards the realization that I don't need to have everything plugged in and ready to go - it's such a boring quest that requires so much infrastructure and a million cables. I should just make and record some noise instead of trying to make everything work together (without a DAW). All of your videos are a joy to watch. Thank you for sharing!
A "D" for the Boss 505? I love this looper. It's such a fun way to draft music. I guess it's about the opposite of a tracker, which seems to be your go-to starting point, so it makes sense.
Glad you have so much stuff that you like! On a personal level even the knowledge that I have this many devices (even if they are packed away in boxes hidden in my basement) would drive me crazy haha
I probably get why you feel this video felt a bit intrusive for you, this was also kind of a re-view of what you did in the last 30 odd years as a musician. I couldn't understand half of the stuff you were talking about but I always love your delivery of complex issues. Do please keep on making awesome videos! :-)
I appreciate your candor around the actual practicality of using some of the Erica / Soma things. I feel the same, really nice to use but would never end up in a track
It was great to see all Benn's Gear and your summary experience as a professional UI head basher. I understand why it feels like you are letting us all into your private space. Dust, dog hair and all. And as always we love your sexy eyebrow.
This video was quite interesting, introducing me tons of gear I've never even heard of. It had a proper balance between serious info and *flashy* attitude. That being said, it's certainly not Mr. Jordan's greatest work, but it still stands as a video well worth watching. As a bonus, I got to hear Benn's voice for over an hour straight. I'll give it an A
I like that you have gear which you have a real connection to, and have used and have fond memories of, that you still give a D to, knowing how it would be perceived by anyone else getting it new now. That's honesty :)
To answer your question of who the target audience might be for the rc505- it’s pretty great for brass and woodwind players. We don’t have to bring any extra gear to be able to use that looper outside of the mic
Semi-pro tip for the maple syrup goo butylene rubber crap: literally exactly what you'd expect, rubbing alcohol. I would like to look into the chemistry and find a solvent that will just dissolve it without damaging nearby plastics, but if you're willing to spend a few minutes of gentle scrubbing, alcohol does the trick.
Tbh, the way you talk about gear is refreshing, a lot of people who review gear either script out natural dialogue and focus on features or demo's and a lot of expression is lost. Your delivery is direct but not dry, practical but personal in your experiences with it and how you feel when using it. Overall it's a very human perspective on products in an industry which can be very corporate. Most importantly you know quite a bit about the things you decide to cover. Your opinion is rare on UA-cam and should be valued more than a mob of faceless commenters on social media platforms.
I did fall asleep, but eventually rewound and watched the rest. Strong B. Would definitely watch more of these from other people and assuming that those vids would move this up to A tier.
I got my M-Audio FTU second hand about 17 years ago and it's still holding up good. What I like is that it doesn't require any drivers because it's class compliant (I think it has some USB-quirks in the Linux kernel though).
i take a piece of masking tape and label both ends of PSUs. that way when they're plugged into a surge protector under a desk where you can't see the wall wart you won't get confused as to which one goes where.
yoooo ben! You mentioned itemizing for insurance earlier, could you do a video elaborating on insurance as it relates to music and live shows? Honestly, it would be amazing if you did some vids on the backend stuff, considering your time as a paid musician and experience. Appreciate you, keep being you and the massively helpful content!
Don't write the synth's name on AC/DC adaptors with a permanent marker. Engrave it. (Just kidding). However, - a much better option is to make glow in the dark/fluorescent labels and use transparent boxing tape to attach them (don't be sparing with the tape that surrounds the sticker). If you're like me and prefer darkened studio when working on your music, - this way you will never make an error. Only one 20 watt black light source will make every sticker and writing highly visible. Third option - labels on the cords - cord labels are sold everywhere. Make sure you get the ones that hug the cord tightly and don't slide. The 2 latter options will not alter resale value, - you can always take off glue from old tape using alcohol swab, or unclip the cord label. From personal experience - removing the permanent marker writing from AC/DC adaptors before putting the unit up for sale can be difficult especially when the adaptor has rough surfaces.
That Behringer FEX800 reminded me that I've got the MIC800 somewhere, only have it because we urgently needed a cheap mic preamp for a recording session and we were impressed at how good it was.
Super fun and enjoyable video, thank you Benn! Ironically, I was kinda hoping to fall asleep to it and catch the remainder in the morning but nope, I’m still fully awake and engaged. 😂 Also looking forward now to what you’ve got in store for the channel this coming year!
I'm going to update/rate anything I missed or forgot below in this comment:
MPC Live - B
MPC Force - D
MPC Keys - B
Yamaha H80 (1st gen) - A
Mackie CR5-X - F
Roland VP-770 - B
MOTU 828 - F
MOTU M6 - D
Great idea.
Can you tier list plugins you use as well? (S - tier = can't live without / always used etc).
I havent played around with the MPC force, but it seems to be polarising, people seem to either be in love with them, or perplexed by them.
You should try the Squarp Hapax which does 10x more than the Pyramid ... even though stuff like the Deluge with it's open source Os can work as a live looper (and probably calculate your biorhythm with a dedicated knob on its front), the Hapax still replaced my Polyend Seq. Until I bought a 2nd Seq of course, which is a killer setup 😂
Every video should have an Errata Pinned Comment
You said during the premier that you forgot to rate MOTU stuff you own btw
New challenge: take all your F-rated gear and make a track with it.
I really wanna see that happening
Amazing idea
Don't challenge the guy, we want him working on the good stuff!!
Already done by Florian. Bad Gear. Best channel.
This isn't bad gear 😂
Here is the full rating list. Have a good day!
Tabletop Synths and Controllers
1. **Novation FLK 37**
- Rating: C
2. **MiniFreak**
- Rating: A
3. **MicroFreak**
- Rating: A (originally S, but downgraded to A due to some keys not working)
4. **Casio SK5**
- Rating: D
5. **ELA Music Solar 42**
- Rating: A (almost S, but realistically A due to its quirks)
6. **Original Nord Rack with Expansion Card**
- Rating: C
7. **Akai APC 64**
- Rating: Not rated
8. **Roland TR-8**
- Rating: B
9. **Erica Synths Perkons HD-1**
- Rating: B (could be S for many others)
10. **Behringer B-Control BCF2000**
- Rating: A
11. **Behringer BCR2000**
- Rating: B
12. **Vector Synth**
- Rating: A
13. **PreSonus Monitor Station V2**
- Rating: D
14. **Antelope Audio Zen Tour Interface**
- Rating: C
15. **Erica Synths Syntrx 2**
- Rating: C
16. **Alesis AirFX**
- Rating: D
17. **Squarp Pyramid**
- Rating: C
18. **Roland TB-3**
- Rating: A
19. **Cyclone Analogic Bass Bot MK2**
- Rating: S
20. **Roland TR-6S**
- Rating: C
21. **Furman M-8X2 Power Conditioner**
- Rating: B
22. **Mackie ProFX8 v2**
- Rating: C
23. **Pioneer DDJ-400**
- Rating: B
24. **Roland SH-32**
- Rating: D
25. **Akai XR20 Beat Production Center**
- Rating: A
26. **Tascam DR-60D MkII**
- Rating: F
27. **Yamaha QY10 Music Sequencer**
- Rating: F
28. **Pioneer SR-202W Reverberation Amplifier**
- Rating: D
29. **Roland TR-626**
- Rating: B
30. **Roland MC-09**
- Rating: F
31. **Korg Kaoss Pad KP3**
- Rating: F
32. **Behringer CMD DV-1**
- Rating: D
33. **Polyend/Dreadbox Medusa**
- Rating: S
34. **Polyend Seq**
- Rating: B
35. **Dave Smith Instruments Evolver**
- Rating: B
36. **Novation Launchpad X**
- Rating: C
37. **Torso Electronics T-1**
- Rating: B
38. **Dreadbox Hades**
- Rating: B (personally D)
39. **Uno Synth Pro X**
- Rating: C
40. **Polyend Play**
- Rating: B
41. **Polyend Tracker**
- Rating: B
42. **Polyend Tracker Plus**
- Rating: A
43. **Polyend Tracker Mini**
- Rating: C
44. **Dirtywave M8**
- Rating: Not rated (old model)
45. **Korg Volca FM**
- Rating: A
46. **Dreadbox Nymphes**
- Rating: A
47. **Decade Bridge Bora**
- Rating: B
48. **Sonicware Liven Texture Lab**
- Rating: C
49. **Arturia BeatStep Pro**
- Rating: A
50. **Boss RC-505 Loop Station**
- Rating: D
51. **Empress Euroburo**
- Rating: A
52. **Behringer Neutron**
- Rating: B
53. **Expressive E Touché**
- Rating: A
54. **DF Audio MiniBay**
- Rating: C
55. **Bastl Instruments MIDI Looper**
- Rating: D
56. **MOD Duo X**
- Rating: Not rated
57. **Zoom LiveTrak L-20R**
- Rating: D
58. **Conductive Labs NDLR**
- Rating: B
59. **Conductive Labs MRCC**
- Rating: S
60. **Airpatch**
- Rating: B
61. **Analog Thing**
- Rating: C
62. **Zen USB MIDI Flute**
- Rating: Not rated
63. **Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (1st Gen)**
- Rating: C
64. **Icon DUO44 Live**
- Rating: D
65. **Behringer UMC404HD**
- Rating: C
66. **Tascam PortaStudio 414 MkII**
- Rating: B
67. **Tavoi Audio Portable Audio Laboratory**
- Rating: A
68. **Korg nanoKONTROL**
- Rating: C
69. **M-Audio Fast Track Ultra**
- Rating: C
70. **Korg Radias**
- Rating: A
### Pedals and Multi-Effects
1. **Death By Audio Rooms**
- Rating: B
2. **Eventide H9 Max**
- Rating: C
3. **Empress ZOIA**
- Rating: S
4. **Empress Echosystem**
- Rating: A
5. **Peterson StroboStomp Tuner**
- Rating: A
6. **Neunaber Ventriss Dual Reverb**
- Rating: B
7. **Source Audio C4 Synth**
- Rating: D
8. **Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC100**
- Rating: B
9. **Neunaber Wet Stereo Reverb**
- Rating: D
10. **Meris Mercury7**
- Rating: S
11. **Boss RV-200**
- Rating: D
12. **GFI System Specular Tempus**
- Rating: A
13. **Morley Optical Volume Pedal**
- Rating: B
14. **QuickLok Volume Pedal**
- Rating: D
15. **Boss GR-55**
- Rating: D
16. **Roland VG-99**
- Rating: A
17. **Roland SY-1000**
- Rating: D
18. **TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch 2**
- Rating: B
19. **Zoom B3**
- Rating: B
20. **Zoom SampleTrak ST-224**
- Rating: C
21. **Boss DR-550 MkII**
- Rating: B
22. **Kane Cerberus**
- Rating: B
23. **Alesis Ineko**
- Rating: A
24. **Stanton SCS.4DJ**
- Rating: B
25. **Pioneer RMX-500**
- Rating: A
26. **Mackie 402VLZ3**
- Rating: D
27. **Behringer FX-800**
- Rating: Not rated
28. **Akai Fire**
- Rating: C
29. **Alesis Bitrman**
- Rating: B
30. **Alesis MicTube Duo**
- Rating: C
31. **Behringer Xenyx 1222FX**
- Rating: F
32. **Blackstar DistX**
- Rating: B
33. **Elektron Analog Four (Original)**
- Rating: C
34. **Elektron Analog Rytm (Original)**
- Rating: B
35. **Shanhai Melodica**
- Rating: C
36. **Rainstick**
- Rating: C
37. **Strymon NightSky**
- Rating: A
38. **Microamp**
- Rating: Not rated
39. **Empress Bass Compressor**
- Rating: A
40. **Singular Sound MIDI Maestro**
- Rating: D
41. **Empress ParaEQ**
- Rating: B
42. **Empress ParaEQ Deluxe**
- Rating: A
43. **Empress Reverb**
- Rating: A
44. **Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII**
- Rating: A
45. **Meris LVX**
- Rating: A
46. **TC Electronic Flashback 4X**
- Rating: B
47. **Vs Audio Twin Looper**
- Rating: D
48. **SOMA Cosmos**
- Rating: A+
49. **Azor Leon Drive**
- Rating: B
50. **Poly Effects Beebo**
- Rating: B
51. **Poly Effects Digit**
- Rating: A
52. **Electro-Harmonix Superego**
- Rating: C
53. **Singular Sound Aeros Loop Studio**
- Rating: C
54. **Union Tube & Transistor Tone Druid**
- Rating: A
55. **Mooer Pure Boost**
- Rating: B
56. **Rocktron Banshee Talk Box**
- Rating: B
57. **ART Dual Direct Box**
- Rating: C
58. **Zoom H6**
- Rating: C
59. **Roland EF-303**
- Rating: B
60. **Tektronix 2236 Oscilloscope**
- Rating: Not rated
61. **Solman MIDI Foot Controller**
- Rating: A
### Keyboards and Synths
1. **Arturia KeyLab 61 MkII**
- Rating: B
2. **Roland FA-06**
- Rating: C
3. **Roland JX-305**
- Rating: D (personally S)
4. **Behringer DeepMind 12**
- Rating: B
5. **Alesis Recital**
- Rating: C
6. **Denon DJ Prime 4**
- Rating: B
7. **Hydrasynth**
- Rating: B
8. **Yamaha Montage**
- Rating: A
9. **Korg 01/W**
- Rating: C
10. **Expressive E Osmose**
- Rating: S
11. **Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII**
- Rating: A+
12. **Arturia MicroBrute**
- Rating: S
13. **Yamaha MX100A Disklavier**
- Rating: A
### Rack Units and Interfaces
1. **Behringer ADA8200**
- Rating: B
2. **Samson S-Patch Plus**
- Rating: C
3. **TC Electronic M300**
- Rating: D
4. **iLoud Micro Monitors**
- Rating: D
5. **Mackie Big Knob Studio**
- Rating: C
6. **Roland FC-300**
- Rating: C
7. **RME Fireface 802**
- Rating: S
8. **Alesis AirFX**
- Rating: D
9. **Franklin SS-6**
- Rating: B
10. **Crybaby Wah Pedal**
- Rating: A
11. **KRK 10s Subwoofer**
- Rating: A
### Headphones
1. **Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS**
- Rating: A
2. **Sennheiser HD650**
- Rating: A
3. **Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro**
- Rating: A
4. **Shure Aonic 50**
- Rating: A
5. **Sony WF-1000XM4**
- Rating: A
### Microphones
1. **DJI Wireless Microphone**
- Rating: A
2. **Rode VideoMic Pro**
- Rating: C+
3. **Azden SMX-30**
- Rating: A
4. **Sennheiser MKE 440**
- Rating: F
5. **Zoom SGH-6**
- Rating: C
6. **Sennheiser MKH 600**
- Rating: C
7. **Rode NTG-3B**
- Rating: A
8. **Rode Reporter**
- Rating: F
9. **Rode NT-SF1**
- Rating: S
10. **Rode M5**
- Rating: C
11. **Rode NT1-A**
- Rating: A
12. **MXL 2001**
- Rating: D+
13. **MXL 990**
- Rating: D
14. **Lauten Audio LS-208**
- Rating: S
15. **Zoom XYH-6**
- Rating: C
### Field Recorders
1. **Zoom H4n**
- Rating: B
2. **Zoom H6**
- Rating: C
3. **Zoom H8**
- Rating: C
4. **Zoom F4**
- Rating: D
5. **Zoom F6**
- Rating: B
6. **Zoom F3**
- Rating: F
### Drums and Sequencers
1. **Roland TD-17**
- Rating: D
2. **Retrokits RK-008**
- Rating: A+
### Miscellaneous
1. **Korg MS2000R**
- Rating: B
2. **Roland Jazz Chorus 22**
- Rating: S
3. **Behringer 2600**
- Rating: B
4. **Behringer RX1202FX**
- Rating: D
5. **Focusrite Compounder**
- Rating: S
You are a saint!
Wow. Thank you
Thanks very much for this, extremely helpful!
@@BennJordancould you pin his comment please? It's super helpful 😊
Doing God's work
Watching this is like what I imagine hell to be. All the gear I'll never get my hands on, being shown to me and being packed away.
for me it’s all the gear id want but then I get option paralysis and never finish a song 😭
"packed away" is all you need to get some relief..
I wouldn’t know what to do with a collection that big, I would feel a giant responsibility to use all of it and feel shitty if I didn’t end up using some gear. Even if it was gifted to me, I’d probably end up giving 75% away just because of the overwhelm 🤣🤣 I have 2 synths and a guitar right now and I feel like I should be using them more lol
Yes to the TR-8! I'm all about its simplicity too. Great vid Ben.
i had the same regret selling my tr-8 and getting tr-8s instead. now i have neither.
Did he actually show the TR-8S or just talk about it when he talked about TR-8? I'm considering picking one up, but the TR-8 is a lot cheaper and does most of what I want...
I think you are way more original now vs others reviewing gear and we have finally someone who said it. Most gear reviewers are slaves of marketing and probably don’t even enjoy doing it long term .
Less than 1% of the people who make UA-cam channels get a following and earn a living from ad revenue/patreon/endorsements. Its a mixture of luck, talent and hard work and even then there are thousands of good channels that won't get a following. Us average folks may get sick of outright shilling but if Boss, Roland, Moog, Arturia send you an email asking for a product demo ...most people would be thrilled.
Yo, that "syrup" rubber can actually be fixed by this cleaning spray called Mother's VLR. You can get it at places like AutoZone, etc
Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou! If this stuff makes my 55 y.o. O.G. Celesrton 8" Muskatov telescope useable (as in bearable to touch), I will owe you a beer.
@@petermanning3811 happily, you will owe me a beer. This is one of my favorite tips I've learned. Get it on a rag, use elbow grease, and it works like gangbusters
The soft touch components which tend to gas out make the sticky feeling so one should just use some alcohol solution like isopropyl alcohol and you’re good to go!
Stay away from acetate/acetone solutions as they can make it worse
@@hanfbrot I also use IPA with a rough cloth to clean mine, works well
@@hanfbrot I recently tried 90% iso on a syrupy Quneo and it had no effect. :(
The most Benn And Gear episode ever.
this is his prime
@@dannyatxthe most gear and the most Benn
“Peak bed shit.”
I miss that opening jingle.
I can’t believe I watched the whole thing. I often wonder if I’m a gear hoarder but thanks to you I feel like Marie Kondo 😊 love your content. Keep up the great work.
One nice thing about the internet is you can always find someone who has got it worse than you
I get so much anxiety when you pick up something I own.
Benn would be the first to say he's just some asshole on the Internet. If you like it, *you* like it, and no one else matters. Until you get bandmates lol.
TT-303 is the GOAT, I can go to bed happy
As a beatboxer who loves the RC505 mk1, uses all 5 tracks with my hands, and holds on it to avoid the menu diving of the newer mk2, this video still has my full support 🎉 Thank you for this glorious tirade 😅
Everybody loves studio tours, even one in deconstruction. Can't wait to see the new studio build video.
Had a similar experience to the Zoom F3 data loss issue with a Tascam DR-05.
Was recording a once-in-a-lifetime jam session with an incredibly prolific producer/DJ directly off a main mixer. In the days that followed, I spent so many hours trying to recover the missing files. They were just not there.. Like the unit gave up and just stopped writing.
I've gotta have multiple recorders for any similar session now. I'd rather have duplicate copies than none at all.
I feel you. I still save compulsively in any software due to Photoshop's habit of simply and suddenly disappearing back in the late 90s/early 00s. Lost many hours of work before developing the habit of saving between every action...
Hey Benn, Just wanted to say a HUGE "thank you" for rating ALL of your gear! Your intelligent and concise review of everything in your studio, combined with the tier ranking was a real fun experience to watch. So much of the gear you had tucked away was stuff I'd seen for sale and never really had reviews on, and some of the S-tier stuff you mentioned, and the passion with which you spoke about it really made me want to look at a few of those that I hadn't seen before. In addition, you helped me make some decisions about gear that I had been on the fence about. I can understand how that whole experience must have felt invasive, and I just wanted to express my appreication for pressing on and making yet another amazing video that keeps me coming back to your channel again and again. Well done!
this is a great format for a gear video. quick, to the point, ruthless.
Next up: Tier-listing Every Type of 7UP in my Fridge.
Read this as 7HP the first three times
Ahhhh hahahaha…funny comment indeed
there is more than one type of 7UP??
Correction: Korg Volca FM has as many operators as DX-7 else you wouldn’t be able to load DX-7 patches, but it only has 3 polyphony, where DX-7 has 16.
What language are you speaking?
@@heavenly2k My language is called Yautja, and you?
@@decaystar Gringlish
You’re correct but so is Benn. It’s got the same number of operators ‘per voice’, if there’s less voices there’s also less total operators.
@@alecdurbaville6355 If I follow your logic, are you saying that Korg Volca FM2 has 12-OP, due to that it has 6 voices instead 3? [Double as many voices as Korg Volca FM1]
Sometimes I look at my cluttered studio and think to myself "Well, you've done it. You've achieved maximum gear acquisition and am now a golden god." Then I see how much shit Ben has. And there's clearly levels to this game.
Excellent post! Now I need to let my wife watch this, so she'll know it could be much worse. Good plug for the Medusa. I helped write the v1 version of the manual, and early on, much closer to the scheduled release date than it should have been, the list of capabilities was still far from solid. Best thing is that Polyend ran with it none-the-less, patching some of the early issues, and coming up with some GREAT ideas (a lot beyond anything initially discussed), and they really brought it home with the updates.
As a recent subscriber, this was really cool watching you give an opinion on gear that was never even on my radar. It was also a little heart-wrenching seeing gear I genuinely like get a lower rating than I'd like, but all the more reason why I enjoy the candid takes!!
The honesty and candor in this video is gold!
23:08 literally made me pause the video, grab my iPad and went out to do some jam in the nearest coffee shop.
Well done, sir.
I was REALLLLLY hoping for another Moog Labyrinth video. MAN ALIVE! What a time to be alive. Like a thousand Moog Labyrinthvideos appeared in my feed in a single day!!
if you dont buy one you wont be able to make good music
@@bugglebegger143 I bought three of them just to be safe
Please, keep doing gear reviews, there is nothing that I love more than seen gear that I can’t afford in the hands of people I admire. Seriously
As a huge fan of Marc Rebillet, seeing the RC-505 get a D and a "who is this *for*?" hurt my soul a little. 😅
Love the video though, and it's simultaneously a helpful series of snippets and a good reminder that a lot of taste is subjective and people don't have to like the same things. 💜
it's been lovely to see how much things one can collect and how they've been part of your music. Love it!
This was thoroughly enjoyable and very insightful!! S Tier Video!! Thanks Benn you are a champion.
Thanks for making me feel good about my TR-8
Yeah, as someone else who bought a TR-8 early on and has always felt some regret about not having the S, hearing that felt like having something deep inside me healed.
duuude i felt the exact same way 😂
Thank you Jordan for taking all this time to create a video that is both fun to watch, as well as quite educative! And most importantly, I feel it will inspire a lot of us to get rid of all the useless gear we have somehow mindlessly accumulated through the passage of time. It will surely bring a lot of relief, as well as contribute to our mental peace.
Thank you!
Thanks Benn. I agree, i wish other well known producers would simply talk us through their kit in an honest reflective way.
It might be a long video but your kit list actually seemed really reasonable for a successful professional artist with a long career.
I see so many you tubers with huge stacks of expensive keyboards behind them and just think they are just kit hoarders who don't actually make music with any of it.
Dear Benn, many many thanks for all your works! Looking forward to all you are going to be sharig with us!
Most health, peace, love and happiness to each and everyone!
One Love!
Always forward, never ever backward!!
☀☀☀
💚💛❤
🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼
I have the same Tascam DR-60D and it was the backbone of so many events I covered and only had one bad recording when I removed the external power too early. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it but I love it so very much.
Yeah, never had issues with mine either.
I saw you in Chicago with Bogdan many many years ago and you were using that air fix and I was like whoa that awesome. Then I bought one and I was like whoa this is shit lmao.
The Launchkey, for Ableton workflow, is incredible. When paired with a launchpad, their ability to control the software is unbeatable for the price.
Solid A tier for Ableton users. Maybe not FL users.
Yeah, I am not a fan of DAW-focused controllers. However, it seems like the Launchkey line is fairly programmable. I watched Taetro's video on creating a template for the Launchkey Mini for the Yamaha SeqTrack and almost bought one on the spot since they were on sale for under $100 at the time. I fought back the GAS successfully.
Benn, do you not have an Elektron Machinedrum? I was really looking forward to your review, especially after all this time and how highly sought after/regarded it is.
Did you sell it? Either way, that must have been a mammoth video to make so thank you for it
this is single handedly one of the most important gear videos for people like me with huge GAS. Benn knows gear and i truly respect his opinion
Thanks for the insight into a real world melodica use case. That's neat!
This is the first time anyone has spoken/wrote this sentence
"I think the *idea* of that is funny, but I think the process of actually doing it would make me kill myself" never a truer word spoken lmao.
was honestly thrilled when I hovered down and saw the video was an hour and a half long. I've spent so much time researching gear but never getting to be hands on with whatever it is that I can't afford myself so this video was very enjoyable to watch.
I have a laptop. It does all things, S tier
Yeah, anything he showed my first thought was can I do it with my laptop? Theres a couple things he showed that definitely would enhance what my laptop does though, like the Sub Bass Monitor, the MRCC Ringo Starr controller!
The s key sticks a bit though, brings it down to an A
Hey!that's @playpm 's comment!
That is, it does all things for a few years. After that you have a mix of different versions of everything installed, running out of local RAM, and basically extremely sorry that you ever started going DAW.
Shit ui for a musical instrument though.
Happy to see the S-tier rating for the MRCC, it is indeed a huge problem solver and ingenious. Fact that it is rackmountable too is awesome. If I only had one complaint to make about the MRCC is that the small screen menu navigation just is kinda clunky. I don't mind small screens for something I don't need to change settings on very often, but I feel like a lot of other things out there have done a much better job with menu navigation in the same form factor. Like, it *could* have been better.
"and they might not, 'cause you have a giant fucking head. I don't know if anybody ever told you that..."
*nods knowingly and apparently quite slowly
Even with the 82 minutes runtime, this is a greatly condensed source of useful and widely applicable information. Nice one! And very nice to see the Korg Radias in the A-tier!
looking forward to hearing new music from you, congrats on new space
That sticky rubber can be removed with paint thinner. Just check on the back of your gear if the plastic or what ever it's made out can handle this liquid. This way I revived some sticky bite alarms (among other stuff) that were too gross to handle.
I thought with my 17+ pieces of gear I thought I had separation anxiety and wife thinks I'm a hoarder but now after watching this I'm a free bird after all.
Thanks for finishing this, it is very much appreciated and I too would love to see more artists do this.
The return of BENN AND GEAR!!!!! Cool. Do yer thing boss.
This comment brought to you by getting 2 birds stoned at once.
Extra engagemometrics boost from microfreak touchplate Stan here!
Can't believe you dislike it, AND have failed keys.
Super disappointed on multiple fronts. (Not really)
Just want to let you know I watched the whole thing and learned some new details about gear that will come in handy. For example I had never heard of RME audio interfaces
Great video to watch in the background while cleaning. I learned something. Thanks!
Why did I just watch 1+ hour of nerd talk about studio equipment? What’s wrong with me??
Can’t wait to see the 3 hour special of Benn building his new studio! 😂
I loved this rapid fire, highly subjective tier list video.
Congrats on your new studio Benn!
Your content is refreshing and inspiring in a world that rewards toxicity.
I too bought a QY10 because I hate myself. Please make a video on it though, that would be hilarious
Couldn't agree more on RME
I had 2 at one point, one in my studio another for live. I sold the more expensive AIO card as I didn't need it and just kept the OG Babyface, I've had that about 13 years as my only interface and it's never crashed never failed, never misbehaved. the audio quality is flawless. Definitely S+++
More or less completely off topic.
I _adore_ your rug in the new studio
It helped me fall asleep! Thank you 😊
“Peak bed-shit” is the funniest thing I’ve heard all week. Thank you. Another great video too.
When you gave the XR-20 an "A" I was like...I guess I'm keeping mine? So I did.
Loved this video! Made some cloudberry jam while watching/listening to it :). You validated some of my gear choices and also helped me towards the realization that I don't need to have everything plugged in and ready to go - it's such a boring quest that requires so much infrastructure and a million cables. I should just make and record some noise instead of trying to make everything work together (without a DAW).
All of your videos are a joy to watch. Thank you for sharing!
I have used many of these devices or many iterations of them. I really enjoyed this.😊
The Alesis Air FX is awesome. People think you’re a wizard when you wave your hands over it in a live situation.
loooooove the light vibe of the new space
Haven't even seen more than a minute of the video and already love the premise XD ggwp 👏
Glad to see you back man!! Hard agree with the TR8 take, definitely one of the most immediate drum machines I’ve used and sounds great
Thanks for the vid. I can’t believe how much I enjoyed it. Also how you snuck in a Jazz version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” Kudos!!
Thanks for Dreadbox (I own the Hades and Nymphes; love them).
Thanks about Polyend (you well sell to me)..
Very good show. From Normandie. Cheers
Nymphs an A? Ok. Thanks for this and all the others. This is a long but great video. Thank you! ❤
nice one Ben, I have just got an MRCC too and plugging it in and looking forward to using it 👍🏻
A "D" for the Boss 505? I love this looper. It's such a fun way to draft music. I guess it's about the opposite of a tracker, which seems to be your go-to starting point, so it makes sense.
Glad you have so much stuff that you like! On a personal level even the knowledge that I have this many devices (even if they are packed away in boxes hidden in my basement) would drive me crazy haha
5:32 lol'ed so hard at the poor APC64 :-)
Very cool to see the focusrite compounder techno machine get some love
Excellent rendition of the Casio SK-1 Human Voice preset at 4:37
I can't believe I watched this entire thing. Rating this an A+ :)
I would watch that QY-10 video, for what it's worth. In fact, I'm mad that you even put the thought in my head.
I probably get why you feel this video felt a bit intrusive for you, this was also kind of a re-view of what you did in the last 30 odd years as a musician.
I couldn't understand half of the stuff you were talking about but I always love your delivery of complex issues. Do please keep on making awesome videos! :-)
I appreciate your candor around the actual practicality of using some of the Erica / Soma things. I feel the same, really nice to use but would never end up in a track
It was great to see all Benn's Gear and your summary experience as a professional UI head basher. I understand why it feels like you are letting us all into your private space. Dust, dog hair and all. And as always we love your sexy eyebrow.
This video was quite interesting, introducing me tons of gear I've never even heard of. It had a proper balance between serious info and *flashy* attitude. That being said, it's certainly not Mr. Jordan's greatest work, but it still stands as a video well worth watching. As a bonus, I got to hear Benn's voice for over an hour straight.
I'll give it an A
I like that you have gear which you have a real connection to, and have used and have fond memories of, that you still give a D to, knowing how it would be perceived by anyone else getting it new now. That's honesty :)
To answer your question of who the target audience might be for the rc505- it’s pretty great for brass and woodwind players. We don’t have to bring any extra gear to be able to use that looper outside of the mic
Semi-pro tip for the maple syrup goo butylene rubber crap: literally exactly what you'd expect, rubbing alcohol. I would like to look into the chemistry and find a solvent that will just dissolve it without damaging nearby plastics, but if you're willing to spend a few minutes of gentle scrubbing, alcohol does the trick.
Tbh, the way you talk about gear is refreshing, a lot of people who review gear either script out natural dialogue and focus on features or demo's and a lot of expression is lost.
Your delivery is direct but not dry, practical but personal in your experiences with it and how you feel when using it.
Overall it's a very human perspective on products in an industry which can be very corporate.
Most importantly you know quite a bit about the things you decide to cover.
Your opinion is rare on UA-cam and should be valued more than a mob of faceless commenters on social media platforms.
This might be the greatest humble brag I won't have the time to watch.
I did fall asleep, but eventually rewound and watched the rest. Strong B.
Would definitely watch more of these from other people and assuming that those vids would move this up to A tier.
I got my M-Audio FTU second hand about 17 years ago and it's still holding up good.
What I like is that it doesn't require any drivers because it's class compliant (I think it has some USB-quirks in the Linux kernel though).
i take a piece of masking tape and label both ends of PSUs. that way when they're plugged into a surge protector under a desk where you can't see the wall wart you won't get confused as to which one goes where.
I never used any of your devices, but I freaking loved this video. And I'm so sorry for the Zoom accident, it would piss me off so much.
That first championship TUF fight between Stephan and Forrest was insane! RIP Stephan Bonnar!
Oh my god Benn Jordan my beloved blessed us today
that 30 year old cry baby wah should have been an S tier!! great vid!
Absolutely love my Aonic 50 Gen 2s. Glad to see them get a mention
This is the first time I am experiencing a fantasy and a nightmare at the same time 😅
yoooo ben!
You mentioned itemizing for insurance earlier, could you do a video elaborating on insurance as it relates to music and live shows?
Honestly, it would be amazing if you did some vids on the backend stuff, considering your time as a paid musician and experience.
Appreciate you, keep being you and the massively helpful content!
Don't write the synth's name on AC/DC adaptors with a permanent marker. Engrave it. (Just kidding). However, - a much better option is to make glow in the dark/fluorescent labels and use transparent boxing tape to attach them (don't be sparing with the tape that surrounds the sticker). If you're like me and prefer darkened studio when working on your music, - this way you will never make an error. Only one 20 watt black light source will make every sticker and writing highly visible. Third option - labels on the cords - cord labels are sold everywhere. Make sure you get the ones that hug the cord tightly and don't slide. The 2 latter options will not alter resale value, - you can always take off glue from old tape using alcohol swab, or unclip the cord label. From personal experience - removing the permanent marker writing from AC/DC adaptors before putting the unit up for sale can be difficult especially when the adaptor has rough surfaces.
That Behringer FEX800 reminded me that I've got the MIC800 somewhere, only have it because we urgently needed a cheap mic preamp for a recording session and we were impressed at how good it was.
Super fun and enjoyable video, thank you Benn! Ironically, I was kinda hoping to fall asleep to it and catch the remainder in the morning but nope, I’m still fully awake and engaged. 😂 Also looking forward now to what you’ve got in store for the channel this coming year!
I like how you put the Tempus on a high tier. I like the Tempus for the Spatium and the Infinite algos.
Hell yeah, BOSS DS-1 in S-Tier. Absolutely 100% agree. Legendary stompbox.
god damn this felt like reading someones journal or diary. every piece of gear is an experience (painful or glorious). thanks for showing your life