What would be your ideal hardware-based techno setup?

Korg microSAMPLER hooked up to a laptop. Simple, limitations breed creativity setup.

A realistic one, from the POV that I mostly see hardware as a live thing and make music with a computer in the studio:

Elektron Digitakt (Central hub + samples)
Roland TR-8S (Drums obv)
Yamaha Reface CS (Just got one yesterday and I love it! Would be used for random leads and chords)
Behringer Pro-1 (for basslines)
A good reverb pedal and a good delay pedal (Strymon, OTO, Eventide, whatever)
A small, portable mixer with enough channels for these
A small compressor for the master bus, like OTO or FMR Audio
Enough cables


This setup would be portable and lightweight enough to carry in a bus or a train, easy to set up, would sound good and easily enough to rock a party. Also wouldn't break the bank.

Some Boots and Pants.

...and Boots and Pants.

Shaved head, leather trousers, sleeve tattoos and a fierce beard.

i regularly play gigs, so my ideal hardware setup regardless of genre — one box.
at the moment it's Roland MC-707.

but ideal does not necessarily mean perfect
perfect setup is two boxes — MC-707 + Zoom LiveTrak L-8. it allows me multitrack recording of my performances and drastically reduces sound check time & effort.

but perfect does not necessarily mean sufficient
so, add Squarp Pyramid and DSI Tetra paired with Boss VF-1 multi-fx box.

Thread about ideal techno setup without mention single x0x machine..

My ideal hardware techno setup would obviously be an eurorack. As I haven't gotten into the world of eurorack yet I can't really tell what modules I would use but erica synths techno setup looks and sounds pretty amazing.

Dreams aside. More realistic and more now option is using my TR8S as the drum machine and using a mini modular rack as synths and extra sounds. Maybe containing stuff like a neutron, mother 32, some modules etc. Maybe a TD3 to throw in some acid here and there.

909 101 mmt 8 alpha juno s950

Rebirth and a laptop from 1995.

Got a Monologue and a Model:Samples at work here, some bangin' techno I did last night while not listening to UK election result. Plus a Mopho and various pedals, 7 channels + 1 unused vocoder one, all bar the mixer on 2 ikea hejne shelves on a double keyboard stand.

Awesome!

That's my boy

The Akai Force with a good sample library and a small (or big) modular is a great set up for techno.

A bunch of Noise engineering modules randomly sequenced/sampled and audio recorded into the force will get you going. Their Mimetic Digitalis is an incredible techno line 10hp sequencer. Shred Function, FTW!

2x MacBooks
2x APC 40 mk2

Elektron Machinedrum, Rytm, Octatrack, Ms20 mini and Heat.

My ideal HW setup... I have absolutely no idea. My setup keeps changing and it's never perfect. Regardless of what I use, I end up getting bored and trying new things. Sometimes old things in different ways. Here's the list so far...

Rebirth
Reason
Machinedrum
Machinedrum + A4
Machinedrum + monotribe x 2
Machinedrum + monotribe + TB-3
TR-8, TB-3 x 2, RC-505
TR-8, TB-3 x 2, SP-404SX
TR-8, TB-3 x 2, microbrute
Electribe 2 Sampler, TB-3
TR-8, TB-3 x 2, Reface CS, SP-404sx

Looking at trying either the SP-16 or MC-707, haven't 100% decided yet. At the same time, made a career change, salary is not what it used to be, I might just go the Reason + controller route, as it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

1x Boots
1x Pants
Repeat.

Well, I am really happy with my setup now that I have a TD-3 but I'd like more acid boxes... A drum machine or sampler with individual outs is all I really need at this point.

What I have now. It works well in the studio and live, finally fairly happy with it. I may get something like the Neutron to use as sample fodder at some point but I am not sure if I would take it to use live.

The Demora and Scooper were the icing on the cake for me, I run the Demora through a send on my desk but the Scooper lives on the main out. Glitchy madness that can work really well with techno.

For pandemic reasons I'll be on lockdown at gf's house so my being all about the minimalism has got a big reality check.

Solution: Mac laptop, a still to be got usb splitter to turn 2 usb ports into 3, Core audio aggregate device, Model:Samples, SE-02, Roland VT-4 vocoder, couple of midi cables, laptop speakers bit of a monitoring stepdown but hey yo. Record live into Reaper, chop up into FL for the f'in' remixes, job done.

I do have another box with a usb audio interface (going up to 96k ffs), a Roland SonicCell, but f'in' Roland haven't updated their drivers for it, so it's basically a f'in' brick.

Although I own a lot of music equipment, I prefer a minimal studio setup for Techno music. Without stating specific devices, below are the basic components of my ideal Techno setup:

• 1 x Sequencer
• 1 x Sample-Based Drum Machine
• 1 x Analog, FM, or VA Drum Machine
• 3 x Mono Synths
• 2 x Poly Synths
• 1 x Rompler
• 1 x Sampler

Of course, other items will be needed/wanted, such as a mixer, monitors, processors, effect units, keyboard controller, audio recorder, etc. In addition, it is possible that some devices can serve more than one role on the given list. Per the equipment I own, below is one of the possible studio setups I could implement as an example:

• Sequencer: Pioneer DJ Toraiz Squid
• Sample-Based Drum Machine: Pioneer DJ Toraiz SP-16
• Analog, FM, or VA Drum Machine: Electron Model:Cycles
• Mono Synths: Pittsburgh Lifeforms SV-1 Blackbox | Moog Sirin | DSI Mopho SE
• Poly Synths: Waldorf Blofeld | Roland SYSTEM-1m
• Rompler: Alesis QSR
• Sampler: Pioneer DJ Toraiz SP-16

TR8S was mentioned very early.
These days only a fraction of techno records feature TB303.

lol at this being a minimal setup though

Lmao, I was just thinking the same thing.

It's minimal for me as an "ideal" setup, as it covers all my potential studio needs without equipment overload. If all my requirements were not met, I would not deem the studio setup as ideal, but lacking in certain areas.

Minimal: just One of Everything

Just for clarity. I rarely take my D50 out. It mainly is used as a controller and to add pads etc. to recorded works. The rest all fits in a flight case. The Airas and the Craft come in my laptop bag and the mixer has its own flight case.

Two keyboard stands, two flightcases and a bag. Minimal and portable


(Update) Gigs, I remember those days when we could go out......................

Original techno hardly featured 303 but 101, 202, 505, 606, 626, 707, 727, 808, 909 and no TR8S is not ideal

You brought up x0x not me, that's why I mentioned the 303.

Why not? It replicates 808 and 909, plus any other drum sample you care to throw on it. Most techno long departed the pure 808 and 909 sound.