When Waiting Is Worth It

You know when waiting is worth it.

I know the subject of Behringer can be a hot topic for some. It isn’t for me—but I can’t tell this story without mentioning them, because they play a meaningful role in how my studio came together. If you’ve been watching the video series, this is a mild spoiler alert: yes, a few Behringer mono synths eventually show up.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me clarify something. This isn’t a dramatic story. There’s no surprise package, no endorsement deal, no moment where a company swoops in and changes everything. It’s much quieter than that.

This post is really about memory, patience, and how time has a way of revealing what actually matters.

The Long View

Around 2016, Behringer announced the Model D. I believe it started shipping in 2018. At the time, I was immediately interested—not just in the Model D, but in the growing line of desktop synths that followed. I imagined a future studio that included their versions of classic instruments: the Model D, the K-2, the Pro-1, the Neutron.

The problem was simple: I couldn’t afford them.

I was married, running my teaching studio full time, looking after responsibilities, living a normal life. As much as I liked the idea of those instruments, they just weren’t in the cards. So I waited.

And that waiting turned out to be important.

Time has a way of filtering desire. It reveals whether something is a passing impulse or something that genuinely sticks with you. Fast-forward to today, and you’ll find many of those same instruments in my studio. They passed the test of time. I wanted them eight years ago—and I still wanted them when I finally picked them up.

That theme shows up again and again throughout this studio rebuild: gear I once couldn’t afford, but never stopped wanting.

Of course, the cycle continues. There are things today that I can’t afford due to timing, and maybe someday I’ll revisit them. If they’re still on my mind years from now, then I’ll know they are right for me.

The Gear That Fades

What fascinated me while writing this was realizing how many things don’t survive that test.

There are pieces of gear I desperately wanted when they were announced—only to forget about them completely weeks later. Others stayed with me for years.

For example, I was genuinely excited about the Korg Modwave and Opsix. In fact, there’s a long shelf on my synth wall—behind where the Roland FA now sits—that was originally meant for those two instruments. They’re fantastic synths by all accounts. But for me, the desire faded.

The Roland Gaia is another example. I loved both the first and second generation. Even when I could afford one, the idea quietly slipped away.

And yet, there are other pieces of gear that never left my mind.

I wanted a Maschine+ from the moment the concept existed—but only once it became a true standalone unit did it feel right. Years of waiting led to finally owning one. The same goes for the Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 on my main desk today. That was years of wanting and waiting, not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Why Some Things Stick

So what makes a piece of gear worth waiting for?

Why do some ideas fade almost instantly, while others sit patiently in the back of your mind for years? I don’t think there’s a single answer. It might be workflow. It might be sound. It might be identity—how closely that piece of gear aligns with how you imagine yourself working.

For me, time is the great editor. If something survives years of changing circumstances, budgets, and priorities, then it’s probably worth paying attention to.

So here’s a simple question to leave you with:

What in your studio was worth waiting for?
And just as importantly—what never made the cut?

Happy future shopping.