I've been using my two synthesizers as a table for many months now. I couldn't even see them, they were so buried under printouts from my physical therapist, an assortment of hats I wear regularly, sweatpants, and other miscellaneous shit like some soldering work I need to do on some decorative lighting, etc...
Then I saw a two tier synth rack for sale on Craigslist for $50, and thought, "Fuck it. I have a week off between Xmas and NYE, so I'm going to actually set up these synths so I can play them again."
(Because, as we musicians well know, you can't make any music without BUYING some new gear first. :-)
On the bottom tier is my Waldorf Blofeld keyboard. I love this thing so very much. This machine is THE sound of the Blade Runner 1980's, and its weirdo interface is kinda endearing to me. I love it because it is the kid that always got picked last at recess...
On the top tier is my Novation Bass Station II. Monophonic, fun, and everything you play on it sounds like pop music as I was growing up... with a little dark edges to it. Bands with big hair and makeup played the DX7... bands with big BLACK hair, dark eyeliner, and long gowns or dresses used the Bass Station. It's Wham vs The Cure. Love this plastic throwback.
In between the two tiers I suspended a Yamaha THR10 bookshelf guitar amp, which has a tube preamp and some nice built in effects.
I took the outs from the two synths, put them through a little headphone amp I have, then out from there into the guitar amp. This allows me to control the output volume of the two synths from a single box.
Last night I played with some nice dark built-in arpeggios on the Blofeld, and played melody lines on the Bass Station. Used a nice "crunch" setting on the amp to give everything a little grit, and ... it was MAGIC.
I totally loved it!
I am not, in any way, shape, or form, a piano player. I have played bass and guitar most of my life, and have learned some music theory through osmosis, but really just have an ear and a basic understanding of intervals.
So I'd play the arpeggio on the Blofeld, figure out the key (roughly) on the Bass Station, and then play melody/solo lines over the arpeggio! If I hit a wrong note, I'd just chromatically walk up one or two notes to the right note, and it sounded intentional! (Jazz, baby!)
I've spent so much time on my computer, trying to record into my DAW (Logic), balancing multiple instruments, developing auto-drummer tracks, etc. - all with no real direction or plan or even a song in mind - that I forgot what fun it is to JUST MAKE MUSIC.
No latency. No MIDI conflicts. No staring at a fucking computer screen.
Just playing.
It was a LOT of fun.
(And the Yamaha amp has a DI, so I can go into my DAW if I want to, very easily.)
UPDATE: After having more than a week off, and being snowed in for much of that week, I played my synths for... about 1.5 hours on ONE day. That's it. I then opened up Logic, set up a nice hard rock beat, plugged in my bass, played about 1.5 bars of jamming... and never touched it again. I have EXCUSES. But what I DON'T have is any new music or ideas to share. Sheesh.