I’ve had the Organelle for a bit over 6 months now. I’ve enjoyed it as an effects unit and running the Mutable Instruments inspired patches on it, but most other things I have tried have been a bit too gimmick-y for my needs. I am now considering selling it in order to buy something more ‘basic’ for my studio, like a better monosynth or something semi-modular. I have also realized that I am not too keen on learning PD, so I am most likely missing out quite a bit of what could be done. I know I still haven’t quite explored the Organelle in full depth, but the GAS is strong atm. Any tips on what I should definitely still try or explore on the Organelle?
Perhaps read this thread on another forum:
I listed my Organelle for sale and then did a mammoth u-turn and now it is the one piece of gear I’d never sell. Having said that, the big draw for me is Pd and I’m not sure I’d be quite so keen to hold on to it if wasn’t gelling with it and GAS-ing for another synth.
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Good stuff in here. The idea of being able to copy someone else’s USB and start building on from there. I am not a very organised person (i.e. I’m lazy and get distracted into playing rather than organising when I do start, and also hate doing a job that I know someone else has already done), so having a basis for the work would maybe help.
Maybe I should first approach it as an effects machine, then once I understand better what is out there in that field move on to the synths. And then samplers. I think a lot of the patches I’ve ran are additive/generative and you can do a lot in the box itself, but I’d rather control simpler things via midi and use it as a sound source. It can also be that a lot of the patches are quite experimental, whereas my own production efforts have moved towards a more straight-forward approach.
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sounds like a good plan 
Organelle (and similar) are tricky, they can do so many different things, that they are different for everyone.
I also was a bit unsure of the Organelle (patches) initially…
When I started, I loaded it up with loads of patches, thinking its strength was variety/novelty … but I soon became bored running a patch once, working out how to use it, then never touching it again.
Then I changed, I started just keeping a few patches which I enjoyed using and playing(!) , it felt more purposeful, more like an instrument (rather than a tool) … so, sure I only use a dozen patches or so … and for me, what was available (or I created) was enough to justify the Organelle.
(Similar to you, I most enjoy the FX/Synth patches… though pd-grids and polybeat i like too)
In addition, I know that, its possible, a new patch will be released in the future that will make it on my keep list… so the possibilities are still growing.
Returning to the original point, this is just me… I’m sure others, feel different, finding new patches a constant source of new inspiration, and the variety is then part of the ‘pull’ - that’s cool, whatever floats your boat
anyway, not going to try to convince you to do anything… if you like/enjoy it keep it, if not, then perhaps something else will bring you more joy.
Mark
(*) there is another side, for me, which may or may not be applicable to you… with my limited set of patches, i can also explore them more… I can re-patch them/tinker with them.
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Sell it! To me, maybe 
jk
I got the organelle thinking it would replace my laptop in live gigs. At first it didn’t, after some work now it does. There are many synth patches that sound great when run thru an external reverb pedal. The organelle will not be as realistic as many computes VSTs but it has it’s own personality.
I don’t use the organelle as sound processor, maybe I’m losing some awesome stuff.
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The Juno 106 and Glass FM patches are both very high quality synth patches in my opinion. The question isn’t whether organelle is capable of a certain sound I think, but rather whether the users are.
I agree that where organelle excels is processing/sampler/sample keyboard though.
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My tendency was to make every piece of hardware work for everything and this is simply not realistic. In other words, I am working on not idealizing my setup and each piece of gear in it and instead taking each component at face value. Getting back to multi-tracking helped me. The Organelle is not just a processor or a synth or even “both” - its a small computer with built in I/O and a keyboard that is best really only doing one thing at a time. So I try to use it that way. And that one thing may be something totally off the wall. What makes this different is the sheer immediacy and accessibility of all these functions. Moving from a sampler to a synth to a crazy delay. If you multi-track all of this, you can accomplish a lot very quickly.
This is ignoring the flexibility of working under the hood in Pd. In that regard, its indispensable in a small setup. The Organelle, a computer screen, and a 4-track recorder would keep me busy for a days.
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Truth, getting a loop pedal or octatrack is a magic unlock of potential
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if you like the form factor, I highly recommend a pocket piano.
edit: I bought an organelle to get a flexible (yikes, what an understatement) pocket piano and otc. while I now won’t part with the organelle, I love the pocket piano for its simplicity and immediacy.
edit2: tbh, I found the organelle to be crazy accessible and playable out of the box, considering how deep it can be (but I know the feel of needing less options). after dabbling around many pre made patches for a few months, I’m gonna go the @thetechnobear route now and focus on a few patches and study/mod them. way to go 
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I would also add that I had no interest in learning Pd when I bought the Organelle. Or at least I did until I opened it up and realized I didn’t know where to start. I’ve since realized that maybe my limitations are that I’m not meant to code - but I can appreciate that if I want to add MIDI control for a particular parameter or want to change the function of a knob in a particular patch, it probably won’t be that difficult for me to implement. But no, I’m not meant to build patches from the ground up and that’s fine with me. I love being able to add patches that others created and in that regard the Pd foundation is very valuable to me.
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Yes, you should sell it.
I know someone who wants yours.
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No point of to make more highlights then it is… other then as a shaker? do video with it? in the end Sell it.
Having now used it mainly as a part of my effects loop and as a weird sampler has really spiced things up. Not giving up on it yet. Also the new euclidean rhythms patch looks very promising.
There are some great monosynths out there for pretty cheap, right? Korg Monologue and such? I don’t know your financial situation (I often have to sell in order to buy, myself), but if I was having similar feelings, I’d save up for a monosynth and hang onto the Organelle a while.
I got my Organelle a bit prematurely, as I’m finishing up the writing of an album where I don’t think I’ll particularly need it (maybe some of the Mellowtron tones–that patch is so much fun and is right in my wheelhouse), but it’s been useful even as a creative kickstart in between writing on guitar and playing with my recording setup, and I’m really looking forward to using it as a writing tool by picking one patch and just writing a part on it (maybe using it more like a Pocket Piano in that sense) before anything else.
It got me into PD - this is reason enough for me to keep it! I mean i wasn’t quite the guy which was into programming and math but somehow it kept me going to learn more about those boxes, inlets and their connections and through that a deeper understanding of electronic music, effects and so on.
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