Gear lust Killed my Ability to Complete

I just realised that i've not finished anything for weeks. I've spent loads of time sat here playing with all my nice plugs, made a few bars of bits of nothing, bought some Kjaerhus bits and Audio Damage stuff and so on - i could have written an album. When i had an Ensoniq SQ80 and only that, i was a prolific producer of finished tracks - most were crap, but they were complete. So what do i do? Uninstall everything and go back to basic P5 and its synths - maybe i'd get more done. I've now got a Moog Voyager on the way - childhood dreams to have a minimoog fulfilled. I bet i can spend the next six months getting to know that - another good excuse to sit and not produce the goods .

Anyone else had gear lust and recovered? is there light at the end of the expensive tunnel?


Monkey

Yeah - i know your right for sure. Take Absynth - its potential is vast, and i just scatched the surface - i even got the tutorial DVD so i've got no excuse. There are probably people knocking about that just use instances of that alone for complete projects


Monkey

Oh yeah - Reason 4 is coming................mmmmmmmmm gear.. err ..what ...sorry

That link does sound good, but i bet its been mastered by a pro - at least i hope so or i'm onna get even more depressed

I like parts of reason alot as it happens, but i cant stand the sequencer.

How you liking Sound Forge 9 by the way? my Mrs just picked me up a copy in the US for equiv £150 - shes back tomorrow with it,


Monkey

One thing I do when I get a new synth, I make a full song using only that synth as sound source, even the drum sounds. It's a good way to get to know the synth and finish a track at the same time.

ORIGINAL: Monkey Mash

Anyone else had gear lust and recovered? is there light at the end of the expensive tunnel?


Monkey

Hi Monkey Mash,

can't say I've recovered over here...
......It's One Day At A Time ... A Gear 12 step program might be in order to fully recover....

the most recent P 5 update is my newest aquisition and I'm busy using P 5 again...

IMO ...fwiw.....when all is said and done I have bought stuff to help get the creative juices to flow,
many of these tools eventualy end up getting used in my musical journeys....
There Is Nothing Like The Smell Of A New Song.....ahhhh thats my Real Happiness....
Kenny

I have the solution!

Why don't you send me your gear-lust synths - anything from Absynth to Zebra.

You may say "But I won't make any money doing that?!"

The point is to break yourself of the habit of buying synths. When you realize that you bought things then gave them away free, you'd realize the futility of buying. If you got some second-price for them, the lesson would not be as thorough.

Doug (let me know if you want my e-mail address)

ORIGINAL: Monkey Mash

I just realised that i've not finished anything for weeks. I've spent loads of time sat here playing with all my nice plugs, made a few bars of bits of nothing, bought some Kjaerhus bits and Audio Damage stuff and so on - i could have written an album. When i had an Ensoniq SQ80 and only that, i was a prolific producer of finished tracks - most were crap, but they were complete. So what do i do? Uninstall everything and go back to basic P5 and its synths - maybe i'd get more done. I've now got a Moog Voyager on the way - childhood dreams to have a minimoog fulfilled. I bet i can spend the next six months getting to know that - another good excuse to sit and not produce the goods .

Anyone else had gear lust and recovered? is there light at the end of the expensive tunnel?


Monkey

Well, do like I did. Run out of money!

My name is zevo, and I'm a gear-lust-oholic...

All together now: "Hi zevo..."

I feel much better admitting to it. So, now I'm officially in recovery.

_________________________________________________________

In all seriousness, I AM in recovery, pretty much taking fac's tact on it... with a little bit of a twist.
I'm not taking one thing at a time, but rather groups... same basic principle though: write some tracks from the standpoint of learning the instrument/plugin/whatever.

I'm in my second week of it, and if you push your gear lust aside, and actually use what you have, it's surprising.

So many here now, me included, have (likely) more plugins than they NEED to get the job done. I know 20% of this one... 20% of that one... oh look, there's another one.
That's not efficient for me, and its expensive, and it really does hinder you, IMO.

I've frozen my studio for the duration of the summer, and until then, or until I get to the 50% usability level of everything I have (which will definitely NOT happen before then) I'm not getting anything else.
Of course, at the end of the summer, the quads come down to $280... and Vegas 64bit comes out... and my EMU Vista drivers might be ready... and...



- zevo

Around here, there is "production" time, and there is "other" time ... during the next session (production time), things actually go smoother.

It works. I've got a ton of stuff here, and I don't take researching a new purchase lightly. That's mainly to avoid the redundant overlap, and tools that'll fall into disuse. So, when something new does arrive, hardware or software, I set aside a block of time to learn it inside & out.

Following that, it's been 'integrated', and I waste very little time later when it comes to deploying it. The key is borrowing the sense of urgency from a recording studio environment. No one's going to pay you while you select an appropriate mic and learn how to set up correctly. Everything possible should be done in advance, with the exception of pushing the Record button. There's enough surprises that crop up after that without adding to them by poor preparation.

ORIGINAL: mike85021

ORIGINAL: Monkey Mash

I just realised that i've not finished anything for weeks. I've spent loads of time sat here playing with all my nice plugs, made a few bars of bits of nothing, bought some Kjaerhus bits and Audio Damage stuff and so on - i could have written an album. When i had an Ensoniq SQ80 and only that, i was a prolific producer of finished tracks - most were crap, but they were complete. So what do i do? Uninstall everything and go back to basic P5 and its synths - maybe i'd get more done. I've now got a Moog Voyager on the way - childhood dreams to have a minimoog fulfilled. I bet i can spend the next six months getting to know that - another good excuse to sit and not produce the goods .

Anyone else had gear lust and recovered? is there light at the end of the expensive tunnel?


Monkey

Well, do like I did. Run out of money!

Yeah. Marriage and children is a good way to achieve that.

I don't even buy music mags anymore.

How about this: Force yourself not to buy another piece of kit until you've finished a song (or two, whatever you think you might actually be able to maintain). This way you win both ways - You finish more songs, and there's the "goal" of more "stuff" at the end of the project (besides the song, of course).

Another idea is to force yourself to use new synths in songs. Bought a synth but never used it? Force yourself to use it for the bass track. I do this all the time. Which is why most of my songs have at least five different synths (if not ten) in them. It forces me to learn not only that specific synth, but it also teaches me how certain synths, or synth types, are alike and different from one another. The more you do this, the more you actually realize which synths shine in which scenarios. Some synths really are better for "phatness" (Fabfilter Twin, Styrus), or clarity (Rhino, FM7/8), or "analog" warmth (Massive, kinda, and Sylenth1, big time), or "digital" coldness (Absynth, PSYN). I didn't get these opinions reading marketing copy, they're my own opinion acquired from using these synths myself. I know that some synths just aren't going to work as well in certain circumstances. They do each have their own personality, and sound, and limits.

Having said that, I admit I have way more "gear" than I need. But I never would have determined the above without using them myself, too.

I think it is good to have times where all you do is play around and try out intruments becasue then you get to know them and get ideas. Eventually you will just start creating instead of playing but it will come naturally. At least that is my experience.

I'm really getting used to your humour Ognis.


now stop whining.