The Rest of My Life

I have X2a Producer, Komplete 8 and a hand full of other plugs. It occured to me last night that I could spend the rest of my life just to become competent with the software I own. I was running the Studio 1 demo at the time and wondering how hard it would be to learn a second DAW. I realized that I don't really know how to use X2 beyond a newbie skill level. 

 I do know that the more time I spend on software the worse I get at actually playing real instruments. How do you break the cycle of "just one more program and I'll have it"? 

You know, there's been all those rumors about Logic being abandoned by Apple, and, in all honesty, as long as they'd simply update it to run on newer OS, I could be happy w/ it as is for a long, long time.

I try to ask myself what it is that I'm trying to accomplish, what it is that I'm looking for, and in 90% of the case, I don't need another piece of software to do it

I do keep myself busy constantly learning, though. I've recently completed the first certification book and will start the second one as soon as it arrives. I also buy different books about it, video tutorials and all. 

Looking back, I can tell you that most of the time, usually, when I started dabbling in different applications, the problem wasn't the software. It was me who was uninspired or looking for an excuse, or something different that'd spark my creativity. As soon as the creative juice started to flow, I'd pretty much instantly figure out a way to do things in Sonar.

I try to keep that in mind. Doesn't always work, and there's always a new plug or a new synth, but it does, most of the time.

The other thing that helps - I've decided that I should try to put the priority on hardware if I'm to spend $. New pick ups for a guitar, a mic, a pedal, or whatever - I'm pretty sure that I'll get much more out of these than out of 3 dozens software compressors.

I see "another piece" in the "library" category now (for instruments) and "speciality" if it's an FX.

Do I need that TX16w freebie? No. Was I tempted to download it. Ya. Did I? No.

Do I need that free Proximity plug? Probably not. Was I tempted to download it. Ya. Did I? No.

I don't own a kazoo library for Kontakt (that I know of) and would only go in search of it if I felt I had a piece that was crying for a kazoo. Or maybe I'd run over to the music shop < 1 mile from me to pick one up.

I'm with you guys on this.

Now, as I stated in another thread, I plan to complete a different full song in both S1Pro a R3@p3R this year, just to say my few hundred dollar investment was not in vain. Do I plan to learn every feature of those? Nope. I just want to learn the same things I do in my beloved DAW.

It occured to me last night that I could spend the rest of my life just to become competent with the software I own.

That is a very wise observation, John. Such an attitude will not save you from G.A.S. entirely, but may somewhat mitigate its effects. Just don't offer that advice over on KVR, as it will be met with hostility - that crowd has a collective psychological compulsion that cries out for psychotherapy. 

ampfixer


I have X2a Producer, Komplete 8 and a hand full of other plugs. It occured to me last night that I could spend the rest of my life just to become competent with the software I own. I was running the Studio 1 demo at the time and wondering how hard it would be to learn a second DAW. I realized that I don't really know how to use X2 beyond a newbie skill level. 

I do know that the more time I spend on software the worse I get at actually playing real instruments. How do you break the cycle of "just one more program and I'll have it"? 

Ampfixer, I called a halt to buying more and more vst synths after spending a good bit of time with all the synths packaged in X2 Producer and Komplete 8 while watching Groove 3 training vids.  So may times in the past I bought something else, usually on sale, and after playing around with it I'd slump over my keyboard and mumble "gee it sounds pretty much just like (ZTA, Massive, FM8, Dimension, Rapture, etc..).  So then I stopped buying things until I had tried the free demo and come to the conclusion that "gee it pretty much sounds just like (ZTA, Massive, FM8, Dimension, Rapture, etc..).  It really kind of bummed me out this past holiday season.  I was all juiced for a buying binge when the sales started but quickly ran out of steam when nothing really turned me on and I wound up buying nothing.  The most satisfying and productive purchase I made in all of 2012 was the Concrete Limiter for Pro Channel. 

bapu

Zenwit
The most satisfying and productive purchase I made in all of 2012 was the Concrete Limiter for Pro Channel. 

And somebody reported a bug in it upstairs.

Awwwww man!!  I hate it when that happens! I have such a low threshold for satisfaction.   I'm going to get SERIOUS about stuff working right in 2013!!!

Money is pretty tight here so before I make a purchase I first ask myself: Do I already have something that can do this? If not, is this gonna make my life that much easier? Then I do a cooling off period. A recent example is the guitar midi software that looks pretty awesome. After the litmus test I decided to skip it and save the funds to buy a You Rock guitar in the future.
 I also resisted the temptation to upgrade T-Racks. I did splurge for the 4-1 promo. Melodyne was almost a no brainer after wrestling with V Vocal.
I do have a pretty good selection of software and hardware. There is always something on the wish list but I've gotten a lot better at controlling my g.a.s.

Rocky

bluzdog


 A recent example is the guitar midi software that looks pretty awesome. After the litmus test I decided to skip it and save the funds to buy a You Rock guitar in the future.
 

I was also going to get the YRG (ver.2), but for a $150 more, the Fishman Tripple Play looks to be a better product. Check out the Youtube videos on it...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nKhlmJ4EeI

Thanks for the link Jeff. I'm a big Eno guy. 

It reminds me of how Elton John was bemoaning technology- in the 70's they used to just bowl into the studio and get the job done- all the tooling around nowadays with audio and throwing everything onto the beat exactly and fixing tuning issues is a little bit ridiculous.

The last VST I got was the imageline Vocoder which was on sale- it's terrific. Apart from that I have all Fabfilter (yes, even the desser which is actually incredible), most of Izotope and I bought the entire Sonalksis bundle when it was 60 percent off. 

So I'm done for life or until Fabfilter brings out something new- whichever happens first.

Well, the thing is, back in the days, not only were the costs more prohibitive, but people usually had something they focused on, a specialty. 

If you were a guitar player, there were guitars, amps and cabs and effects. I don't think the average guitarist could discuss the merits of a Fairchild vs a 1176 vs a LA-2A. 

Similarly, back then, I could tell my drummer that I preferred his Ludwig Vistalite kit to his Tama, or tell my bass player that his new amp seemed to sound better than the old one - but that's about it. Plastic or felt beater - Say what??? LFOs and VCOs - talk to that geek behind the synth...

These days, even though I'm a guitar player and songwriter first and foremost, I've had to educate myself in an incredible variety of fields - MIDI, synths, drums, bass, sequencing as well as all the wonderful studio gear. On top of the inherent computer maintenance skills I've had to develop.

Plus, w/ the internet, it's hard to be as blissfully ignorant as we once were. Unless you were an avid reader of specialized magazines, you didn't hear about all the cool new gear unless you were directly exposed to it.

It's not just audio software. It's all software. I have Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Dreamweaver and a ton of other stuff that I got at one time or another for a specific purpose, learned just enough to complete the job I was working on, vowed to learn each program thoroughly (even bought $50 books), then in the end got distracted or didn't have time. Before you know it too much time has passed since you learned the basics then you get disheartened because you're going to have to start from scratch. 

Don't know how many times I've had Lynda.com subscriptions, fantasized about doing a zillion courses and becoming some kind of guru, then watched maybe 6 or 7 videos and once again became distracted with something else going on in my life. And then there's the programming. Over the years I've learned the basics of C, C++, Java, Python, LISP and even assembly language, only to get tired of it and move onto something else before I got to the juicy stuff. I learned enough C to write an app for my business, and then that was it. Probably wouldn't understand the source code if I went back to it now. I have a ton of programming books. "Python Network Programming" -- now why in the hell did I buy that? Can't even remember....lol. 

But yeah I have way more audio stuff than I'm ever going to use. I've learned just enough to get by in all of it, but become a master of none of it. Kontakt - well, I know how to load instruments, set up multiple outputs and that's about it. Reaktor - I have learned maybe 0.001% of what there is to know about that incredible program. And then there's all the synths and effects and instruments and ensembles that come with Reaktor (as well as thousands in the public library) - there are some incredibly fascinating and weird things in that lot and I usually end up twiddling with the controls blindly until something good happens by accident. Always vow that someday I'm going to hunt out a tutorial online somewhere. Never do. 

Part of it is getting older, having more responsibilities and less time to delve into stuff. Back when I was 20 I had all the time in the world, and more patience. I could sit with a manual quite literally all day and never get bored. As I get older I start to feel that time is more precious and so I question whether or not I really have time to spend an evening learning how to wire Reaktor synths together. 

Ultimately, life is too short and there aren't enough hours in the day!

John ol pal, you couldn't be more correct.  It's never really been about the tool as much as it is about the ol feller or gal that's wielding it.

And Bapsi ol pal, you couldn't be more incorrect.
(At least about that there Proximity plug)

:-)

Question for you all: what plugin effect or instrument still excites/inspires you as much today as it did when you first bought it?


(Stuff you bought last week doesn't qualify.)

bitflipper


Question for you all: what plugin effect or instrument still excites/inspires you as much today as it did when you first bought it?


(Stuff you bought last week doesn't qualify.)

My Roland JV-1080.
(and My martin)

bitflipper


Question for you all: what plugin effect or instrument still excites/inspires you as much today as it did when you first bought it? 




 

 
The saxes in the Yellowtools Candy sample library.
NI Scarbee Pre Bass
GForce Minimonsta and MTron pro
NI B4 II
Orange Tree Evolution Strawberry
Superior Drummer.