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-- When is it time to call it quits?
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Hey there!

I started when I was sixteen, atari 1040st and first version of cubase on 1 floppy disc hehehe + hardware synths.. Now I am almost twenty nine, married and still doing it for fun.. Went thrue tons of gear, and fiew times I thought I am going to quit. But I never did, and never will, It's just too much fun for me.. If I stay avay from the studio for fiew days, I feel that I am missing something... That's why I don't like vacations longer than 2 weeks, miss my studio too much, or just playing a synth for fun..

Spend some time avay from it, if something will be pulling you to the gear, continue the hobby, if not than maybe it's not for you.. I seen a lot of people come and go, thinking this is their thing, and only finding out fiew month later, and fiew thousand dollars behind that it's not for them, But I give them credit because they tried, and found the hard way it's not their thing.. No one's perfect, and experiancing somehthing is the best way to find out if it's for you or not...


Later..

Wow! =)

Wow... all I can say is sincere "thanks" for all the honest feedback and words. Just to clear up some notions, I'm not what you would call "depressed" - I'm more like stresesed out. In other words, when hobby becomes work it may become less enjoyable. I don't think I'm ready to call it quits and I am sure that would leave a giant gaping hole in my existance if I did. I took stock and while I may have not become the next PvD or Tiesto, I did have fun.

As many of you pointed out - I know realize that I did overwhelm myself with gear. I should definitely reduce it down to something manageable, even get rid of most of it.

although, as many of you know - it is hard getting rid of gear, especially if you grow attached to it. Take for example the Jupiter 6 and 8 - I couldn't see myself getting rid of them, even though I don't use them as "main" synths. Same thing goes for the JD-800, or any other synth I have in the arsenal.

So, here's what I've decided to do: the ones I don't want to sell - I should pack them up nice and neat and hide them for a little while. Get comfortable with the most complex synth I currently own (which happens to be Andromeda) and if I see that I can have something done with "minimal" setup, then start introducing pieces slowly. And if I see that I can do without those pieces alltoghether, by that time I may have cooled off enough to be less attached and sell them.

I just don't see myself being able to get rid of even the least used synth at this time.

I also read in Future Music magazine that Liam Howlett (Prodigy) had the same thing - he got rid of all his hardware and went to Reason completely. The latest Prodigy album has been created using Reason, a guitar, and mastered in ProTools. The end.

as far as having someone to produce with - that's something that I've been wanting to do. I am kind of trying to get two of my friends involved but... it's tough. Oh, and I don't intend to make this a "career" - I am doing it just for fun nor would I care if I did or did not get signed.

On that note, again - thanks for all the wisdom - it did put things in a better perspective for me.

working in a record/rehearsal studio in hollywood i see the most successful to very unsuccessful musicians. One of the bands that comes in has been doing it for 18 years and still havent gotten signed.. so just because you havent made anything meaningful doesnt mean that your in it for the wrong reasons. unless of course happiness for you is to be successful to a certain point (i imagine this for you would be getting the track on a label on getting money for it) but if this is not why you are making the music, rather as something to let your creativeness getting to do what it wants then i suggest keep going.. You dont have to spend hardly any money at all to make quality electronica anymore.. and you could always sell the hardware u have if u feel soft is the way to go.. blahhh all im really trying to say is if u have fun with it dont give it up man.. 3 years really isnt a very long time and who knows maybe u are throwing away an opertunity u would get 1 year from now.. or 2 or 3 if u didnt just quit. I hope i helped

With everything you do in life there must be passion. Without passion, there is no energy to do anything.

When I started learning music production, I said to myself that my first tracks should be done as quickly as possible since I knew they wouldn't be masterpieces. BUT I follwed one rule always: Each new song must be better than the previous one. Following this rule made me get better faster because each time I tried to make my new track better than the previous.

You GOTTA sit down and do things. Everything must be done with structure.. If you follow a good structure things get accomplished fast. Here is how I do things:

1. Create the main precussion
2. Discover a nice chord progression
3. Create the main melody
4. Find a catchy Riff
5. Create the first baseline
6. Create the second/third baseline
7. Add transitional elements
8. Create a supporting melody
9. Make variations
10. EQ
11. Add compression

I mean thats roughly what I follow. Sometimes things are done in different orders, but that is the jist of it...

Good luck

N

eq b4 compression Oo? that would bring out the subtractions u are making with eq wouldnt it ?

Yes, EQ should be after compression

quote:

Originally posted by DickieThijssen if you have the right ideas, but you dont seem able to convert them into your music, dont panic! Dont start a new project, but keep tweaking, one day it will sound good...I remember i once had projects, and i thought they sucked, so i kept starting over and over: WRONG! Just stick with one project, dont rush it, finish it and only start over when you are happy with the result. Each sucking project will once be good, it just takes some weeks sometimes. Imagine how Strange World 2000 sounded in the beginning!

EXACTLY what happens to me! I have about 50-4 or 8 bar loops that have potential but I never get around to making a final track. I have been producing music for so long but I have only ever completed like 1 or 2 songs that SUCK. And both of those songs where when I used to use Fuity Loops 2 or 3.

I just have recently completed a complete trance track that I think sounds pretty decent. I just need to mix and master it.

I'm now starting to realize that all of the VSTi plugins in the world can't make you great a producing. If you have 1 plugin that you know very well then you can make great sounding music.

Another thing thats annoying with me is that I often will produce not only trance, but hip hop, rap, rnb music as well. So depending on what I'm listening too I will feel like making that type of music, so I'm always stopping current projects and starting up new ones.

Anyways best of luck to ya mate, just keep forcing yourself to work on ONE project!

It's time to call it quit when you can't make any good Originals on your own anymore.

like me .

quote:

Originally posted by nectario Yes, EQ should be after compression

umm... EQ'ing before compression is equally useful, but different in its purpose.

EQ'ing before compression gives much greater control over peak limiting (de-essing is a common example)... but if u boost frequencies u're likely to lose too much before compression, it's possible the compressor will just squish 'em even more.

EQ'ing after compression allows rescuing of high-end (lets say over 3K) and dropping of boxed sounds (around 200hz)... course, if u boost too much, u lose what u just created with the compression in the first place.

generally i have EQ placed before and after compression because i tend to use strong amounts of compression and use the EQ's to fine-tune the effect... but for someone who's more subtle with compression than EQ, doing a Compression > EQ > Compression might work better.

that said, it's really just a matter of deciding what sounds cool which is something i don't often know til i've tried it...

DONT GIVE UP!

Don't get so discouraged bro!

The only problem with you is that you perhaps spent your hard-earned cash a little too quickly...as most people can agree, its better to start off slowly and acquire stuff as you get better.

Not get all kinds of gear and then try to learn it all...of course that would be discouraging!

It is very tough to get INSPIRED enough to sit down and try again...I know.

But on the positive side: Now you're set! You've got good gear, and a nice studio... The only real investment now is your time...and that perhaps is the most costly investment of all.

Good luck Cyn! I have faith in you man! Lets hear something great in '05 !!!

SUGGESTION:

Find a new genre to do other than EDM for a while...

When I get bored with trance, I like to do classical and experimental electronic music

Re: DONT GIVE UP!

quote:

Originally posted by Digital Aura Don't get so discouraged bro! The only problem with you is that you perhaps spent your hard-earned cash a little too quickly...as most people can agree, its better to start off slowly and acquire stuff as you get better. Not get all kinds of gear and then try to learn it all...of course that would be discouraging! It is very tough to get INSPIRED enough to sit down and try again...I know. But on the positive side: Now you're set! You've got good gear, and a nice studio... The only real investment now is your time...and that perhaps is the most costly investment of all. Good luck Cyn! I have faith in you man! Lets hear something great in '05 !!!

<<<< HUG >>>>>> i LOVE YOU, MAN! No, seriously - thanks for encouraging words mate, it really does matter..

I think each one of us has a potential. You cannot discount your abilities or tallent. There's music in each one of us. Once you master the channels that release it from within to external medium, you can consider this a substantial achievement. In art - there's no such thing as "sucky" - music is art and an expression of emotions. Some are better at it than others, some master it quickly and some need time. I guess it all varries on what you've set for yourself as a benchmark. If you set it too high, you'd think it sucks... but reality is - if it communicates and resonates with someone, even one person, you can't consider it a failure.

/philosophy_rant: off

The main thing to remember is that:

"Less is best"

Your best bet is to start with limited amounts of hardware/software. This way you will learn your gear inside out, a fundametal part of producing! If you splash out on so many pieces of equipment without taking the time to learn and understand your current setup your not going to get far...

Shep

don't give up

I find that meditating to music helps me to find inspiration and visualize the direction to take. Playing the keyboard and Mixing take up most of my day... sometimes it's nice to take a break....

Sometimes?! Man it's always nice to take a break, trust me.. I've been doing this for 3 or maybe 4 years myself and there was a time when I had ideas overflowing in my head.. I bet everyone goes through this.. but now there are times when I run out of ideas , in any case taking a break from your music is the best thing u do to yourself.. it's just about having that creative flow of energy around you.. and you KNOW it when u have it, so if you can't produce (for now), then I suggest u take a break and relax. Forget the fact that you ever were a producer.. and trust me the moment u step into that room (studio in your case ) your gonna bust out wicked choons. (and meditation definitely helps)

TAKE A BREAK!!!

any of you sometimes feel pain or just unusual feelings in ears?
i am fear about that or just tripping
is it possible to damage ears with overlisening with headphones?
i really need a break

Been there, bought the t-shirt. In the end, you have to do what brings you joy. Plain and simple. Took me about 15 years to figure that out. Now, I'm getting back into production after a 4 year break as well as running a budding consulting company.

I don't know what the tax laws are where you live, Is it possible to structure your "hobby" more like a business? I did just that to fund the production company with before-tax dollars. It eases the pain of spending so much.

More important than that, you need to start enjoying the process again. If you're not, then you need a new process. Experiment with some of the new software out there and see what grabs you. And when something does, then you'll make music. Everyone here would like to make money doing it. But I think what we all have in common is that we enjoy it regardless.

--Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by krivi any of you sometimes feel pain or just unusual feelings in ears? i am fear about that or just tripping is it possible to damage ears with overlisening with headphones? i really need a break

How loud have you been blasting the audio into your ears? They are sensitive. Better to spend quality money on good headphones and lower the volume than buy a hearing aid.

quote:

Originally posted by dbl didn't read it all to be honest.... but if you still want to produce.. do it.. if you are bored with it.. don't do it...

yeah, you need a lil discipline

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