I'm reading a book on mixing. It's recent and it has a great DVD to go along with it. It's definitely up-to-date. "Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools"

Now, as I'm reading this book and gaining more skills in an objective sense, I begin to wonder... just why the fuck do I need so much software and hardware to accomplish what I need to accomplish?

How many producers out there use software/hardware that has less features than what you're using, but still make better songs than you? What does that say about the amateur community? (That we're amateurs, of course... but will we ever be professionals if we keep an amateur mindset? Hmmm... )

I am thinking... why do we keep upgrading thinking it will make us sound better? What benefits do we gain from this constant bloat? People have made timeless music using tools that would be considered nothing more than antiques at this point.

I'm not saying to go backwards, I'm saying that we might need less than we think we do. Simplicity isn't bad. If someone took one feature away from your sequencer (that wasn't utterly vital), would you really care? What if they kept taking away features until you were left with just the bare essentials, which you could get in a far less complicated/bloated program. Would that make you worse? Couldn't you find a way around it?

While reading this book, I keep thinking to myself: what is the simplest possible tool or set of tools that I could use in order to comfortably produce high quality music?

Constraints force you to really think about what you're doing. They can even help you make better decisions without feeling as if you had to settle. Why look at the limitations? The limitations aren't there. Imagine this: what if I transported you back to the past with all the other great producers, years before the features that you love so much ever existed? Would you just bitch and whine and wait while other people were making great things, not even worrying about shit they didn't have?

That's the mindset I'm in right now, and I think more people should adopt it.

You ignore the features you have and obsess over the features you don't have. Instead of focusing on the infinite amount of creative ways you could use what you have, you feel that "man, only if I had some fancy, useless gimmick that this other program/controller has, I'd be making GREAT stuff," not knowing that even if you did have that fancy gimmick: you would no longer see it as fancy and you would want another fancy feature.

Because you keep ignoring what you have, you see it as routine. Not even taking into account that it's amazing what you could do with these new tools! There's no such thing as routine, this is all fucking amazing. We have things that millionaires could have only dreamed of, so why take it for granted?

You just want more, more, more. But why? Because you just want more, more, more.

A netbook and a tracker and you could practically make anything, lol. Apparently, Burial makes his stuff using Soundforge alone. That always inspires the fuck out of me.

quote:

M: Explain about the production set up you use… B: I’m not a ‘musician,’ no training, nothing. So I was always scared of people who had studios. Heroes of mine like Photek suddenly became Rupert Parkes in his studio, telling everyone how he did it. The magic got a bit lost. B: So I thought to myself fuckit I’m going to stick to this shitty little computer program, Soundforge. I don’t know any other programs. Once I change something, I can never un-change it. I can only see the waves. So I know when I’m happy with my drums because they look like a nice fishbone. When they look just skeletal as fuck in front of me, and so I know they’ll sound good. M: So you don’t use a sequencer? B: No. M: So does that mean your drums are not necessarily in time? B: My drums are definitely not necessarily in time. When I try and do drums that are too regimented, they lose something. But the moment I put drums where I think they sound good, rather than in time, they seem to have that roll, the swing of the jungle and garage tunes I love. B: Some of the elements in the drums that make that swing are the ones that don’t fit in to a time signature and that are out. The little bits that are wrong. If I used a sequencer my tunes would sound rubbish.

http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.c...boy-burial.html
Haha, Made in Soundforge.

*Click* (Burial - Archangel)


Sometimes I think that we can't see the forest for the trees.

How simple could you go for producing? I don't want to put too much constraints here, but this could be one of the most helpful threads in a while. No more "best," no more "this has all the latest and greatest features." If something is old and cheap, but good then why not?

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"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear

Last edited by Akridrot on Sep-04-2009 at 13:29

I have been thinking about this lately as well, mainly in regard to why I have so many VST synths and effects, many of which I don't really use that much and wouldn't be too sad or frustrated if they simply disappeared from my computer.

Simply put, today's producers have become digital pack-rats. How can we change this?

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"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear

Go back to an all-hardware setup?

I'm lucky really in that I don't think this way. I'm obsessively neat and tidy (in general) so the more streamlined the better. 3 or 4 synths are good enough for me. I have Sylenth at the moment and my next purchase will be the Spectrasonics trio. That will be it then, no more synths. If I can't produce on them I might as well give up.

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My Mixes (20/10/2009)

Good post and you're making great points. I for one bought a TI Polar 2 years ago. Have almost not used it a thing! I'm not of those completely tool bloated guys thinking everything'll get better just by acquiering that fancy new controller. But never the less I do know what you're talking about when speaking of overlooking things, ignoring the features and not thinking the things you've got is as fancy as the once you aint got. It truly is better to have a limited amount of tools. Truly! Cause if you have too much you only get confused. You'll just have so much possibilites you don't know what to use..

Better to have 10 tools and knowing them really well than to have a 100 and not knowing what punk a single knob is for. (well.. obviously. Anyway you get my point lol )

To add... mastery of the simple tools is realistic. You can master the simple tools and learn how to use them for anything. Once you do that, each new feature you gain will slowly work its way into your arsenal and you will appreciate it that much more. You will also use it better.

This guy on Youtube has done some creative things using everybody's favorite/hated example, Fl Studio...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvV1...feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/AcePincter


When you watch the video, you will go "Well, that's obvious! I would have thought of that... right?"

He's really inspiring. He makes the piano sound so realistic using such a simple trick, I reevaluated so many of my beliefs about music and about the limitations of anything I will ever use.

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"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear

cool post, i think this was touched on not so long ago here. But i most certainly agree with you, and it's interesting you bring this up as it reminds me of what someone told me a while ago

"The 80/20 Principle - that 80% of results flow from just 20% of the causes - is the one true principle of highly effective people and organisations"

this could also be applied to music production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

I remember when i first started with my interest in music, i went and got my self a novation KS-5, after not so long i then went and got a TI virus (within 12 months) I mean i knew a fair bit about functionality but, hey there was alot to learn still, and it didnt really require me to get a second synth - as my knowledge of functionality was still limited. if only i knew what i knew now. ah hindsight". I would have started purely from a software basis and then expanded upon this based purely on my needs, if i really needed it, after exhausting all the resources i have (using all the plugins contained within the seq/DAW) etc etc and then later work towards some VST's or hardware.

"And, like you mention start from the very basics", the bare minimum".

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Last edited by Energy_3 on Sep-04-2009 at 16:24

Many good points here, but I would add a few points in support of those of us who have too many toys. Yes, setting limits on the amount of tools can help you be more focused, but probably not as much as you might think because, ultimately, if you look at multiple versions of the same type of tool, there aren't that many differences. Take compressors for example - are there really many differences between them? Not really - the most common parameters (e.g., threshold, ratio, attack, release, makeup gain) are present on most of them, so the only noticeable differences are usually the UI, the sound/color that it imparts, and/or possibly one or two specific controls on each given compressor. So, it's not like I spend hours trying to figure each one out or laboring over which compressor to use for a given task. A similar case can be made for subtractive synths, EQs, limiters, delays, filters, etc.

That said, yeah, I have far more VSTs than I need, but I try to use most of them at least occasionally. I'm trying to cut way back on the amount of toys that I buy and really only buy things now that: (1) I know I will use and (2) are an exceptional deal. The recent FabFilter bundle is a perfect example. I also buy and sell a lot of hardware synths, but I've even cut way back on that and I think I'm happy enough with what I've got now that I doubt I'll be buying any more for a while. But, even with my hardware synths, I have a sort of unwritten rule that, if I go several months or so without using it in a song, it's probably time for it to go.

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cryophonik.com | facebook | soundcloud

Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

lol Cryo i think that you and some others need to post a poll as to whether you should buy another piece of hardware, given the beautiful nature of your studios already. "let us decide what you need", being silly of course".

quote:

Also Akridrot was is the book you are reading to mate.

some of us may be interested in reading it, thanks.

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quote:

Originally posted by Energy_3 lol Cryo i think that you and some others need to post a poll as to whether you should buy another piece of hardware, given the beautiful nature of your studios already. "let us decide what you need", being silly of course".

That could be fun, actually! Seriously, though, I really don't need most of the gear that I have - I just bought it because I like it. I'm obviously a bit older than many people here and have an established career, so I can finally afford the kind of gear that I dreamed about when I was younger. Most of it is unnecessary overkill, though, and to be honest (and in total agreement with the OP), I could do away with 90% of it and still get by just perfectly.

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cryophonik.com | facebook | soundcloud

Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik That could be fun, actually! Seriously, though, I really don't need most of the gear that I have - I just bought it because I like it. I'm obviously a bit older than many people here and have an established career, so I can finally afford the kind of gear that I dreamed about when I was younger. Most of it is unnecessary overkill, though, and to be honest (and in total agreement with the OP), I could do away with 90% of it and still get by just perfectly.

+1 funny as!

yeah its funny coz i think that we are like woman and clothes when its comes to men and synthesizers [good analogy i know] half the stuff that they have shoes, dresses etc etc they never wear, maybe once twice or never at all.

Oh what to do?

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