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When is it time to call it quits?
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| CynepMeH |
Hey fellow TA's. So, I'm at this point in my acoustic development, where I took a stock of what has been accomplished in the last 3 years that I have been mucking with this whole "production" hobby.
On one hand: 3 years bore no fruit
On the other: the fruit takes time to grow and blossom
I need some help here folks. As some of you may know I sunk an obscene sum of money on my so-called (hardware-based) studio. Yet failed to produce anything meaningful. It seems to me that for the last 3 years or so it has been just a series of gear aquisitions, changing the studio around to fit more gear in, etc. So, in all reality, the technical aspect and product knowledge aspect of my EDM producing had that time has been eaten up by focusing on technicality of the setup, etc. Lately, my gear has been disconneced in yet another attempt to re-arrange my "studio" and I just sat down one day and looked around and realized: "hey, maybe this is it - the most that I'll accomplish"? It seems like every time I want to write some music, I find a reason, excuse, or distraction not to do it. Yet, every day I sit and think that I have all this gear sitting around and not using it! Imagine that - I have at least 2 synths that were purchased about 2 years ago and in that time have only been used for at most 20 hours combined!
So, with that said - I'm trying to figure out if I just barricaded myself in by the supercomplex setup or am I just building up excuses not to do something for a fear of failure or did I just pick a wrong hobby?
It is really affecting me because now, I come home every day and I have this feeling like I should be down in my studio, wiring everything up and moving along to actually record something but I just don't. And it stresses me out - coz' it's always in the back of my mind like something that I need to do and it's not being done (you know, that nagging feeling?).
Sorry for a long winded post... Hope to hear some thoughts - don't have to be words of encouragement, I'm looking for honest thoughts here.
Cheers! |
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| foranAngel4553 |
| quote: | | Imagine that - I have at least 2 synths that were purchased about 2 years ago and in that time have only been used for at most 20 hours combined! |
Only for 20hs. and you want to produce?
if i got a synth i will play all day :D |
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| krivi |
| man,all i have is ing PII on 350mhz and fruity 4...every day i am trying to get good sound,but it's very dificult on this computer...i would like to have your hardware... |
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| CynepMeH |
^^^ Respect! BTW, that's another thing, I noticed that I tend to use computer-based proggy's more than hardware simply due to ease of use. I especially love Arturia Moog and Atmosphere. I can spend hours with those two!
Ok, back on topic. |
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| 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...
if you wanna produce but can't get anything done.. just wait a bit... put the producing part to the side for abit and do something else....
and i think i read somewhere that you used software more then hardware.. if so.. why not just sell your hardware stuff.. maybe upgrade your copmuter if you need too and buy some softsynth's or something..
caus you don't need hardware synth's these days, and if you don't use them.. why keep them really????
my 2cents only |
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| Subtle |
hey there mate, I feel the same way as u do, although I do not have any hardware units, but still I have constantly been upgrading my computer for the use of production, with keyboard, RAM and LCD etc.
I used to spend hours writing music before I got my computer on my PS 2, I had an average producing time a day of 2 hours.. but now I find myself producing very little at a time, I try to think of the reason for this.. is it because I have internet?.. is it because I work? .. although I love making music, but still I make very little nowadays.. it seems like the only times I am really spending hours on producing is when I actually MAKE something good that evolves even more as I proceed, but when I simply dont know what to do.. I make excuses and get distratcted by something else..
It could be the lack of talent or the feeling of mastering what I do, I blame the lack of descent monitors, crappy plugins, and the great sound of hardware.. or maybe it is because I want to make better music than I am capable of doing? ..or is it because my ears are so "skilled" that I instantly hear that what I do isnt good enough in regards of my favorite tracks..
dunno, but ur not alone m8
:nervous: |
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| CynepMeH |
| quote: | Originally posted by Subtle
hey there mate, I feel the same way as u do, although I do not have any hardware units, but still I have constantly been upgrading my computer for the use of production, with keyboard, RAM and LCD etc.
I used to spend hours writing music before I got my computer on my PS 2, I had an average producing time a day of 2 hours.. but now I find myself producing very little at a time, I try to think of the reason for this.. is it because I have internet?.. is it because I work? .. although I love making music, but still I make very little nowadays.. it seems like the only times I am really spending hours on producing is when I actually MAKE something good that evolves even more as I proceed, but when I simply dont know what to do.. I make excuses and get distratcted by something else..
It could be the lack of talent or the feeling of mastering what I do, I blame the lack of descent monitors, crappy plugins, and the great sound of hardware.. or maybe it is because I want to make better music than I am capable of doing? ..or is it because my ears are so "skilled" that I instantly hear that what I do isnt good enough in regards of my favorite tracks..
dunno, but ur not alone m8
:nervous: |
Weird... I think some people are "doers" and other people are "thinkers". I tend to put myself into "thinker" category - that is, I need to think everything out before I do it. I can visualize the track in my head 10x over but when it comes to doing it, I have no idea from which angle to approach.
I guess that is why quality track shines through and making a quality track is so hard. It seems that in my case, I am dealing with a fear of failure and by finding these obstacles to my production, I'm just subconciously lying to myself. I'm thinking that while I have an obsticle and excuse, I can postpone finding out how bad my stuff really is. Even when I play, I tend to stick to "safe" chords - e.g the chords I know and comfortable with, without venturing out too much into the "unknown" territory on the keyboard. I'm sure that if you did an "autopsy" of my master keyboard, you'd see a certain range of keys that have very worn out contacts, with the rest being in almost new condition.
Which further disgusts me away... I feel like such a failure at times... so, I'm wondering if this is really a positive hobby to have, since it seems to impact me so negatively on so many levels... Hence the topic.
:( |
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| onceler |
| Could your problem might be you got too much stuff too fast and didnt take the time to learn what you have? If so, why not spend time playing with the stuff rather than trying to make music with it, and just let go. Maybe make a basic beat and store it and when you have that feeling when you are messing around, turn on the beat and go with it and see what comes rather than trying to force yourself into making nothing. |
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| alanzo |
| quote: | Originally posted by CynepMeH
Yet, every day I sit and think that I have all this gear sitting around and not using it! Imagine that |
I'm with you on that! About a month ago I had about $1500 in studio gear.. Then I realized, that I was at sometimes forcing myself to produce to justify all the $$ I spent on the gear.. when most of the time I would rather just play a PC game ;)
So, after this, I realized why I produce music.. BECAUSE I ENJOY IT.. so I sold all the gear.. and started over.. bought a JP-8000 and a pair of $100 headphones and succesffuly reduced my studio cost from $1500 to $700... so now I just produce when I feel like it.. and don't feel bad if I spend a week without even opening Cubase
But I don't think I could ever quit producing.. I've been doing it since I can remember, practically. It is part of who I am.. I would feel empty inside if I didn't.. it's what seperates me from the masses... |
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| Miss Bliss |
I got a idea sell all but you 3 most favorite pieces of gear.. Master those pieces and make something. Just record yourself everytime you sit down.. Heck id even break it down to two pieces of gear making sure they dont overlap.. As i wouldnt have a jupiter 6 and 8...... Gear isnt what makes the music ya know...
-fr0st- on bliss's acount. |
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| Lombardo |
| Never!!! Take a walk, come back to it but don't ever quit unless its just not your thing. |
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| Beijer |
I can totally relate to that man. I haven't been at it for more than a year, but I've had my moments where I'm just sick of it all. It tends to be at the end of the week where I've spent ALL my free time in front of the comp. I've got a sound in my head, but I just can't pull it off. :mad: I almost quit it entirely, but I had some months vacation from it - and when I came back I made better sounds than ever before, and I got back the thrill of producing again. I'm not sure if this is the case with you, but I seem to need some sort of technical progress in my producing in order to stay excited with it.
I could never image that I'd quit now, it's just become a too big part of my life to let it go! :D |
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