I expect to fail. Perfectly fine with public shaming and ridicule. But I expect to have the biggest laugh myself. Except if it’s January.
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Good points. I quit smoking many years ago (at least 15, can’t even remember now) and actually used a puff or two on cigars in the beginning to help me overcome the cravings. I found that the feeling of not being able to do something was the worst part, if that makes sense. For instance, if someone says don’t move your left leg. After a while that’s all you think about. Knowing that if it really got to me, I could have one or two puffs on a cigar made me not really stress as much, and that made the process a lot easier.
At the same time, I would never have a cigarette now (not that I want one) as I think it would be dangerous for me.
Like you, this challenge is just me against myself, rather than competing with others, but I’m not going to freak out if I don’t make it (unless it’s before March, then I really have a problem. Haha).
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I can totally get behind this. This year, as my setup has expanded and become more complex, my fun and output has gone waaaay down. Less is going to be more for me. My rules include being allowed to swap stuff.
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Each time I read this thread, I have the feeling that the enthoustiastic “JEAH LET’S DO THIS!” is becoming “Jeah, let’s do this but…”
“An upgrade of a DAW is allowed”, “soundpacks are excluded”, “swapping gear is ok”, “I’m going by my own rules”.
For me the NoGear '22 challenge will be: No buying or selling gear, or buying or selling instruments, no trades, no paid software and/or upgrades, no buying of plugins.
Sample packs or sound packs? Not either, as buying things will only blur the purpose of the challenge. If I need new sounds I’ll have to make them myself.
DAW upgrades? Live 11 is a perfectly fine DAW, and it stays that way in 2022, I’m sure.
Ask yourself the question: By allowing grey areas: Is it you that wants to be realistic about the challenge (which is perfectly fine of course!) or is it the little addict GAS monster who is trying to keep you on the dark side? 
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For me it’s:
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No buying any new hardware or software. (Cables may well be an exception if I need more patch cables)
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Gifts of gear received are ok (birthday and xmas)
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DIY is excluded if I make the pcbs and buy the parts (No kits or bought pcbs - I very rarely buy kits or pcb/panels and only then for exceptional projects - I tend to only make my own, but buying parts for prototypes is not cheap!)
I won’t buy any gear ! I won’t buy any plugin ! I won’t make any paid upgrade of my daw ! No sample pack, presets whatever…
I’ll make one of my genelec repaired though because I refuse to work in mono on one speaker…Sorry !
Osmose will probably drop in march and that will be my last breath of air before diving…
That will be my rules…I gonna make a video about it before christmas hollidays.
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For me, probably both. But if my GAS monsters start whispering about buying soundpacks and not a Pulsar-23, I’ll consider it a success 100%.
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Fair enough 
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Its all got to go. Thats whats coming. The computer will win in the end.
I have added you 
Bringing us to 66 people.
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This is my viewpoint as well, but I’ve decided to pull back a little. This is no longer my thread, and its gonna mean different things, to the people involved. The original idea, was a pretty strict version, and I, admittedly, felt a bit disappointed by the ‘well if everybody is happy, then it’s a succes’ vibe, but I can’t take ownership of this project, so we will all just roll the way we prefer.
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For me the only way I will make this work is not to buy any music gear at all. Once I start, I won’t stop! I will need to stop checking certain threads in this forum too, and stick to this one, current sounds, what are you listening to etc. plus the various technical & technique threads.
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Right, if I may change the subject a little - maybe we can talk about how we’re actually going to make it through 2022 without buying gear… I for one need another thought to occupy my mind besides the can’t buy new gear mantra. 
So how are YOU planning to make your current setup / gear MORE inviting and more fresh to you?
For a long time I was thinking it’d be the most convenient and efficient way having everything in my setup (OT, MD, P12, P4mer, SubH, Matriarch and some fx) hooked up and ready to go, routing to be done via a patchbay but otherwise ready to record into Logic (4 simultaneous tracks via my audio interface). The past year I’ve been having WAY more fun with single boxes, however, which has left many of the things in my main setup largely unused. It feels kinda awful to say that I haven’t felt as inspired to fire up my main setup as I have a standalone box like the MD or MnM (the latter has never really been part of my bigger setup).
So what I’m battling right now is if I’m willing to tear down my main setup (the cabling into the patchbay is such a PITA to redo!) and lose some of the flexibility (easy routing from pretty much everything into everything else, especially if I’m using the OT cue outs into some fx) in order to gain the inspiration of using the pieces standalone or in pairs.
That’s probably what I’m gonna do, clear the table and use more compact setups. Even though my main setup is workable, it’s not very tidy and it does give me some option paralysis. Just thinking about using the MD+MnM combo, MD+DN, I guess MD with pretty anything already makes me all excited!
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If it feels like punishment to you, maybe lean into why that is? Our anxieties and neuroses sometimes provide an opportunity for assessing the awkward, reptile brain parts of us
Self honesty can be the scariest sort sometimes, of course.
If you don’t find any benefits in embracing the idea or it stresses you out, I encourage muting the thread.
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Like this! Everything set up and ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’m never more than three switches and a mouse waggle away from getting started. Super ergonomic too. I have my perfect Octatrack template done and a blank patch always ready to go on the Cobalt8M. For playing / sequencing, I have Craft Synth 2.0 going to OT then to the C8M, with the option of firing stuff at the Modals from Bitwig over USB. For audio, OT is receiving from C8M and Bitwig, CS2 into C8M, and both OT and Ether back into Bitwig. I don’t want any other complications, and I don’t want to move anything. If my music sucks this year, it’s because I suck, not because my gear sucks. Let’s go!
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Doesnt stress me out at all. Its funny and im just enjoying the angst your feeling. Sorry that makes me sound a bit sadistic. But i am here for entertainment as well.
Dont think your music has ever sucked Craig. Your perception of it may be misaligned by other forces. I particularly like the vocal tracks.
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I think if it makes you excited for now then you should do it!
I too have a lot of fun with small setups, may go back to this/them, currently got everything wired in though and exploring all the possibilities. I can use small er setups within the main one by just not turning some stuff on. But the appeal of 1-3 boxes and hardly any cable hassle is real. I decided if I ever play live it will be a small setup - MPC or OT, Rytm, Avalon, Evolver at maximum.
You can always put the big setup back together again right?
My plan is to be militant about going up to the music room instead whenever I get that urge to look for/at new gear. Even if I don’t make any music! Turn something on, learn a feature or skill, read a bit of the manual etc. Anything but stepping back on the treadmill!
[EDIT] also read somewhere here about committing to at least 30 min/day of music time. Doesn’t matter what it’s spent doing, but it happens every day without fail. I was doing that for a few weeks last year and Actually making progress. Trick is sticking to it though
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This thread is making me sick! Have to make some changes to the forum settings.
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I’ll join!
Since everyone is making their own rules, here’s mine:
In 2022, My intention is to:
- Sell all gear I don’t use (enough) or have no emotional connection with (Luckily, I don’t have a lot of stuff, but I really like to slim down to the most minimal setup possible);
- Master the gear I currently have, and try to learn new ways to use it;
- Optimize my setup/workflow with the gear I have right now;
- Not buy any new gear unless:
- Something breaks down and needs to be replaced.
- Dave Rossum releases a (way) cheaper version of the sp1200 reissue (it’s my dream sampler, but I can’t afford $4000).
- An ARmk3 is released, in which case I would probably sell my mk2 to get the new one.
My main thing is not to save money or fight gas, but to really focus on my current (small) setup. Adding gear forces me to change my workflow, and I’d like to focus. Back when all I had was an mpc and logic 4 () I was a master of both and very productive. In 2022 I’ll try to become the greatest ARmk2 ninja to ever live.
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