#NGNY22 - Happy NoGear New Year!

The Lounge General Discussion
#709

For me it’s been a small-scale rollercoaster of emotions. First I was kinda half-heartedly going into it, knowing full well that I’ll likely fail (I admit it’s still likely). Then I started thinking about it from different perspectives and started seeing the potential benefits, the biggest being I may be able to take time off work if I save enough (about two big purchases’ worth). I’ve basically had a depth year in 2021 anyway (spent 90% of the time with the Machinedrum and finishing an album from last year). I just kept buying/trading new stuff on the side. Some good ones for sure but in many cases these tools are as good as you put time into getting to know them.

I’ve kept saying that for me GAS and playing music occupy different times of the day. GAS is during breaks at work, drinking coffee after dinner etc. - me idly browsing the internet. Time for playing music is when the kids are in bed. But that’s not entirely true. At the very least I have to see spending too much time on gear sites isn’t usually beneficial to me. Even Elektronauts is a mixed blessing.

As regards the so-called naysayers, most of it has had absolutely no effect on how I approach no gear new year. For the most part I’ve enjoyed the conversation. For me there’s a lot of grey area in most things in life, while our thoughts in writing often come across as very black/white on the internet. For example, I can certainly see the parallell between GAS and, say, drinking too much but at the same time I’ve had people I know lose their health and even their lives due to alcohol, whereas I don’t see GAS as a question of life and death. So I kinda scale the level of my seriousness to that when it comes to this challenge. :slight_smile:

Edit: There was actually one post elsewhere on the forum that slightly made me go ”you just watch me complete that fucking challenge.” I’m not entirely sure if that reaction is a good or a bad thing tho, ha!

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#710

Wow, that’s impressive!
Only open Preorder for me is the Cirklon and I won’t cancel that, even if I don’t need it. But I don’t think I will get my mail in 2022 :stuck_out_tongue:

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#711

Well put, thank you.

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#712

:muscle:

#713

It distracts me, and annoys me, while reading this thread. Outside of that it makes no difference.

I’m not against valid debate or criticism, but these folks are more like the noisy drunks shouting at the next table over in a bar. I’d rather they were somewhere else.

But does it distract from my purpose? No, not one bit.

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#714

Ah ! Waiting for news from Barbara… I know this game. Decided not to commit. And frankly no regrets.

#715

I think some of the comments are a little odd with a strange undercurrent - but can happily shrug them off as I guess the comments reveal more about the poster than those they are posting about - I think most of us are committing to this for our own reasons and on our own terms. Chatting about it is a fun thing to do.

The comments I do find slightly odd are those conflating substance misuse (including alcohol) and with a decision to not buy more gear and commit to playing with what you’ve got. For me, personally, there is no overlap… (there may be some people who have overspent and their purchasing habits are harmful to themselves and others but I havent seen anyone give that as a reason for their plans next year).

I also certainly plan on reading gear reviews and the latest purchase threads as they are quite fun and I can take it or leave it…

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#716

Just wanted to share a little success story. ATM I am heavily sleep deprived because our 3.5 month old son is not a good sleeper yet (his older sister took a while, so I don’t expect that to change anytime soon).

Last night, I was awake after bottlefeeding him and couldn’t fall back a sleep. I did what I typically do when my self-control is low (which is the case for me when very tired): grabbed my phone and checked out this forum. I had a notification from someone reacting to an old post in “SW on sale” so I checked it out and somewhat automatically scrolled through the rest of the thread when I saw a deal/plugin that sparked my interest. Went to the site and added the plugin bundle to the shopping cart because it seemed like a very good deal…

Then, by simply thinking of the existence of this thread I was able to snap out of it. I realized that two minutes before, I didn’t even know that this product existed. Also, I realized that I don’t really enjoy the creative process in a DAW and most importantly, I realized how silly I would look (mainly from my own perspective) breaking my no gear vows.

First succes for me!

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#717

This makes me very happy. I’m happy for you :muscle: And good luck with the sleep part. That is my weak spot as well.

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#718

Agreed, without hesitation. As someone in long-term recovery from my own addiction to drugs and alcohol (the comparison is a stretch I agree, but still…) I can say that I have watched nearly every person I knew who was once sober fall off the wagon over several decades, and it has never tempted me to go out and use, and in fact has had just the opposite effect. With GAS, I assume the same will be true. Since making this pledge on this thread, my attitude has already shifted considerably in the way I read other threads. While I still review “What have you purchased lately…” and “Your setups” I feel far less “intrigued,” and far less inclined to do a search on some piece of gear I hadn’t considered before.

I’d hope that next year, this thread or some other related thread, would focus on how well this idea is working for them. What’s changed for people in terms of productivity, insights, workflow changes, and mostly, new capacity for focus. If along the way, some of us decide to stray from our commitment and want to share why, that’s also interesting, as long as it isn’t intended as a “taunt,” which would be lame. If something super shiny comes out next year that I feel compelled to purchased (hopefully after long reflection about my commitment not to do so), I may want to share it here, just to “confess,” but if I want to effervescently extrude all of my hyperbolic praise on the new shiny thing, I will do that over at “What have you purchased lately…” or a new thread devoted to the new shiny thing.

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#719

Not “my” thread, but I’d say you’ve answered your own question. If you are buying a new computer mostly or exclusively for your music production, then probably it is new gear for the purposes of this thread. However, as you point out, there are lots of people (myself included) who use there computer for other purposes. I just bought a new laptop a month ago, primary for my solo business (which is not music related), but also use it for music stuff.

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#720

I’M IN, seeing as i just bought a new amplifier i think i’m good on spending any money on gear for a while

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#721

I agree with you pretty much entirely that putting limitations on yourself is the key. Learning how to use something to its fullest is what is going to allow you to make the best, most unique music. Our brain power is very limited and trying to learn every device under the sun is a waste of time, $ and energy.

My recent decision to change boxes is more about a macro workflow change - The groovebox I was using was focused on “preset” sounds - A couple pinged filters (gongs), a couple oscillator-based sounds (avdogs), and a hihat/click/noise machine (ultrasound filter), a drone tone (deerhorn), and a snare, with a cyclical/chaotic rhythm generator (rollz). These sounds are amazing and the ability to create constantly shifting rhythms with extreme ease was really fun. I could be happy with that machine until the end of time.

I’ve just been more driven towards improvised, bpm-oriented stuff with sampled drum kits, hence the decision to try out the MPC. And given money is a finite resource, that’s why I made the decision to sell one and buy the other. Not some delusion that I will make better music or that the workflow won’t be a pain in the ass to learn, because it will. But I think the difference is it was driven by a clear musical goal and didn’t cost me any extra $, so I am not as concerned about the “new gear” factor.

I totally don’t mean to infringe on the discussion here, I know GAS is really tough and when I was caught up in eurorack, it was pretty much constant. Getting out of euro has helped a lot, as I am not constantly considering the minutia of my system as much as “how can I fulfill my goals with what is currently in front of me”, the mindset that fixed-architecture puts me in

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#722

I just received an update that my Perfourmer order won’t be ready to ship until at least April.

Very good. More time to forget about it and learn the intricacies of my Digitone, and sequencing it’s channels externally.

On the nature of renunciation…

It occurred to me a few years back that the decision to renounce something is more or less arbitrary when we consider it as an afterthought that gets tacked onto a process of creation that is already underway.

As such, I consider this group to be something like an evocation of an act of grace, a force for good, sweeping me towards working more creatively.

My perception of making “a decision” to renounce or give up stuff is essentially meaningless. The choice has been bestowed upon me…us…from who knows where :slightly_smiling_face:

May our collective creativity flow, unabated, through our individual creations!

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#723

I have been following this thread with interest. I liked some of the posts that listed out their gear and made a list myself which was somewhat eye opening (not even including the euro modules).

There are more sound sources here to last a lifetime of exploration but I feel like I waste a lot of time trying to “optimize” the setup by eliminating redundancies and then keeping both items. So I am going to commit to eliminating at least 1 of the starred items in 2022, and also commit to a general “1 in 1 out rule”, with an exception of an audio interface replacement when this one dies, and a USB isolator to remove processor noise from my monitors.

Also committing to reducing daily screen time by at least 1 hour and converting that to music. I spend a lot of time on my phone browsing this forum, modwiggler, synth YouTube under the illusion of still “spending time” with the family by being present, when this just distracts me from actually making music.

Synths

  • Sequential OB-6
  • Moog Matriarch
  • Moog Sub37
  • Nord Lead 2 - stored at my in laws, it’s in average cosmetic shape and probably can’t get much for it, but is the only remanent of my old setup when I quit music 10 years ago.
  • Buchla Easel Command*- sell this or sell redundant euro sound sources.
  • Teenage Engineering OP-1* - redundant for portable music now that I have a MacBook Air with Abelton, never use in the studio
  • Behringer TD-3* - I hate the sequencer but probably will never sell because not worth the hassle and small $ returns

Drum Machines

  • Elektron Analog Rytm MK2
  • Elektron Machinedrum MK2 UW+* - not using to its full potential and the AR fits my workflow better.

Eurorack

  • Intellijel 7U 104 HP Performance Case - modules from Intellijel, Frap Tools, Make Noise, Mutable
  • Waldorf KB37 - half empty from current configuration in 7U case, but bought this as a Euro Easel with Brenso, Stages, Falistri, Erica LPG etc. but still have the Easel Command (optimization trap). I love this as a controller and think it’s a brilliant design so if I exit Eurorack I will probably just keep this.
  • Intellijel Palette 3U 104 HP* - bought for expansion but I think 7U is enough euro for me

Computer and Software

Binged a bit on Black Friday this year to experiment with an “ITB” setup, again falling into the optimization trap.

  • i7 Desktop Build

  • Ableton Live 11 Suite w/ Push 2

  • MacBook Air M1

  • Arturia V Collection

  • Arturia FX Collection

  • Arturia Pigments

  • Madrona Labs Aalto

  • Native Instruments Komplete 8

  • Soundtoys 5

Current Irrational GAS List

  • Erica Syntrx - I am triggered by scarcity, one reason why Euro is dangerous for me as it encourages impulsive buying through scare availability (also led me to jump into buying an Easel Command)
  • Novation Summit/Peak - played with a number of polys at the store (Prophet 5, M, Quantum) and loved the Summit as an option to introduce a digital poly to my setup. I binged on software instead to try to fill that void
  • TipTop Buchla Euro Modules - thankfully, not available :slightly_smiling_face:
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#724

I’m glad I’m not the only one who does this! Need to knock that on the head for next year.

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#725

this morning, i took a short dive into an internet rabbithole reading about the tendai monks. this sprang from a conversation the other day with my son on the way home from school. we were actually talking about the buddhist sect that practiced live mummification, which reminded me this morning of these other monks.

anyway, those items may not be completely relevant here. for me, participating in this thread brings up questions around motivation. i think a lot about how it’s often difficult to motivate myself or anyone else to do any little thing at all. changing behavior can be very hard — changing culture even more so. this no gear idea touches upon both internal and external/community behavioral changes.

at work, i’ve focused on this type of cultural change. one small change that is simple in theory but maybe harder in practice is to consider framing communication positively. too often, and maybe too easily these days, we are prone to cynicism and sarcasm in our written or spoken communication. in moderation, it’s fine, but i think over time, it has a tendency to negatively impact morale. it shouldn’t be the default mode of expression. i’m not talking about only being positive or otherwise being disingenuous about the current situation but being cognizant of how we’re communicating and being thoughtful about what we say.

that’s a long-winded intro to my experiences of “arguing on the internet.” i remember arguing in user forums back in the late 90s/early aughts. it was engaging at the time but mostly futile. people had made up their minds already, and my words wouldn’t change their opinions. today, it’s even harder to get through to people about divisive issues, precisely because we are so divided. the fact that this division is largely along the lines of basic things like “agreeing on facts” doesn’t give me much hope.

to bring it back on topic (maybe), i hope people get something out of breaking old bad habits and possibly forming new beneficial ones. find the motivation that works for you. hit up this thread or anyone here or in real life if you stumble. my whole attitude when interacting with new gear threads has changed based on making the decision to participate in this thread. just last night, i was tinkering with making a patch on the MM2. it was interesting trying to get some particular sound out of it, but in the end, i didn’t save any patches. it reminded me that despite having a bunch of synths handy, sound design is not my favorite aspect of making music, and that’s okay. that alone kills GAS pretty quickly for me. anything i already have is capable of making any sounds i could possibly imagine and more.

another aside: challenges like this remind me of why i enjoy cycling uphill so much: it’s just you and the hill. yes, you can race others uphill. for me, the draw is just that pure test of self. the hill doesn’t change as you train, but you do. it’s a potentially magical experience that keeps me going.

some interesting links:

running monks
“There is not this one point of understanding where everything else stops and you’ve made it,” he says calmly. “Learning continues. Once you graduate from university, you don’t stop learning. The 1,000-day challenge is not an end point, the challenge is to continue, enjoying life and learning new things.”

easy way to get good at music

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#726

One of the things about this challenge that people outside don’t seem to understand is the distractibility and shallow multitasking focus are just as much or more of a problem than GAS, though they are entwined.

I saw this referenced here or on one of the forums- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World - Cal Newport

And I’m trying to internalize the changes. It’s not directly about buying gear, it isn’t NOT about buying gear.

The challenge is about mindfulness at its core.

Are we scheduling blocks of deep time? Or trying to shoehorn an hour or less of shallow time when our brain is in sleep mode and with our phone at our hip to sidestep any seconds of boredom?

The cheeky title isn’t really the whole of our problem nor the cure for what ails us, GAS is symptomatic of the problems of modern, interconnected life.

For example, I like thinking and talking about this thread, but I’m best in practicing it when I’m restructuring my activities in my offline life and learning to sit with boredom without checking social media, including this.

I hope to have less reactive posts and more that internalize / reflect the challenge and greater awareness of my everyday time utilization.

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#727

Added! :raised_hands:

#728

Did you want to join? :slight_smile: