Ha, I didn’t mean I’d post a link to the actual sales ad! 
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Ah, okay, if you meant “I’ll seek help from people here to slow me down and maybe stop me,” then that’s fine.
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Yep, that’s what I meant. Don’t intend to be the devil on anyone’s shoulder. Really want everybody to succeed (whatever it is they’re looking to gain from this challenge). If that wasn’t obvious before, then hope it is now! 
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Ah, that’s a really good tip for me. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the vast library of stock Logic sounds. I have tons of third-party stuff, but if I get GAS, I’ll go dive into the Logic stock plugins.
i watched another of their videos this afternoon. it’s kinda nuts how much they did with basically stock plugins. i also love how there are tracks where the eq or compressor are straight up doing nothing. not only were they able to release some bangers, but they also did it not knowing that much about production. there’s always more to learn.
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My willpower not to pull the trigger on new gear on day 5 of 2022 was happily overridden by my procastination in completing the order.
I still feel disciplined, but a little dirty nonetheless.
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There’s also always more to unlearn
I actually also have decided not to buy anything new this year (except my dear DOD pedals if any pop up for sale locally). Instead I will concentrate on the Octatrack and what gear I have. I might trade my 0-coast for something really inspiring, but I doubt anything will pop up that would be a must have for the same price range.
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Q1- What’s the most significant piece of gear you already own that you don’t know as well as you could/should?
Q2- What’s the piece of gear you know you’ll get a return from if you put the effort in?
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Question 1: OT
Question 2: Hydrasynth and/or Linnstrument.
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1: OT
2: OT
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Akai Force
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Push 2
(I sold my OT a few months back or it would’ve been my 1. too…)
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Confession: I didn’t say OT to Question Number 2 (even though it is the truth) because I am afraid of the OT and didn’t want to feel bad for not learning it more.
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OB-6 since it’s newest around here.
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OT because it just keeps getting better over the years.
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- SP404 mkii
- SP404mkii (sampling other instruments, like guitar and bass)
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- SE-02
- Minibrute 2S
My interpretation of these questions is in relative terms rather than absolute terms. With the trade of my 61-key Virus for the desktop, the Syntrx is now by far my single most expensive piece of equipment. I didn’t list it for Q1 because I’ve become very familiar with it already. I still have plenty to learn, and I’m sure additional time spent will be rewarding but I feel fairly comfortable with it already.
I’ve only turned on the SE-02, played with the filter and auditioned some presets. I don’t have a clue how the menu system works, and Youtube demos suggest that it’s a fairly deep synth.
I picked the Minibrute as the payoff synth because I tend to spend a week with it, get amazing results, get bored, and then rotate in other synths. Usually it’s a few months before I feel inspired again and then the cycle repeats. I plan to use it with the Syntrx in a sort of AKS configuration. I expect the pair will be amazing together.
I’ve successfully sold my digitakt and will only use my A4 this year. I won’t be able to commit to not purchasing any gear though because if gigs are a thing again I will need a better guitar amp 
I appreciate the sentiment of this thread. i also am excited for a larger portion of the forum to talk technique and process instead of imagining new gear or what features they wish they had on whatever. the first week is the hardest, so after that, it’s home free
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- Montage
- Mc707
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I love this idea. I bought more gear this year than I think I ever have in one year. I’m very happy with my setup right now and just feel like I need to make some tweaks and adjustments in the routing to make things more flexible and easy.
I’m gonna be real for a minute here I have been gear obsessed since day one when I got my first synth way back in 2004. I’ve been through countless studio setups and have owned (and sold) more synths and gear than anyone I’ve ever met. Over this time I’ve been in a handful of bands that were unfortunately never too serious and I’ve written (and finished) 4 songs that I actually released. I’ve felt like I’ve spent the majority of my time learning, exploring and constantly sharpening my skills. I’ve made a ton of progress I’m completely self-taught and have gotten myself to the point of being considered a professional and have worked in the field (doing sound design for Arturia and for Akai and a couple of smaller sample companies) but I feel like this year is vital…maybe this is completely self imposed but I feel like if I don’t get back to song writing and actually finishing production then I’ll slip into just being a hobbyist. Being a musician has been something that’s defined me to myself since I was 19 so it would sting a bit to allow myself to slide down that path…I’ll never not fuck around in the studio, make sounds, make beats, explore and build song ideas I couldn’t stop if I wanted to (I tried once and it didn’t last) I feel a compulsion to create and I happen to be pretty ok at it but I’ve at times fallen into that trap that many of us fall into where the gear is the focus as opposed to the music. My goal has been/is to define my sound and write a 6 song E.P., say what I need to say, get out what I need to get out, something cohesive and definitive. Doing sound design professionally has been great but it’s not been conducive to me finding and defining my sound. I developed a decent ability to hear something and know how it was done and how to make it, excellent for sound design…not so much for writing something personal. I hope sincerely to finally get things in focus and allow myself to write what I want and need to write this year and that’s why I’m all about no gear new year personally. If I’m honest with myself I’ve got more gear than I need and could make something with phenomenally less than I have. Though there’s always room for improvement and new gear no doubt always inspires new ideas and directions I think buying new gear is the best way to avoid writing music…at least for me at this time.
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Great questions!
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OT and M8
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DN and Pigments
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