I recently started using YouTube for music, now my feed is only album covers, was a pretty night and day experience, It’s more useful to turn your algorithm around if you often don’t have the power to stay of that website. As in the case in my “addiction” its simply a muscle to open a tab and go to YouTube and scroll my feed. Now, with having more less a music only feed YouTube is always open on the background and I interact with it waaaaaay less. I just click on a cool looking album and leave it alone.
I’ve partly unconsciously developed the same strategy. I get my news from all the people talking about it. Friends, family and the likes, it might be a bit bias as these are all people I know and value and have roughly the same mindset. But on the other hand I believe there is enough diversity for it to be viable.
It’s townsqaure news, what’s most relevant is most talked about. specific facts and articles still drip through (im looking at you dad) but its way less stressful
In the UK I listen to a lot of 6 music. I really like a lot of the shows and presenters, and hear tons of music that I otherwise wouldn’t.
The news is a 2-3 minute headline bulletin each hour, so I can stay connected on major things that are going on, without any of the spin, personalities, aggressive interviewing, avoiding of answers, ideaology, depressive viewpoints and endless repetition and raking over stuff that ruins all news media.
I agree with this completely! Recovery from addiction does not work by being judged/punished for relapses. Every day is a new day. And, just for me, GAS has so many parallels with my drinking days that it’s definitely an addiction.
What would you say the correct/appropriate term is for the point where a piece of gear mentally clicks with you and you have that eureka moment and feel connected with it?
Who knows what I’m talking about?
It’s really cool when it happens, and not every device you get gives it.
It’s like the GAS sensation of getting something new x10.
i’ve maybe had moments like this with instruments but have definitely felt that way with tools. and way back in my teens and 20s, i spent many days in that flow state while landscaping, where the tools felt like extensions of my body. it felt like dancing, but effortless. i miss those days.
Yep. Definatly. Modular is not good for NGNY… yesterday I was trying to make a particular sound with my modular and I couldn’t make it sound as I wanted… I was immediately looking at modules at modular grid and YouTube to watch what I could use/buy to make that sound I wanted. It’s a habit… I slapped myself because I don’t want to buy something, I don’t have GAS at the moment. So closed my computer and went on with my patch and dived deeper to a sound I liked. It was not the sound in my head but it was even better more or less an happy accident.
Modular was one of the reasons, I wanted to start this. Since then I’ve noticed, that each time I use the modular, I’m pretty much constantly in the mindset of ‘Is this module pulling its weight? Should it be replaced?’. So cool to let go of that, and just work with what I’ve got. It’s liberating.
Yes it is liberating. I was so euphoric yesterday and proud of myself. I don’t need new modules. I have everything there to make awesome patches and cool sounds.
I hear you. At first I really loved the freedom a modular setup offered but it didn’t take long for it to turn against me. I used to be way more obsessed with “covering all the bases” with my setup than making good use of what I had. I sold it all last summer and haven’t missed it one bit. This is not to say it isn’t a cool thing, but that it didn’t work for me.
Just as a playful thought, it would be interesting to see all the avoided transactions of the participants of NGNY documented in real time. I bet it would be quite eye-opening.
I’ve got it right now from the Arturia Microfreak I bought last summer and never really delved into because I really didn’t like the presets or the keyboard (stupid, I know).
I mentioned earlier in this thread that I’ve been looking at the Korg Modwave, which I suppressed by focussing on Pigments, but then realised the Microfreak is kind of a compact version of both, with it’s mod section. It’s so good.
Once I connected it to my Helix Stomp, connected a bigger keyboard, then started building from Init patches, I’ve had that eureka moment with it this week.
For me, it’s when I start muttering and grinning to myself about something it’s done.
Quite often I’m not quite in control of what’s going on when these moments happen!
I think you have the name right already
Every time I think about modular, I think this about the 0 coast. It was the first semi-modular synth I bought, and I hardly glanced at it before starting the relentless pursuit of modules. So many good sounds come out of it though.
As part of NGNY I’ve had thoughts of selling all my Eurorack, but keeping the 0-coast, there is plenty to keep me busy there patching wise.
The 0 coast is awesome and one of the best semi modular. It’s a great learning tool. I still have mine but it haven’t been touched for a while. For me the 0 coast and Pittsburg SV1 were my trigger to start modular. The Pittsburg is gone but kept the 0 coast. I need to grab it again soon. It sounds great and it is dun to patch it. You can get so many different sounds out of it.
For me so far it’d probably be two. One of the two interesting hardware pieces (400-600€) I spotted 2nd hand and the fairly cheap Spitfire strings library I mentioned earlier. Then again, I wasn’t even close to pulling the trigger so they don’t really feel like ”avoided transactions” in that sense. More like what I hope is the new normal.
I’m definitely not gonna congratulate myself for staying clean for 12 days BUT during this time I’d say I’ve managed to cut down on my screen time a wee bit. That’s time I can and have put into reading books and going out for a walk, for example. I still check the Finnish 2nd hand gear site a couple of times every day but just a month ago I was there like once every hour.
Just some of the baby steps I’ve taken in the 12 days.
@subduct@YloopZ I too got into modular by way of the 0-Coast, and mine has likewise been sitting on a shelf for a while. I used to have so much fun pairing it with my Octatrack and just looping/mangling endlessly. I was never very masterful at patching the 0-Coast but it sounded great running through heaps of Octatrack effects.
I’m going to embark on a sub-challenge within NGNY, the “Dust off your 0-Coast” challenge, in case anyone cares to join. Will share results here if/when I conquer it.
more or less an happy accident.
