k so up to about a year ago I used only ableton with shitload of plugins and I hated that in terms of being stuck in a loop or endlessly iterating stuff and I wasn’t really finishing anything, good or bad, I decided that after 25ish years of me making music I want to get a synth, I did my research and I landed on the digitone which was limited to four tracks but very wide sound palette, so I got it and I started finishing tracks, some of them were complete crap some were a bit better but I had so much fun and I made more 5-7 minutes tracks that I still listen to from time to time and I enjoy them.
fast forward I wanted a drum machine so I could free tracks and separate concerns to make more elaborate pieces so I got tr-6s and after a while I got the rytm because didn’t like the tr-6s.
with 2 synths new issues arised such as need for a mixer and maybe a couple of pedals or heating unit and suddenly I realized I’m getting dragged again into the territory of looking for new solutions instead of just using the thing in front of me as it was with the DN.
I fully realize that if I don’t stop overthinking about the possibilities outside of what I already have it will never end, and I don’t want to get back to the same territory of having too much things and getting stuck again, I know for a fact by listening to works of other members of this forum that what I have is more then enough to create music.
my plan is simple, I want to create only using these two machines, sequencing and sound design in these two boxes and recording to 3 tracks, a mono kick, AR main out and the DN main out to my new Ultralite mk5 and mix these tracks in ableton, that’s it. no more tracks, no multitracking, just these tools for good or bad.
I have a general idea of the style of tracks I want to make and that’s what I’m going to do this year. and maybe post to bandcamp if something will be worth it.
At the moment the plan is to block a short daily time for music with low expectations. I know I will not have more than 30min so my main goal is to shift my satisfaction to only getting a drum groove or a synthline. But I know the real deal would to be happy with just making music and disregard the result, since it’s a hobby. I guess the compromise will be to record a small thing daily and maybe after a while I’ll get a cool sample collection I can use later, or just work on the same project for several short sessions, focusing on just one part at a time.
I guess the simple answer is: lower your expectations a lot and focus on enjoying yourself above anything else
To me this is quite simple - you’re not making any music so what is the point of having all the gear? It seems it’s more of a collection or a fear of missing out. If you want to make music then you have to sell it to a point that you will make music or totally rewire your current thought process. As an outsider looking at what you’ve written previously I’d say it will be easier to sell the gear and then make a decision not to buy any more until you make music consistently. If you sell and don’t make any music then maybe it’s never going to happen. If you sell and don’t make any music and tell yourself you need more gear to make it, you now know that’s not true and it’s purely a GAS/collector mentality that really isn’t a good situation.
well…this go-round is looking like it’ll be even easier than the last. i’m hanging it up till I get a job. boxing everything thing…and that’ll be it till then.
till later on
Others have joined a bit late too!!
That seems like a very mature proactive thing to do. Maybe a year from now you’ll actually gain something, musically, by putting it aside for a bit. Good luck!
I wonder how many people are naturally inclined towards one art form yet put all their energy another that they feel more passionate about. Visual art comes a lot more easily to me than music and while I enjoy going to museums, looking at paintings etc. it doesn’t come close to enriching my life in the way that music does.
That’s a good question. I don’t know… Lately there has been lots of talk here about hitting a plateau with music and the agony that can cause.
It all depends on what the aims are of course. If you want to “make it” with music it probably isn’t a good idea to start other creative things to compete with it but if you just want to express yourself and find new experiences it’s a whole another thing.
Music is in many ways more abstract than visual arts but more genre and scene oriented at the same time, which can be very limiting as it’s at least in my experience easier to compare yourself to others.
Also music is more connected to time, I mean different eras, your personal history, trends, technology and all that. I think it’s so much easier to sense what decades have influenced it etc. Go figure. 
I can kind of relate to this — I’m a writer for work but I’m more passionate about music. (I’m passionate about writing as well but not necessarily the kind of writing I get paid to do.)
Writing often feels like solving a puzzle or fixing a mechanism, whereas music feels more open-ended and expressive. The fact that music is more abstract as @Strutter said is definitely a key factor here.
When it comes to writing, I can outline a plan that will get me from a blank page to a polished final version. I sometimes wish I could approach music with that kind of rigor and strategic vision, but at the same time I do cherish my aimless musical flailing and want to protect that freedom. Maybe there’s a useful balance to be found in pursuing two art different forms in different ways.
I am in this exact position too, and often I ask myself why I’m ‘wasting’ so much time on this activity for which I have hardly any natural abilities.
Ironically, it started getting more serious because I was tired of creating objects that I just ended up stacking against the wall, giving away, or selling only infrequently. This evolved into collecting gear though, which I suppose the upside to is that it can be finite compared to a creative output that relies on physical media.
I do struggle a bit with balancing them sometimes but would still say that the different perspectives and approaches those mediums offer are well worth the occasional hassle.
It’s so satisfying when they affect each other in surprising ways.
It all happens often times covertly and is noticeable only afterwards.
Just sold my Hydrasynth Explorer. Feels good to downsize and it’s been collecting dust for almost a year after being used in one single production when buying it last year.
Have made two new songs on the Syntakt alone so far this year. It’s amazing how quickly they come out of this thing and more generally how productive you can be when you don’t distract yourself with GAS. No time to record and post jams on YouTube right now though, maybe in February.
@Grate_expectations This is probably exactly what I need to hear and many of those thoughts have been lurking in my mind. Thank you for the direct reply, I appreciate it
Yes, in fact today I picked out one ignored pice of kit (MPC Live 2) and sat with it undisturbed for about 3 hours, along with the MPC Bible, rather than watching YouTube videos about how to use it. I enjoyed learning some basic functions, making a drum loop and finding out how bad my timing is with quantise off! That ticks the box of a hobby.
@no-thanks I really should have a go at Jamuary or some of the challenges once I get a bit more proficient, those sound perfect for staying away from gear videos and purchases.
@alechko yes overthinking is a big problem for me too. Concentrating on one box at a time like you did with Digitone sounds like a great plan.
I definitely think one can feed off the other. I’m going to do some drawing in spare time as well as music. And I read every day without fail!
I would suggest we often end up paying for things three times:
- Time spent reading/watching reviews and manuals in a state of GAS (can be significantly distracting)
- Money spent (including said time to acquire it)
- Learning the item. It’s funny sometimes how you feel like you know something inside out from reviews and demos until its in front of you.
As someone who has very modestly more money than time, if I find myself trapped for a disproportionate amount of time at stage 1 and I’m reasonably sure its a good purchase, I will buy so I can move on. Sometimes even just making the commitment to buy at a future date is enough to get me off the cycle.
I wonder if the act of giving yourself permission is helpful - sometimes my GAS process feels like trying to work towards the purchase being objectively the right thing to do, which I know deep down is a futile exercise, but once I tell myself it’s ok, everything goes back to normal, purchase or not.
I know you are talking about just cutting back on content consumption here, but the most surprising thing I found when I committed to a NGNY a few back that my desire to watch vids on any new tech completely dropped straight away.
I tried watching stuff but my interest had completely dissolved and I couldn’t sit through them - there was just no point. A week before I was watching and investigating with interest most new synths to see what was what.
It reminded me of when I was enrolled in a masters course, and then shortly after had a job offer commencing in 7-8 months. I kept doing the course to occupy time, but man it felt pointless.
seems relevant here…
There’s 77 of us now.
Like last year this challenge and thread is really giving a bunch of revelations and great conversation on the nature of this hobby.
Haven’t had the faintest urge to purchase any gear. At the beginning of last year I closed all second hand market places to not be tempted but temptation is not even a thing anymore. I feel like I’m a hardened veteran of NGNY. I want nothing, I need nothing. Time is the most valuable assett and that’s all I crave. Free time to tinker with my current gear.
Same!! It’s easy to picture 5 or even more years of no purchases, as the complexity of the already existing gear is becoming more obvious.
Yeah I guess it gets easier the longer you do it. Beginning of 2022 was hard as I was accustomed to buying anything and everything I felt like. Now after a year of “fasting” it’s become second nature which is kinda what I wished would happen.
Most of the stuff that give me some faint feelings of GAS are stuff that I’ve sold in the last 2-3 years. Mostly the same exact pieces. I see something on muusikoiden net and I check my message folder and realize that the seller is the same dude I sold it to two years ago. They’re still stuck in the loop of buying and selling and I’m not. Feels good.