I used to think hardware helped with ADHD but honestly what helps me the most is sitting down and finishing songs. The best way for me to do that has been laptop and DAW. I still use some hardware, but that is more of a sound design, sample fodder move.
Once I force myself to focus on the track, I get dialed into it and am able to focus all that hyper energy into the arrangement. It’s something I trained myself to do over time.
I find, without fail, that with any hardware purchase, there will then be an huge lull of interest in it when it arrives. By the time I have it, I will have nearly completed Youtube on whatever device is… Hyperfocused the hell out of it. All the dopamine was in the research, and now I have to find a way to build a habit of using it.
I’m learning the trick is to accept that and not sell it and move on before I have got out of that stage.
I’m on the edge of my seat! 
Sage advice.
I struggle with abandoning things in arrangement - I need to be more methodical and focused on this area!
i have adhd as well can be extremely locked into my DAW
i feel the more gear is in front of me the more distracted i am. however o do practice digital minimalism and resort to just a hand ful of samples and plugins.
Yes, I’ve been significantly culling my samples and VSTs.
It make just so much more sense to only have sounds that you are likely to use, or that are stylistically appropriate for your general focus.
I was thinking about this topic a bit after watching a YouTube vid about ADHD and music production.
One of the points the presenter made was that he finds being able to switch between different projects easily with a DAW an advantage.
One of my struggles using a DAW is the disconnect between the visual information and the audio. Every project basically looks the same to me, linear tracks of audio waves. I know it’s possible to zoom out and interpret the arrangement and colour code tracks etc…
On the other hand I find stuff like tablature quite easy to look at and work with… (change values you change the music) and comprehend as a whole arrangement. Maybe it’s because the visual information involves imagining the activity of playing the music, and it’s the start of the journey from intent to a perfect take?
Maybe the DAW part is challenging because it basically comes down to a lot of laborious listening?
AuDHD, so prolly a few differences from just adhd or just autism.
HW too easily equals visual clutter which is bad enough; but trying to tetris different shapes & sizes that don’t quite line up properly in such a way that doesn’t bother me can and has driven me over the edge more than once.
DAW is good. Been using Reason since v2 and I can get things done pretty quickly with or without an attached controller if I’m in the mood. Recording audio directly from a flagship over a single usb cable is even better. Or I can spend hrs attempting to build generative type machines without touching a single key. If I want to tease the monkeys in my brain with something new, and I often do, then it’s far more cost effective to muck about in SW land rather than buy a new HW box that might end up pissing me off.
With all that being said, I find I care less and less for any screens if I just want to make some noise. Seriously been considering switching to a digital piano because sometimes even the Montage touchscreen is too much.
I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD (and ASD) in the past although I don’t tend to view myself through that lens.
Either way, I’ve spent plenty of time trying to learn the ropes of music-making on a PC with Ableton, FL studio, etc. at various points in my life. I’m a lifelong guitar player and music is the only hobby I’ve held motivation for since I was a kid. But making music in a DAW never felt enjoyable to me, it feels very uncomfortable. That’s only compounded by my visual impairment, I’m extremely nearsighted and many DAWs (especially Ableton) aren’t too friendly for that. I believe there are some solutions for UI element size etc., but I haven’t done a lot of research on how to go about it.
When I finally decided to buy a HW synth and Circuit last year, it was the opposite experience from my time in DAWs. Playing music feels like playing music on hardware. I don’t know a clearer way to explain it. I can turn on a couple instruments and my pocket recorder and lay down a song quickly which I find extremely fulfilling. In principle I’m not against using a DAW, and I’d still like to be open to it, but I haven’t found a way to make myself enjoy it enough to keep doing it.
Maybe if I spent some time customizing an elaborate HW controller interface…
Quite like the Maschine for this. It puts the DAW at arms length literally, while also offering the fun of a tactite workflow. It’s already in the computer so you can use plugins if you want, but it’s also a breeze to get stuff into a DAW to work on. I like that middle ground that it occupies. It’s not perfect by any means but it’s a clever idea even today.
There’s always an intention to “simplify” with something like the Akai Force, but since I’ve had that idea many times in the past… it’s not that I don’t trust my own intentions, but that I know there’s always tradeoffs that annoy me a great deal.
I do like limitations which are absolutely necessary to making art, but some basic tasks I expect to be there always are awkward in an offputting way.