Been in a state of low-key stress since I put out my first little EP made with the M:C. I have a bunch of other songs in progress but lost some work - working on some new stuff, and polishing up unreleased stuff and releasing them finally. I’ve been very productive with M:C as the core of my process but something is nagging me.
First off let me state that my favorite songwriting method is to write on a single box and then embellish it.
Prior, I’d enjoyed my time with Squarp Pyramid, and wrote a couple of songs on it. I sold it because I decided that it was unnecessary and the benefits weren’t worth the limitations. It just didn’t seem to “scale” as well as touted …
I saw a video of a song made with just Digitone Keys and immediately decided that that was the synth I had to try out next. I liked it, then decided that I didn’t want it anymore. Too few keys, too few tracks, not my favorite for drums. I don’t really miss it, as good as it sounds.
Currently, in terms of grooveboxs/sequencers, I have Machinedrum MKII UW+, Analog Four MKII, and Model:Cycles. I like all of them … only … I’m dissatisfied.
I like the sounds that Machinedrum can do, but the sequencer is so basic. Everything about it screams digital so hard. Is that a problem? I don’t know! Yet it seems limiting. And the base sound is THIN. You can beef it up on-device, but I’m getting kinda tired of spending hours carefully tweaking the mix of each kit. I plan to try some kinda warming pedal on it … (yes I know about the heat …)
Analog Four is great, only so far I’m using it mostly as a really expensive TB-303! I wrote a song on it, that I haven’t recorded yet (but will soon) and of course it’s incredibly minimal but that’s actually fine. One thing’s certain, I was right that it’s SO good for drum sounds. What am I dissatisfied with? The way you set up a “drum kit”. You can only load presets into a pool, where they can’t be edited, only replaced. This always struck me as limiting. It’s just zones! In every other synth with zones, you just select the zone to edit, and you can edit it. Here we have to set our sounds in (semi-)stone.
Model:Cycles is flawless. You can’t argue with me. Perfect workflow, perfect sound. OK … Actually, I do find the sound often needs bolstering, and of course it doesn’t do samples. And the pads are almost (but not quite) useless. But I love everything else about it. The rapid workflow, the sound, the portability. It slots directly into how I like to work.
One thing is certain I can’t make my music with M:C only.
My problem is … apart from M:C … I try an Elektron box and like it until some hair-pulling limitation pops up and the solution is implied to be “get the complimenting box” or “use a DAW”. It’s not that I have a problem with either of those things, it’s that I start to wonder why I got the box in the first place! As in is it really worth it, when it was supposed to get me away from a computer … in short simplify my life the way M:C has.
I was looking at the Analog Rytm MKII as a solution. Idea: Get songs with broader sonic range (and better usability) very far along, outside the box. I bought an ARII, and I really liked it, but I moved on after trying it because the analog engines didn’t wow me … at the time, I was comparing it to Machinedrum. I keep thinking about it now … and the Digitakt, since I don’t “need” the analog drums. Then the Digitakt makes me think “that’s expensive for a sampler sequencer, why not just use Koala Sampler”. Part of it’s that working on the small screen of my phone is kind of annoying, so I think I need to get an iPad or something and try it out there.
I do research on MPC One or Live II now and then. I tried a Live II at the store and it just turned me off, just something about it. I’d have to push through that to see if it could be my new production main.
Alright, alright. Why not just use Ableton for it all? Don’t worry, I am, that’s always where everything ends up, and that’s where I do a lot of writing too, never changed. I can come up with a thousand reasons why I prefer to do as much as possible off the computer, but it’s like asking somebody why they believe in god or something. You’ll never fully understand their reasons, and they shouldn’t have to explain… everyone who knows, knows.
I got MCL in hopes of it “fixing” the Machinedrum, but it has some tradeoffs and some bugs. I might try it again.
Lingering dissatisfaction. Feeling like I’m wasting a lot of time. Feeling uncertain about everything, seeking some sense of clarity and certainty.
During pandemic, playing live was rarely on my mind. I could just concentrate on my studio workflow… you know, like a “normal” electronic musician.
I just did a practice jam outside with some friends. And while I had fun during it, watching the video of it was so frustrating! So repetitive, so clumsy.
I have no idea what I’m doing, stuck between alternate workflow paths (maximize Machinedrum??? learn to be a groovebox black belt?), working within the limitations of what I have, balancing effort and ability, and feeling like somehow I’m going the wrong way. Perhaps that it was foolish to leave the Pyramid for one, and the fact I was productive on it because I just liked using it. But I don’t have the money to get everything I want. So I’m trying to be good.
What’s another problem I have? I’m using my expensive gaming laptop as my music computer, and I hate that. I don’t even know why. It just feels wrong. I used to use a laptop I bought years ago as a dedicated production machine, but the screen on it is really terrible (and has some kind of come-and-go dark blotch), and it’s just kind of janky… so do I go back to it, and just put up? Buy yet another computer? (I have three) Or … get some other kind of gear to write on. Because Machinedrum ain’t it. Analog Four ain’t it. Syntakt??? I already have M:C … and so expensive! And no sampling …
And which way am I going with my live stuff? Bounced tracks in Ableton, or everything generated live? I love being able to tweak anything that’s playing. It seems apart from foley, vocals, and gear that won’t be present, it’s just simpler to play things live.
OK, so I know my problem now, it boils down to:
I still don’t know how to make electronic music.
What a bizarre thing to believe about oneself, as someone who’s made plenty of tracks (mostly unreleased). Only it’s true … I’m not satisfied why my workflow, with my rig. Despite the fact that when I finished putting it together, I was certain that it was exactly what I needed. Yet every time I think about it, I’m like … it’s so boring! It’s so sensible! I hate it!
I had a very clear idea of why I wanted to do in the beginning, but the technology available had other plans. And now after capitulating, negotiating, compromising, solving it all, I’m just … so bored with myself. And I don’t even know why. Laziness? Existential confusion?
I will overspend if a piece of gear will cure this, or if my penchant for getting these almost-do-it-all boxes when perhaps I’m not ready for them is part of what’s messing me up and I need to sell … something … and get some simpler stuff to play into Ableton! Or a freaking four-track.
But I’ll also take a good slap and some stern education!