It’s all in what you make of it. Nothing wrong with enjoying some new boxes.
I read or heard from someone, possibly on here, something else that stuck with me. I’m a terrible paraphraser but something to the extent of “Do you want to be a musician or a music machine technician.”
This isn’t at all slamming the use of technical boxes, but rather being up front about your goals. I’m an engineering tech and work with a lot of different technologies and processes daily. A huge part of me DOES love to get into a new piece of music kit and learn how it works and what I could do with it. I could do this with a new box every week, make some cool noises, and be happy.
But when (more like if, because my goals are always shifting) I want the pendulum to swing more towards musicianship, I’d be better off spending more time getting to know the gear I have inside and out rather than spending time learning something new that I may not stick with. Something something, nobody is good at the violin right away, etc.
This absolutely can apply to learning a complicated electronic setup as well. I’m in no way implying musicianship can’t come from that realm. This is all extremely personal as well, and just my own take. You can absolutely make music even while trying many machines.
It’s just that for my own, personal journey, I’ve decided that I need more time exploring the nuances of my kit and less time worrying about what the next piece is.
I’m rambling but these kinds of ideas are also things I’ve arrived at from another book suggestion I have.
Essentialism - Greg McKeown
I know neither of these books have been explicitly musical in nature, but for me, my problems are more in the focus / effort / goal oriented realm, especially because I’ve made some music in semi-professional capacity.
The book can be a bit repetitive and maybe “preachy” at times but it left me with some lasting ideas that my time and how I choose to spend it is a zero sum game. (Time spent trying a new box is time lost getting to know my Rytm more.)
It had me question what I actually want out of these bleep bloops I make and thinking of the greater picture of the creative work I want to pursue, a rhetorical exercise I promptly ignored for the better part of the last year while I continued to waste more time watching demo vids and reading forums and manuals for potential purchases than I spent making music with my kit.
But the point is I was now more aware of this tendency I have and could tune my focus to the behavior / impulses. And now I’m taking some active steps away from that direction (NGNY.)
Sorry for rant. This subject has been on my mind a lot lately.