Doing the most with the least

[igtheflig]

@Zzzz

but I think any human could realistically share something unique given enough time reaching technical proficiency of an instrument.

This is key. And the examples you cite dedicate their lives (is this the “talent” you speak of?) to making so much with so little. Me? I’m a 48 year old computer programmer with 2 kids, a mortgage, and other concerns. I spend about 30 minutes a day TOPS on this little hobby. I don’t expect to completely turn “musical structure and composition on its head” . I just want to feel a little flow, and let my soul out a little bit.

That, for me, is simpler on less gear, simple gear. Some people here are cross collector/musicians, and fair play to them also.

[thermionic]

@ghostbuddy

If you have that much gear, you should be pro enough not to get option paralysis.

But yeah, I wouldn’t get option paralysis even if I had all of my gear always set up.

@ghostbuddy

I’d think thats a big part of being pro.

On one hand yes, if you’re a working professional you will have addressed your workflow to be profitable and know your limitations.

On the other, not everyone has the same strengths and weaknesses, not everyone into synths is neurotypical…

I don’t think everyone has it all figured out, but people have better compensation/coping strategies and those of us who finance art with a day gig definitely have less energy for the little decisions sometimes

[ghostbuddy]

@thermionic

I don’t think everyone has it all figured out, but people have better compensation/coping strategies and those of us who finance art with a day gig definitely have less energy for the little decisions sometimes

Yeah, this is me, but having made music for close to two decades now I’m more than familiar with professional techniques to get shit done. My bands and projects might not have been financially succesful, but I’ve released a bunch of albums and toured in multiple countries. The best way to get shit done (for me) is to set or get label to set a deadline and then work within that time constraint. I have no time for option paralysis, I take a few instruments and start working, and then build on that with other instruments if I need to. Maybe even ask a friend to play something i don’t own or know how if it’s what I think would serve the music well.

Then there’s the band side of things, where it’s a constant cycle of writing songs, recording songs, releasing music, touring and then going back to writing songs. You’re working all the time, either learning new stuff or practicing for tour so no time for option paralysis. You just have to get shit done to keep the band going.

[Doug]

I make sample based hip-hop, which I think lends itself to a small set up.

My latest thing was done with the Digitakt, the Circuit Rhythm and some records. The Rhythm is great as its own thing but I really like using it as a module, especially since I’m amused by the fact that I can put together a little beat tape on a single pattern chain on the Digitakt and just let it run.

02/22 Beats / Hip-Hop / Elektron Digitakt x Novation Circuit Rhythm

I also really like exploring the Digitakt either on its own or with a little pal. For this one I’m just using the Digitakt and the Uno synth. There’s one sampled note from the Uno synth in all of the tracks on the Digitakt and doing some MIDI loopback nonsense. And the Uno synth is doing the rest.

Getting a little weird with the Elektron Digitakt and Uno synth / Hip-Hop

I’ve got more stuff that I use mostly for making samples. I mainly use some combination of my Uno synth, my Digitone, my Modal Skulpt and either my Zoom Sampletrak or Circuit Rhythm. It’s a lot of fun.

[Doug]

I really like the sounds you got out of that Digitone, man

[sabana]

Love the Zen feel about this setup. Feels very calming and interesting. Whats the box in the middle?

[brisket]

I suspect that achieving this balance depends on having a clear goal when you start playing. If you say: I’m going to write a pop song, then you might sit at a keyboard, work until you have a melody and chords etc, record the basic track, then do a bunch of overdubs. Having too many instruments won’t be a problem, you’ll just choose what serves the song.

In electronic music it’s harder to know what ‘the song’ is. But the key point: it still doesn’t come from the machine. You still have to approach it with some intention. That intention might be: a slowly modulated bass drone that evolves into a bell sound. But it’s still an intention, and if you know your instruments at all well it will be clear which you need to achieve that.

Going in without an intention and letting the instrument dictate is a different thing. I think it’s good mindset for sound design and for learning a synth, which of course is enjoyable in its own right; but nothing in that process can tell you what instrument to use, or when a piece is finished. It can’t, because you didn’t know what you want! Sound design sprawls; composition is contained. Intention!

[theartistisirrelevant]

Thank you!

[Sleepyhead]

Great thread! I’m a big advocate of finding a minimal setup which works for you, and really committing to it.

I’ve been producing samplebased hiphop for about 20 years now (since I was about 12) and when I started out there was no way I could make a full song entirely in my daw (logic4) without any external gear. There was no software sampler, and the internal vsti’s sucked.

So I saved the money I made working at a supermarket for a year and bought a secondhand mpc. It was all I had for about 10 years, and I’ve never mastered an instrument as well since. I’ve also never been as productive or inspired to make music. The mpc was my dream machine, and I was completely invested in learning it inside out. Sometimes I take it out again, and the muscle memory is still automatic.

After trying out some different machines for a couple of years I’ve committed to getting the same level of mastery of a single machine again. Instead of making me more inspired, getting new gear just gives me more stress. There’s so much benefit in mastering a machine and finding tricks to make it do what you need instead of buying something to fill every void.

I’ve decided to completely master my minimal setup (the ARmk2 and the moog grandmother) in the upcoming year. I’ll release some beattapes I did on this setup soon. Here’s an album I made on the GM and the digitakt (which I had before the AR). This is made entirely on those 2 machines and a turntable used to sample some vinyl:

A Brave New World

[blurrghost]

@chiasticon

I do wonder whether those so focused on minimal setups now went through the period where a setup was just a laptop and a sound card. and maybe because I did, that’s why I enjoy having a plethora of gear now…

Reading this thread and others like it I’ve wondered the same thing.
Personally I never had that phase. I got into this stuff at a time when a computer powerful enough to make music with (as far as I knew at the time) was prohibitively expensive but obsolete gear was cheap and abundant so the obvious path for me was always lots of gear. I never went in the box except for basic recording. The habit seems to have stuck for better or worse.

[craig]

That’s really interesting. I grew up and got into electronic music (after band stuff) at a time when computer based music was cheaper and easier. I’ve even worked for Computer Music (the magazine) so had access to more software than most. For the stuff I did back then, always with a vocalist, the DAW and plug-ins were the obvious route. But since then, doing my own stuff, I found that the DAW and plug-ins offers far too many possibilities, like having a virtual room full of all the gear imaginable. So, I went without the DAW for a while, trying to deliberately limit my choices, and ended up swapping things in and out for the last few years trying to get it work for me. Only now do I realise that I’m happiest with a couple of bits of hands-on hardware for sound generation and a DAW for recording/FX/mastering.

[blurrghost]

I was also into band stuff first (I still play in a few bands). As for what I mentioned before, location might have played a part too. This was the mid 90s (I was a teenager) in northwestern Washington state at the tail end of grunge. Seattle had it’s little industrial scene but for the most part it was hardcore guitar culture. You could still find Moogs (rogue/ prodigy/ etc) for $100 in the vast array of pawnshops that lined the streets and thrift shops were full of now classic drum machines because nobody would be caught dead playing “fake instruments”. There was usually something wrong with them but that’s how I learned to fix and build gear. Unfortunately I let most of that stuff go before it became crazy valuable, dumb teenager and all.
A comprehensive modern computer on the other hand was way out of reach and I didn’t know at the time that older computers could be used for anything other than games and word processing. The first computer I owned was an apple 2 I pulled out of the garbage in the late 90s. You couldn’t even buy new 5 1/4” floppies for it at that point but luckily there was a whole box of them in there with it. I barely learned to operate the thing, a typewriter seemed more practical.

[Airyck]

Doing everything you can with what you have is always a good choice. Also before you add something new, think about what you have and see if you can do what you want with what you already have. You learn so much about your gear this way.

I’m obviously not on the “minimal” side when it comes to gear (for those who know me).

I also have everything hooked up all at the same time. Most things have dedicated inputs or outputs into my audio interfaces (I have 50+ ins and outs available). Everything is routed into Audio patchbays with normalizations to interface inputs. In reality I still have 13 hardware synthesizers, multiple drum machines, tons of controllers, FX etc…

I have MIDI for everything connected with a MIO XL, MIDI4+, and MOTU Ultralite as a back up. The iConnectivity stuff is also networked through ethernet so they can communicate with each other.

All of the gear has a dedicated power switch in the rack and USB only things are plugged into powered USB hubs which can be switched on or off.

I have probably 50+ USB ports available through hubs and interfaces.

Audio snakes connect patch bays to different sides of the room.

I have templates for every instrument with MIDI and Audio routing setup in my DAW’s where I can just power on a device, drag and drop a track preset, and starting recording instantly.

for example:

It helps if you have things setup like this; where using them is as easy as, Power on, Drag and drop track preset, Play synth and/or record. You can choose to use them or not without spending days moving shit around. You don’t have to troubleshoot or trace cables and get frustrated. Spend the time to setup things to make it as easy as possible to use everything you own.

For me, having a ton of instruments means I have lots of sources of inspiration.
If I’m not certain about a newer instrument I spend a lot of time using it and understanding it outside of the rest of my gear.

This process is part of the whole thing for me. I reach a point where I have confidence in an instrument and it becomes a permanent part of my setup. If you have a lot of gear it should be mostly things that you have grown this confidence in. When things are frustrating and not going well, you know that it’s you and not the instrument. If you learn in depth all of the ways synths manipulate sound then you don’t need to master every individual instrument. You just need to be able to navigate the interface and understand important specs when interfacing.

I think learning how to overcome this exact issue of option paralysis is as important as the actual music. Everything about the process of making music, good or bad, is equally important. You have to enjoy coming up with better ways to work as much as coming up with better music.

Having a plan can help. You don’t have to plan your whole song, ep, or album exactly. You just need to plan some guidelines for yourself to follow and stick to them.

Here’s an example:

Open for track creation idea

A recent one I tried (based on something I read in passing) was to listen to a track of someone else I was digging lately and was similar to something I wanted to make. I listened closely and wrote a basic description of every sound the song had.

• Kick
• Snare (noisy)
• Bass (saw-ish but low filter)
• OH (noise)
• CH1 (Metal)
• Shaker
• Hi percussion
• Conga (occasionally)
• Tom (as bass)
• Pad (swirling / chords)
• Piano (lead only no chords)
• Lead Synth (brassy)
• Rhythmic Acid-ish synth

etc…

This gives me a guide for the sounds I need.
I make a drum kit on the Analog Rytm with all of those drum sounds. I need a sample for the Conga but the rest is Analog engines. A decision and I’ll stick with it.

I decide which synth would be best for that type of bass and stick with it.

I load a Piano multisample I like.

I choose a synth for a brassy lead etc…

This limits the amount of sounds and instruments I can use. If that changes because the song requires it that’s okay. If I choose an instrument I will stick with it for that sound. This just gives me what I need to do next and so that I don’t get stuck.

I’m in no way trying to re-create or copy that track. I’m using as an inspiration guide. It’s a set of sounds that can fit (with evidence) in a song and sound good. Thats a great guide. Later I can use that song as a reference track for mixing and mastering the song because it will have a potentially similar set of sounds in the arrangement.

I’m always trying different solutions like these to get better at making and finishing music I feel good about.

The whole point is that I feel like people think in order to do great things they need to cut away as much as possible so they can master just one or two things. Thats great and all, but what about your own inspiration sustainability? Are you going to be constantly inspired just using that one thing? Maybe you are and thats what you need.

Some people know themselves well enough to know that they need to minimize in order to be productive. If that’s what you need to do then do it, but you might not need to either.

Doing this minimizing to solve the issue is changing the outside world to better fit you. In this case it’s not a horrible one because it really only affects you anyway. Working through the problem and adapting to it could make you more resilient on the other side. Where you can work with very little gear or a lot of gear. It won’t matter because you’ve honed every inch of your music making craft and ability such that no obstacle can get in the way of you making something inspiring with anything or without much.

Isn’t that the ultimate state of music making being to reach? I’m not for one way or the other. I just feel that too much thought goes into if I have too much gear or not enough, rather than focusing how to overcome these challenges within yourself instead.

[Mistercharlie]

Whenever I find myself paging through presets, I remember that drummers play entire albums (or more) with one drumkit.

Same for bassists, pianists, and mostly the same for guitarists. Nobody ever complains that all the tracks use the same kick sound.

I have a few favorite kits, and of those I use only a few hits. I haven’t yet met a bass synth I want to settle down with, but that day will come.

Another thought is that confidence can bring simplicity. When I started playing guitar, I drowned it in delay, dirt, and so on. Now I’m a much better player, I’m happy to play naked, with just a spring reverb, and amp crunch. Other effects are added for spice, but I can do almost everything with my hands.

But when it comes to using my voice, I’m still at the cover-up stage. Lots of filters, or cheap mics and reverb to cover up my own lack of experience.

Right now, I’m really, really digging the Ableton Push 2, OP-Z, and guitar setup (with Overloud amp sim). With the OP-Z and a Simpler rack, I can chop a guitar way faster than with the Octatrack, and I can build a song as I go.

I just wish there was a “travel” Push for true on-the-sofa laptop fun

[subduct]

@sabana

Feels very calming and interesting.

It’s definitely more calming and inviting than it was!
That’s Access Virus Ti in the middle. Pretty much makes any synth sound I could ever want.

Access Virus TI | demo by Jexus / WC Olo Garb (part 1 of 2)

Access Virus TI | demo by Jexus / WC Olo Garb (part 2 of 2)

[L-Funk]

I think this is the same with everybody.
Have you ever heard somebody say " I can only be creative if I have 4000 machines around me".
What I get from watching too many studio tours etc during covid, nobody uses all their gear at once.
It is always : " I sampled a chord from my Moog one and then I edited it a bit in my ( prefered workstation).
It is the common ground,if you have an Idea, you will get there with what you have.

[Kultschar]

Also gone back to basics.

Everything packed away except OT really to finally learn it properly. Been a hell of a lot of fun!

[Geneoart]

For six years I only used a MnM nothing else. I did full compositions with it and the MnM offered everything I needed until I got to the point where I became exhausted with the sound. So I bought a OT then an A4 then an AR and all of a sudden I needed a bigger desk to accommodate my growing studio.

I loved all the options and variety of sounds but it did introduce problems I didn’t foresee. Dealing with Midi, mixing and cable management got in the way of my creative process. It took some time to find a my groove but just when I started to become comfortable with my setup a buddy of mine introduced me to eurorack! Chaos ensued and the bug hit me hard. I was on a mission to find exotic sounds, I had delusions of grandeur of becoming a eurorack artist

I’ve since come back down to earth bought and sold a bunch of stuff and settled on what I have today. DT, DN, OB-6, Iridium and 208 hp eurorack skiff. It all fits in a small desk and I’m very happy with it. I don’t get overwhelmed because each instrument has a specific task, yet if I get bored or feel extra creative I can push any of the instruments into new territories.

I respect a minimalist approach but nothing beats having a variety of sound sources. The trick for me was how to condense it all down to a hand full of machines. Eurorack made it possible for me to get a lot of options in a limited amount space.

My work flow is still similar to when I only used the MnM but instead of having access to only 6 tracks I now have access to 24 tracks with a sound palette that is rich and deep.

[bodymechanics]

Maybe not tiny but it’s all I need

[sabana]

Now you seriously got me looking for a powerful digital synth. I was veering towards a Nord Lead but man that Virus is like a supercharged engine. So much power.