Interesting problem to have, I guess.
Sitting down to my collection of synths, I’m finding trouble deciding where to start. Do I work with just one or all? How to choose? I can always get something going, but seem to be getting bogged down by initial decisions.
Just to be clear, selling some of my gear is not an option. Have been down that road and back. Finally have a collection of all Elektron gear and am wholly satisfied.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Maybe introduce some self-imposed rules, e.g., use the Minimoog on mondays, Jupiter 8 only on weekends, etc. If you have a certain sound in mind you‘re going for, reach for the synth that you consider least likely to get you there. Or toss a coin. Just try to get some structure into the selection process if you‘re overwhelmed by choices.
What kind of music are you trying to make? Answering that question might give you idea.
I suggest picking one and just go. Sometimes the hardest part is starting, and you just need to create a kick, or a bass note to get the creative juice flowing. After that, it usually snowballs, but don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t. I think, the more time you spend with each piece of gear, the easier it is to get things going.
…well…sounds more like a luxury problem…,-)
but a pretty common one…
always focus on one gadget ONLY first…force urself to reduce and really focus to get something going there…just some kind of basic metronome bumm tschak edges, some bassline, a nice arp sequence and one chord…and make these elements really breathe together…
and THEN u turn to the next or all the other machines and let the happy accidents come and start to happen via a little jam…
but really stick to one machine first and really force urself not to stop before something of it’s own becomes alive only from there…
from that point on, all further elements will fall into it’s places just by fooling around and havin’ fun with all the other options u got…but only then the magic can take place…otherwise u get lost again…
and never end a session before it has’nt some kind of musical sense and face…record that result quick and dirty…listen to that next day…and take it from there again…
but first decision always…which gadget will be my basic element to deliver today and stick with that decision until u got something from it for real…
another option is to pick some nice little sample from somewhere and start working around and with just that little piece of audio before u start ur always better be patient procedure as mentioned…
and never overload a track…u don’t need to layer a thousend little ideas on top of each other…
in most cases “only” three elektrons will do all the trick for that specific track ur workin’ on already…
and if u ask me…the two digis OR an ot and the a4 combined is already way enough…
For a while I found having a multitude of options to be severely debilitating so sold everything. An extreme reaction perhaps… 
Def try focusing on one piece. Put names in a hat and whatever you draw is what you use/start with. Anything you can do to give yourself a little nudge and kickstart that creativity.
It’s a problem most of us face at least once every now and then
Don’t overthink it. Listen to the silent voice. Follow your gut feeling. Be a child. Or a warrior and face your fear. Get out of your comfort zone.
Over time you will find your place in it all, so be patient. Life is a journey, enjoy the ride. Give yourself affirmations and fight yourself into a positive attitude. Learn how your mind works, and find out what inspires you. Go for walks or clear your mind somehow. Etc etc… 
like others are saying it’s about choosing limits. you can pick them top-down, by first thinking about the music you want to make, and what you would need to make it, or you can go bottom-up and choose tools and processes and embrace the influence they have on your results
I think that historically it’s arguable the latter approach is the more fundamental one, but that’s a whole other discussion
this thread is very valuable! it’s very good to be reminded that constraints help creativity and that we as human beings can also get paralysed by too much unboundedness or too many options. Thanks!
Silence, focus and pause are key for me. What I mean by that, I’ll sit down in front of one of my instruments and I decide with myself that I will stay seated and engage with the instrument, even if after a few minutes it seems to not want to “work” or that the tool is “the wrong one” - I stay seated, focus on the instrument and if need be I pause and “listen to the silence” in order to capture what’s in the ether.
it almost feels like at times I have to brake through a “barrier” before anything meaningful can emerge, but I’m learning that if I don’t turn away from the instrument and stay on it, eventually something emerges and then it flows.
I feel it’s best to not think while creating. Just do whatever you feel like doing. If your mind is getting in the way, turn the mind off. Plan out your sessions before you enter the studio, that way you know where to start.
Put a few things away & only focus on the number of synths you are comfortable with.
I personal love a lot of options tho, so I might not be the best person to take advice from on this topic. I bounce around a lot! I just do what I feel like doing. If there are specific things I want to accomplish I plan it away from the studio & then have more focused studio sessions to accomplish those things.
A lot of people say constraints help creativity & I admit I love limitations & I love limited gear due to it being a challenge, but I LOVE options & options bring out my creativity. I get inspired using different pieces of gear, it makes me try different things, I experiment more. Yesterday alone I used 4 different set ups & I had a fucking blast!!! I also made a ton of stuff. But I love this more than words can describe. If all I had was 1 sampler & 1 synth, I wouldn’t have learned nearly as much as I’ve learned & I couldn’t spend 50+ hours a week in my studio.
Get over it/yourself. Have something to say. Dive in. : ) (all said w/ <3) If you don’t have some kind of vision for your music, why do you own all those instruments?
…turning ur mind off, can be one of the hardest things to achieve…
some even train on this for a lifetime…
but it’s priceless, the feeling of a virgin clean canvas and listening to plain silence remains an everlasting goal…
at least if u really want to say something with some kind of true value, end of the day…
let’s keep in mind…even guys like hemingway shot themselves just for the angst of another blank piece of paper…
you start with one note
Invite a friend to make music together with your Gear. Setup two Synths and have fun!
Need help controlling your thoughts? Read this book:
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Train for a lifetime? Maybe to gain MORE control. But it doesn’t take a lifetime to get basic control of the mind. What’s hard is controlling thoughts when faced with death or during extreme circumstances. That’s where the lifetime of training comes in. To be fully in the now at all times, even in the darkest of times.
Controlling your mind so you can play with your toys? If you need to train for a lifetime to learn that you have deeper issues. Seek help!
For example Hemingway? I have a feeling more was going on with him than a blank piece of paper. Sounds like he had deep issues.
& even with deep issues, you CAN take control. No joke I was able to cure my depression because of the book I listed above. & not just minor depression, I was suicidal. The above book changed my life in the most beautiful way. & all it did was teach me how to control my thoughts & be in the now.
I could talk about this all day, but it’s waaay off topic.
What works for me is putting a limit on the number of machines per project. That number is usually 3.
Not including the mixer. Also I can always overdub another instrument after recording if I think ‘oh it would be nice to have an MS20 warble in this bit’
I have often found I try to fit too many ideas into a track. Limiting the number of instruments helps keep that in check.
Try focusing on the melody. If you’re struggling a chord progression or a scale (or both) can help you keep the melody within some boundaries.
Don’t worry to much about what gear, synth or software to use. If the melody is a good one it will work on pretty much whatever instrument and you can make a second version by hunting for different sounds and versions of the same intro, verse chorus and so on.