Theres not enough time in the day. The old story. But with a plethora of musical instruments at your disposal, how do you get around the fact that you have to choose which instrument its going to be (to be fair it should be equal). Do you have to compromise in some way. Cheers all.
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Iām struggling to play any instruments at all at the moment.
My daughterās uke gets more attention (during this lockdown) from me than the kit I actually want to be playing.
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I usually have phases where Iām into one or two specific machines.
Usually changes after some weeks
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This is a super interesting question @sabana
I remember when I first started out making music, it was a very small setup, just a few synths and a drum machine, and that was pretty much the core of the setup for ages. I had a relationship with that setup and that sound.
There was a point where a relative passed away so had a small bit of money, and I spent I think it was about Ā£5k on gear straight out. This was back in the early/mid 90ās so that didnāt buy you much, but it was more having to learn a sampler, mixer, computer to sequence, eq, fx, basically a whole load of stuff. This really started to shift how studio sessions went. What was turning on gear and creating, was in a really confusing place.
Overtime I learned that for me, each piece of equipment has a relationship with me, isnāt equal, and not using something for long periods is totally fine. Itās more about the environment that helps you create and you get to shape that environment not by what is in it, but how you perceive it.
I have equipment that I still struggle with, oddly the Elektron Rytm Mk2 is one of those pieces, not because it isnāt an amazing piece of gear, but more what my relationship is with it and how that informs how I create. Iām finding the Elektron is more enjoyable outside of the studio at the moment and on the sofa. I have in my head that I need to create something entirely on that machine alone, as it has the capabilities, but canāt quite get the sound I am looking for yet, Iām getting close tho.
So I think it comes back to understanding how much you know a piece of gear, and what kinda of session in the studio it will be. I think itās not always a case of setting that out before hand, but more being able to appreciate it in the moment. āAhh it seems like today is getting to grips with this gearā¦okā or āthat track happened pretty fast, greatā or āWell, at least I have some sounds I guess, but that session suckedā¦Netflixā.
I donāt think itās about gear being equal at all. Have your favourites, know what gear you know and what you donāt, and work with that understanding where you are, or learning something about that session if it feels new.
Lastly, I would say proximity to gear is everything to changing perspective and relationships with gear. If you canāt see it, reach it, or interact with it easily then that will change the interaction, and challenge that interaction and relationship as you have it. I remember my wife using my Nord Rack 2 for the first time, a machine I used massively for Autechre like beats, and she creating these intense raspy drones and textures. That machine totally changed for me in that second. I still donāt know what my relationship is with it now years later haha.
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I have to sort of psyche myself up, by drinking coffee and getting my head together in the morning. If Iām trying to compose something new I start by repatching my modular, and playing aroundā¦usually it leads to something I can use, in which case i will pad it out in varying ways and my daw is always recording a stereo pass of everything.
I tend to come at things in small bursts, Iāll spend maybe 1 - 2 hours finding something I like, and step back and repeat later in the day. Repeat with different parts until I have an arrangement I like.
I find it hard to sustain a session outside of a band/multiple musician sessionā¦just how I work as a solo person, in small but regular bursts. That applies to any instrument I pick up, but I mainly see my set up as connected as itās always used together. If I pick up my guitar, itās more about warming up and into comfortable playingā¦
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I like the idea of forming relationships with your instruments.
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The music I make is usually dependent on the mood Iām in. If I need to work off some anger, Iāll probably fire up the Lyra and DFAM and make some hardcore or noise.
If Iām feeling chill Iāll fire up the Digitone and do some ambient.
If Iām in a jolly old mood I might fire up the Digitakt and Erica Bassline and smash out some acid or techno.
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i always practice with gigs in mind, so there are two main rules:
- do-it-all gear has priority over dedicated. e.g. MC-707 has priority over Circuit Mono Stations.
- compact and lightweight gear has priority over bigger & heavier. e.g. Electribe 2 has priority over Roland HandSonic.
also, gear rotation matters. if i feel bored or stuck with certain gear ā it has to be shelved for a while. different gear often brings different view on the same parts. (also, itās the ultimate excuse for GAS and having more gear 
)
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Some are like pets to me 
I have a kind of love for them, and I worry about them getting ill, what a loser
WRT the OP I think it is good to have your main instruments that you use all the time, then have some causal stuff that you only use occasionally. I found it quite difficult to be focussed on a setup for a while, but I think it was because I had too many complex devices, with too much overlap, different operating systems, and too many options.
So I simplified it down to gear that I canāt do without, and got rid or getting rid of the rest.
Main instruments are:
OTmk2 - very comfortable with it, workarounds essential though for some things.
Squarp Pyramid - very comfortable with it, though still need to finalise definition files and a perma setup so that I can load a song and everything is ready to go.
Deluge - Comfortable with most things, it has a number of roles, need to find my flows with it, so that any given role becomes second nature.
I think the key is practice until the workflow becomes ingrained before moving on to other gear, an easy trap to fall into.
I also like stuff like OP-1, OP-Z, Volcas etc for their simplicity and portability, but none of these kind of devices form part of my permanent setup, but can be brought in as guests if needed.
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My approach is to limit myself to small number of instruments/plugins for each album or ep that I do. Usually about 4 or 5. That prompts me into getting to know the equipment much better and also helps alleviate GAS (a little bit at least) as I feel guilty about having too much stuff that hasnāt been used yet. Iāve also got a weird notion that it helps give each album/ep more of a cohesive sound.
Just in the process of finishing off a more ambient EP that DN/MinilogueXD/NI Prism and also a collaboration with @biestyboy that is mostly A4/AR/Arp Odyssey/Ableton Wavetabe/UHe Zebra - itās always fun deciding on the setup for the next project.
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Just been passed your place a few times since the early hours 
Just finished need to chill with beer before playing on the Elektrons 
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Haha are you back at graft?
A couple beers sound like heaven right now; soon as 5 o clock comes itās happy hour.
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Yeah back after 4 months off 
Early week 5am starts
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Whatever the track needs at the time gets used. I donāt have a lot of money (loads of debt tho 
), so Iāve carefully curated my gear over time to only have what I actually need. And each thing has a go-to purpose for getting a new track off the ground fast
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I bought a Blackbox around New Year. Itās so tiny, I can leave it in the living room and often pick it up, start playing with it and forget I have other gear. Itās intuitive and fast to put together ideas on and itās virtually the only thing iāve used since. Because I have a laptop nearby, I can sample straight from it, or the tv If I want to.
So the Blackbox divides my time from my other gear by virtue of it being so versatile.
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I kind of been dividing my gear into stuff for sampling and stuff for live, with generally rotating new bits of live gear into the set up rarely. Generally for me that keeps stuff interesting but I donāt get bogged down in trying to work out a new workflow changing my set up all the time.
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I donāt really seek to āmasterā an electronic instrument. though I do respect the idea and appreciate those that share with us what theyāve done. but really the studio itself is the instrument. you surround yourself with synths and drum machines and samplers and effects and whatnotā¦ and you use them as you see fit for your voice/sound/whatever. you donāt have to be the best at the OT or the MS20 or the Model D, as long as you can get what you want from each. and if you canātā¦ well just make sure youāve done more than just scratch the surface of one before you sell it.
soā¦ I donāt see the need to make sure I spend equal time with each thing or make sure the most expensive bit of kit gets the most attention. if Iām having trouble with something, it gets more attention. if Iām thinking of getting rid of something, it gets more attention (just to make sure!). if somethingās new, it gets more attention. once I āgetā each piece and nothingās coming or going, and my studio is stableā¦ I dunno, just whatever appeals to me at the moment gets my attention. if I donāt get inspired by what Iām getting from itā¦ move on and try something else.
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About a year ago I sold nearly all of my equipment (which was a pretty long list) in favor of a much more focused set of instruments (mostly Eektron boxesā¦). After having things all setup together and not liking it, Iāve been putting together smaller groups of 1-3 pieces, and I find my focus is much tighter this way.
My plan has been to learn as much as possible about each piece of gear I have, so one day it may be āPlays Freeā mode on the OT, or making kits on the MD, or how to plock as many parameters on the A4 as possible, etc. Thereās a lot to learn and since things are siloed off, Iām jumping around a lot, which is good because it keeps everything else fresh.
Last week I was playing with the new DN OS features, mostly with a ton of plocks and slocks, and how that worked with the A4. The last few days Iāve spent a lot of time with the Nord Modular and Octatrack, exploring how the OT can modulate noodles and algorithmic Nord patches and live sampling them. Next week I already know I want to solo the MDUW and get back into that.
Honestly I just keep bouncing around every 3-7 sessions, because if I donāt come up with something new I want to try, thereās kind of a backlog of things I havenāt gotten to learn yet, or Iāll hear something I like and try to emulate it, and that keeps things moving. I havenāt recorded much because setting that up has been a pain in the ass, but Iāve never felt more productive, or liked what Iāve been making as much.
So the short answer I guess is my wanting to learn about and explore the gear I have as much as possible has been the driving force behind how I choose what I use.
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Same here. Didānt sell off bunch of gear, but I do the same with experimenting with each box individually, sampled into the OT and then exploring what the OT can do with that. My newest love is using the OT arp on evrything in every way. Then back into the OT, or record thru OB into live on the AH. To me itās just my way of meditating and learning. Kinda wish I had the NM still, but that was years ago, and the MnM seems to have taken that role.
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