Currently working up a way to do live sets using OT and Tempest. Learning slightly different approach to sampling on OT where i used to fill every track then build form there I’m thinking about having a whole set built from single project which forces me to use smaller samples, and keep an eye on memory. Using banks for first time and building my own scenes. The challenge often is getting the two machines to blend sound wise and I’m reaching a conclusion that they both like to be the spectrum boss. That’s fine I just need to have a 75/25 split either way and keep that in mind. Also going deeper on tempest just really blows your wig back seeing what they achieved with that machine, though I don’t see it as a bread and butter drum machine. Anyway, deeper.
Hi NGNY’ers of 2023,
I also want to make the pledge. I’ve been lurking on this thread from the beginning of january. I made the new year resolution to not buy anything this year and I just feel now that I’m falling back into old habits of looking at gear on the forum and youtube. My brain just lusts after that hit of dopamine.
I’m looking for a bit of support. Because I am very close to selling stuff and buying something new, but I feel like it would be good for me to stick to what I have, even though I can come up with perfect rationalizations why I need that other stuff. It’s not about the money or not even that I wouldn’t put the new stuff to good use (cuz I’m very productive music-wise atm), but it’s about sticking to a principle and keeping that momentum. I hope someone can relate, or has good advice for me 
I really like this thread and think it’s a very healthy current under a not so healthy commodity-fetishist main-stream.
the definition of gas imo.
just wait, as much as you can, do some music with what you have at the moment, try the presets, try different settings for them, if you hold a week or more and the thoughts about getting new stuff are gone then it was probably wise to not succumb.
maybe try watching youtube of people doing different things with the same stuff you have or try replicating whatever music you like, usually these processes take my mind of looking for new stuff.
Yeah it’s definitely the GAS talking.
To be more frank, I’m in a stressful time in my life, where I made a lot of good changes incl. relationships, work and doing therapy. But all the sudden changes also stress me out and lately I haven’t really been able to access my emotions. My first tendency is then to withdraw socially, and go into GAS-mode.
I won’t succumb, now that I’ve added my name to the NGNY pledge list. Whenever I get a craving, I’ll just post something.
Everyone who is having less difficulty than me, I find that really inspirational. Keep up the good work 
Buying stuff ain’t making the stress go away that’s for sure.
A little walk, some exercise, enjoying the gear you have, helps take the edge off some.
Fought off some GAS this weekend. Had a couple of sessions with the gear that is around. Saved myself some time, money, energy, and space by not going out to pick up / trade / try / buy other gear.
I’m having fun taking the tips from this forum and trying them out. This weekend was trying out Fun with Ratio Offsets - #46 by RobertSyrett on the Digitone while otherwise resting on the couch. I made sounds I never expected, and a pattern I was quite happy with… also somehow managed to craft & hone my own deep kick on the DN without really trying for that.
doing ok here, I think the key is that I bought something with a really long and slightly impenetrable manual in like, December.
I mean, the Triton manual isn’t like, 90s Roland, but it does a lot of things and I am still working out what some of them are.
(Am a bit tempted to buy some expansion ROMs, can’t work out if that counts.)
I’m in. Found this topic (and forum) only recently, but haven’t made any purchases this year.
I sold my whole modular system last december and made the switch to a few Elektron boxes and an Alphabase. I’m planning on using 2023 to learn these and actually make some tunes.
As someone who had to seek out therapy due to anxiety and panic disorder (first time in my life treatment/new diagnosis) I can definitely relate to some of this.
As mentioned earlier I bought 2 eurorack modules after finding a great deal. This was a great distraction from the anxiety and basically it becomes a flood of GAS in wanting to continue that distraction. I’ve looked at so many possible acquisitions, and I don’t think I would be better off with any of them.
I’m keeping strong from GAS except for possibly moving the eurorack modules to their own collapsible case, which was always the plan, but I actually think this could help because it’d simplify things and I believe I need that.
Otherwise what’s helped is Pokemon
Seriously… I bought it for the switch. This is where the “gotta catche em’ all” is appropriate, and it doesn’t cost more to catch them.
I should add that I’m improving with the anxiety/panic BS. Part of it related to dumb ass COVID that screwed me up worse in the middle of all this, but the hope is to get back to “normal” in weeks. I gotta just push myself outside the comfort zone and lean into those panic attacks to get better apparently.
Damn this thread about ND3 reactivated my GAS so easily. Hopefully, this thread is the water on the fire.
fortunately there is very little new gear or products that I really desire in 2023 so even easier to pass. Just updated firmware on my SP 404 MK2 and having blast making tracks on that and the Virus. Jammed on Rytm last night that was a ton of fun as well.
Yeah! Whether it’s more “conventional” patterns of addiction, GAS, existing neuroses amplified by pandemic ferality these excruciatingly long few years since, being kind to yourself is key towards establishing consistent and achievable healthy patterns.
That too definitely… I just got hit with covid last month, that I guess I’m still recovering from. Mentally, I guess that put me over edge. 3rd fucking time too since 2020 (except the 2020 one is unconfirmed… just happens to be the same symptoms in 2021 and once again in 2023).
But, I’m back to working on music stuff. I’m helping my brother with understanding mixing approaches and techniques which is jumpstarting my return to things.
Definitely, a lot of us are negotiating what’s safe with events, friends, and that too can be day to day based on comfort levels.
Helping out others and sharing knowledge is definitely inspirational and can make anyone feel good!
I can’t say that most people really care about what’s in your home studio no matter how cool, but someone asking you for help/advice or trusting you can be really good for esteem without feeling patronized by (even well-meant) flattery.
I had to pause a recording project this weekend to help run sound for a local festival, lead engineer got a lot of compliments and I got kudos for friendliness/professionality and (almost as important) paid!
Had to make myself be comfortable with working masked when the audience got in, and the amount of physical/social exhaustion knocked me out running into today, but I’m glad I persisted.
true that and sharing and helping others is good and I try to do that and learn as well.
I’m also working through this. Kicked off in December by taking a new job which proved to be much more stressful/intense than I thought, and activated all kinds of underlying issues, compounded by covid isolation over the last few years. GAS was a real part of my issues, as it involved a negative cycle of dishonesty, egotistical and (financially) self-destructive behaviour.
This thread last year was a massive help for that part of things.
I hope you can work through it. I needed medication & therapy, and am waiting for a CBT referral, to try to re-program my reaction to anxiety whilst I’m on the meds. Things are getting better a step at a time, hope they do for you too 
I’ve started only the intake part with the CBT. I’ve been prescribed meds and have been told it’ll only be temporary. I’m excited about getting over this but I think this Thursday we start more into what will be exercises and “homework”
Definitely wishing you the best too. This is such a weird thing to experience.
Yeah, for good and ill, tragedies like a pandemic push all of us to our extremes.
And a lot of us create because we have to, but also because we’re pretty low on the natural dopamine/serotonin uptake, which can overlap with a myriad of ways to gin up good feels especially when a lot of our usual methods are less safe and have been written out temporarily or inadvisable for the foreseeable future.
It’s a tough thing reshaping your life away the things that were (formerly) healthy ways to load up on the experiential, and managing day to day stress without the same rituals we’ve developed over the years and with any scale being difficult to predict.
Patience was always at a premium, now a necessity
Me too. No money 
and no time.
does software license count as gear purchase? I need to renew my DAW software licenses for Logic and Abelon and buy a few longer cables but no synths or hardware.