Lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by my hardware synths and excessive vst collection. I end up randomly browsing through presets and burning myself out on 4 bar loops before I get any real work done. It’s great to have so many options, sure, but I don’t feel like I’m making progress or being truly creative this way.
So, I decided I should try limiting my options and spend an entire month with just one synth. Anyone else do these sorts of challenges? Did you see any progress?
May I ask what kind of music do you make?
I ask because perhaps it’s not the overwhelming number of options.
Perhaps it’s the goal you don’t have.
For me it works this way:
evening 1: find rhymes for verses, and take care of rythm in my text
evening 2: arrangement, recording, find sounds, etc.
evening 3: arrangement, more recording, find other sounds, etc.
evening 4: mixing, mastering
evening 5: go to car and prepare those masters to listen to: small in ears, stereo at home, 2-3 head cans, iphone built in speaker(!!!), take notes, compare your mix to other mixes in that genres to find things to make better!
evening 6: fix it and remix it
evening 7: make a break, sports, good munchies, how’s your family?
perhaps.
edit: and then if you have your producing line: produce!
Good idea. Make your own Sounds (Patches) and use them later.
Oh, and one synth challenges are fun.
Until you loose interest and fall back into noodling hours after hours on patches and do nothing with it.
I don’t think I have enough work under my belt to have settled on a style yet. I tend to make a lot of “experiments” that don’t get very far even if they are pretty varied.
Feels wasteful to preset browse and jump from synth to synth every session without really diving into the character and limitations.
Do tracks with your experiments.
Really.
Get something done, and if its a stupid beat with 2 bass monos.
It’s rewarding!
More energy or discipline required? No better motivation than self-motivation. How about you pick a song you know and want to do, then use the relevant choice devices for it. Others can stay unused.
One month is not a long time at all if you really think about it. Let’s say you spend two hours a day 20 days a month on something you want to learn. That’s 40 hours - it’s a start and depending on how fast a learner and how meticulous you are, you might start seeing some progress. Personally, I’m not a very fast learner with new instruments/gear, so something like 40 hours would only mean I’ve taken the first steps with the piece. But it’s a stage in the learning process you simply can’t skip.
Starting from spring 2021 I spent the following seven months focusing 90% of my music making time (approx two hours a night) on the Machinedrum and in that time I was certainly starting to see progress, both in terms of using the MD and coming up with interesting sounds/approaches on it and in terms of making beats in general. The whole time I was obviously making my own songs/tracks with it - just learning the technical “tricks” doesn’t motivate me at all, it has to have a creative goal to it.
If you’re thinking of doing something like a one-synth month thing, I’d strongly encourage it! Personally I found it very inspiring and rewarding! Perhaps start a thread where people can join your quest with an instrument of their choice (or turn this thread into that)!
I had to postpone my “big” real first project in years because reasons, but the plan is to make an OST using the Digitone only.
I’ve created a substantial amount of sounds that i’ve put “in stock” for almost two years. That’s really great because now i can focus on composition and the overall mood of the album. All tracks foundations are done, now i have to go in deep.
Further tweaks and adjustments won’t break the creative momentum, at least i hope so. This collection of sounds reflects my progression with the instrument and i might have to upgrade some of them…or not, we’ll see.
I’m far from mastering the DN but i feel more confident starting a big project with enough knowledge and some “ammo”.
The Digitone is pretty perfect for a one synth project.
I don’t know if i could make a one month only “challenge” but to go deep with learning an instrument can’t be a bad idea.
one thing I like to do if I’m feeling in a rut is start “semi-fresh” each time I want to write. which means I erase everything in my current sequencer project. but leave all the synths I’ve been working with as they were; so same preset or if they lack presets, leave 'em alone. then start writing parts again, tweaking synth sounds and changing which synths I’m using as needed. next session, erase all the sequences and start again. it’s an iterative process which means that over time I get the synths to sound great together, and eventually I get to a state where the actual parts I’m writing are something I want to take further than just jamming on a couple four-bar loops. but it’ll be that way for the first couple sessions, and that’s fine.
Use a standard piano sound for everything when writing. Once you have the parts laid out, then replace them with various and appropriate synths.
Nah. 
That would drive me mad… 
Which synth are you thinking of dedicating a month to?
I think limiting yourself and going deep is cool and helpful.
Personally, I always find that I have an initial period of learning a synth, then I go away and come back to it later to go deeper.
So, I’ve ended up with several synths that I’m learning in parallel but at different stages of ‘connection’ with them.
I love the feeling when you properly connect with a synth, or any instrument, and it feels instinctive… that’s always the goal for me.
I’m thinking I’d work with the Monomachine for the month. I’ve messed with it occasionally but I have a lot deeper to go. If not that then the Microwave XT.
I don’t tend to put a time scale on these things but I’m all for concentrating on one instrument at a time. I enjoy making full tracks with just one synth, making drum and percussion sounds with it too.
sort of.
i have a full closet of gear, but only 1 or 2 synths live on my desk constantly.
sometimes (not very often) i shelve them and unshelve some other.