Sometimes I just feel like getting rid of it all

Sounds like Bob Ross talking with my voice :slight_smile:

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get rid of the last used equipment and/or perhaps the most disappointing and invest in proper outboard

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I’m going through a MAJOR case of this right now. Set it all on fire, walk away. 'cuz I’m too lazy to sell it.

But then I think “but I’ll keep Monomachine. And it’ll need Machinedrum and Octatrack to stay happy. And the NF-1m and TG-33 and the Evolver” and then I’m keeping half my stuff anyways.

But still I think “leave it all (except for Monomachine)”. Deep creative rut and burnout going on right now which is feeding back on and into depression and then into existential crisis.

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I’ve only ever gotten rid of 2 pieces of gear (korg m1rex & ensoniq mirage) and I deeply regret getting rid of those. It was during a time where like the op I felt I had too much stuff and it overwhelmed me. Being a bit younger than I am now the most immediate solution was to unload things. Luckily of the 6 or seven pieces of gear I was trying to unload only the two pieces were snatched up.

I have a different approach now with gear. I used only a few pieces of gear at a time but retain my pool of gear. So currently I have two elektron boxes on the desk for music and everything else is cased up and put away until I’m ready to use it again.

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All the time.

I frequently purge my gear down to one or two pieces - partly because I think I might focus better but mostly because I don’t like having my $$ tied up in expensive unused electronics. When it goes it feels real good man. But it doesn’t fix anything in the long term because the underlying cause of my discontent is still there.

Lately I’ve been thinking of dumping my entire life and owning nothing but a backpack, laptop and a motorcycle.

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Man, i totally can relate to that. Remember…you have only a certain time on earth. And once you are dead, all the things you possessed means nothing. So better to enjoy your life than being miserable. If you feel you have too much gear. Reduce. That´s what i am doing since the late 1990s. :smiley:

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putting everything away and not doing anything at all - but something completely different at times … this helps. if you are stuck on creativity, if you sit in front of your gear and nothing interesting will come up - its not the gear, its you. get away from everything, take a break. find something that inspires you and soak it up without thinking about making music at all. just enjoy it.

then come back and you find motivation in every single frequency your gear is creating. no matter what - its just working again! repeat the process once the creative juice is gone again.

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I just did this. Got rid of 3/4 of my studio. Tired of clutter and wires and lack of focus. I am more productive ITB anyways but like to have a few things around just for fun and mojo. It is definitely about finding a balance. Saying no to impulse buys and sales and new products is key I think. I don’t think there’s really any end to it though. It’s like weeding a garden. When you find your mind and workspace too cluttered, it’s time to do some thinning out.

Another thing I find is, it’s easy to collect random cheap bits of gear and all of a sudden you’re surrounded by this junk. I’d rather sell everything and buy 1-3 quality pieces. Might not save money, but you’ll save space and be a bit more focused. It takes time and memory to learn all those different interfaces and controls and menu options. Cutting all that out and just having a few bits that you know inside and out can be a great thing.

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I get fearful of keeping electronic stuff too long if i don’t use it since it might stop working. Like being afraid the rytm might one day get the screen burnout etc. So i routinely pair down and try to make sound choices (try). However guitars are different. I cycle trhough stuff and rarely touch my taylor i have had since 97, but that’s not going anywhere and will only improve with age.

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Zelda just had an Ocarina.

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I might be the opposite in that I feel mostly bad about the expensive software I have and not use… Logic, Ableton, NI and other plug ins, iPad apps, also audio interface… dedicated Mac. Dusty.

I have only a few hardware boxes and guitar/piano, percussion stuff, few wind instruments…but that’s the only thing that gets me going.

I also notice a strange depression like atmosphere in myself and in my surroundings at home, work, friends…

Brighter times are on the way!
Peace out

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Downsizing is cathartic but if its not done carefully you just end up buying a lot of it back. I too believe in the philosophy that its “better” to own 1-2 quality pieces rather than 15 volca and 3 Elektron boxes (which is too much to control when jamming live anyway - at least for me).

There are 3 very obvious problems that usually arise from this exercise and I’ll use my pride and joy the Model 15 which is quite expensive to illustrate:

  1. It can get monotonous playing on only 1-2 quality bits of kit… my 15 is awesome to play, look at, and hear… but - its nevertheless a very basic architecture at its core.

  2. I dont have the patience to multi track from one instrument, ie record or sample the same instrument patching a different sound - I want to jam

  3. Owning expensive gear just widens your scope of choice because of the inherent purchasing power you get. I.e. if I sell the Model 15, I can suddenly buy 10k (or whatever) worth of gear…

Its both a blessing and a curse.

And it ties in with a general problem we face in society - ie there is an over abundance of choice and the grass is always greener somewhere else… it applies universally whether in relationships, career or gear…

Too much choice, not enough patience…

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I think the mess of being an electronic musician is that we are expected to be the song writer, play all the instruments, and be the mixing engineer! I think most people would benefit from focusing on one to three pieces of gear. I’m not the first person to say it or do it but there’s something to it for sure… also don’t know if anyone can relate but I think playing one real instrument seems to build my “feel” back up for melodies and beats. It’s gets me out of my head and out of my zombie face micro edit dork mode.

Edit: …and yet I need that dork mode but not always in the middle of songwriting.

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I’ll take your perfourmer.

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Same :smiley: I had (have) this fear with the OP-1. What if the battery is leaking if i dont use it for a long time? So i turn it on, jam around a little and turn it off again. every here and there. without a reason. just to make sure the battery is kept busy and doesnt want to leak at some point :blush:

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Could as well be: Enough Patience in the first place, but too much choice - leading to impatience and constant GAS in the end! I think we all know this feeling and Downsizing is a great way to start focussing again. You probably have to have a lot of stuff in the first place to really know what to keep in the end.

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as has been said upthread: the closet is your friend. try putting most of your gear away and focusing on the couple of instruments you settle on. if nothing else, it’s an opportunity to dive deep and learn them well.

i keep coming back to the early techno pioneers, who often made transcendent music using maybe three or four devices, at least one of which was an effects processor. inspires me to this day.

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So true. So sound.
I think about some of the early pioneers and what a massive ballache it must have been to creat music on archaic machines…

Ive done just that btw… my only “voice” currently is from the Moog… can never have too many drum machines though :face_with_hand_over_mouth::grimacing:

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Man, I’ve thought about giving up the stuff but more for spiritual and being natural reasons…
My setup is my pride and joy…

Every piece of gear I’ve gotten I’ve researched for months on end making sure it’s the absolute most perfect thing for me, meanwhile working my ass off and skipping all the fun things so I can save up for it.

Every piece of gear I have a I absolutely love and will keep and repair for the rest of my life, besides computers, IPads, and interfaces…

I’ve never sold a piece of gear or even traded. I feel like I have my dream setup and am so flipping stoked about it I’ll have fun with it creating new sounds I’ve never dreamed of for decades to come…

#SayNoToGAS

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