In such moments i found asking myself is my skill level strong enough to get something down that is really serious? Did I ever get something down that is really serious?
Always the answer is no! Without a proper understanding of mixing and sounddesign its close to impossible to get something really creative and nice. Like a painter without an idea how to hold the pencil and mixing colours. If you mastered your craft you are able to express yourself independent from the toolkit you use.
If you feel exhausted from stressfull working days, maybe watch some tutorials or read a book about mixing etc. it helps…to hear what you learn estimated average listening/experimental time between 10000-20000hrs. for 99% of us😁
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Maybe you’re just trying to hard to be something or someone you’re not. Come back to home or go farther!
I did my favorite tracks back when I had no clue about mixing and sounddesign 
Just doing and listening instead of thinking
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I’m sure everyone on this forum feels like this. I know I have.
I build up tracks in sections. Basic structure, finalise structure, mixing, mastering. I do 3-4 tracks at a time at each section then move on. Right now I’m mixing tracks I did about 9 months ago.
The reason I do this is that when I’m creative I’ll lay tracks down but when I lose steam which I always do I can move on to more technical stuff.
All the while I’ll make notes of things I’d like to do. Not always big things. For instance design a baseline using Rytm DVCO which I still haven’t tried. I also take my laptop and iPad to work to focus on specific elements to utilise in future tracks.
The result is when I get back to the creative stuff ive got some ideas of what I want to do and I feel energised even excited I’m back to funnest part of it all.
As a bonus I get stuff done and tracks finished and don’t give myself a hard time I’m not using my gear to it’s fullest because is on this list to do at some point.
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I relate to this so frickin hard! It’s part of the reason I started the minimalism thread. I think I’ve found a good balance though. If I can’t make a good groove with 2 machines, four certainly isn’t going to help!
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Sit down and spend a few hours reading The War of Art (it’s mad short but packed full of awesome) It’s such a kick in the nuts (in a really great way) then take a few days away from all the gear and all the music and digest and integrate what you just read. Then when you come back to it, I can practically guarantee that you’ll have a new perspective with your work.
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Lucky you, just wondering you gain your knowledge just by listening?
I think GAS is the heart of the problem.
I’ve been heavily eyeing the Modal Argon 8, but in reality I really just need a better controller keyboard for my setup, and am perfectly happy with Ableton’s wavetable synth. Researching what you really need vs. what you have is super important in making sure you make the most of your equipment, and don’t end up bogged down with choices and lack of time.
I went from 4 volcas to 2 elektrons, and much prefer this slimmed down setup along with the more robust sequencing options. Knowing your gear is way more important than how much gear/options you have. It doesn’t help having access to cool functions if you don’t have a clue how to access/implement them.
I’m still fine tuning my setup, but I’ll take months just figuring out what I need to achieve my end goal. While I dig having lots of cool gear, I also want to make the most of it and not just let it sit in a corner collecting dust.
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As with so many others here, I feel this real hard. I started producing music around 2000ish, getting more serious about it around 2004 or so, and wasn’t really any ‘good’ until maybe 2008/9. I’ve worked my way through several different styles — starting with awful techno, moving to downtempo/instrumental hip hop, then finally more drone/noise/musique concrète which is roughly where I’ve been since 2010.
When I moved countries in 2013, I sold most of my stuff and as such my output dropped considerably. I relied on my laptop as my sole means of production (having been mostly a mix of guitar/pedals/hardware until then), and did manage to make a satisfying album or two, but by 2017 my output had dropped entirely. It’s only been the last couple months, after a couple years of producing nothing, that I’ve finally got back into producing music.
The process of getting back into things has been extremely painful, though. I often feel that while I’ve retained a certain sensibility of sound/aesthetics, I’ve lost a lot of the ‘flow’ I feel I once had. Getting it back has not been easy — I’ve made two tracks in the past couple months that I’m somewhat satisfied with, with dozens of others left half-finished and sounding mostly shit.
What I’m realizing is that creativity is as much about hard work as anything else. It takes practice to flex creative muscles, and just showing up is honestly 75% of the battle (at least for awhile). Just like learning any other skill, it’s important for me to accept that for the foreseeable future, 90% of what I work on will be shit — but it will be shit that’s also part of the process of learning to be efficient and effective again.
I took up running a couple years ago and much of the advice for learning how to run is applicable to creative pursuits, too — take time to recover, ease your way into it, take time to learn how the body/mind works, build up your practice gradually, and respect and trust the process (even if the result isn’t what you were hoping for).
I think the most important thing is to be patient with yourself, and to have realistic expectations (without lowering your ambition to become better).
(For what it’s worth, I disagree with 'If you can’t do it in Ableton then the problem is you’ stance. For me, being able to do ‘anything’ in Ableton is a curse — I end up with choice paralysis and doing nothing productive. This is part of what I’ve realized I love with getting back into hardware — limitations are powerful parts of the creative process. Granted, this comes at a financial cost, but Ableton ain’t cheap either (with the exception of Lite).)
Lastly, I found this book helpful in terms of practical exercises when I run into creative block: https://makingmusic.ableton.com/
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Like a lot of others say, a break helps, also a break to do other things you’re passionate about really helps. BALANCE. I used to spend 80 hours a week on making music… this went on for 3 years… even using multiple pieces of hardware & bouncing around I started to get burnt out & stuck in habits. I then got a life… I dated, I hung out with friends, I started drawing again & my music is better than ever.
Personally I love a lot of areas of music production. Are you feeling like you suck at everything or just creating new ideas? Or just creating full songs? If I’m not feeling very creative when it comes to making songs, I do other things like make sounds / sound design or I go thru my samples & organize them or I write vocals or sample new sounds (I’ll listen to my vinyl & find sounds to sample or just listen & get inspiration) or I’ll practice / learn more how to play piano or guitar. I have a TON of loops that I never fleshed out into full ideas, so if I’m not feeling creative with the idea stage I listen to old loops / ideas & play with them, either turning them more into songs or adding/removing things.
Personally I couldn’t sit in front of 1 set up every day. I like to bounce around & use different things (of course I have my favorite pieces of gear). It’s very possible it’s the gear you’re not feeling. But I don’t know, there have been many times where I had a “sucky” day yet I didn’t care because I had fun & I know I’m not going to make heat every single time I’m in the studio. For me it’s all about enjoying myself & improving skills. Not making anything good? Maybe practice finger drumming or an area of music production you want to improve your skills in.
Maybe think about what you want out of this… what you want out of making music.
EDIT: You mentioned having the Volca Sample. Portable gear really helps when you don’t have a lot of time. I bring my Op-1 with me to work everyday & play on my lunch break & PO-33 to play in line at the grocery store. Portable gear makes it a lot easier to find time, you can make music anywhere & there isn’t much pressure to make something amazing. Besides when I’m enjoying myself the most I make the best music.
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I wonder if Mozart had the same problems?
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I will second this! Great book. I am currently reading on my breaks at work. All about getting past your mental resistance.
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Things I’ve done recently to break up my music production “routine” to keep it fresh.
- tried using tracker software to make music
- loaded cr78 and 909 samples into my MD
- attempted to make Jungle / DNB music
- tried recreating warm Juno style pads on my Digitone and Access Virus C
- updated my Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, and Minds accounts to look and feel the same across the board
- go back to older tracks and try to fix portions
- experiment with over driving the gain on my MD’S internal compressor
- setup streamlined templates in Cubase for recording
- studying funk bass / rhythm
- studying transposition/ key changes
You can do many things that will keep the process interesting. It’s an insanely vast area of study. It helps me with creativity and breaking up the monotony.
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HISSSSS
no 
It’s a good thing. Let the gear nuts do their thing. We all benefit from the extra resources the developers have to build more cool shit.
Win win.
I’ve bought some books, i need to play along to tracks with live bass more. what was your curriculum?
I wish Bootsy’s classes were online and cheap.
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Nothing official, just the internet, YouTube, etc… trying to apply the ideas to techno / electro. Not playing live bass guitar myself. The only instrument I can play is the sequencer. Play as in, hit play 
I hear you. I know everybody is different. Just talking me here.
If I’m not productive with a setup it’s not the DAW’s fault, and it’s not the hardware’s fault either. I thought spending all day at work on a computer was leading to DAW burnout. But, going OTB with tables and racks full of gear didn’t help much either.
I was simply tired of thinking and making decisions at the end of the workday. Whether it was fiddling with a mouse or fiddling with tiny screens and menu diving, it’s just hard for me to be productive, much less have fun, after 8-10 hours at work. I’d rather cook, read, take a walk, have a beer, etc. Unplug.
On weekend mornings, when I’m fresh, I polish those bits I started during the week on lunch hours. Productivity is up again.
We’re all different and in different stages of life. I say try everything and all sorts of setups. Let it evolve. See what works.
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Maybe you need to do some sport/exercise in order to come home with a clear head.
All flows are different and respected. Whatever a person needs to do to get in the right frame of mind is cool. There’s a lot of learn in this thread.
I went through a phase where I thought hardware would help me make music. After spending a lot of money and working with some other techno artists, I learned hardware has nothing to do with me making music. It’s inspiring and very tactile, but doesn’t write tracks for me.
At some point it dawned on me, I know Ableton really well and am fairly good at using it. And it’s deep. Real deep. Never a lack of inspiration for me.
And with that, I still have lots of hardware. Love it. But I’m finding myself making a sound or beat with my TR8s, MPC, or SH01a. Then being like, can I recreate this in Ableton? 9.5 times out of 10, I can. And it’s cool. Super fun too.
This track started with me making sounds on the SH01a. Then being like, can Ableton’s Analog do that? So I challenged myself to get as close as possible to the sound
This one started out as a beat with my TR8s 909 kit. Then I was like, Ableton comes with a 909 kit. Can I make that kit sound as cool as my TR8s? I think so
My point is, for me, making music isn’t about the machines. If I can’t do something in a Ableton, I probably can’t do it with hardware. And there’s close to nothing I can do with hardware that Ableton can’t do - did I get that right 
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