I’m at a place right now where I don’t know how much good new gear would bring to my music. Of course some pieces would be nice but then i think about “starting all over” again integrating it into my workflow and its pretty unappealing. While with the pieces I have now I know exactly how to get to where I want to go.
Some kind of sit around but without a financial need to sell them I don’t pay them any mind. Some of them have sentimental value. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
I did sell some pieces recently for the first time and it felt nice. But I really wasn’t using those.
Clutter drives me mad too. A clear space is so much more peaceful.
Don’t worry about not selling. Accumulation is the global pandemic.
I can relate to this. Today I’ve been contemplating packing away my digitakt, digitone, nord lead A1R and my mixer and buying another octatrack. I don’t have a lot of time these days and the thought of using a single box for composing is very appealing. I’m always trying to find that balance between options and flexibility. I love my laptop and DAW but it always overwhelms me and I end up with too many options to actually make anything…
Thought about it, fantasized about it, tried it over and over again. But stuff always creeps back in.
Over the past month I’ve had to move twice, most recently in quite a hurry and I had to donate or toss the majority of my belongings (including speakers, cables, furniture, the lot). All I have left now audio-wise is: laptop, headphones, small interface, microkorg and a few cables. Was able to put the montage in storage at my parents. Yah it was painful, but I also felt just that little bit more free as each item went out the door.
But enough about me. Minimalist setups can be real nice for maintaining focus but don’t let it become your main focus otherwise you might wake up and realise you’ve completely stopped making music. Or you might end up with regrets about getting rid of some piece of gear so all you can think about it reacquiring it.
I can totally relate, I do this all the time. I get that guilt too when owning gear Im not using all the time so. I generally do a cull from time to time. and I agree I seem to be more productive with less. simplicity helps my output I fink.
tho I still then get gas for newer stuff or a total change of approach. it’s a cycle, but I’ve learnt not to give in to gas so much nowadays and see it as a fine tuning of my setup, keeping the stuff that I use and moving on the stuff that doesn’t suit my workflow.
I can relate to this, especially with Elektron gear (I’m looking at you OT). Then again, IMO it’s only justified to have an instrument if you can do something creative and wonderful with it.
2 years ago I started feeling like my synth collecting was too much like stamp collecting. I hunted down stuff just to own it and to be able to take fancy photos of my ”amazing setup”. Rarely made any complete music with my synth collection back then.
Sorry for the crappy quality of the photos. Had a really crappy phone back then.
In the fall of 2016 I decided to let almost everything go.
I sold 42 different synths, drum machines, samplers etc. in a short period of time and bought three Elektrons (OT, A4 and MD) to replace them. Back then I used to compare it to selling 42 Fiats and buying 3 Ferraris with the money.
In my mind the Elektron boxes gave me the most synth in the smallest possible space. Since that I’ve acquired MnM, AR and Digitakt and swapped the A4 for an AK. Now I have a fairly limited palette, but one that fits on one table and is capable of amazing things. Lost almost all my GAS in the process too. Now I only dream about a couple of effects pedals and a Digitone. Less is definitely more in my case.
Then again, I’ve always been terribly lucky in the second hand / fleamarket stakes. I once bought a fully working Korg Polysix at a fleamarket for 30€ (Years later, sold it for 700€) and my Mono/Poly was found in a garbage dump for no money at all (Traded it for 3 synths later). So it has been easier for me to give them away as I was making a lot of money in the process.
about 10 years ago things got out of control somehow:
i thought i need everything associated with making music and
“unfortunately” had quite enough money to afford a lot of stuff.
it was not only electronic and studio equipment but also instruments from
all over the world.
while it was really fun to learn about all that instruments i suddenly realized
how much time, money and energy is needed to maintain all that.
i think i spent many weeks of my life just for tuning all my exotic string instruments and drums. also repairing vintage synths was quite frustrating.
once i recognized i had to jump and run to get to all that knobs and faders of my
electronic setup when doing a live recording.
if that wasn´t enough i also played guitar and bass in bands.
instead of investing in remote controls and more equipment i decided one day
that i will downsize everything and concentrate much more on making music itself.
i had a lot of success and everything feels much better and relaxed now.
i don´t miss any of those many instruments (well, maybe the sh 101)
on the other side it was good that i had so many equipment. i pretty much don´t have
any GAS when new equipment is released
EDIT: everything i wrote above is a lie when it comes to effect pedals - lol
Well. The Mono/Poly I had already sold earlier. But I admit that the Fiats included an MPC60 and some other pretty good revved up rally-Fiats and a bunch of Multiplas too.
I am all about studio zen. My machines need to be layed out in a way that seems inviting. Part of this is a minimal amount of toys. I sold a lot recently and am down to,
Octatrack
Analog Rytm
Sub 37
SH 101
Juno 60
I love each and every one of these machines to bits and anything short of that and they have to go.
I also consider arranging your machines similar to preparing samples for your Octatrack. With forethought and preparation you are setting yourself up for a good time in the future.
If you just have a bunch of machines about the place, well you are probably gonna stumble around them making random bleeps and bloops (for better or worse).
The only two things I regret letting loose are OTO Biscuit and OP-1. Everything else was more or less replaceable, but those two will haunt me until I get new ones in their place.
to some (i’m included in the list… ) much can depend on the use one does of the machines…as in: it’s indeed hard to justify having them if there’s no real use, so it’s always good to find ways for using them, a project or anything else that will push you to use them.
i’ve been thinking about downsizing many times in the past few years but always decided not to as my thoughts have always gone into thinking: ‘rright…will i then be able to get this or that machine again at some point? what if i then realize i should have not sold it in the first place?’ so, unless i’m really forced to do so, i rarely sell any of the machines i’ve got
i don’t have a huge setup, currently only using the OT, A4, AR and MM, but in a corner there’s a Waldorf XT, Pulse and a Blofeld (and few other bits i use occasionally) waiting. of course, being able to find the first two again wouldn’t probably be an easy task, so that’s one reason i keep them…but still, i wouldn’t because i would probably have a good place in a newer setup/more space.
having said that though…i think at the end of the day, what matters is being able to have some fun with the machines one has, whether being one or one hundred…well, it’s probably a bit like thinking about a piano player: one can change piano/have more, but it’s the player that makes the difference in the end sure, having more options gives you more freedom to experiment in different ways and find sounds you wouldn’t probably find in just one machine…together with that comes learning curve as well, one has to spend some time learning how to use the machines right?
My strategy is not to sell but put in the attic and then swap things out only when I need them and that need has to be real as I’m too lazy to keep going to the attic. Win-win.
To me it was also always a case of: ”Should I learn to use 40 pieces of equipment badly or maybe instead learn to use 6 pieces of kit inside out and thoroughly.” I tend to choose the latter.
When I was younger I would’ve maybe chosen differently, but I’m in my forties, I only have limited time with my synths, I want to be efficient in that short time.
Don’t downsize the BELOVED machines. Downsize the ones you haven’t used in the last 6 months - or 12 months. Look at the actual instruments you get enjoyment from - true musical enjoyment. The odds are that you could unload half of what you have and after a short period be totally fine with it. If you had to pick 3 instruments that you couldn’t live without - what would they be? From the remaining list, start selling!
) much can depend on the use one does of the machines…as in: it’s indeed hard to justify having them if there’s no real use, so it’s always good to find ways for using them, a project or anything else that will push you to use them.