do one realy need the newest music technologies?

Dalibor Loncar · Post by **Dalibor Loncar** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:40 am

I am wondering if one considers it necessary to have the newest technology for making music? i am still on logic pro 5.5 for win. i don´t realy need any recommendations or whatever. this is not the intention of that post!

i read many peoples posts asking this and that. imo this is meaningless. i have the impression that todays music isn´t realy so sophisticated as the music technology is (im not talking about the mixing and mastering process, indeed many things have changed in that area nowadays, i mainly think of the compositions)

technology isn´t what makes music good, for sure it can help to simplify the music process. no more, no less ...

fortunately emotions can´t be engineered!

what are your thoughts on this topic? just let me know.

Bagle · Post by **Bagle** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:47 am

all bullshit

give someone logic 8, a protools HD rig and all the epensive plug ins in the world..

what do ou get? more often then not nothing

friend of mine, makes unbelieveable music, and has been for years

uses fruity loops 5, cos he just likes the work flow and how he can get it to do anything he wants

if you think you need ther latest things to produce anything thats gonna be good its bollocks..

using a 4 track and a guitar you can make beautiful sounds..

its all about teh persons talent

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:50 am

no i don't believe that....its impossible...

unless u stay updated with the newest steinberg gear u wont get anywhere! and thats a fact!!

"and now another message from our sponsors: Want a new DAW that just kicks ass...Want to make hits with a push of a button? try the new Steinberg..."

creature · Post by **creature** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:27 am

I totally agree. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's I used to have a pretty large studio stuffed full of the latest gadgets etc, around 2004 I realised I didn't need the majority of this. I know have a very minimal setup of laptop, mixer, controller keyboard, monitors, ableton, and soem vst synths and effects. That is my entire studio.

Oh and my Korg ER-1, but I just love the sound of it

Since I have been using this minimal setup I have been much more productive and have released loads of music and a sound library.

Its not how much you have, it making good use of a few things.

gumpbert · Post by **gumpbert** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:54 am

The new version of software X isn't going to make you a better musician/producer/whatever, but it will have some shiny new gadgets to play with and playing with toys is fun.

A brand new Ferrari is probably a lot more fun to drive than an old Toyota, even though a Ferrari is expensive and will break down more often. But it most certainly won't make you a better driver.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:12 am

but the iphone will make u a better person

gjm · Post by **gjm** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:15 am

There is no substitute for good gear.

littlepig · Post by **littlepig** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:18 am

Silence wrote:

but the iphone will make u a better person

I hope that was a joke!

Noel · Post by **Noel** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:36 am

For my answer I can't do better that to point you to littlepig's post on this thread

littlepig wrote:From the BBC website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7512072.stm

And to point out the obvious fact that you can make wonderful music without using electronics at all - as people have done for thousands of years.

Dalibor Loncar · Post by **Dalibor Loncar** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:00 pm

Noel wrote:For my answer I can't do better that to point you to littlepig's post on this thread

littlepig wrote:From the BBC website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7512072.stm
And to point out the obvious fact that you can make wonderful music without using electronics at all - as people have done for thousands of years.

hey noel,

for the BBC url ... very enlightening! it´s realy amazing how some guys were ahead of the times.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:43 pm

littlepig wrote:Silence wrote:

but the iphone will make u a better person
I hope that was a joke!

sir. i never joke when it comes to the iphone...

yeah i was kidding

craw · Post by **craw** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:44 pm

delia derbyshire is was a creative genius ... do a search on youtube for BBC radiophonic workshop for a very enlightening documentary (sorry, can't provide a direct link as youtube is blocked at work) ... makes you feel humble, the shit these dudes could do before the advent of sampler and synths

andydes · Post by **andydes** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:59 pm

Noel wrote:For my answer I can't do better that to point you to littlepig's post on this thread

littlepig wrote:From the BBC website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7512072.stm
And to point out the obvious fact that you can make wonderful music without using electronics at all - as people have done for thousands of years.

Yes, but it's very hard to make wonderful electronicia without electronics. So if that's what you want to do, synths, computers and the like come in very handy.

When I first saw orbital, I thought wow, I'd really like to do stuff like that. But at the time the price of the samplers, drum machines, mixers synths were well beyond my means.

Some years later, I bought myself a cheapish hardware sequencer (yamaha RM1x), which was fun, but the sounds it was capable of really weren't up to scratch. So i gradually added to this set up to get better results. At this point, working with hardware on a very limited budget, each purchase I made was to overcome a real limitation in my set up. VA synths made a huge difference to what I could do over the stock sounds, and a sampling drum machine was a godsend for the drums.

At this level of technology, I was hitting real walls in what I wanted to do that I could only overcome by buying new gear. Other people who wanted to create a different sound or maybe make more use of guitars and real drums might have found it less limiting.

Now we've reached a point where you can pretty much do anything at a very high level with an average computer and a single software package. So the very latest software and hardware are really just nice to have. Whether the new features are worth the cost of upgrade is up to the user to decide.

spkey · Post by **spkey** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:08 pm

craw wrote:...the shit these dudes could do before the advent of sampler and synths

No-one NEEDS new technologies to make music. Only creative brains and free time. I love Einstuerzende Neubauten. http://www.neubauten.org/

spkey · Post by **spkey** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:10 pm

andydes wrote:Yes, but it's very hard to make wonderful electronicia without electronics. So if that's what you want to do, synths, computers and the like come in very handy.

When I first saw orbital, I thought wow, I'd really like to do stuff like that. But at the time the price of the samplers, drum machines, mixers synths were well beyond my means.

Some years later, I bought myself a cheapish hardware sequencer (yamaha RM1x), which was fun, but the sounds it was capable of really weren't up to scratch. So i gradually added to this set up to get better results. At this point, working with hardware on a very limited budget, each purchase I made was to overcome a real limitation in my set up. VA synths made a huge difference to what I could do over the stock sounds, and a sampling drum machine was a godsend for the drums.

At this level of technology, I was hitting real walls in what I wanted to do that I could only overcome by buying new gear. Other people who wanted to create a different sound or maybe make more use of guitars and real drums might have found it less limiting.

Now we've reached a point where you can pretty much do anything at a very high level with an average computer and a single software package. So the very latest software and hardware are really just nice to have. Whether the new features are worth the cost of upgrade is up to the user to decide.

And yes... Sorry for posting this twice as I just read your post. Einstuerzende Neubauten create lovely 'electronica' while being total purists at the same time. No sequencers, no vsts, hardly any synths...