downsizing. am i crazy?

M. Bréqs · Post by **M. Bréqs** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:36 pm

melocoton wrote:How about this? Make a track every day for a week ...

Maaaaaannnn, do you write music fast! A track a day?

I finish a track every three to six months if I'm lucky!

Then again, I've got too many hobbies... D&D, Music, Computer Games, martial arts... Too much competition for my time, to say nothing of this damn entertaining forum!

Oh yeah, and my female too. She takes time.

boomklik · Post by **boomklik** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:44 pm

mercyplease wrote:Dont be in a hurry to sell any more of your hardware. You will regret it eventually.

ahhh....i agree.

wherever my mpc2000 is...i miss you. please come back.

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:46 pm

You can do a track-a-day and live a really full life otherwise (not everyone)

but the key is

Preparation - if you have all your tools and patchs set up to go your money

drum tracks are easy - either use a real drum kit or build a kit from records

you know the general pattern for breaks, house etc (maybe make up a new one, I don't know)

once your drums are down, now you need to write in a solid bass line - this is easy as most break beat and house bass lines aren't that complicated -

now take that bassline and duplicate it it, pitch up the notes and you have your lead - maybe add a arp or cut some notes up to add variation - a littel sidechaining never hurt

a couple vocal stabs, or synth stabs on your sequence - grab the mic and do a quick vocal take of you rapping, humming, farting who knows - every good track needs a hook

once you have all that in like 8 to 16 pattern sequence - you can sequence

youhave all your special effects chilling, add some splashes, swooshes and sweeps here and there

all you EFX Presets should be set to go - add the autopan trcik on the 32 and 96, reverse a couple parts here and there

dont forget the ever popular RIDE CYMBAL

bam - the compositions is done

^^^^ or play your parts live for 5 to 7 minutes of a track

Mix and master it down later - get in there and really tweak the breaks and efx later but the comps there, easy

peace

a

Mike Goodwin · Post by **Mike Goodwin** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:13 pm

melocoton wrote:How about this? Make a track every day for a week or two using nothing but the MD. Then do the same for a couple of weeks using nothing but software. These don't have to be fully formed ideas but whatever you can bang out in an hour or so. Then take a listen back to what you created and I would think this should clarify your feelings a great deal. Do the software-only tracks hold up to the MD only tracks? Does the different gear inspire you in different ways that justifies keeping both or does your style remain pretty much consistent regardless of which tool you're using?

That is a very interesting idea.

I have gone almost all the way software. I still have my nord lead and I just bought my V-Drums but 99% of my sounds come from software these days. It is a much faster way of working for me most of the time. It is just a matter of having the right tools and enough CPU power to run them. The hardware vs. software in the way of sound quality is totaly tired and not worth the breath it takes to speak it. It comes down to what lets YOU make YOUR music. For me having quite abit of software and only using what I need is what works.

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:38 pm

M. Bréqs wrote: D&D

Hehehe. Good times.

Nogi · Post by **Nogi** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:55 pm

I've sent all my hardware to live on eBay. Everything I sold still sells everyday for what I sold them for. No 'thing' is rare anymore. I'll be out of pocket for shipping when I feel I NEED something back but since I really stuck the buyers for shipping,

it will be at worst a wash. It's funny that since I know I can get the stuff back at anytime, I have no desire to.

Plus, regarding the 'do a track a day' advice, they don't all have to be winners.

melocoton · Post by **melocoton** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:12 pm

M. Bréqs wrote:Maaaaaannnn, do you write music fast! A track a day?

No no no, not like something good and finished that I would actually play for anyone else

I'm just as slow as you in that regard. I work all day at home (not on music unfortunately) along with my wife and 2 year old daughter so time is scarce.

But sometimes when I'm feeling disciplined enough I like to do 1 hour songs. Even in a really busy day I can try to take an hour break and really attempt to finish something in that time. I've even tried breaking it down before: 15 minutes to make a beat, 15 to make a bassline, 15 to make some kind of chord progression and 15 for some kind of melodic hook or lead line (vocals or whatever). Sometimes I don't actually finish, most of the time they're crap but maybe 1 out of 10 is the start of an idea that can become something better.

With the machinedrum maybe it's just making a beat or even a few beats a day to really get a feel for it. One thing I would want to find out through such an exercise is if you can get a large range of different sounds and ideas out of the machine or if something about the interface or the way you use it pushes you in a certain direction.

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:34 pm

or put it in the closet for six months

CITYSTATE · Post by **CITYSTATE** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:40 pm

wow, the advice came pouring in on this one. i am going to try the track a day thing and if it's not happening in a couple weeks then i'm selling.

Ball Sack · Post by **Ball Sack** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:31 am

djadonis206 wrote:You can do a track-a-day and live a really full life otherwise (not everyone)

but the key is

Preparation - if you have all your tools and patchs set up to go your money

drum tracks are easy - either use a real drum kit or build a kit from records

you know the general pattern for breaks, house etc (maybe make up a new one, I don't know)

once your drums are down, now you need to write in a solid bass line - this is easy as most break beat and house bass lines aren't that complicated -

now take that bassline and duplicate it it, pitch up the notes and you have your lead - maybe add a arp or cut some notes up to add variation - a littel sidechaining never hurt

a couple vocal stabs, or synth stabs on your sequence - grab the mic and do a quick vocal take of you rapping, humming, farting who knows - every good track needs a hook

once you have all that in like 8 to 16 pattern sequence - you can sequence

youhave all your special effects chilling, add some splashes, swooshes and sweeps here and there

all you EFX Presets should be set to go - add the autopan trcik on the 32 and 96, reverse a couple parts here and there

dont forget the ever popular RIDE CYMBAL

bam - the compositions is done

^^^^ or play your parts live for 5 to 7 minutes of a track

Mix and master it down later - get in there and really tweak the breaks and efx later but the comps there, easy

peace

a

Hey i like you your a funny guy.

CITYSTATE · Post by **CITYSTATE** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:24 pm

ok so here's what i did today that made up my mind. the reason i post it is because it is simple and may help other people get out of a rut.

i took my machinedrum and other hardware into my live room and hooked it all up to the keyboard amp.

i set everything up in stations and ran back and forth getting a track going. i had a track going in under 5 minutes and it was hitting HARD.

my conclusion is that i am keeping the machinedrum.

i think my problem was that i was making music from the comforts of a big desk chair with everything in arms reach. it was too sterile and comfortable.

setting it all up in the liveroom made it like a performance.

dj superflat · Post by **dj superflat** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:52 pm

making music seated at a desk sucks. i'm amazed how much more i get done while standing somewhere different (and bouncing around).

you wouldn't think work flow matters so much, but it's everything. e.g., i've got the new electro harmonix looper pedal, which seems useless if you have live and a footswitch. but there's no computer, very simple setup, i record things i like, then use the usb to pull them into live. shouldn't be any different from using live with foot pedal, but somehow it is (may be bias towards playing out of amp rather than monitors).

detroitechno · Post by **detroitechno** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:29 pm

unless space is an issue I've never really understood downsizing. Having an endless amount of gear to me, provides inspiration to experiment and try something different... I have so many synths and racks I can never get bored. Pretty much once a month I purchase something new for the studio. Yesterday was a Virus.

Maybe I'm the crazy one here? But doesn't walking into a room full of hardware inspire you guys???

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:31 pm

detroitechno wrote:
Maybe I'm the crazy one here? But doesn't walking into a room full of hardware inspire you guys???

Unfortunately, no

It's overwhelming and confusing - kind of like when I walk into Guitar Center.

DOH!

frankie123 · Post by **frankie123** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:43 pm

Idk, personally I've always been more facilitated by working with a room full of racks. I can just jump on whatever hardware I want, as quickly (if not quicker) then software and lay tracks down quick.