downsizing. am i crazy?

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:48 pm

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

Sure. As does sitting down with my acoustic guitar. Or simply turning on ONE synth and *playing it* for an hour. Or sending random noises to a space echo. Or (best of all, imo):Popping open the lid of my 13" on the train and making a great beat in 15 minutes, headphones blaring.

When I include my entire rig (seldom happens, to be honest) I spend (too) much time delegating, setting up, resetting, etc. I would still call my setup a "studio" rig, since I guess it's still elaborate somehow, but It's all about the DuoCore these days

DeadlyKungFu · Post by **DeadlyKungFu** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:52 pm

Machinate wrote:As does sitting down with my acoustic guitar. Or simply turning on ONE synth and *playing it* for an hour. Or sending random noises to a space echo. Or (best of all, imo):Popping open the lid of my 13" on the train and making a great beat in 15 minutes, headphones blaring.

+1

Take of your ears though.

dj superflat · Post by **dj superflat** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:58 pm

i find having lots of gear around to be a mental burden. i feel guilty about the things i'm not using (they seem to sit in the corner and whimper "why am i no longer of interest to you"?). so i got rid of almost everything, feel much better now. matter of personal preference. i've got a friend with an 18-wheeler full of gear (seriously) that he takes around to sessions so he's always got the mic, pre, synth, whatever, on hand if he needs it. strikes me as crazy, but he's happy.

detroitechno · Post by **detroitechno** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:13 pm

dj superflat wrote:i find having lots of gear around to be a mental burden. i feel guilty about the things i'm not using (they seem to sit in the corner and whimper "why am i no longer of interest to you"?).

yeah, I think we all get that feeling. But I mean using just a few things all the time plays them out quickly, and you'll probably get pretty bored with them.

There are a ton of things I rarely use, but when needed they are sitting there just waiting. My tb-303 for instance, I'll use it once every few months, but when I do pull it out, my jaw always drops to the floor. BUT I'd get bored of it, along with everyone else if I used it daily. Same for a lot of other things...

Just having a massive amount of gear, and using them sporatically I feel brings out a different vibe, writing inspiration, and overall broader spectrum of everything...

meh, to each there own. I'm a gear whore I guess...

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:49 pm

I'm definitely in the minimalist camp when it comes to gear. I went throuigh the stage of having loads of gear, and yeah, just didn't suit the way I worked. Now I'm happiest with:

- One really nice and flexible synth (Virus TI)
- One really nice and flexible drum machine (Machinedrum UW)
- One guitar and processor/preamp (Pod XT)
- One good softsynth (Zebra2)
- Laptop
- Live 6
- A good pair of eq and compression plug ins (Sonalkis)

There's a enough power and depth there to keep me coming up with new ideas for decades. I think a lot of people just don't spend the time with their gear to dive in deep enough to milk it for all it's worth (especially with how powerful today's gear is). But, that's their preference. I can certainly see how people with limited time want to have a lot of sounds on hand, versus spending a few hours trying to coax something new out of their gear.

Ball Sack · Post by **Ball Sack** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:33 am

Tarekith wrote:I'm definitely in the minimalist camp when it comes to gear. I went throuigh the stage of having loads of gear, and yeah, just didn't suit the way I worked. Now I'm happiest with:

- One really nice and flexible synth (Virus TI)
- One really nice and flexible drum machine (Machinedrum UW)
- One guitar and processor/preamp (Pod XT)
- One good softsynth (Zebra2)
- Laptop
- Live 6
- A good pair of eq and compression plug ins (Sonalkis)

There's a enough power and depth there to keep me coming up with new ideas for decades. I think a lot of people just don't spend the time with their gear to dive in deep enough to milk it for all it's worth (especially with how powerful today's gear is). But, that's their preference. I can certainly see how people with limited time want to have a lot of sounds on hand, versus spending a few hours trying to coax something new out of their gear.

You ve got the right idea mate.