The watmm Anti-GAS thread

  On 9/6/2023 at 4:12 PM, cern said:

I usually go to the nearest Music store to try stuff out and even go to friends home for trying gear. 
There is a open minded community when I could say "Oh Im interested in a Octatrack" then I call a friend that says "Well come over to me and try it out first"

This is the one and only way. Glad I got into this before youtube became what it is today. You have to find what works for YOU. The "best" synth doesn't exist. No one can walk your path for you.

  On 9/7/2023 at 4:07 PM, th555 said:

Also it seems like pd-extended is dead but now you can simply install externals from the pd window itself...

Has been for a long time now, and current-day vanilla pd beats old pd-extended on any level. The textfile objects, clone, etc. massively improved pd. Go with pd vanilla next time you want to try pd, you won't regret it. But also, allow it the time that it takes.

I found that it's best to give your instruments space instead of trying to force your own will on them. Explore and listen. Every good session is a conversation between you and the instrument. It's like any other healthy relationship You can make complete tracks on a Boss DR-660 if you allow it to unfold.

  On 9/11/2023 at 9:13 PM, xox said:

 

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Only half-joking here, this video is the answer to all these questions.

Robert Henke - Can limits be good for us? Who defines which limits makes sense? Do we even need more instruments on the market? 
 

Nice post @cern! I fully agree with the message, so I am not watching this XD

The great thing about pd and Max is that you can create your own set of limitations, for every project or idea, no matter how big or small.

Not gonna lie, many years ago, I bought Nord Lead, then Machinedrum, and kind of accidentally Monomachine. And yes, originally I heard of them because of Autechre. But I didn't buy the MD until I tried it at the local music store. Kept going back to that place for a couple of weeks, reading the manual online in between. That thing grew on me so hard that I eventually got me one.

But the reason I'll never sell these 3 is because I have done loads of great stuff with them (great as in, I really enjoy working with these machines). Most other stuff I sold again later, even killer hardware like the Ensoniq DP/4+. Just moved to a new place. I have always had a dedicated desk for music making, but right now my MD is standing separately on a crate in front of the sofa. I LOVE coming home and just playing with this one machine for an hour or two.

  On 9/4/2023 at 1:44 AM, Bubba69 said:

 I do get a little bogged down just staring at a computer screen, but at the same time it is hard to get a comprehensive set of hardware that actually allows you to create what you envision, so it ends up in this cycle of getting more gear.

But at what point would it be enough gear? And what is it that you envision? A particular sound, or a specific way in which stuff is moving in time? Not trying to be snarky here, I'm genuinely curious.

What you envision might just be what is limiting you in your creative work. It can keep you from actually getting into contact with what the machine can do (generic you, not you personally). It takes time to really get into a good piece of gear, but it's always worth it.

  On 9/11/2023 at 8:51 PM, zlemflolia said:

i hate synthesizers, i hate looking at things, i hate computers, i hate typing, i hate clicking mouse, i want the music to come right out of my brain into the speakers, ill settle for nothing less

Assuming this isn't a shitpost: If you lack the willingness to put in the work, then you just want immediate results. This is very far away from any creative process, which is always a transformational process. It takes humbleness above all. You can't be unwilling to put in the work and then blame the instrument on top of that.

  On 9/14/2023 at 7:19 PM, BlockUser said:

Assuming this isn't a shitpost: If you lack the willingness to put in the work, then you just want immediate results. This is very far away from any creative process, which is always a transformational process. It takes humbleness above all. You can't be unwilling to put in the work and then blame the instrument on top of that.

its a half shitpost

and after a long day of sitting staring at screens and buttons for work, im not gonna do the same later with synths or software

i am more humble than you can possible imagine, dont EVER doubt that

to the people who don't want to pay to look at screens and buttons after a long day of being paid to look at screens and buttons:

my brothers in Christ, have you heard about acoustic instruments? legend has it that they inspired the dark art of physical modeling synthesis

I’m coming to the sad realization that I have an atypically good and intuitive musical imagination— whole ass compositions sounding out in my mind all day long with very little conscious effort— and basically zero skill, or maybe even negative skill somehow, with transferring any of that into something that anyone else can hear, or even something I can hear in a repeatable way.  It’s like I have some Dark Half, partially absorbed twin in my head, and that dude would have been IDM as fuck, and but I’m just a fucking musical moron who mostly ate him in the womb. I forgot where I was going with this. Oh yeah: realizing you can’t even get your own mom to listen to your album for free is a pretty good anti-gas pill. 

  On 9/14/2023 at 12:33 PM, BlockUser said:

Nice post @cern! I fully agree with the message, so I am not watching this XD

The great thing about pd and Max is that you can create your own set of limitations, for every project or idea, no matter how big or small.

Not gonna lie, many years ago, I bought Nord Lead, then Machinedrum, and kind of accidentally Monomachine. And yes, originally I heard of them because of Autechre. But I didn't buy the MD until I tried it at the local music store. Kept going back to that place for a couple of weeks, reading the manual online in between. That thing grew on me so hard that I eventually got me one.

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I let the Monomachine go and MD stayed. Now I bought a Max License and try to learning it day by day and it is lots of fun and also so much to learn. 
I understand this can take years of practicing and learning but I love to explore and learn new ways of creating. 
So great concept like building a sequencer or a fm synth without pure coding. I just want to create something easy to play around with. 

There is alot of people building big advanced Autechre Systems in Max/MSP I know but Im not interested in that.
It is way too much stuff going on with a system like that and I don't want to create something just to sound exactly like Autechre. 
I like it hands on, easy and inspiring. 

I don't have to think about buying new gear because the things I got keeps me totally bussy. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/magazine/the-oppressive-gospel-of-minimalism.html

what does gas mean

  On 9/18/2023 at 5:31 AM, zlemflolia said:

what does gas mean

gear acquisition syndrome

  On 9/2/2023 at 6:46 PM, th555 said:

I guess this is less of an anti-GAS thread than I thought because every other post is mentioning thousands of dollars worth of gear...

 

To stick to the topic however, every couple of years I get the idea to try out puredata and try to do whole tracks in it but it's always the sequencing that trips me up. Then you have to connect with another minimalist piano roll thingy which is a big hassle, then to synchronize stuff... I guess max4live solves all of this but what's the budget version of max4live?
Maybe I should try again..

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I use pd for sequencing and Live for sound sometimes. Doing everything in pd is insane to me, so I try to combine strengths of both DAWs somehow.

My pet theory regarding influencer/synth enthusiasts explosion is this.

There are roughly 2 types of synth enthusiast - music producer and music gardener. Both are valid choices in life.

Producer wants to make music, and while they like new exciting gear, the end goal for them is to push their limits and make and share new music.

Gardener wants to chill out with blinking lights and sounds of their choice. They are not going to put in effort to learn theory and how to get deep with FM.

So in my opinion the synth influencers and this torrent of new gear is really aimed at the gardener type folks - people with enough disposable income to throw at new stuff. The two covid years that everyone spent inside did not "help" either - now there's a lot more gardener type folks around, and on the other hand computers and high end machines have gotten so good that producer types don't really need specific gear anymore so much.

Edit: what I personally find a little frustrating sometimes is that talking about synth music stuff online when someone wants to "get into making electronic music", the discussion is more about what gear to buy and not so much about how to technically get started without any investment (usually, the person online is using a computer already!). Like the decision has already been made to buy a $thing instead of firing up a free trial of any top of the line DAW and just doing some of the millions of free tutorials.

  On 9/15/2023 at 1:36 AM, luke viia said:

to the people who don't want to pay to look at screens and buttons after a long day of being paid to look at screens and buttons:

my brothers in Christ, have you heard about acoustic instruments? legend has it that they inspired the dark art of physical modeling synthesis

Yeah my opinion is that synth gardeners don't really want to spend much energy or time learning the instruments. It's more about escapism or another type of video game - there can be a learning curve, but the enjoyability must be there constantly.

There’s nothing more important than gardening and even that isn’t so important.

Gardener.. Worst comparison ever lol 

The things you own ending up owning you guys.. 

  On 10/3/2023 at 1:03 AM, cern said:

The things you own ending up owning you guys.. 

how's that new Switch?

  On 9/18/2023 at 2:51 AM, TubularCorporation said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/magazine/the-oppressive-gospel-of-minimalism.html

only reading headlines at NY Times Magazine is true minimalism. 

Now I have gear: 

Octatrack MKI
Machinedrum MkIIUW+
SH-01a 
Novation Bass Station II

I think it is too much... The Octatrack is so fun to load samples and play around with and the
Machinedrum is a beast but it is getting very old and vintage. 

What can I ask for if I sell the Machinedrum? 
 

  On 10/3/2023 at 3:09 AM, ignatius said:

only reading headlines at NY Times Magazine is true minimalism. 

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  On 10/2/2023 at 9:19 PM, thawkins said:

There are roughly 2 types of synth enthusiast - music producer and music gardener. Both are valid choices in life.

Reminds me of this guy who says there are 4 enthusiasts for everything:

How many sounds can we focus on the same time when we listening? What is it that gets you in right mood? 

Maybe just a good beat, lovely pads and some lead? Can you make a song with 8 channels maybe better than a track with 16 channels? 
 

I think there are 2 gear groups, the collector/consumer and the creative. The latter group has higher social status so everybody jockeys for position, with all the anxiety and friction that entails. If I don't make decent tracks have I fallen into the lowly position of the collector? etc Some collectors dont give two shits, just love noodling around, don't know what the problem is.

  On 10/3/2023 at 3:09 AM, ignatius said:

only reading headlines at NY Times Magazine is true minimalism. 

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