the watmm GAS thread

What's been activating your GAS lately?

I've been stuck in a limbo where I know I need to upgrade my audio interface (to something with real multiple inputs—perhaps the KMI K-mix), and at some point get some good monitors (or at least something better than my logitech 5.1 setup that I've been producing with for the past 5 years or so..), but keep looking at ebay/gumtree/local sites/facebook groups with the hope of finding good deals on synths. My latest desire has been alternating between an analog/VA poly (for lush space chords) and something like a DX7 or CZ101.. I somehow got it into my head that it needs to be an all-in-one keyboard unit, therefore negating the fact that I already have a JV1010 and monomachine (plus a full size controller keyboard!) that could probably cover the sounds I want.

And then I look at stuff like the volca kick and FM and all kinds of other cheap devices that would do what my monomachine/machinedrum setup can easily do, but still have that damn gearlust :P

WHYYYY

GAS sucks!

I have been taming it for a good while but recently splurged on a couple of eventide pedals and a reface CP.

Gonna stay strong because modular was lurking the mind a few weeks ago but I have kept that at bay and the analog heat after watching cuckoo video.

I'm more likely to bite randomly if something interesting pops up for sale locally than me getting hyped on new releases.

I wanted to (and still want to) buy the Modulör114 desktop eurorack thing, however with Italy being struck with earthquakes, the local importer here has said that it might take a while for them to accept orders. I am using this time to reflect on whether I really do need a modular and what fun could I achieve with my current setup already. It doesn't help though that for the past few weeks I have rarely had the chance to sit down and do music.. instead I've been lurking here and Muffwiggler and all kinds of new hardware seem so exciting!

after getting my nlmono my gas has largely subsided. mostly looking at getting the few accessories to round out my setup and maybe some organizational stuff. time to sit down and use all the toys i've acquired over the last two years...

Nothing lately. I think about replacing the Volca Keys with a better subtractive synth once in a while. Like the JP-08. But the Monomachine does some decent subtractive synthesis. I'd love to get a Machinedrum or a RYTM, but I don't need it.

I'd love to start filling one of these. 

I saw a nice quote on this forum this week from someone discussing a theory (was called plunder-something) that electronic musicians make their best music of their career when they have little to no gear at their disposal. Can't find the quote for the life of me right now unfortunately. 

Found it - from the Minilogue thread

  On 11/13/2016 at 6:08 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 11/13/2016 at 5:45 PM, Entorwellian said:

 

  On 11/11/2016 at 7:43 PM, Leon Sumbitches said:

 

  On 11/3/2016 at 4:27 AM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 11/2/2016 at 12:13 PM, ussr said:

I found this interview with Tatsuya Takahashi (creator of the Minilogue) a very interesting read, guy seems to be very into what he's doing
https://www.attackmagazine.com/features/long-read/the-democratisation-of-synthesis-korg-designers-on-the-making-of-the-minilogue/

Takahashi is the dude. I feel like he should be a household name for synth nerds by now.

 

 
This is great, I like the way he says the Volca designs were deliberately inspired by the limitations of the crap 2nd-hand gear that early techno producers were using.

 

Yeah that is the feel that I get out of the Volca line up. They're *very* good at one thing and not so good at everything else. There is lots of room to explore and trick the machines into doing different things they were not designed to do and get around the limitations.

 

Yes and I think that's fantastic. I've surely mentioned this elsewhere but it reminds me of Tom Ellard's idea of "fleacore":

  Quote

Fleacore is the principle that most interesting and exciting electronic music is created by people early in their careers, using extremely cheap and shit equipment (from flea markets) ... [W]hen things are cheap they haven't got a famous sound, so people make new music on them instead.

http://tomellard.com/cave/fleacore.html

 

i was easily most prolific when just had fl, cool edit, midines and a microkontrol...

none of it was really any good, but it's not now either

lol yeah, I was definitely more prolific in my Buzz days. These days though, even though I have the money to buy gear, I just don't have as much free time to play with it, gah! I think that's a contributing factor as well..

a tale as old as time

For me, when my GAS acts up, it's usually due to Burger King or some other horrible fast food I shouldn't have ate...

Currently trying to figure out what to replace my tetra with. I absolutely hate working with it now that I removed all computers from my setup. Part if me is thinking minilogue, part of me is thinking jump up to an A4(but it's so much MORE than a poly synth and I think I need a poly analog somewhere in the chain), and then part of me is thinking, wait, I love how this thing sounds, give me a a prophet 6 desktop module. What I should really just do is use what I have until I run out of creativity, because my setup is totally fine right now.

does gas mean "gear acquisition syndrome"

i've always just guessed that's what it mean

?

yap^

But all I really want is a volca FM. To me it seems like a pocket-sized toilet in which to deposit my impure IDM tendencies that I can carry around to rebalance my energy. That type of catharsis is probably a myth though... isn't that what most GAS is based on anyway? i.e.: "If only I had ________, I could finally make proper tunes without being distracted by my setup's inadequacies"

i got a op1 and now idgaf and it's just sitting in my studio.

it's like when game boy advance came out, i was in 8th grade or something, and a kid brought it to school and was passing it around with tony hawk in it.

i was like 3D GRAPHICS ON A GAMEBOY!!! i couldn't believe it. i obsessed over it and asked my mom what i had to do to get $95. i mowed a few lawns and cleaned the shower, then my mom gave in and took me to buy one.

i remember the initial few hours of elation, but then waking up the next day seeing it sitting on my nightstand, thinking "wow, it's here, my life hasn't changed, but i am glad i have it"

moral of the story:

lust is for the abstract. when it is possessed, it becomes physical, less than the pure form of what it COULD be. the challenge of art and life is reconnecting the physical, once possessed, to the abstract.

What's awesome, though, is when you connect with a piece of gear really deeply, and you use it and you get those same kind of lusty feelings of opportunity but instead of being about obtaining something, they're about achieving something with a tool you already have. That's the shit. I got some of that yesterday working on the WATMMlette. It had been a while.

That does happen alot shea. Hopefully though the right time to use said piece of gear arises and then that love affair can blossom. If it does not then sell on.

It might be a matter of me getting older, but making tracks near 40 years old compared to being a teen is less about expression than it is discovery. Or maybe it's always been discovery but just different types of it. I'm perfectly happy to tinker with some piece of gear, making uninteresting sounds, as long as I know why it makes those particular uninteresting sounds. Dodging the idea of making good music and exploring capabilities of a piece of gear seems to create more fertile ground for new, workable ideas. That's where exciting things happen.

When I hear from friends lusting over gear and continually sharing what new toys are coming out, it echos some of what sheathe and sweepstakes said about possession and the 'if only I had this, then I could...' idea.

I think I latch to this topic because of some people I know who approach gear lust with the goal of creating music that mirrors the music they love. One specifically said, while I was showing them how to create a jungle-like sub bass line with his RYTM, that he was upset that he paid so much for a piece of gear and yet couldn't quickly get the results he was looking for. Another, who had recently acquired an actual TR-909 for dirt cheap and the D16 plugin suite for free, was considering getting the TR-09 as well because they could get it for a cheap price. I was taken aback and it made me reflect on the different personal reasons for acquiring gear and making music.

Whenever someone wishes their gear did a certain thing or that they had something to get a specific sound, I'm reminded of my own years of being frustrated with not getting wanted results. However, I've come to enjoy the boring bits of creating as a learning experience and that it IS work where there might be no gratification for long bouts of time. There can be a hidden satisfaction in making uninteresting sounds if you view it as an engineer and see it as an educative experience. I don't think getting a new piece of gear every time frustration sets in leads to any real growth. Expectations instead of exploration brings in personal limits which boxes everything in.

I can relate to most of that and see it in other people too.

Although, I tend to buy gear as much a visually pleasing piece of furniture as a musical tool. Obviously it has to serve a purpose in my music so that is the main goal. Everything gets used unless it does not meet my requirements. I have found what I want and like from gear so I can make assessments of whether pieces add anything to my musical ideas. That's why I rarely bite on new gear unless it really hits a nerve.

Sometimes i'll find i'll want something new for the sake of it but I can usually tame myself and real life tends to step in and put my money in other places.

  On 11/17/2016 at 2:41 AM, sheathe said:

i got a op1 and now idgaf and it's just sitting in my studio.

 

it's like when game boy advance came out, i was in 8th grade or something, and a kid brought it to school and was passing it around with tony hawk in it.

 

i was like 3D GRAPHICS ON A GAMEBOY!!! i couldn't believe it. i obsessed over it and asked my mom what i had to do to get $95. i mowed a few lawns and cleaned the shower, then my mom gave in and took me to buy one.

 

i remember the initial few hours of elation, but then waking up the next day seeing it sitting on my nightstand, thinking "wow, it's here, my life hasn't changed, but i am glad i have it"

 

moral of the story:

 

lust is for the abstract. when it is possessed, it becomes physical, less than the pure form of what it COULD be. the challenge of art and life is reconnecting the physical, once possessed, to the abstract.

interesting. of all the gear i've picked up in the last few years the op1 is the one thing i connected w/immediately. also if circle of the moon for gba didn't actually change your life nothing will

  On 11/17/2016 at 4:28 PM, juiceciuj said:

also if circle of the moon for gba didn't actually change your life nothing will

it did change my life, it gave me super night vision trying to make out the graphics

  On 11/17/2016 at 4:28 PM, juiceciuj said:

 

  On 11/17/2016 at 2:41 AM, sheathe said:

i got a op1 and now idgaf and it's just sitting in my studio.

 

it's like when game boy advance came out, i was in 8th grade or something, and a kid brought it to school and was passing it around with tony hawk in it.

 

i was like 3D GRAPHICS ON A GAMEBOY!!! i couldn't believe it. i obsessed over it and asked my mom what i had to do to get $95. i mowed a few lawns and cleaned the shower, then my mom gave in and took me to buy one.

 

i remember the initial few hours of elation, but then waking up the next day seeing it sitting on my nightstand, thinking "wow, it's here, my life hasn't changed, but i am glad i have it"

 

moral of the story:

 

lust is for the abstract. when it is possessed, it becomes physical, less than the pure form of what it COULD be. the challenge of art and life is reconnecting the physical, once possessed, to the abstract.

interesting. of all the gear i've picked up in the last few years the op1 is the one thing i connected w/immediately. also if circle of the moon for gba didn't actually change your life nothing will

 

i love the op1 and have put in close to 100 hours so far, but at a certain point your gear settles into the latent territory waiting for you to defeat inertia and use it

and circle of the moon is definitely a fav, but i think metroid fusion is the ultimate for me.

Snare drum patches.  (Almost) everything else, 6U of modular's probably enough.  A few esoteric patches, OK, another 6U.  Another for the vocoder.  And then I start getting into wiring up snare drum sounds, only idiosyncratic ones.  Velocity sensitive.  With sort-of-not-quite-gated spring reverb.  Now I need more decays.  I need more VCAs.  Oh, and for the filters that only have one scalable from-the-defined-elsewhere-default-value (not from-zero) cutoff point CV input, a linear mixer, so I can sweep it with a decay for each note while also making it respond to velocity.  So there's that...

On the other hand, I'm selling a bunch of other modules, so it's a net loss.  I guess that's something.

  On 11/17/2016 at 6:46 PM, ZoeB said:

Snare drum patches.  (Almost) everything else, 6U of modular's probably enough.  A few esoteric patches, OK, another 6U.  Another for the vocoder.  And then I start getting into wiring up snare drum sounds, only idiosyncratic ones.  Velocity sensitive.  With sort-of-not-quite-gated spring reverb.  Now I need more decays.  I need more VCAs.  Oh, and for the filters that only have one scalable from-the-defined-elsewhere-default-value (not from-zero) cutoff point CV input, a linear mixer, so I can sweep it with a decay for each note while also making it respond to velocity.  So there's that...

 

On the other hand, I'm selling a bunch of other modules, so it's a net loss.  I guess that's something.

exactly why i never want to dip my toe into modular

  On 11/17/2016 at 2:41 AM, sheathe said:

the challenge of art and life is reconnecting the physical, once possessed, to the abstract.

I like to periodically search for plug-ins I already own, to get those ones specifically advertised to me again.  Waves' marketing department and Google's algorithms are pretty predictable in that respect, so you can use them to your advantage, hehe...  "Why yes, I should just use the ones I've already got, you're right."