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Forums - Music techology
Subject: anyone else ever wonder?
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 11
Original Message Date: 19-Mar-04 @ 08:13 PM - anyone else ever wonder?
this is a post I threw up somewhere else. Didnt know what forum...go ahead and razz me if you think I chose the wrong one:
"I just spent the last few weeks doing some major changes in my studio setup. soundproofing, new desk, new audio interface.
and now I cant write jack shit. Ive had less and less hardware over the last few years, and my output has dropped significantly. The sound quality is much _cleaner_ now, and I have far more power at my disposal than ever before, but...
everything feels so cold and clinical now! That feeling of grabbing my old akai AX-60, juno106, waldorf pulse...gone. Now its just a mouse and a screen. I still have my virus of course, but somehow even that isnt as exciting anymore because I just make some sounds and then record them into cubase.
some of you are gonna shit their pants, but I actually kinda miss sequencing in midi. I dont miss HW sequencers, but...my old Atari Falcon! Yes, Im serious.
midi sequencing, realtime mixdowns (sending to effects, channel fades, playing with mutes)
I know Im definitely going against the grain here, as everyone is so in love with all that computers offer (heh, the thought of not having a UAD-1 anymore gives me the shakes I tell ya!)
but...anyone else think that maybe, truly, honestly, technology is slowly but surely removing the humanity from the music making equation?
Im not only talking about the "anyone can do it" aspect even though that is clearly true, but...just..the spontaneity, the hands on feel? the..."realness" of it?
oh and btw...nectarios..PLEASE...we know where you stand so...if youre gonna pull the "digital sucks" thing..just save it, ok? "
(the last part is for this guy there that CONSTANTLY throws his "yeah well, my ____ analog sounds WAY better than ____"
gets fckin old, so I dropped a preemptive strike on 'im
"I just spent the last few weeks doing some major changes in my studio setup. soundproofing, new desk, new audio interface.
and now I cant write jack shit. Ive had less and less hardware over the last few years, and my output has dropped significantly. The sound quality is much _cleaner_ now, and I have far more power at my disposal than ever before, but...
everything feels so cold and clinical now! That feeling of grabbing my old akai AX-60, juno106, waldorf pulse...gone. Now its just a mouse and a screen. I still have my virus of course, but somehow even that isnt as exciting anymore because I just make some sounds and then record them into cubase.
some of you are gonna shit their pants, but I actually kinda miss sequencing in midi. I dont miss HW sequencers, but...my old Atari Falcon! Yes, Im serious.
midi sequencing, realtime mixdowns (sending to effects, channel fades, playing with mutes)
I know Im definitely going against the grain here, as everyone is so in love with all that computers offer (heh, the thought of not having a UAD-1 anymore gives me the shakes I tell ya!)
but...anyone else think that maybe, truly, honestly, technology is slowly but surely removing the humanity from the music making equation?
Im not only talking about the "anyone can do it" aspect even though that is clearly true, but...just..the spontaneity, the hands on feel? the..."realness" of it?
oh and btw...nectarios..PLEASE...we know where you stand so...if youre gonna pull the "digital sucks" thing..just save it, ok? "
(the last part is for this guy there that CONSTANTLY throws his "yeah well, my ____ analog sounds WAY better than ____"
gets fckin old, so I dropped a preemptive strike on 'im
Message 41/107 25-Mar-04 @ 06:07 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
Nope, I'm not going to tell you that. I am instead going to clarify... I'm simply saying that the persuit of perfection is childish in that it's based on an insistance that this shit be exactly what we expect it to be. That's not to say that we shouldn't make it as good as it can be... indeed everyone I've worked with has been frustrated at my refusals to tolerate "good enough" in the studio. And however we do it, it's the result that moves us. And, I'm no friggin' jazz masturbator who feels that the magic only happens when we get in the "zone" or some other silly crap. We can MAKE magic!!!
My comment wasn't meant to be taken so literaly... fundamentalist interpretations are usualy furthest from what humans actualy mean. But I did mean that getting "clinical" in our music by excersizing these tools too meticulously throws out the organic aire of human creativity. Which is sometime's cool in and of itself.
And.. back to my photo/painting analogy... Prior to photography the pursuit of most artists was to make things as lifelike as possible... even to the extent that they simply COPIED what the saw in reflections! Creativity was subtle, and often hidden in the pursuit of "exactly" what they saw. We can learn from that in music. The tools for music making are literaly democratizzing genuis these days... every one has the opportunity to plum those creative waters.... I'm simply saying that we can abuse those tools by insisting on shoehorning the creative process into our preconceived notion of what we want our music to be... or we can tap that "thing" that so many creative people point to, by allowing the muse to work within us.
And I am suggesting that too firm a hand on the wheel might be just what causes our creativity to go careening out of control and leaves us with these little noizy tunes that do very little to excite the spirit in those who listen!
that's all
e
My comment wasn't meant to be taken so literaly... fundamentalist interpretations are usualy furthest from what humans actualy mean. But I did mean that getting "clinical" in our music by excersizing these tools too meticulously throws out the organic aire of human creativity. Which is sometime's cool in and of itself.
And.. back to my photo/painting analogy... Prior to photography the pursuit of most artists was to make things as lifelike as possible... even to the extent that they simply COPIED what the saw in reflections! Creativity was subtle, and often hidden in the pursuit of "exactly" what they saw. We can learn from that in music. The tools for music making are literaly democratizzing genuis these days... every one has the opportunity to plum those creative waters.... I'm simply saying that we can abuse those tools by insisting on shoehorning the creative process into our preconceived notion of what we want our music to be... or we can tap that "thing" that so many creative people point to, by allowing the muse to work within us.
And I am suggesting that too firm a hand on the wheel might be just what causes our creativity to go careening out of control and leaves us with these little noizy tunes that do very little to excite the spirit in those who listen!
that's all
e
Message 42/107 25-Mar-04 @ 11:19 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
I'm at the point where my setup is driving me nuts! Octave Cat, Juno-106, Sh-101, Korg MicroKorg, JV-3080, and a ER-1!!! With so many synths it's getting to be a bit complicated in a small bedroom (time to sell!). I'm at the point where I want things to be clinical; white room example. But, I still like the amateurish feel of geared piled around a room. hmmmm... Maybe I just need organization... lots o keyboard stands, mixers, patchbays and crap... I prolly spend 15 % of the time setting up gear, getting things right, disconnecting cables, problem-solving, mic placement, all that crap.
I'd say go back and get some old gear! not much to lose when you buy gear and sell it back for the same price.
I think a lot has to do with focus of the mind. You got a nice chair, a nice computer monitor, and a nice desk, all ya need now is a mind that can focus and forget. 100's of times I'd just sit and tool around for hours doing nothing when I know in the back of my mind, I'm not focused. 90 % inspiration sir. The setting usually doesn't inspire you, nor should it. Sure, some musicians go off to far countries and become inspired... but the lot of us dont have that... we just focus the mind and use that inspiration we get from other places (mind, soul, life, people). Lots of folks like famous ones, goto a forest or a bridge or an ocean and write lyrics, guitar music, and such... does that apply with us? Just gotta use the inspiration and go after things.
I'd say go back and get some old gear! not much to lose when you buy gear and sell it back for the same price.
I think a lot has to do with focus of the mind. You got a nice chair, a nice computer monitor, and a nice desk, all ya need now is a mind that can focus and forget. 100's of times I'd just sit and tool around for hours doing nothing when I know in the back of my mind, I'm not focused. 90 % inspiration sir. The setting usually doesn't inspire you, nor should it. Sure, some musicians go off to far countries and become inspired... but the lot of us dont have that... we just focus the mind and use that inspiration we get from other places (mind, soul, life, people). Lots of folks like famous ones, goto a forest or a bridge or an ocean and write lyrics, guitar music, and such... does that apply with us? Just gotta use the inspiration and go after things.
Message 43/107 26-Mar-04 @ 12:04 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
i quite like the mess the array of gear i have causes.....its the best looking corner of my room.....
greg
greg
Message 44/107 26-Mar-04 @ 01:30 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
Something nobody's touched upon here...you can't rest a beer can on Albino.
Message 45/107 26-Mar-04 @ 02:06 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
From: panama
Web: no weblink
Date: 25-mar-04 - 11:19 pm
File?: no file added
I'm at the point where my setup is driving me nuts! Octave Cat, Juno-106, Sh-101, Korg MicroKorg, JV-3080, and a ER-1!!! With so many synths it's getting to be a bit complicated in a small bedroom (time to sell!). I'm at the point where I want things to be clinical; white room example. But, I still like the amateurish feel of geared piled around a room. hmmmm... Maybe I just need organization... lots o keyboard stands, mixers, patchbays and crap... I prolly spend 15 % of the time setting up gear, getting things right, disconnecting cables, problem-solving, mic placement, all that crap.
I used to have this problem, so I spent a good amount of time getting everything wired up to patchbays with the cabling running in nice, neat bundles, all in racks where it's easy to get at. The rack synths are accessible from the keyboards and the racked recording type stuff is an easy reach from mix position... It's really worth doing. Now I don't spend hardly any time in "setup", unless I'm actually recording parts from the synths and utilizing multiple outputs.
-Craig
Web: no weblink
Date: 25-mar-04 - 11:19 pm
File?: no file added
I'm at the point where my setup is driving me nuts! Octave Cat, Juno-106, Sh-101, Korg MicroKorg, JV-3080, and a ER-1!!! With so many synths it's getting to be a bit complicated in a small bedroom (time to sell!). I'm at the point where I want things to be clinical; white room example. But, I still like the amateurish feel of geared piled around a room. hmmmm... Maybe I just need organization... lots o keyboard stands, mixers, patchbays and crap... I prolly spend 15 % of the time setting up gear, getting things right, disconnecting cables, problem-solving, mic placement, all that crap.
I used to have this problem, so I spent a good amount of time getting everything wired up to patchbays with the cabling running in nice, neat bundles, all in racks where it's easy to get at. The rack synths are accessible from the keyboards and the racked recording type stuff is an easy reach from mix position... It's really worth doing. Now I don't spend hardly any time in "setup", unless I'm actually recording parts from the synths and utilizing multiple outputs.
-Craig
Message 46/107 26-Mar-04 @ 02:19 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
Just a note re the above Bach/Beethoven thing; the piano was readily available in Bach's lifetime too but he just preferred the sound of his clavi, which also allowed for variable dynamics on a smaller scale.
Message 47/107 26-Mar-04 @ 04:03 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
> Nope, I'm not going to tell you that. I am instead going to clarify... I'm simply saying that the persuit of perfection is childish in that it's based on an insistance that this shit be exactly what we expect it to be.
hmm.. dude. i'm not speaking against your method, but look at it from my point of view -
one time i took some mushrooms, and this big ball of noise drifted out of the sky - sounded like 2 jet engines slightly off beat with each other with harmonic beating going on..
we had a conversation that translated thoughts directly into musical phrases. real phrases, eg. i sequenced some of them.
that's how i work with music - i get a concrete image in my mind and then i recreate it. there's no need ot call it childish or anythnig jsut because it's not the method you use.
it seems like your use of terminology accepts the imperfection of life - mine accepts the perfection. maybe my tunes don't do it for you, but they do it for me, and occasionally for others. i just wanted you to know you're wrong about your 'recreation is bad' thing you're on here, cos it's not always bad.
hmm.. dude. i'm not speaking against your method, but look at it from my point of view -
one time i took some mushrooms, and this big ball of noise drifted out of the sky - sounded like 2 jet engines slightly off beat with each other with harmonic beating going on..
we had a conversation that translated thoughts directly into musical phrases. real phrases, eg. i sequenced some of them.
that's how i work with music - i get a concrete image in my mind and then i recreate it. there's no need ot call it childish or anythnig jsut because it's not the method you use.
it seems like your use of terminology accepts the imperfection of life - mine accepts the perfection. maybe my tunes don't do it for you, but they do it for me, and occasionally for others. i just wanted you to know you're wrong about your 'recreation is bad' thing you're on here, cos it's not always bad.
Message 48/107 26-Mar-04 @ 06:32 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
you're right, the childish thing was flippant, and dismissal. Totaly unnecesarry. Sorry.
I tend to wax on about my notions like they're facts that we all must live with. I don't believe that! Whatever works is great.
Ultimately, i believe that there is an inherent perfection in everything that we muddy up with our opinions (yes I get it that that's an opinion as well). My approach is in allowing it to be perfect without getting so far into forcing perfection on it that I screw it up with my bullsh+t. That's all.
e
I tend to wax on about my notions like they're facts that we all must live with. I don't believe that! Whatever works is great.
Ultimately, i believe that there is an inherent perfection in everything that we muddy up with our opinions (yes I get it that that's an opinion as well). My approach is in allowing it to be perfect without getting so far into forcing perfection on it that I screw it up with my bullsh+t. That's all.
e
Message 49/107 26-Mar-04 @ 09:43 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
jeffy
Posts: 6
Link?: No link
File?: No file
I'd like to take the idea of listening to different music a bit further, by suggesting going to show that you might not normally go too. World music or jazz is usually sufficient for me. (Check out your local university for free concerts, its always a good source.) I find that getting my ass out of the house and checking out what other people do differently is always an enlightening experience. Not only that, usually a good show is enough to get me excited about new projects, more often than not, it get me REALLY excited. Plus its fun.
I saw a middle eastern trio a few month back and still get chills just thinking about them. Just a dude on tablas, a dude on sitar and a girl on the cello. Way simple but so different I couldn't wait to get back to my studio at the end of the night.
Word
I saw a middle eastern trio a few month back and still get chills just thinking about them. Just a dude on tablas, a dude on sitar and a girl on the cello. Way simple but so different I couldn't wait to get back to my studio at the end of the night.
Word
Message 50/107 26-Mar-04 @ 09:47 PM - RE: anyone else ever wonder?
good idea
I think Ive been too myopic lately, and...a lot of the stuff in the "scene" Im in is...well...getting pretty fcking boring
mediocre or worse DJs playing mediocre music...
and yeah, I kinda miss the live thing.
I think Ive been too myopic lately, and...a lot of the stuff in the "scene" Im in is...well...getting pretty fcking boring
mediocre or worse DJs playing mediocre music...
and yeah, I kinda miss the live thing.
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