When is enough enough?

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SammyJames
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When is enough enough?

Post by SammyJames »

I've been thinking about this increasingly. How much more technology do you NEED to put together a 3-5 minute long song?

:)

Okay -- here is my whole thing now. I'm thinking that, "okay -- so we got you know, 192 kHz, and 32 bits (maybe 64 soon...?) and we got some software synths and some samples and some sequencing and yada yada yada..." so the question is, how much more computer technology do we really NEED?!

When I say NEED, I mean, let's say that you want to produce some killer house tracks, or some cool rap stuff, or maybe some pop music. Maybe you buy a computer and it can handle, let's say, 128 tracks of audio and 128 synthesizers, with 128 reverbs and 128 delays and 128 choruses and so on. So, at that point, why would anyone complain?

I'm actually getting close to feeling as though it is almost enough. I'm saying that the next computer that I buy, I'm sure, will have everything that I need to produce some great-sounding music. It will probably let me do it with relative ease, and I will probably have a lot of fun with it. I will probably not even be thinking, while using it, of upgrading anytime soon.

What could be wrong with that?

- Sammy

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
http://www.sammyjames.com
bassman
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Re: When is enough enough?

Post by bassman »

Absolutely nothing.

I use my Fantom and computer as tools to play and compose music. It seems these days that tracking,worrying about, and fiddling with the technology easily supplants the purpose of having an instrument in the first place (for some folks).

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jstorms
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Mega Techs

Post by jstorms »

Sammy, there seems to be two groups that stand out in music production these days, those who can do wonderful music on a single piece of equipment (or at least on minimum) and those who will always desire bigger, better faster units, more bells & whistles, Mega Techs, so to speak. It's the mega techs that keep the business world of music production (for in home studios) turning out profits, which keeps them in business and provides all the great toys for those who will never get enough. Those who produce on extreme tight budgets therefore reap the benefits when products they buy have been created top of the line for those who upgrade constantly and "must have" all the new and latest technology. That marriage between instrument & computer changes so fast and software is as diverse as those who are making music with it!
For some, if enough was enough, we'd still be listening to 8-tracks, which I still managed to hang on to a few for historical reasons :) but I do like being able to work in a midi/audio format on a computer... must be a control thing.... With all that said, you will know exactly when enough is enough... your pockets will be empty but your house will be filled with an abundance of music and creativity is free. Keep thinking on it Sammy...for some, no amount of technology will be enough and they might get so caught up in the technical side they loose the joy of the music they create. It might be enough for some at this point in time, but just imagine where the technology will be in 10 years. You provoke a lot of thought on this one, Sammy. j

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SammyJames
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Isn't "Mega Techs" a japanese tv show...?!

Post by SammyJames »

:)

Just kdding. But seriously -- jstorms has it right. I agree that the drivers of technology, the Mega Techs, are what let me and countless others do what we do. I love being able to (finally) sit down to work with the one piece of gear that I own. I have succeeded in the past mostly with the one or two pieces of equipment that I need to get something done.

I'm really excited now at the prospect of literally having a single box inside of which I can realize my creations. In the past, I've always been forced to rely on at least two separate pieces -- a synth workstation and an audio workstation. The computer now lets me fuse the two together.

- Sammy

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
http://www.sammyjames.com
Hugo
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Re: When is enough enough?

Post by Hugo »

The less you have, the better.
When I had a pc running *only* Fasttracker, I often produced a song in a day. Nowadays I have tons of gear, and rarely get anything done at all.

regards, Hugo
Rodan
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Future is Bright

Post by Rodan »

I agree that we already have more at our fingertips than most of us can master and in the end it comes down to talent, skill, and creativity. But the future is still bright. We will see big changes.

Take a look at this. I couldn't help but think about the direction audio applications will take when this next step in computer interfaces becomes available. Imagine squencing on this or as the interface to a synth.

[url]http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalkspla ... =j_han[url]

-Rodan
wudsiba
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Now is a good time...

Post by wudsiba »

I think we are at an incredible time as far as electronic musical equipment. I'm 33 now, and I grew up working all summer to buy a single piece of equipment. Like a sequencer (an Alesis MMT-8), a controler (an Akai AX60), a drum machine (Kawai R-50), a sound module (Kawai K-1r), an effects unit (Alesis Midiverb II), a place to store all of the sounds and sequences (Alesis Datadisk), And finally the center of the original Closet Studio, a top of the line sampler (a Roland S-550). Not to mention a tv moniter and a 4 track to record onto. I spent years saving, planning, studying, begging, buying, and dreaming of being able to create my own music, that sounded professional, in my own home. Now you can buy a single piece of hardware that covers the functions of ALL of these old machines and more for less than a grand. Amazing. I really think we are finally at a time where, yes there will still be new advances introduced, but the machines that are out now will always endure. Heck people still fork out top dollor for an Emu Sp-1200 with ten seconds of sampling.

wudsiba
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SammyJames
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Re: When is enough enough?

Post by SammyJames »

Yes -- this discussion got cool while I was away from it. Now I can happily report that I was pretty much correct with most of my assertions back in the first post.

My Mac is great. I'm having a lot of fun playing on it, and I've just started to produce some stuff that I'm proud of. As far as upgrading it, there isn't much that I can do to improve its performance. I might add more memory, and I may buy a faster Hard Drive at some point. That would be about it.

And that IS it. Thanks for your replies. I have enjoyed reading your responses.

- Sammy

"Long Live the Sponge"

http://www.sammyjames.com/music.htm
Rodan
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Re: When is enough enough?

Post by Rodan »

Congratulations on the Mac. But Sammy, I have a question,

Long live the Sponge???

-Rodan the Caveman
mission
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Re: When is enough enough?

Post by mission »

i got rid of all my software and honestly, i had EVERYTHING.

now my comp is just for tracking the final result or doing vocals.

sequence sounds on my fantom (use it to trigger and sequence my other outboard synths) and use my mpc to handle drums.

ive never been more productive. talk about finishing a track quickly when you know you have 16 channels on a mixing console dedicated to what you're doing right now and the only way to move on to another track is to finish what you're doing.

with comps, all the options in the world... too much tweekin... record, dont like it, record again... but DO IT.

minimalizing my setup has changed everything.
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SammyJames
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Re: When is enough enough?

Post by SammyJames »

Oh, Rodan:

Yeah, sorry about that weird tag line. I had been on the Waldorf site about three months ago, and at that time, I was interested in purchasing the Waldorf Edition. The sample song for the PPG is called "Waking Up the Sponge," and I was trying to evoke that title with my sign-off handle.

It is a great demo, and it gives me fits, because every time I hear it, it makes me want to dance! And the patches are just incredible. I have been experimenting with the PPG since I got it, and I can honestly see my self creating something that cool eventually. It will take me a while, but it will probably happen.

Anyway, thanks for noticing. I have since replaced my tag line with something that a girl I used to know always would put in her emails to me.

- Sammy

"I don't suffer from insanity; I love every minute of it!"

http://www.sammyjames.com/music.htm
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Quinnx.
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So when is enough, Enough??

Post by Quinnx. »

I think, what you have and what you need boils down to how you work.
The Fantom has the protential of being a production tool.
Why?
its a workstation, sampler, sequencer, synth

You can do everything in the box
however sometimes you need to do something else which can be achieved in the box but will take a bit of effort.
At this point you have to decide do i need something else to make it easier.

Now your starting to build your gear and exploring how your going to work.
I always keep thinking about how i want to work and what i need to achieve this and keep thinking outside the box.

Its not a good idea to get bogged down in the idea of the all in one wonder box.
maybe one day it will happen, but for now forget this idea.
If your all in one is making you work too hard then its time to think outside of this and look at other ways of making it easier to be creative.

Thats not to say you are looking for the magic button.
There are times when i wanted to multitask in my music while being creative, but my gear just would not let me.
So i need to get more gear, now im doing it.

So when is enough, Enough??

When you can do it naturaly.


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SammyJames
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The future IS bright...

Post by SammyJames »

In fact, it is SO bright, that I've gotta wear shades!!!

(If you didn't get the reference, ah... time-travel back about twenty-two years or so.)

- Sammy

"I don't suffer from insanity; I love every minute of it!"

http://www.sammyjames.com/music.htm
mloce
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Yo Man

Post by mloce »

Hey Sammy, what do you say we get the hell out of this Universe and start writing some new music. Yes... I still use the Gr30 to anyone out there. Be well.
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SammyJames
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The Mac has left the building...

Post by SammyJames »

I just wasn't able to gel with it. I am enjoying using my PC now though. It's strange how many people seem to prefer Macs, but hey -- to each his own, I suppose...

- Sammy
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