Anti GAS pic

[yannis D]

 

This is Kevin Parker a k.a. Tame Impala next to Dua Lipa. The guy's producing Lipa's next single. Here is a star producer and band leader of its own and a mega pop star 

Look at the pic, focus on his gear 😉

Next time our gear is not good/sufficient to us, we should just look at this one... 

(He also uses Juno 60 and some other analog stuff though, it's not all laptop and controllers, but still...) 

PS this is half humorous, but only half 

[CyberGene]

I think the discrepancies stem from this guy producing mainly EDM music and this forum being about old guys playing Hammond organ 😉 OK, OK, I am exaggerating but you get my point.

[yannis D]

4 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

I think the discrepancies stem from this guy producing mainly EDM music and this forum being about old guys playing Hammond organ 😉 OK, OK, I am exaggerating but you get my point.

On the contrary, his own projects are totally musical with good songs, production, orchestration and a rich sonic palette. BTW this forum is not just old guys discussing Hammond organs 😉

[CyberGene]

I said I was exaggerating 😀

[tapes]

7 minutes ago, yannis D said:

On the contrary, his own projects are totally musical with good songs, production, orchestration and a rich sonic palette. BTW this forum is not just old guys discussing Hammond organs 😉

 

I don't think it's a big secret these days, that most music production is done "in the box". Meaning: plug-ins, an audio interface, and a MIDI controller. It unfortunately has also the side effect of tons of productions / songs sounding the same. I could also moan about the art of pop songwriting disappearing, but I digress...

 

It's not quite that simple, though... The "DAWless" movement is strong too. In recent years, a lot of companies have been offering all-in-one standalone products (namely Akai, Ableton, Elektron...). Workstations have reappeared (Fantom, partially Montage, Akai MPC Keys). New hardware synths (analog too) are obviously everywhere, from all kinds of manufacturers. Younger kids who were "born" into the plug-in world, have been ditching DAWs and rediscovering vintage synths - even panned digital ones, like the Korg M1.

 

And I think certain modern hit producers, like let's say, Jack Antonoff, do use lots of vintage gear (meaning, actual hardware). Or someone like Jake One, who still starts his productions on an ancient Ensoniq ASR-10. He moves to Pro Tools afterwards, of course.

[K K]

Anti GAS pic ? 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

 

2 hours ago, yannis D said:

 

This is Kevin Parker a k.a. Tame Impala next to Dua Lipa. The guy's producing Lipa's next single. Here is a star producer and band leader of its own and a mega pop star 

Look at the pic, focus on his gear 😉

Next time our gear is not good/sufficient to us, we should just look at this one... 

(He also uses Juno 60 and some other analog stuff though, it's not all laptop and controllers, but still...) 

PS this is half humorous, but only half 

He's Arturia endorsed.  He can't show his hardware in public. 

 

Besides, he doesn't need hardware.  He has Dua.  

[Tusker]

The power we have in a laptop today would have been mind boggling for a previous generation. You could do several albums with just the variety of free stuff out there. 

 

But perhaps there is also some paralysis that comes with so many choices?

[ElmerJFudd]

4 minutes ago, Tusker said:

The power we have in a laptop today would have been mind boggling for a previous generation. You could do several albums with just the variety of free stuff out there. 

 

But perhaps there is also some paralysis that comes with so many choices?

Mountains of synthesizers, rack effects, amplifiers pedals etc. headed for landfills and recycling centers.  

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

1 hour ago, K K said:

Anti GAS pic ? 

 

Having two "C"s on there seems like an extravagance, like having two "E" strings on a guitar.

[ProfD]

47 minutes ago, Tusker said:

But perhaps there is also some paralysis that comes with so many choices?

Absolutely. 

 

In both hardware and software, the sheer amount of gear and sounds available leads to a great deal of 1) analysis paralysis and 2) same sounding music.😎

 

 

[Tusker]

16 minutes ago, ProfD said:

In both hardware and software, the sheer amount of gear and sounds available leads to a great deal of 1) analysis paralysis and 2) same sounding music.😎

 

 

 

Agree on the first point 100%.

 

I'll suggest keeping an open mind on the second point though. It's not always possible to find and appreciate new genres. While a refined taste is valuable, it can also filter our exposure to fresh trends.

[ProfD]

19 minutes ago, Tusker said:

 

Agree on the first point 100%.

 

I'll suggest keeping an open mind on the second point though. It's not always possible to find and appreciate new genres. While a refined taste is valuable, it can also filter our exposure to fresh trends.

Definitely. 

 

As a result of my love for music, I'll forever be MOM (Musically Open Minded).

 

I've always got my ears to the street listening for music that knocks me on my azz proverbially. 

 

Granted, having listened to music over a half century now, the filter is refined.  It takes a lot more to get me on the ground.🤣😎

[KuruPrionz]

In general, we tend to consider the past based on the small percentage of music produced that is still relevant. The massive sub-standard content that existed "then" has more or less been discarded with some exceptions (Oh Mickey? Gah!).

We now have very affordable means of producing songs, albums, music of all types. Anybody can jump in and will. 

 

We are inundated with a barrage of "creativity", bearing in mind that there was only one Van Gogh and only one Phyllis Diller (just for examples).

There was only one Beatles, they changed popular music forever. 

 

LOTS of copy cats, wanna-be's, etc. That is nothing new, the chaff will be discarded over time and the grain will remain. Same old same old, history repeats itself. 

[Docbop]

When you want to work on being creative you limit the tools you work with.    Some do it in practice calling it restrictive practice.   Great painters when feeling creativity not there would paint with just one color.  Many song writers write on what is not there main instrument, so they avoid the common lines and subconscious limitations they would do on their main instrument.  When you limit what you work with you expand your creativity.  

[SMcD]

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

In general, we tend to consider the past based on the small percentage of music produced that is still relevant. The massive sub-standard content that existed "then" has more or less been discarded with some exceptions (Oh Mickey? Gah!).

We now have very affordable means of producing songs, albums, music of all types. Anybody can jump in and will. 

 

We are inundated with a barrage of "creativity", bearing in mind that there was only one Van Gogh and only one Phyllis Diller (just for examples).

There was only one Beatles, they changed popular music forever. 

 

LOTS of copy cats, wanna-be's, etc. That is nothing new, the chaff will be discarded over time and the grain will remain. Same old same old, history repeats itself. 

 

A good counterpoint to "music was better in the past" is the fact that one of the most popular songs in 1959 was three minutes of bubblegum by a fictional band based on Archie comics.

[yannis D]

Much of the pre Beatles music production sounded "the same", but this does not make it dull or boring. Blues, rock n roll, different world traditions etc is made by the same old instruments and the same old chords, but still... My point is that with a laptop and some VSTs (some, not thousands of them) one can do wonders nowdays if the talent and the persistence is there. Tame Impala does for sure, regardless of his studio capacities 

[K K]

3 hours ago, Lou Gehrig Charles said:

Having two "C"s on there seems like an extravagance, like having two "E" strings on a guitar.

Yes, that's probably why this instrument was not popular. Too much C redundancy and way too many knobs and buttons. 

 

 

[Adan]

That pic doesn't prove anything other than that they were in a room together doing something, possibly playing music, maybe sketching out ideas. 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think there's vintage synths all over Tame Impala's albums. Why wouldn't you, if you were him?

 

None of this is to take away from the anti-gas sentiment, which is a major aspirational goal for me.  

[yannis D]

23 minutes ago, Adan said:

That pic doesn't prove anything other than that they were in a room together doing something, possibly playing music, maybe sketching out ideas. 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think there's vintage synths all over Tame Impala's albums. Why wouldn't you, if you were him?

 

None of this is to take away from the anti-gas sentiment, which is a major aspirational goal for me.  

Because I know Tame Impala uses vintage synths as well, I mentioned that this was a semi humorous post. 

Your last paragraph was my final though and bottom line as well...

[Lindaru]

3 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

In general, we tend to consider the past based on the small percentage of music produced that is still relevant. The massive sub-standard content that existed "then" has more or less been discarded with some exceptions (Oh Mickey? Gah!).

We now have very affordable means of producing songs, albums, music of all types. Anybody can jump in and will. 

 

There are a couple from decades ago that have long been forgotten and remain in my play list when I have the itch to hear them.

"Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen
"Troglodyte" by the Jimmy Castor Bunch

I do keep my ears open for that new thing that flips my switch and I just gotta have it.

😁

 

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Lindaru said:

There are a couple from decades ago that have long been forgotten and remain in my play list when I have the itch to hear them.

"Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen
"Troglodyte" by the Jimmy Castor Bunch

I do keep my ears open for that new thing that flips my switch and I just gotta have it.

😁

 

Surfin' Bird is a masterpiece! The Trashmen rule and that's a great name to boot. They were heavy punk before there was punk, plus they went all surf too.

I don't recall ever hearing Troglodyte before, Jimmy Castor is awesome. He's got his own thing but I can't help but think that you would like Root Boy Slim and The Sex Change Band. We used to play Mood Ring and I wish I'd learned more of Root Boy's tunes. One of the greats. 😇

 

[Stokely]

I can do things in a home office that bears no resemblance of a studio (ok, I do have studio monitors and a keyboard for a controller) that I could have only dreamed about back in the day.   I had no decent piano, b3, rhodes etc and not very good effects for that matter in a studio full of gear.  Synths--I'll grant you that one   I still would put Diva and Repro and the rest of my in-the-box gang up against the collection our studio had though they were quite nice.   Orchestra/vocals/percussion?  Not even in the same galaxy back then, let alone ballpark.

I do miss the vibe of all that gear a bit but I wouldn't be using it if I had it, other than whatever I use live (I'm still a live gig luddite when it comes to software).

Anyway, quality of the gear and sounds aside, it's really the player anyway.  I'm happy with one keyboard most of the time and I've had no complaints.  I have a lot to work on both playing, singing and with programming what I have and chasing gear can be a distraction.

[Jose EB5AGV]

7 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Mountains of synthesizers, rack effects, amplifiers pedals etc. headed for landfills and recycling centers.

 

Nope. They are in my storage area 🤣

[JamieT]

I am going to make a generalization and would appreciate your responses / thoughts...

Most of the history of advances in music technology resulted in new types of music that could not have been made previously. The electric clavinet, subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis, guitar pickups, wah pedals, etc. We all know songs and performances that could not exist without a specific new music technology. It seems like almost all of the recent advances in music technology result in music being easier and cheaper to make rather than new/different. Expensive recording studios have been replaced by software and a halfway decent computer. The ability to play an instrument has been replaced by quantization. The ability to sing has been replaced by vocal processing. Drummers? What the hell is a drummer in current music recording/production? Etc. Because of this, almost anyone can create a song without significant hurdles, pre-requisites, or investment. Because of this, there are over 100,000 new songs uploaded to streaming services each day. Because of this, it is extremely difficult to cut through the noise and find the new artists that deserve our attention, support, and time.  When it was expensive to make an album, music labels would invest in promoting promising artists (they already had spent big $ in the studio). Now, I have no idea how things are supposed to work.    

[David Emm]

9 hours ago, K K said:

Anti GAS pic ? 

 

 

Lotta nostalgia here for me. I got to see DEVO in a steamy club early on in their fame. At the break, I went up to the stage and asked Mark how the Prophet-5 was holding up in the heat. That led to a brief tour of his rig, including a honk from the Poly-Box. Pure mutual GAS luv. We take it for granted now, but stacking up big one-finger chords was new & thrilling then. 🤩

 

[CyberGene]

22 minutes ago, JamieT said:

It seems like almost all of the recent advances in music technology result in music being easier and cheaper to make rather than new/different.

There are two sides. While that’s true, nobody said music should be an elite endeavor for only a few chosen ones. As a listener you may be bothered by the ocean of mediocrity but as a player (even an amateur one) it could be the pleasure of a lifetime to be able to create music so easily. 

[Geoff Grace]

8 hours ago, Tusker said:

The power we have in a laptop today would have been mind boggling for a previous generation. You could do several albums with just the variety of free stuff out there. 

 

But perhaps there is also some paralysis that comes with so many choices?

 

I'm in the habit of creating a new template for each project, which gets me to think in advance about the sonic approach I want to take. The result is a limited but focused palette that can be added to if necessary, but it usually winds up covering 90% of the project's needs and is fast to work with.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[David Emm]

7 minutes ago, JamieT said:

Now, I have no idea how things are supposed to work.    

 

Me neither! If you figure it out, clue us in, please! 🤨 Actually, its a matter of persisting because you enjoy it. The Net has skewed the landscape as horribly as its helped, by making killer tools so commonplace. Setting aside the debate about social media peeing in the collective punch bowl, very few ever become traditionally big names in their field of choice. Some magically get there "overnight," via years of hard work. Many eat their guts out pointlessly by disrespecting the statistical percentages. So what DO you do? 

 

Don't measure your musical doings too heavily by external standards, because its a unique thing. No one can really force you into music and no one can take it away from you, especially when you can possess the studio of the gods in a laptop. Your chances of becoming a rock god are slim, but there's a very good chance that you can get close to an Ultimate You. Supporting yourself strictly through music is an uphill climb, but as part of a grounded game plan, you can make it a partial contributor with its own inherent merits. This includes its mental heath benefits, which keep me from beating my fellow man with a 2 x 4. 

   

[Synthaholic]

On 11/9/2023 at 9:27 AM, Tusker said:

But perhaps there is also some paralysis that comes with so many choices?

I don't believe I've listened to every single Program on my PC4-7 yet and I've had it for 3 years. That 38th Adagio string program will have to wait a little longer. 😉