RE Purchase Fasting?

[TritoneAddiction]

For the first time I'm considering going on a RE purchase fast for some time, maybe 6 months or even a year.

I already have more REs than I need. Many of them I haven't even explored properly yet.
So do I really need more new shiny toys? I mean new stuff is always more exciting but most new products aren't that unique anyway. They are for the most part pretty similar to what's available in my rack already.
Maybe the CV or player market is coming up with new stuff but I'm not into these things.

Anyone else having similar thoughts?

[MrFigg]

For the first time I'm considering going on a RE purchase fast for some time, maybe 6 months or even a year.

I already have more REs than I need. Many of them I haven't even explored properly yet.
So do I really need more new shiny toys? I mean new stuff is always more exciting but most new products aren't that unique anyway. They are for the most part pretty similar to what's available in my rack already.
Maybe the CV or player market is coming up with new stuff but I'm not into these things.

Anyone else having similar thoughts?

I have trodden that path and let me tell you friend there is light at the end of that long and dark tunnel. One day at a time man. One day at a time.

[TritoneAddiction]

For the first time I'm considering going on a RE purchase fast for some time, maybe 6 months or even a year.

I already have more REs than I need. Many of them I haven't even explored properly yet.
So do I really need more new shiny toys? I mean new stuff is always more exciting but most new products aren't that unique anyway. They are for the most part pretty similar to what's available in my rack already.
Maybe the CV or player market is coming up with new stuff but I'm not into these things.

Anyone else having similar thoughts?

I have trodden that path and let me tell you friend there is light at the end of that long and dark tunnel. One day at a time man. One day at a time.

What has been some of the benefits for you? Except for saving money.

[MrFigg]

What has been some of the benefits for you? Except for saving money.

I’ve started looking at and using the other 200 REs I’ve already got. And yeah...money is also a big one.

[demt]

i switched to hardware found out i could sell it unlike the vsts and now regard my purchases as an investment let alone another avenue of fun shining upon my musical efforts. Im still happy with reason and reason seems bigger as it accomadate's the hardware,

[wendylou]

I already have more REs than I need. Many of them I haven't even explored properly yet.
So do I really need more new shiny toys? I mean new stuff is always more exciting but most new products aren't that unique anyway. They are for the most part pretty similar to what's available in my rack already.

Anyone else having similar thoughts?

Yes i have. Adding more can be addictive. But i have bought so many REs after that door was opened that now i ask myself 'will i make more music if i buy this new RE?', knowing full well i haven't fully explored what i already have accumulated. Nevertheless, its weird how desire for new things will sort of be tugging on my sleeve. But I'm getting better at no longer buying the latest on a whim.

[O1B]

Just looking at my Compressor Collection...

Ruff Ryder, RE-2A, DQ, SPLEX, 4DYNE, DCAMs, Onyx, Ozone, Mace, MC670/FRG/Moo..., C1-L1, Leveler, MBC, FET, ValleyPD, and Sunder.... ....what's that.... $1500-2000

What a glutton!

I just needed more Meat in my diet.


Two Plates, in fact. (Stereo is the only way to fly)
Now, I'm satiated,

[hurricane]

I'm pretty much done buying REs - unless something truly different comes out. I don't need another RE EQ or compressor or delay or reverb. Or an RE phaser or chorus. I'm not a CV guy so I'm also not interested in those. Pretty much set on the synth front too. And it's not just REs - I'm all set on the VST side too.

What I'm trying to focus on now is learning all the stuff I already have. And that's easier said than done. I do feel a little overwhelmed with all the plugins and REs I have. When I try and disable some, I always fight myself - "ooh but I need this one for that one sound" or" I know I'll use this one later" or "but this one cost a lot" - and so my plugin list remains large. I've disabled a lot of my REs, but in the back of my mind I still have lil' hurricane whispering in my ear "but you spent so much on them!". Ugh. Wish I could sell them.

Wish I could sell some VSTs too but that seems like one huge hassle. I would literally pay someone to do this. Here are the VSTs I don't want anymore, sell them and handle everything. 20% is for you.

This is why I was and am so excited to use Reason Lite. Takes me back to my old Reason days when I used to churn out things so quickly. There's too much choice nowadays and I think it's screwing with my creativity. And yeah, I don't have to enable every plugin I own. And I can definitely just uninstall things. But knowing that I bought them and that they exist - I just can't.

So I'm using Reason Lite. It's refreshing. I'm also using my old version of Logic 9 with only Logic's factory synths and effects enabled. That feels good too. Reason 10 and Logic X remain fully loaded (more like, bloated). Such is life...

[kuhliloach]

I agree with this post. I've become overwhelmed by choices in Reason whether it be RE's or a kick folder with 1,916 kicks many of which sound the same. It's absurd really. I've tried using Favorites but somehow my mind gets cluttered. This may or may not be Reason's fault but either way it's been impossible for me to avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed by choices. Maybe it's the design of the Browser. It could be there's only so much scrolling and staring at a screen a musician can do before the musical inspiration is lost. In the future I predict the most popular music software will be open-source and donation-based, or somewhere in between like VCV Rack. A small capitalist company will find it increasingly impossible to keep up with the development and adoption that is offered by a much larger community. To be fair I still buy the occasional RE based on love for a particular developer such as Kuassa, but I will probably never own synths like Parsec, Layers, or PX7.

[jam-s]

I sometimes compare the amount of money I spent on virtual hardware to the amount one would have to spend to get the actual hardware. Helps in putting things into perspective imho.
And as always: a hobby costs both time and money, but still I think it's a rather cheap hobby if you can control your GAS.

[jappe]

I own a long list of wonderful RE's yet to utilize. It will continue to grow.

Typically I follow the path of least resistance when making music, meaning I use existing patches or create sounds from RE:s where I've completed RTFM.
There is a lot of creative potential if I would decide to prioritize RTFM on the idle set of my RE:s, thus increasing my pool of Least Resistance RE:s.
So my question to myself is: How can I re-prioritize my other activities to allow myself to utilize and increase my creative music-making potential?

[Reasonable man]

Satrted to make a list of instruments and effects that i havn't touched yet ...parseq ,expanse psq etc etc and,,,, all the stuff i havn't explored on top of that! Its a long list ,
Ive started to write down what i learn (i've had to give up on writing music at this point) cause i can't remember what i've covered . I also started writing down all the ways to use each device as again... there is no human possible way to remember it all!
It works but it's slow...very slow.
For me getting into all the cv stuff will take me away from music so i've started writing down what i want to use cv for and how to fit it into to song making otherwise its pointless!
What i find is my favourite Re's like distributer, RND, SCRE, etc are multipurpose and require alot of routing and programming in the combinator and are tied in with cv8x and thor (as a cv router) to create a/b gates and crossfading rotaries so there;s no escaping having to rifle into this stuff .
I think the trick is not to go onto the Props website for long peroids ...every new Re means a re-arrange of your workflow and kinda takes you away from important stuff.
I prob have 2 albums worth of 8 bar loops saved from noodling if i ever get back to em I also have about four unopened cds from computer music mag and dont start me on this new loopcloud app . I caved and bought UMPF .... i already love it . If only all Re's were as simple to use as that!

[TritoneAddiction]

I haven't made up my mind yet, but it's likely I'll decide on a monthly amount of money to spend on fun stuff. That could mean going to restaurants, buying REs, going to the cinema or whatever.
That way I still have the possibility to do what I want but I'm gonna have to prioritize.

[hurricane]

A new Logic update is incoming and we're getting even more stuff. First world problems...

[wendylou]

A new Logic update is incoming and we're getting even more stuff. First world problems...

Funny and true "I woke up this morning" - bah bump bah boom - "And both cars were gone" - bah bump bah boom - "I got the suburban blues" - bah bump bah boom !

[demt]

talking of picking 1 instrument , effect or utility and sticking with it is what hardware does especially
in my case

[Hauser+Quaid]

I haven't purchased a new RE in over a year (Futzbox last September). I did buy a refill a few weeks ago on the sale though, couldn't resist. But it's been great! I have way too much stuff as-is. I'm trying to constantly find uses for the things I have and although there are REs that look really cool and interesting, I just have way too many already. I've made a ton of music in the past year, so I personally recommend trying it.

[4filegate]

Why couldn't we load the new product 50 times to find out if it's better than the old one? Why do most product tests take 14/30 days?

[minilog]

RE's are cut out of my diet for the most part so the idea of fasting isn't even relevant to me.