Downsized and happier.

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MrFigg
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Posts: 9123
Joined: 20 Apr 2018

21 Dec 2019

My musical output for a long time has been low to say the least. I have so many REs and VSTs that when I open Reason it is almost impossible to choose what tools to work with. Back in the day I had a 4-track, a drum machine, my guitars a couple of pedals and an upside down bucket with two sticks and a mic and I wrote and recorded songs with joy. Today I realised where my frustration was stemming from so...I removed all my REs and VSTs from Reason. I kept a famous 80s synth, a bassline synth and a Linndrum. I've got a basic delay, a reverb and a chorus in the Effects section. I've also got my guitars and my bass. And that's it. It's so fucking calm and peaceful now when I open Reason that I'm thinking I may even try using a more cut down DAW. I recently got Bitwig 8-track for free so I'm even considering giving that a go. I'm not saying I'm going to live like a Quaker or a Puritan for the rest of my life but cutting down this drastically has made me happy today. Maybe I'll add something here and there as I go along but I'll take that as it comes. Just wanted to write and share. Now back to the studio :)
πŸ—² 2ΰ₯ ᛉ

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Gardinski
Posts: 340
Joined: 04 Feb 2015

21 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
... and an upside down bucket with two sticks and a mic
Coming soon from Jiggery-Pokery: Combo Upside-Down Bucket!!! A rare and exclusive curio from the basement of Mr Figg. Now with added floormop.

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MrFigg
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Posts: 9123
Joined: 20 Apr 2018

21 Dec 2019

Gardinski wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
... and an upside down bucket with two sticks and a mic
Coming soon from Jiggery-Pokery: Combo Upside-Down Bucket!!! A rare and exclusive curio from the basement of Mr Figg. Now with added floormop.
Hahahaha...that'd do me just fine :)
πŸ—² 2ΰ₯ ᛉ

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bxbrkrz
Posts: 3810
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

21 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
My musical output for a long time has been low to say the least. I have so many REs and VSTs that when I open Reason it is almost impossible to choose what tools to work with. Back in the day I had a 4-track, a drum machine, my guitars a couple of pedals and an upside down bucket with two sticks and a mic and I wrote and recorded songs with joy. Today I realised where my frustration was stemming from so...I removed all my REs and VSTs from Reason. I kept a famous 80s synth, a bassline synth and a Linndrum. I've got a basic delay, a reverb and a chorus in the Effects section. I've also got my guitars and my bass. And that's it. It's so fucking calm and peaceful now when I open Reason that I'm thinking I may even try using a more cut down DAW. I recently got Bitwig 8-track for free so I'm even considering giving that a go. I'm not saying I'm going to live like a Quaker or a Puritan for the rest of my life but cutting down this drastically has made me happy today. Maybe I'll add something here and there as I go along but I'll take that as it comes. Just wanted to write and share. Now back to the studio :)
Could a part of your frustration be coming from the always connected internet we believe we need?
I was very happy with my DX7, an Alesis HR16 and the Atari ST.
I am reading the sentence above and I realize I should've said "more focused", instead of "happy".

:puf_smile:
757365206C6F67696320746F207365656B20616E73776572732075736520726561736F6E20746F2066696E6420776973646F6D20676574206F7574206F6620796F757220636F6D666F7274207A6F6E65206F7220796F757220696E737069726174696F6E2077696C6C206372797374616C6C697A6520666F7265766572

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Loque
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Joined: 28 Dec 2015

21 Dec 2019

Yea, i currently have too much stuff too. So i randomly grab something and squeze out the idea i have or just let it flow. If it does not work, i take the next toy. or just browse some patches. I love it. Just bad, that i cannot BROWSE ALL MY PATCHES within ONE BROWSER...
Reason12, Win10

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BRIGGS
Posts: 2132
Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Location: Orange County California

21 Dec 2019

During the song making process, I find it's better to stick with the devices that constitute your signature voice/sound. Then, later venture into weird or experimental stuff. Keep things simple, in the beginning. It helps to not get bogged down.
r11s

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MrFigg
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21 Dec 2019

Way I'm looking at it just now is I've got maybe 7 or 8 instruments and effects to play with, along with all my real instruments. All the devices I've bought are still available on my account so if I think that I need something to make a particular sound and can't do it with my bare bones set up I've still got the option of downloading selectively. I've also made a decision that in this instance I'll take the time to actually get to know that RE...maybe even look at the manual god forbid.
πŸ—² 2ΰ₯ ᛉ

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BRIGGS
Posts: 2132
Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Location: Orange County California

21 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
Way I'm looking at it just now is I've got maybe 7 or 8 instruments and effects to play with, along with all my real instruments. All the devices I've bought are still available on my account so if I think that I need something to make a particular sound and can't do it with my bare bones set up I've still got the option of downloading selectively. I've also made a decision that in this instance I'll take the time to actually get to know that RE...maybe even look at the manual god forbid.
:thumbs_up:
r11s

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motuscott
Posts: 3420
Joined: 16 Jan 2015
Location: Contest Weiner

21 Dec 2019

Gardinski wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
... and an upside down bucket with two sticks and a mic
Coming soon from Jiggery-Pokery: Combo Upside-Down Bucket!!! A rare and exclusive curio from the basement of Mr Figg. Now with added floormop.
Featuring 45,483 round robin samples and pdf based on the original Acme floor mop manual!
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? πŸ§‚

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Rising Night Wave
Posts: 1217
Joined: 03 Sep 2019
Location: Vransko, Slovenia
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21 Dec 2019

You all know what they say: "Less is more!".
But hey. If you are confused, thet that is just fine what you did. Do not worry.
Rising Night Wave & Extus at SoundCloud
HW: Asus ROG Strix G513QM | Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen | M-Audio M3-8 | M-Audio Uber Mic | Shure SRH1840 | Shure SE215 | LG 49UK6400
SW: Windows 11 Pro | Reason 10 | Reason+

Revise
Posts: 48
Joined: 09 Aug 2015

21 Dec 2019

I know the feeling - part of that process for me is not researching gear as much because that leads to buying more stuff! Good luck, Bitwig has actually been a godsend for me because it doesn't have a store where I can buy more addons like Reason and Live.

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tallguy
Posts: 331
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21 Dec 2019

This is where Favourites lists come in handy. I have two Favourites lists in my Browser. One for instruments containing 8 instruments including two drum machines and one for effects containing 7 effects. Adding and removing anything from a favourites list is fast and non-destructive, so as your taste changes, you can quickly update your favourites lists.
Last edited by tallguy on 21 Dec 2019, edited 1 time in total.

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MrFigg
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Posts: 9123
Joined: 20 Apr 2018

21 Dec 2019

motuscott wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
Gardinski wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019


Coming soon from Jiggery-Pokery: Combo Upside-Down Bucket!!! A rare and exclusive curio from the basement of Mr Figg. Now with added floormop.
Featuring 45,483 round robin samples and pdf based on the original Acme floor mop manual!
Featuring meticulously modeled versions of four classic cabs.
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πŸ—² 2ΰ₯ ᛉ

Proboscis
Posts: 1004
Joined: 28 Aug 2019

21 Dec 2019

It is my assertion that the best music made in the past 60 years has been with the least amount of options. It was those limitations in technology that forced artists to be creative with far less than we have today. Case in point, look at how incredible Pink Floyd's material was. While it's personally not even close to being my favorite PF album, 1972's Dark Side of the Moon used no infinite track DAW as we have today, there were not a million and one VSTs available, there was no lossless bouncing, and despite that, the album has been on the Billboard charts for 18 years since it's release !

It's great to read this post because it echo's how I feel a lot of the time lately. Despite all the RE's I have, I try to mostly stick to stock instruments as a self-imposed limitation, but it's still too much. On reading this, I might just set myself a challenge to strip it all back to basics and see what comes of it. Drums, two guitars, bass and a piano - or maybe a single synth.

Let the holiday challenge begin. :mrgreen:

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BRIGGS
Posts: 2132
Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Location: Orange County California

21 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
motuscott wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019


Featuring 45,483 round robin samples and pdf based on the original Acme floor mop manual!
Featuring meticulously modeled versions of four classic cabs.
Downsized:

Image
r11s

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jam-s
Posts: 3035
Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Location: Aachen, Germany
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21 Dec 2019

MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
motuscott wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019


Featuring 45,483 round robin samples and pdf based on the original Acme floor mop manual!
Featuring meticulously modeled versions of four classic cabs.
I really appreciate the silk and smooth sound of the red modern bucket. But that vintage all metal one also has its charms. ;)

Proboscis
Posts: 1004
Joined: 28 Aug 2019

21 Dec 2019

Buckets are so old fashioned. PVC pipe & flip-flops is where it's at.


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MrFigg
Competition Winner
Posts: 9123
Joined: 20 Apr 2018

21 Dec 2019

jam-s wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
MrFigg wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019


Featuring meticulously modeled versions of four classic cabs.
I really appreciate the silk and smooth sound of the red modern bucket. But that vintage all metal one also has its charms. ;)
It’s be great if someone could make a SS/RI converter. (Stainless steel to rusty iron). I much prefer that crunchy sound which only exists on older buckets.
πŸ—² 2ΰ₯ ᛉ

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dvdrtldg
Posts: 2386
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

22 Dec 2019

I've been a bit short of inspiration lately, and have taken to doing a deep dive into some manuals. Every day I try to read one FX or instrument manual cover to cover, and it almost always results in something productive

Today it was Jiggery Pokery's Harmonic Synthesizer, which I'm here to tell you is an absolute beast

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moggadeet
Posts: 94
Joined: 27 Jun 2018
Location: Stuttgart, Germany

22 Dec 2019

I can relate! I spend the composing time on an Reason 10 Elements with Subtractor, ID8 and Redrum and then move the midi to another project.

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benjified
Posts: 69
Joined: 15 Sep 2015
Location: Toronto
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22 Dec 2019

Help! I put too much compression on my metal bucket and now I can't put it back to it's original shape.

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diminished
Competition Winner
Posts: 1880
Joined: 15 Dec 2018

22 Dec 2019

benjified wrote: ↑
22 Dec 2019
Help! I put too much compression on my metal bucket and now I can't put it back to it's original shape.
Try some analog warmth and bend it two semitones!
:reason: Most recent track: resentment (synthwave) || Others: on my YouTube channel β€’α΄—β€’

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motuscott
Posts: 3420
Joined: 16 Jan 2015
Location: Contest Weiner

22 Dec 2019

Jiggery Doo, where are you?
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? πŸ§‚

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mcatalao
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Posts: 1824
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

22 Dec 2019

IMHO this happens because of 2 things, mostly...

First, because you are extinguishing your "creative" mind with the same paths (not reason related, but musically).
You start songs the same way you did in a long time, you work with the same keys, you use a chord sequence too much and whatever you do sounds the same, if ever something comes out.
You have to fight this with new solutions. Work new melodies, find new harmonies, listen to new music, more complex, more out of your box. If you listen to rock, try jazz, try world. If you're fed up with EDM, go tribal or acoustic. But try shake things up. Listen to odd stuff, go indian and squeese up some ragas, hear classical, even contemporary, and so on.

The second reason is that you're losing focus on music to production. All the production shiet (1000+ vst's won't help you make a song), is secondary to the music. People will like a song if it has an amazing production, or if it was played on a crappy guitar. Because the most important thing is music, and the rest is secondary. So with all the production chiet, people forget that a great melody, enticing lyrics and an exquisite chord progression, are the first thing you need for a great song. The rest is subjective, and secondary. Takes a lot of time to get the rest done, and we loose focus because it takes the soul of the craftsmanship, but we can't forget this is all about the music!

So, take away the crap, remember which instruments you used to make those songs when you were younger with a 4 track, and use them again in your creative process, and don't start mixing or even arranging before your melody, lyrics, harmony and rhythm are well defined. Don't "produce" the song before the song exists.

Do the song. Then the rest.

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Arrant
Competition Winner
Posts: 521
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

23 Dec 2019

Loque wrote: ↑
21 Dec 2019
Yea, i currently have too much stuff too. So i randomly grab something and squeze out the idea i have or just let it flow. If it does not work, i take the next toy. or just browse some patches. I love it. Just bad, that i cannot BROWSE ALL MY PATCHES within ONE BROWSER...
Well, for all your Reason native+RE patches, you actually can. It's actually a key part of my workflow. It just takes a lot of work unpacking refills if you're using many of those. For self-made patches it's a breeze though.
This won't work with VSTs unfortunately. which is a bummer.

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