Are you addicted to music production hardware and plugins?

[DjJPositive]

Very valuable information. I bought some new gear a year ago and I'm just getting around to learning how to use it properly.

[mfsflyer1]

The newest VSTi's are so pretty you think you're using Hardware lol.. All those wonderful green LCD screens that is just BMP or PNG's in a user interface.

[mfsflyer1]

It's true, when I started downloading free VSTi I was spending my time doing that and experimenting for a year after I had been using keyboards before that for 6 years before that.. So yes it's a curse, the blessing is once you're happy with it you can keep at it and just add things slowly to your eq..

[dubmonkeyaudio]

Thats is so true, but Vespers do you think ableton will even die? because i would be lost without that DAW :(

[platoon1979]

what mackie series are these?..seen tutorials of some of my fave producers that use the same..however been searching for this series but seem not available in Europe i assume......helpful tutorial again

[dkyx]

@platoon1979 Same ones I use, the HR824's (the originals, not the MK2's).

[FourOneProductionz]

i wana buy a mpd midi controller haha im always looking for the new something and that something always looks at me and says. "You Need This" haha and i get so damn excited haha.. but yea i do understand what your sayn. i am addicted.. but from all the plugins and hardware ive bought i have started to realise that my beats are the same as before lol.

but i would like the mpd midi controller as i dont need to learn it, but will feel better using drums. IMO

but my goal now is Sonic Layering:)

[dtanobo]

Pretty much the only VSTs I have are Sylenth1 and DUNE and I still am very new on DUNE but it's got crazy amounts of presets. Everything else is pretty minimal. Maybe a little Ogun here or there.

[mdotmusic]

100% DEAD ON!... also the amount of DEBT producers get into is CRAZY!

[Mathemaetica]

You COMPLETELy killed my "Musical Buzz" - Hater! *lulz* All silliness aside now, I do lean into complete agreement with you on this particular subject matter and how feverish snapping up of most every new "toy" to emerge can be counterintuitive to Production, Composition and the "Imagination Process" poured into an given project to find its way onto the work space - which is precisely WHY I stick with 3 items ONLY: 1.) Reason 5, 2.) The M-Audio Axiom 49 and 3.) My Computer! It's All I will need!

[csselement]

Limiting your options forces creativity and intimate knowledge of the tools you DO have. Very relevant post for today's (and tomorrow's) producers.

[SIRUS80]

AMEN!

[DanielParker01]

Reason 6 FTW

[wichanugawood]

very true, love the honesty bro.

[MistaMase102]

i'm too addicted, i need a job.

[marktwainisgod]

Simple is best! Thanx

[epicrichey]

@DJVespers No doubt! Another thing this can create is idea paralysis...wondering where to start in the pile of technology we have acquired for ourselves. What has been your experience with getting past this paralysis? Thanks for the the vids!

[mg3h]

Youre right tnx dude

[KoolAidPianist]

I just got Ableton Live yesterday and am planning on getting an Akai MPK Mini to get started on experimenting with production and holy shit am I glad I watched this video early on. I'm a huge tech whore in that, I love to just HAVE every plugin/software but clearly, that's not going to be useful or productive. Thanks for the great advice!

[Sei5mixx]

Haha :D I am a gearslutz but I also spend 12-13 hours per day doing nothing but learning in books or audio, I know i tooted my own horn but kinda made me proud when I thought about it lmao

[jhambero]

Very true man. I often thought the same thing. Great video...

[Toneklang]

It's funny. I've always known I was a gear addict, but it's as if I needed someone to say it to me, to realise that I've been using more time on new gear, than on Music creation. Great post!

[kvesti]

This is so true. I tried Reason and was about to buy it. Then I started to compare it to Live suite which I own and realized there is little to gain having both and Live is better in so many ways. Maybe when I got my new laptop and set my "studio" I get rid of this addiction and start making music. :P

[jmb102093]

and i have to agree that synthesizers really do scare the hell out of me cause they look mega intimidating so i'm reading some books on it and the manuals and stuff just so i can figure it out

[jmb102093]

i came to this conclusion the other i kinda just got started creating music so i'm focusing on learning the basics right now but once i downloaded the software i went on this kick of like reasearching the best plugins and stuff and i didnt even master the program i had yet so i decided just to clear the bullshit out and just focus on ableton until i know i can handle more stuff

[Rich7714]

Yeah, that's a great point DJVespers! I've certainly learned that too!

[MrRidisc]

but what if you sample an old song that is going to be in 16 bit... but all the rest is 24??

[NotSoSiniSter]

This is so true for plug ins. Pick a popular synth and stick to it! When I first started producing, I started downloading VSTs by the gigabyte, and install them at a similar rate. It was such a waste of time. After moving to a new computer, all I have is FXpansions synth pack, and ableton. THATS IT. :D

[DJVespers]

@NotSoSiniSter Yeah, good call. It's amazing what you can do with a deep understanding of ONE synth.

[NotSoSiniSter]

@DJVespers Soooo true. :D Cypher has quite the potential by itself. :D

[fkdurmoms]

@NotSoSiniSter word

[vectoronic]

100% true. im a fruityloops guy and i was collecting Huge amounts of synths,plugins etc. and i made newer sounds but everything i made started sucking because i had a very hard time making a full song. yesterday i limited myself to just basic effects, a drumkit and a few image-lines sawers and i actually ended up making something with "feeling to it". idk but now im just remaking the track with the other stuff i got and it seems like it will turn out to be one of my best yet. thnx :D

[JiminyKracker]

Starting to feel glad I stumbled on to your vids. I haven't been truly creative since I ditched my old keyboard and cassette recorder in favour of building a daw

[DJVespers]

@JiminyKracker Glad to have you around mate. All the best.

[JimmyV2009]

this video is the story of my musical career..... gear lust hell

[DJVespers]

@JimmyV2009 We should form a support group LOL ;)

[JimmyV2009]

@JimmyV2009 yeah, I can just imagine standing up in a room full of plastic garden furniture telling all the other people in the room my name and that I am an addict....

[oosurf08oo]

THIS IS SO TRUe

[rharold]

A day doesn't go by where I don't open up Ableton Live and do something in it. The program is so versatile, from recording samples via turntables or windows, to just doing an hours work of sound design.

I get extra motivated everytime the Live splash screen loads.

[mikenaim90]

I have one question.. Let say If I'm an ableton users, isn't essential for me to try new DAW or just stick to one DAW and mastered on it? cause I do have the curiousity to the other DAWs and what would they contribute to our composition.

[Mesknot]

thanks!!

[maxpanchoo]

so the lack of money in this case is somewhat helpful? good to hear :)

[DJVespers]

@maxpanchoo LOL. That's a way to look on the bright side :) Cheers!

[GLOWCHILD29]

i agree mate. I just dig deeper into modeling my own sounds on older software. Im stuck on the 32 bit, 64 bit world.

[onionade]

as said above - totally agree with you! those tutorials of yours of yours are pretty valuable! keep on diggin!

[joeyxl3456]

Awesome advice. Thank you.

[obagevi]

you're a kind man. thanks for you do. would you recommend some good blog for producers?

[DJVespers]

@obagevi I usually do most of my learning on Youtube. Some good trainers to check out at Ill Gates, Tom Cosm, Laura Escude and Mr. Bill's Tunes. Cheers!

[joeblack949]

keep in mind moby is the only exception, as he can pretty much play every instrument and is the steven hawking of music theory

[Noodul]

So true! I try to put weeks into learning new vsts before i even try to get creative abd then u still dip back into the manual frequently.

[mkelso76]

Well said, great advise!!

[iAmFractalSky]

great tutorial vespers. I couldnt agree more. Its really sad to see people get sucked into that route. Take the time to master 1 or 2 solid VST's guys, or even just mastering ableton's devices...

[orientalflux]

vesper... I agree with you... we are soooo wasted following technologies especially controller, and software so on...while we degrading the quality of our music ;(

[FreedomProductionsz]

I think you said the solution in your video, YOUTUBE! :D

I'm absolutely addicted to making music, I've always had an extreme passion for music my entire life. Even when I get something new I tear it out of the box and I'm immediately on youtube once it's hooked up learning about it. I much prefer watching someone who knows what they're doing and they can easily teach how to do things properly.

[Mixikyr]

on an unrelated note, do you think i should get an APC40 ? i'm going back and forth between yes and no, mainly because i fear Live 9 might be out soon and probably with new features a new similiar hardware could come up to support it. also is there any conceivable way to power APC40 in some other way? i need the portability of not relying on power supply

[Mixikyr]

i think your truly right in this, i personally feel there are artistes out there that are relying more on "lights and colours" rather than making actual music

[deeroks1]

great point!! im glad someone said this. thank u. Can't tell u how many times i try to get my friends to READ manuals learn their gear. They get this stuff and never truly understand all it can do. I ask them a question about a certain feature and they reply" i didn't know that feature was there!" lots to learn these days with technology getting even more "feature rich" and quite complicated at times.There's great power in truly mastering your studio's tools. Thanks.

[bepppsson]

thx 4 sharing ur nolage :)

[MacVaughn99]

Nice words.

[deanc2000]

What I do is just use the presets. Another issue is new gear may actually be inspiring iof new ways of composing, instead of getting in the way of it.

[burrrabbitdj]

I could not agree more with this. I only use Ableton and Massive. Its all I really need.

[stereosympathy]

Great conversation. I've always been of the mind set that less is more. I only buy a new piece of gear if I can see it's functionality in my own setup. And you are quite right that some of the new plugins are equally as complex as the DAW they run in. My two latest purchases, Disco DSP soft synth and izotope stutter edit. Love them both!

[Funkmastabuzz]

Your compleatly right you better off mastering a few than try many and just skim the surface

[atabeylive]

I 1000000000000000 % agree with Vesper. totally.

[Oldskool01Hakken]

Dude this is so true. I have a mate that is exactly like that. He has every possible vst and effect known to man but still after a year he still uses presets. He gives them to me to master so i can teach him. And your right his music is poor. My self i use 3 vsts. Toxic biohazzard, hydra and styrus and i know those vsts like the back of my hand. But i must say im a perfectionist when it comes to making sounds and song structure.

[soulgoodmusictube]

True

[raffiican]

Another excellent video. The fact that you truly care comes through, thanks very much!

[DanielGrozier]

all you need is ableton and top shelf monitors

[matthealien]

ha i agree with this 100%

ive been making beats for years and a few years ago switched from cubase to abelton and i find im always learnng so much and messing with new bits and plug ins that it distracts me from finishing beats

my friend rob from autechre used to always tell me it was best to have less gear but get to know what you have inside and out

thanks for all the info , really like all the knowledge you share

[fatalist6o9]

Right on mate, I know people who are always buying new gear, they don't know how to use what they've already got and their music is total shite!

[C4pitalise]

Just out of interest, you mentioned on Facebook a couple of months ago you were doing a N.I Razor tutorial? Is that still coming, because id love to see what sort of things you can do with it (dubstep wobble?) to help me decide on maybe buying it... Just asking :)

[zogstarr]

iv'e got a shed load of plugs, but i can count on one hand the plugins i use on pritty much every production... to many gadgets/choice can stiffle the creative process imo.. same with sample library's, less is more.

[TheInterconnected]

So TRUE. Guilty over here. Now I'm trying to sell and minimize.

This video is more important than people think and you should watch what you buy cause chances are you don't need it. Choose a decent setup and learn it inside out.

you creativity will surprise you and is the most important thing!.

[mariano26788]

yes... finally someone say the true... i use Sony Acid Pro for the last 4 years and i learn to used very well is a good software if you take the time.

fuck you gadgets XD

[inofaith]

That's why I only use Ableton's built in FX and instruments and my own recordings... this way I know 110% what's going on and what I can do with the tools I have at hand.

I read manuals. so should you if you're serious about electronic music.

Kudos to Vespers on pointing this out.

[Iprovmusic]

Wise words my friend

[oliepwns]

the man who chases two rabbits catches none. lol.

[Therioz]

I definitely agree with what you are saying. New gear is just as distracting as it is exciting. As far as my experience with producing I am a complete novice, and have not even really finished a track. I have minimal gear (Akai lpd8, and an old Casio keyboard with bare minimum midi functionality).

What would your advice be for a newbie looking to finish their first track?

[Towly263]

thing is: if u use for example ableton live for some time i am pretty sure u will be able to work with all other programs out there. no matter if it is reason fruity or whatever, in the end they are all the same only with a few changes here and there imo. and that is same with controllers or synth. all they do is make some things easier or maybe the "sound "is different.

[allyw22]

GOT THE APC40 BECAUSE I SAW IT ON HERE AND THE BRIGHT LIGHTS LOL BUT HADNT EVEN WORKED LIVE OUT SO THE APC WAS GATHERING DUST WILSTE I WORKED OUT LIVE AND I WAS £350 DWN A VICTIM LOL. PEOPLE SHOULD TRY USE KEY BUTTON AND MAP ANYTHING TO UR KEYBORED ALLMOST I SAY ALLMOST LOL THE SAME AS LAUCNING CLIPS WITH THE ACP40 - APC20 LAUNCH PAD AND ITS A BASIC FEATURE EVERY BODY LOOKS BEOND. HIT ME UP ON HERE OR FACEBOOK ..GEORGE JAMES SAFE AND GOOD VID MAN HOOK US UP A RUN THREW OF A DUB OR DUBSTEP TUNE

[SimonReedDJ]

Agreed

[djntwelveinch]

Trust me im a addict.... if theres a new pluggin, i will get it,..

[TranceForTheFuture]

I can so relate to this. I used to suffer from Technology ADD when I first started out, it only led to frustration and I got nowhere with my music. Now I only concentrate on mastering Ableton and its plugins, my M-Audio Axiom Pro hardware and Sylenth. The rest is for another day.

[AppA]

I am waiting for the moment I can download hardware.

Until then, I only use Ableton with no 3rd party plugins.

[TheMidstOfIt]

@AppA I'm totally serious in saying that with 3D printing, I think that day is close at hand.

[djemptyx]

Absolutely. Software piracy breeds ADD. You tend to invest more time when you actually put your hard-earned cash down to purchase a license, and in most cases you will get paid back w/ mental reward of owning and learning the product. Pirating producers should limit their plugins/softs to licensed products ONLY and this problem Vespers speaks of will be much easier to squash on the software side of things.

[MrUniqueosmosis]

I spent years mastering ableton live and there's still things i need to learn and i also spent time mastering reason i feel you should only buy tech if it's confortable to your producing style i've used fl studio ,mpc 1000, and other programs but i feel that ableton live is for me don't get something just because its trendy but get to put it in your setup so you can be more confortable.

[rudeboys28712]

i agree 100%, i had that problem, i spent a lot of money on software that i don't even use. one software that is garbage is iK multimedia SampleTank and SampleTron, totally garbage.

[gumdrops27]

Dude I totally agree with you. I obsess about this issue just about every single day. That's what i say though. I'm trying to keep an eye on myself so that i don't have to go through this problem. That's why i limit myself to using only one type of soft synth in my DAW and I must say it really pays off. I try to keep myself minimalist with use of plugins and other things too. ugh i really hope i never lose this self-control especially if i start getting regular financial income.

[0sandoria0]

Awesome awesome awesome! Thank you for touching on marketing! Ever seen the movie Psywars? It's a documentary on the advertising industry. These people are geniuses! Check it out on YouTube.

[resonantfilterblog]

Great points!

[LeviWhalenMusic]

Totally agree with you on this one. If you take the time to just dig into one or two great synths, you will really take your production to the next level because you will understand every little thing about it. I know this from experience because I've used ableton for 6 years and I wouldn't change because I know it so well!

Love your videos man, keep it up!

[LOAGS1234]

i agree 100%. I spent a week reading the manual for Ableton Live 8, and the time was an investment well spent

[TheExplodingBit]

This is exceedingly true.

[SpeakerFreq]

good insight sensei vespers

[imthebestyour2nd]

Couldn't agree more dude, I've been saying this for awhile now.

[DJPaggos]

i personally use few plugins or find ones similar in use so it isnt much of a learning curve..

[ace101guy]

Like right now, I'm going crazy trying to decide, APC40 or Maschine *_*

[tharemedybeats]

I suffer horribly from technology ADD. This is true. When I first started it was just me and my Yamaha Motif. Over time I added tons of plugin and vsts to my library, and I know for a fact that the massive drop in productivity I experienced as a result from adding so many things wasn't necessarily worth the slight increase in quality I've gained. This is great advice.

[AeonFlexMusic]

ya man i try a lot to understand all the plugins that comes with my software, in all lot of these plugins share similar features so its a matter of how good of a sound engineer and how creative you are. true words spoken by vespers =D

[Xo1ot1]

I've watched a TED video on how having many choices tends to make people unhappy. Trying to find the best product or making the best decision can paralyze you, especially if you're a perfectionist. It helps to narrow down your choices, even if it's only temporarily. It's also good to be satisfied with less than perfection (which can be a tough thing). Making music is imo one of the most complex things to do and as a newbie, which I still am, I found that limitations are a must for me to progress

[KNUTKASE5000]

I am a classical musician and yet I produce music...So I kinda disagree...You just need to know how to set up the tool...midi instruments or plugins

[femiatwork]

Another thing to keep in mind with regards to advertising is that the gear tends to be demonstrated by seasoned artists who have great music to work with. You may not get the same results if you are not operating at the same level musically.

Many of us who are starting out would probably benefit more from working on our fundamentals before investing in gear that we won't be able to take advantage of.

[morelmo]

Very well said.

[TheComposer1979]

i my mix i use 3 things reverb eq compress

[dakingofdano]

very true. you can have the best equipment in the world and be the worst producer.

[IGroomsI]

Speaking of software, do you ever use Reason or Record?

[DJVespers]

@IGroomsI Nope, just Ableton. 

[IGroomsI]

@DJVespers

Ok

[zeroboroz]

@DJVespers You know, you are a really insightful guy when it comes to music. I take it your a deep thinker. but anyway I actually agree with you on what you said about plugins and DAWS. even more so cause I caught myself in this trend a couple years back when i started. but now that I've settled down and not so much to listening to the hype when it comes to the "Best DAW", I've made really good tracks using what I had, by taking the time to get to know my tools. Glad I subscribed to ya Vespers.

[alekst1923]

eg. razor synth lol

[DJVespers]

@alekst1923 Only if you don't read the manual ;)