Now I know some of you can't relate...you were born with a silver mouse in your mouth. Some of us old geezers tho came came up with a guitar in hand plugged into a tube amp stack and thrashed away for years before we even thought about recording. Then when we did it was all analog hardware. I used to play a LOT of guitar. I used to do a LOT of recording. Somehow, now that I have more guitars, amps, sims, stompboxes, rack gear, interfaces and DAWS than any one human should...it seems I spend more time tweaking stuff than anything else. I might just have to shoot my pc.

Been there, done that.

I can't relate seeing as I was "born with a silver mouse in [my] mouth"

Might have to shoot my PC though still. I used to just tweak and tweak and now I keep coming up with song ideas.
What a drag.

I've gotten to where I enjoy the tweak best, it's a compromise but it's a happier thing. If only there was one all encompassing omniknowing host that worked........I'd have some cool things.

Hey though, with mux and maschine I'm have fun jammin' again. Chops are getting a bit better.

Was just talking to an engineer buddy the other day and he was talking to another engineer buddy about working on an indie rock record - that day it was 192 tracks for a simple 12 track tune. 38 tracks of the same guitar part - only slightly different and everyone including the band wanted to keep everything, but nothing was quite 'it'. The evil part of generation DAW is that you can tweak forever and never have to make a decision.

So I suggest recording live...the 1st take is the best take and move on. Ok, the 2nd or 3rd take, but that's it. I mean it! And if the track doesn't mix itself, fire the arranger.

Enjoy your ride tweaking and exploring! There's enough recorded music in this world already, just enjoy what you enjoy and don't feel forced to record anything.

What you could however try doing is to start recording your fully improvised tweaking and jamming sessions, and then later lift the best sections out for potential later use. And perhaps next time when you have a tweaking session, record on top of that.

There's no need to make structured standard 3-4 minute songs, I personally find standard radio crap very boring nowadays and enjoy creating improvised soundscapes as well as listening to them.

Haven't used my PC for music in weeks.

Only hardware jams, recording to a Zoom R16.

I need to mix a couple tracks though this weekend, I'll need the PC for that.

Oh yeah, I'm all about it! When I record bands I always prefer to cut basic tracks live either in the club or in the studio with very minimal overdubs.
I also pretty much only work with bands I like anymore...tight band, live energy...and the damn thing usually does pretty much mix itself!






Yes indeed! I do quite a bit of that. I also record a LOT of other people's structured standard 3-4 minute songs so as to keep my studio chops up. I think as my own stuff goes the unlimited choices are compounded by the fact that I'm not currently in a band. When I record other people's bands I have no problems making the fast calls.

I'm old-ish. I remember getting an idea of the possibilities by the late 80's how computer tech would allow me to hear my compositions and now I have that tech. I enjoy it immensely, at least as much as any aspect of music making. the benefits to cost ratio is far higher with virtual than real for me.

it's analogous to having a better instrument bringing more ease and amounting to more chops out of more control, less fuss with problems, for me.

as a guitarist I didn't have many stompboxes or gear really. maybe that's part of it, I'm not seduced by what I have, I get ahold of things for specific reasons.

Seduced? That's an odd choice of words. I choose gear for specific reasons as well...not because I have a hard on for gear. I record a LOT of other people and use pretty much everything I've got on most sessions. My lament here is more about of a lack of time and freedom to record MY music the way I used to be able to....before I had things like a family, mortgage & bills to consider.

this is what happened to me when I was in retail, I had my days of on weekdays (Monday, Tuesday and sometimes Wednesday), the wife worked during the week and my daughter was at school. This was suppose to be the ideal schedule for me, but I often found myself forcing it because I had the time or procrastinating until my time ran out.

Such a catch 22, at work I would get inspired being surrounded by a ton of gear and music. But by the time it was my time the ear fatigue set in and worse the line between inspiration and copping an idea from something I heard while working became quite blurred. It didn't matter if that copping was not even close to reality either, once the slightest thought of "that sounds too much like something I heard" popped in my head that was all I heard.

FWIW getting out of retail did not increase my productivity at all, but it did increase my growth because I did play more...I just never really recorded much of it

EXACTLY! Yeah, it's for sure a catch 22. My situation in the recording studio was a lot like yours in retail....surrounded by gear and inspiration but major ear fatigue at the end of the day!

you and I go against the grain at KVR. I thought a minute about what word to use. Note the 'GAS' threads, "I promise not to buy more gear" here...

Burnout. Don't make me laugh.

There are many an ambulance chaser here on KVR, waiting for us to shuffle of our old mortal coil...

Burnout? Can be defined several ways. Are we talking about a whole bottle of Wild Turkey 50 gallon size, or a half empty bottle of blue 20/20...


My best burnout was my mate, who after deciding to become a smack head, then decided to become a crack-head. After delegating his mother upstairs where she usually used to watch Eastenders, he then proceeded to build a bar, made of a couple of strips of two by four, from which the new crack-heads could sup. Phoned up to see if the old dear was ok, got the grand-daughter on the phone. And to think that dear old lady toiled on the ticket-masters to buy such expensive property in Crouch End? Grand-Daughter on game btw.


So yeah. It's pretty quiet round my house. I don't have too many friends left any more. I trouble a few people at KVR. But thanks for asking. You are welcome round any time. You will find me by myelf with a big stack of vsts on my compo.


Burn out? No. Quite the opposite old chap. In for the long haul. Come around. We shall have hoots.

I invite them all. But they never come.

Er, ah..........hmmmmmmmmm, wha? Um, well.........er.............not following.