The Older I Get. . .

[Tux]

The less impressed I am by 'technology'. Now this isn't an anti technology post at all, what I mean is that I'm not so impessed by flashy and complex looking interfaces such as those on modern soft synths and stuff.

I was thinking this as I was browsing some synths in the drop down menu on this site. They've all got these waveforms editors and spectrum analyizers and ocilloscopes and look extreamely complex and flashy.

But I'm getting to a stage where I feel all this stuff is getting in the way of making music. When I was young and 'wet behind the ears', I would have LOVED this stuff, so I guess I'm going thru a natural progression.

I remember reading articles in mags years ago by people older than me saying a simillar thing about synthersisers and computer sequencers back in the day. I meanwhile couldn't get enough of it, I was attending electronics and computer programming courses just so I could understand it all better!

Now the years have rolled on and I find myself looking back with fondness at early workstations and hardware sequencers. I think that maybe one day I may well buy a modern hardware sequencer, something like a souped up Yamaha QY700 (if they ever build one.)

My love affair with technology has by no means ended but I'd rather it stayed 'behind the scenes' and leave me to create music than dazzle me with parameters, numbers and virtual VU meters.

I'm still only using an old version of Orion despite having a fairly powerful PC. I love my VST's as mush as the next man but I tend to seek 'one trick ponies' rather than 'all singing all dancing' (my favorite sampler is Cyber Free in combination with Orion's own sampler for example.)

Maybe by the time I'm 50 (I'm 35 atm) I'll only be playing the spoons.. or comb and paper!

These are just my thoughts right now, There's no real point to this post but if you feel the same, or not, feel free to add your opinions...

[nBeat]

I'm with you Tux.

nBeat
Desperately seeking simplicity...

[CypherOne]

I was old once.

[Meffy]

o/~ Ah, but I was so much older then --
I'm younger than that now. o/~

[headquest]

I think it's fairly natural for a seasoned computer musician to become fagged out with trying to keep up to date with stuff. I suspect that (if they haven't already) doctors and psychs will invent a name for your condition... perhaps something like techno-fatigue.

I feel something quite similar... although as a classical musician I only toyed with technology in earlier days., In fact its just in the last three to four years that I've seriously taken an interest in electronic music, and I'm still learning loads. It's kind of exciting... but I often feel burnt out with all the effort of keeping up to date. As a teacher I feel I have some obligation to be on top of the latest technology whether I want to or not. I DO want to (and I use the latest version of most of the software I own) but I sometimes think to myself.... omg, not another update

One solution I have come up with that is partially working for me is to settle down and learn a few pieces of kit in more detail, rather than flitting from one demo version to another! My main software is Ableton Live, Reason, Adobe Audition and Sibelius, so there's plenty of tools there without looking further afield...

Alongside this, I removed my entire VST synth folder a couple of months ago . I determined that I would only use my actual hardware keyboards (nothing fancy, just a couple of Yamahas), the instruments that come with Live and Reason. This massively reduced my options, but I have had a great time getting to know them better. This has made me more producitve and less stressed about constantly researching alternatives. I've decided that I'm not missing out on anything significant in the process!

Last week I bought the promo version of Wusikstation 1 (following a tip off from a good friend) and am now determined to learn how to get the best from that too.

I did something similar with VST effects. I kept only the Kjaerhus Golden ones that I paid for (they're fabulous, by the way) and their freeware Classic set, plus Ambience and Supatrigga. That's it!!

These measures are helping me to focus more on the music, learn more about the stuff I already invested in, and spend less time fretting about whether there's abetter VST to be found around the corner

By the way, I'm 39.

[Meffy]

headquest: There might be a name for the phenom already. Alvin Toffler predicted that we'd all suffer from "future shock," and be unable to confront the rapidly-changing world. Terribly quaint stuff -- he had NO IDEA what we'd be able to absorb! :-D Seems to me that we're light-years past the level of technological progress that Toffler expected would bring us to our knees.

Some of what Tux mentioned affects me too. I don't get the "Gosh! Wowie!" effect from tech as I used to back in the days when I scratch-built a Moog 901 VCO, or when I programmed my own EPROMs and tried to make my own paper-tape reader (never did get it to work) and so forth. But I'm mighty pleased with how the computing and musical worlds have merged, far more smoothly than I'd have imagined.

[headquest]

Yeah, I hear you!

I think that one solution (from the human perspective) is that technolgoy will become increasingly accessible, rather than more and more geeky. Some examples of what I mean...

* Bose CD/Radio/home entertainment systems are successful because they present extraordinarily fine technology with absolute ease of use
* each successive version of Microsoft Windows has become easier to use
* in music tech, programs that have succeeded in recent years are those that have avoid unecessary complexity... e.g. Reason (which is "instant" for those who have ever used hardware), Tracktion, Live. Established program like Sonar are being smart and trying to make their tools easier in use.

Possibly "Future Shock" will be a time-limited thing while inteligent designers catch up with providing user-friendly interfaces to the latest technological developments.

[ouroboros]

I just got a dell laptop, pIII 650 from work. It can't run a bajillion things, it isn't the most insane raw horsepower machine, but it never crashes and has a great screen: I've actually written more songs on the simpler machine (and I'm a technophile) becasue of the fewer distractions. Some of the lustre of, "I ran 49 instances of ambience with 189 instances of a synth is starting to wear off.

[butter]

Personally, I rarely venture over 4 or 5 instruments so I see no point in having a huge plug-on collection. I'm with the idea of getting to actually work on music and know your tools inside and out.

Hell, I used an MC-303 and and Electribe EA-1 for everything for like 3 years. I didn't even touch a computer till I discovered that they weren't cuttting it for me any longer.

[kritikon]

I've had a mobile phone for maybe 4 years and I only just learnt how to text on the bloody thing. And now the old giffer mobiles are the "in" thing - big keys for blind bastards like myself and no silly frills. I needn't have bothered learning the stupid skill. My new one even has the decency to display what my number is on the screen - for 4 years I also didn't previously know what my own fcuking phone number was after I threw awway the packaging and blurb crap.

When they sell mobile phones, I stupidly assumed that was what I was buying - a phone that I could carry about - not bloody Hal9000 on batteries.

Still...all this technology seems to do is to allow terminal fuckwits to phone home at the supermarket to ask what brand of cornflakes everyone likes. They need to phone home to know that crap?

"Hi, I just phoned to tell you I'm about to go into the cinema"..."f**k off"

"Oh hi...thought I'd phone you to let you know what a great restaurant this is"..."piss off and socialise with your fellow eaters you unsociable dickhead"

"Hi, thought I'd phone you from 30,000 feet because it's really amusing the way it interferes with the navigation systems"..."learn to entertain yourself for more than 2 seconds you imbecile"


Don't even get me started on music s/w.....

[Andywanders]

I just wish I'd been born with the benefit of hindsight..

[Stupid American Pig]

I have just about every noise making device and efx unit that I want now, so my interest in the new stuff has wained a bit. The ever increasing cost of software has also decreased my desire to keep up with it.

[AudioWhore]

I think i've exhausted myself too. Downloaded every free plugin under the sun.. Now I'm at the point where I need to sit down, chill out and make a friggin tune with what i have. After all I am a musician and I do need to make music!

[Meffy]

Mobile phones? Pfft. Been avoiding them for years, with complete success so far. I've nothing to say (as those who've read my posts here will agree) and don't want to be talked at when away from the Last Homely Laboratory/Studio West of the Sea.

[Max el Belga]

I have no problem with it and 53. I tend to use freeware and I´m still flipping about all this wonderful software tools, instruments and fx. I guess I carried around too much with hardware, so no problem with me... .. .

Max (Poepe)