This flood of threads in the Sales & Buy forum just gives me the impression that...

[SmartCat]

18 months sounds about right to make something that’s actually good.

I think it is genre-dependent.
Handcrafted music where every band member plays its own instrument, from the songwriting process to recordings, arrangement, mixing and mastering etc.. yes, it usually takes one year or longer.
If you are a solo artist who mainly makes electronic or computer music, you are much faster.

[THE INTRANCER]

Some people think with their eyes, rather than their brain....Whilst others who jump on the band wagon of buying a bunch of synths and effect plugins realise that they are just not cut out for producing music, because they didn't realise that you needed to learn how to play an instrument first to produce music worth listening to.

[digitalboytn]

Some people think with their eyes, rather than their brain....Whilst others who jump on the band wagon of buying a bunch of synths and effect plugins realise that they are just not cut out for producing music, because they didn't realise that you needed to learn how to play an instrument first to produce music worth listening to.

[mgw38]

18 months sounds about right to make something that’s actually good.

You cannot generalize like that but it is true that most people underestimate the amount of time needed to achieve a proper professional polish. It is very easy to get close to good quality very quickly but it needs a lot of time to finish the last 5% properly.

[JoeCat]

18 months sounds about right to make something that’s actually good.

Well, that might explain why my stuff sounds like crap.

(OT ahead...)

HA! You're stuff does not sound like crap (believe me - I have friends our age ), but I get what you're saying. It's improving, so that's a positive.

I was actually going to comment on this very thing in your thread about songwriting - I had a lot to say but not the time to say it all, so stopped sure (maybe sometime soon). I have two producing modes (three really), but mainly the tracks I do with my band, and my "solo" work.

The songs my band recorded for our album were tracks we were tooling with for many years. It took long to get in their final form, and there were revisions up to the last minute. I'm very self-critical, but I think, for a "local dad band", we are very good songwriters and arrangers - we manage between 2 and 10 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify alone (peaked during our official release). Humble-brag (I've been on this forum a long time and rarely discuss my own work, so using a "get out of jail free card" here), but my point is this: It took tremendous effort over a long time to be happy, and there are STILL things I'd change.

When you're producing, you're comparing your works (naturally) to the works of your influences, even when you have a realistic expectation that your "Police-like" album, for example, won't be Synchronicity, etc. But it's not just a matter of their talent making the recordings so good (and we still got "Mother" on there). We have the ability to produce much more quickly now, and I don't think we let our works simmer long enough to go through the iterative process necessary to make them our best effort.

Of course, for my band we did work in the studio for some of the instrumentation and vocals; nevertheless we iterated over many months (and actually re-recorded quite a bit). For me, I tend to work on multiple projects when I can, so I can come back fresh a week or two later to something.

Do a little less, take your time, iterate, don't be afraid to toss shit and just save the best parts, etc. A lot of your work may just need to cook longer.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

[Elektronisch]

Yes, digital hoarding is the pitfall.

Digital hoarders would never sell though.

hah, thats actually true

[samsam]

Has always been so..

[Elektronisch]

i sold my soundtoys 5 bundle a month ago and when i was opening older tracks to do some edits for a show i realised how much i actually used Little Alterboy and Microshift in almost every single track and sometimes crystallyzer, gad damn it, those bundles with million of plugins

Talking about soundtoys 5 i still dont understand the reason why little versions exist (besides plate and alter boy) when there are bigger versions and they arent much complex, just few more knobs.

[EnGee]

Wonder how many people bought Dune, sold it for Hive, sold Hive for the latest Dune, sold Dune for the latest Hive, etc.

Don't ask!

Anyway, I was in a photo forums and I noticed the same (more or less) is happening with cameras and lenses! Just search for "why I switch from ..." in YouTube and see how many videos you get! I think GAS is everywhere!

Oh it reminds me of a song! GAS is in the air!

[v1o]

Talking about soundtoys 5 i still dont understand the reason why little versions exist (besides plate and alter boy) when there are bigger versions and they arent much complex, just few more knobs.

The little versions are used to promote the bigger versions. They usually give away the little version for free during limited time offers and that qualifies you for discounts on the bundle. Also AFAIK a lot of extra work goes into the bigger versions the interfaces are just deceptively simple. There can a wait of a year or more between the release of the little and the big version. For example we're still waiting for the big versions of Little Plate and Little Alterboy.

[telecode]

Some people think with their eyes, rather than their brain....Whilst others who jump on the band wagon of buying a bunch of synths and effect plugins realise that they are just not cut out for producing music, because they didn't realise that you needed to learn how to play an instrument first to produce music worth listening to.

Hmmm yeah, I don't know about that. All depends the type of music you are making. It seems to me the major driving trends in popular music are rooted in EDM and HipHop genres and I really don't think you need to be that musically well versed or be able to play a traditional instrument in order to make good EDM or Chill Step or Future Bass. You just need to be very inventive and creative and be very well versed in the tools you use.

[Jace-BeOS]

Some people think with their eyes, rather than their brain....Whilst others who jump on the band wagon of buying a bunch of synths and effect plugins realise that they are just not cut out for producing music, because they didn't realise that you needed to learn how to play an instrument first to produce music worth listening to.

Hmmm yeah, I don't know about that. All depends the type of music you are making. It seems to me the major driving trends in popular music are rooted in EDM and HipHop genres and I really don't think you need to be that musically well versed or be able to play a traditional instrument in order to make good EDM or Chill Step or Future Bass. You just need to be very inventive and creative and be very well versed in the tools you use.

I guess my music isn’t worth listening to then? (I don’t formally play any instrument, but no, I’m not making dance music)

I’ve never successfully sold any of my music tools. I tried to sell my ProjectMix I/O, but the buyer was a dick and cost me extra money from shipping it both ways (he didn’t do his due diligence and lied about my listing being misleading); eBay always sides with buyers. That put me off trying to sell anything ever again.

I’m too poor to be a collector. I once had a habit of hoarding free VSTs, but that was due to an SSNRI drug (I’m happily no longer on anything) and the fact that they were free. I cleared those out (kept some to use on my virtually pointless Receptor, which I recently repaired).

If I had money to throw around, I’d probably be a collector (and build a proper studio to house them). I like synthesizers, and I like playing with them. But, even in that scenario, I would still want to use them for music-making.

I have very little interest in buying (or selling) more software at this point; upgrades for what I actually use is all I’d be willing to buy, software-wise.

Right now, the things stopping me making music are the fact that I hate where I live and that my studio is shut off at the electrical box. I have to put my electrical outlets back together after trying to plug up spaces where my asshole neighbor’s f**king cigarette filth was coming in. I hurt my back, making crouching and stooping painful activities, and I’ve also simply had no motivation to finish the task... because I hate it here.

[sos87]

Lol i work slow! I write, re-write, change my mind, record, re-record, re-mix, etc etc. and also I’m a working parent so I only manage to put in a few hours a week.

[chk071]

Wonder how many people bought Dune, sold it for Hive, sold Hive for the latest Dune, sold Dune for the latest Hive, etc.

Not many, probably. Loads of people with gazillions of different soft synths.

[AdvancedFollower]

Some people think with their eyes, rather than their brain....Whilst others who jump on the band wagon of buying a bunch of synths and effect plugins realise that they are just not cut out for producing music, because they didn't realise that you needed to learn how to play an instrument first to produce music worth listening to.

Hmmm yeah, I don't know about that. All depends the type of music you are making. It seems to me the major driving trends in popular music are rooted in EDM and HipHop genres and I really don't think you need to be that musically well versed or be able to play a traditional instrument in order to make good EDM or Chill Step or Future Bass. You just need to be very inventive and creative and be very well versed in the tools you use.

Playing an instrument and producing music are two very different things IMO. Playing an instrument is just about motor skills and dexterity, which are obviously important if you're performing live (and it can save you a bit of time as you don't have to constantly go into the DAW to correct sloppy playing). However it doesn't automatically make you a good song writer, sound designer, mixing engineer etc. You might be able to perform amazing guitar solos, but the songs you write can still be super boring, or the mix might be so muddy you can barely hear what's going on...

Besides, GAS seems to be an equally big problem for those who play "real instruments", just look at the Buy/Sell section of any guitar forum...