Synth overload?

[Sawtooth Fairy]

If a song sounds ugly to me, it has no worth to me

Of course, it's the same for me, but that doesn't preclude me from being impressed by a great arrangement, a clever hook, excellent production values, a terrific vocal performance or any of a dozen other aspects of a song that might be done well or just be a bit interesting.

It's like with food. If I hate pizza, it has no worth to me.

Pizza is a great example because pizza can be pretty much anything. You can have any of half-a-dozen different bases, tomato sauce or BBQ sauce or white sauce and any toppings you can think of. The only consistent ingredient is cheese and you can have as much or as little of that as you like. If you can't find a pizza you're happy to eat, it's because you aren't trying.

I don't like Thai food but that doesn't stop me eating it if that's where my friends want to have dinner. I can always find something on the menu to enjoy, even though I would never choose to eat Thai myself. And I mean never.

To the contrary, to me people are shallow that like any music.

Again, I am the same but that still doesn't stop me appreciating lots of aspects of any music at all, just as the fact I like a particular song doesn't stop me from being critical of poor production or some aspect of the arrangement that doesn't work as well as it could. And if you can do one, you can do the other.

I am very specific in terms of genres, and even within those few genres any song must have something special, else it is a waste of time.

I hate genres, they make it so much harder to find good music. Within dance music they are just a joke that pretty much makes it impossible to take any EDM seriously.

Anything beyond broad categories like Rock, Country, Dance or Pop does more harm than good in my eyes. e.g. I can safely say I don't like Reggae but there are several rock bands I absolutely love that have a very strong Reggae influence in their music. It's the blending of genres, the will to move beyond strict genre definitions, that makes them stand out from the crowd and gives them an edge.

Well, I can't make that distinction. I hear the whole thing and when that does not appeal to me, I won't hear whether the production is great, nor would I care. I prefer a poor production of a great song rather than the other way round.

The same goes for pizza Sometimes there might be 10% great ingredients in a pizza but the other 90% ruin it, so I don't taste the 10%.
But I really should have one, haven't had one in like 25 years

Yes, modern sub-genres are a joke. I also recognize one huge drawer called EDM, and I won't open it, it's more like a big garbage can.
I grew up listening mostly to RnB of the early 80's (Loose Ends, Patrice Rushen, EWF, etc.), so that will always be my benchmark. I am not interested in artists crossing genre boundaries. I am happy with what I know and like.

[BONES]

Well, I can't make that distinction. I hear the whole thing and when that does not appeal to me, I won't hear whether the production is great, nor would I care.

Then you are going to be a very poor producer.

The same goes for pizza Sometimes there might be 10% great ingredients in a pizza but the other 90% ruin it, so I don't taste the 10%.

That's a very childish attitude. You know, the way a mother will pick all the mushroom off a pizza so their 5 year old will eat it. Adults don't need to be like that, they understand that a bit of mushroom won't ruin a pizza, even if it's not something they like. In fact, I never used to like olives but, by tolerating them on pizza, I came to like olives and I now cook with them regularly.

I grew up listening mostly to RnB of the early 80's (Loose Ends, Patrice Rushen, EWF, etc.), so that will always be my benchmark. I am not interested in artists crossing genre boundaries. I am happy with what I know and like.

Well R&B is an interesting one because it's meaning has changed completely. It used to refer to what we now seem to simply call "Blues" but and these days it refers to some Dog-awful, vacuous, soft shite vocal pop garbage. BTW, I've never heard of any of the artists you mentioned but I just listened to You Can't Stop the Rain. It' s lift music, the kind of totally innocuous krap they play when you're on hold that makes you docile so you don't yell at them when they finally get to your call. I'd be asleep in two minutes listening to stuff like that. And the instrumentation is just horrible - electric piano and those awful Rhythm Ace drum sounds. Blech! But, overall, the production was good, although it woudl be pretty hard to get it too badly wrong on something like that.

[Jac459]

On a modest attempt to come back on topic, i just bought Diva after Objekt last week. And like last week, i told myself this is the last purchase of the year.

[liquidsound]

On a modest attempt to come back on topic, i just bought Diva after Objekt last week. And like last week, i told myself this is the last purchase of the year.

A modest solution… buy yourself a calendar

[pdxindy]

On a modest attempt to come back on topic, i just bought Diva after Objekt last week. And like last week, i told myself this is the last purchase of the year.

Why lie to yourself like that? It's more enjoyable to give in to the inevitable

[BONES]

I don't see any point in even thinking about it. What may or may not come up that is worth buying is completely out of our control. You just have to buy when it makes sense to (or when you just want to). If you don't have one, get a credit card, then you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want.

[Jac459]

Thanks for the feedbacks! Somehow my least favorite feedback is the one where I need to buy a calendar haha. But much appreciated.

[Sawtooth Fairy]

Well, I can't make that distinction. I hear the whole thing and when that does not appeal to me, I won't hear whether the production is great, nor would I care.

Then you are going to be a very poor producer.

The same goes for pizza Sometimes there might be 10% great ingredients in a pizza but the other 90% ruin it, so I don't taste the 10%.

That's a very childish attitude. You know, the way a mother will pick all the mushroom off a pizza so their 5 year old will eat it. Adults don't need to be like that, they understand that a bit of mushroom won't ruin a pizza, even if it's not something they like. In fact, I never used to like olives but, by tolerating them on pizza, I came to like olives and I now cook with them regularly.

I grew up listening mostly to RnB of the early 80's (Loose Ends, Patrice Rushen, EWF, etc.), so that will always be my benchmark. I am not interested in artists crossing genre boundaries. I am happy with what I know and like.

Well R&B is an interesting one because it's meaning has changed completely. It used to refer to what we now seem to simply call "Blues" but and these days it refers to some Dog-awful, vacuous, soft shite vocal pop garbage. BTW, I've never heard of any of the artists you mentioned but I just listened to You Can't Stop the Rain. It' s lift music, the kind of totally innocuous krap they play when you're on hold that makes you docile so you don't yell at them when they finally get to your call. I'd be asleep in two minutes listening to stuff like that. And the instrumentation is just horrible - electric piano and those awful Rhythm Ace drum sounds. Blech! But, overall, the production was good, although it woudl be pretty hard to get it too badly wrong on something like that.

No, I am definitely not going to be a producer, I am in the final third of my life.

Well, you can remove a couple of mushrooms, but again, when 90% of the pizza sucks, why eat it?! Can a pizza taste good or even acceptable when the dough sucks, the tomato stuff sucks, the cheese sucks etc.?


Yes, RnB used to mean different things in the past. The original type was more like BB King etc., with guitars. More like slow-motion Rock and Roll
Then in the late 70s and 80s synths started to play a major role in it. Back then they often called it Black Music if I remember correctly.
I think they call it Urban music now, not sure.
Yes, the lyrics are often meaningless crap, just like with Pop music and most other genres. Usually I simply ignore the lyrics, which is why I don't know the lyrics of a single song.

Oh, when you picked You can't stop the rain, you accidentally picked their most prominent ballad. Quiet Storm type of song.
I like their dance tracks, which still sound very clean and transparent by modern standards:


Yes, I love synths basses

And I love the sound of electric pianos, especially the real Rhodes, of course Drum computers were very common back then. There were only so many different ones, so the sounds were often the same. It is part of that era.

[vurt]

you remind me of a guy that used to post here.

[HOTF]

back in my day music was much better everyone is making DUMB music nowadays /s.

[martiu]

Ah, the good old days, we are getting old guys, i hope there is afterlife with all the granular samplers in the world.

[vurt]

Ah, the good old days, we are getting old guys, i hope there is afterlife with all the granular samplers in the world.

i just bought a new sampler
4ms sts

does old school cheaty start time/length granular, but does it very well!!
independent left and right channel controls too, you can for example pitch up one channel while pitching down the other, or you can change the sample in one...
total independence
plus up to 4g per sample

[martiu]

Ah, the good old days, we are getting old guys, i hope there is afterlife with all the granular samplers in the world.

i just bought a new sampler
4ms sts

does old school cheaty start time/length granular, but does it very well!!
independent left and right channel controls too, you can for example pitch up one channel while pitching down the other, or you can change the sample in one...
total independence
plus up to 4g per sample

It looks great and fun, Softube i think have a emulation for their modular.
At the end of the day, whatever i do, mangling samples is the most fun and with immediate results.

[vurt]

Ah, the good old days, we are getting old guys, i hope there is afterlife with all the granular samplers in the world.

i just bought a new sampler
4ms sts

does old school cheaty start time/length granular, but does it very well!!
independent left and right channel controls too, you can for example pitch up one channel while pitching down the other, or you can change the sample in one...
total independence
plus up to 4g per sample

It looks great and fun, Softube i think have a emulation for their modular.
At the end of the day, whatever i do, mangling samples is the most fun and with immediate results.

yup, then throw the results in a sampler, and repeat

[Shabdahbriah]

Ah, the good old days, we are getting old guys, i hope there is afterlife with all the granular samplers in the world.

i just bought a new sampler
4ms sts

does old school cheaty start time/length granular, but does it very well!!
independent left and right channel controls too, you can for example pitch up one channel while pitching down the other, or you can change the sample in one...
total independence
plus up to 4g per sample

It looks great and fun, Softube i think have a emulation for their modular.
At the end of the day, whatever i do, mangling samples is the most fun and with immediate results.

Same.