If You Were Going to Downsize Your Music Software/Plugins, What Would You Keep?

[harryupbabble]

although i have acquired 10 thousand+ free vst plugins for a decade+,
i don't actually have all of them on my computer
they are mostly all on dvds

i never do massive purge
i have a vst plugins folder and i use symbolic links,
which reaper sees
i sometimes delete maybe one or two symlinks
only to put them back later
reaper loads real fast because i only really use maybe 30 vst plugins

i don t remember them all, but some are:

4front piano
4front bass
ample sound bass
ample sound acoustic guitar
drumcore3
synth1
dexxed
loudmax
nadir impulse response loader
a les paul simulator by chokehold and kriminal
uvi workstation
whole bunch of xoxos plugins
some runbeerrun guitar plugins
whole bunch of insert piz here midi plugins
whole bunch of midi randomizer reaper scripts
whole bunch of kvr developer challenge vst plugins
one or two plugins by krakli, odo, novakill, etc

i'b be watching youtube tutorials and some plugins get mentioned
and i add some of those

how they sound is secondary
it's not really the plugins that's the problem
it's the lack of songwriting chops that's the problem
yup, thats the primary problem
writing lyrics, especially
in my case, at least
and not enough time because my other hobby is speed scrabble

it's probably just all excuses
but hey, i'm still plugging away
in between games, that is

[crimsonwarlock]

I basically purged ALL my VST-plugins when I moved completely to Reason and only using Rack Extensions (with just one exception). I also didn't re-install several DAWs I had, when upgrading to a more powerful computer a few months ago. I just have Reaper installed to be able to open all my old projects I did with it. And when I load a project it will tell me it can't find any of the plugins I used, but I don't care because I only load old projects when I want to export the recorded audio and MIDI and move it to Reason.

[Uncle E]

how they sound is secondary
it's not really the plugins that's the problem
it's the lack of songwriting chops that's the problem
yup, thats the primary problem
writing lyrics, especially

Don't put so much weight on lyrics. Listeners mostly invent our own meanings, anyway. Karl Hyde of Underworld used to just spout off random things he recorded into his dictaphone, sometimes not even of himself.

[funky lime]

[mjolnir]

I'm going through a DAW purge right now. I keep having second thoughts, so I end up doing it in stages.
However, something's are already clear...

Here's what I've been learning over the last few days:

1 ) throw away stuff that crashes the DAW and/or the computer
2 ) throw away stuff that distracts from music production and creativity
3 ) throw away stuff if the learning curve is just astronomical (but only after trying to learn it first)
4 ) try to throw away duplicates and redundant junk;

5 ) consolidate the leftovers...
6 ) keep hard to replace classics
7 ) keep new reliable items that show a lot of promise
8 ) restructure the folders along the way if improvements can be made

9 ) work with samples if it's easier than VSTs / work with VSTs if it's easier than samples
10) throw away anything too amateurish or controversial
11) try to nurture your own style and sound
12) don't be afraid to quit software and move to hardware / don't be afraid to quit hardware and move to software (twix pick a side!)

[FranklyFlawless]

A solid plan, but I have notable differences from yours:

6 ) keep hard to replace classics
7 ) keep new reliable items that show a lot of promise

I purge anything that can potentially distract me from focusing on the present or future, and I do not have the time to experiment and relearn different variations of the same tools I already use unless I am able to easily transfer skills between them.

8 ) restructure the folders along the way if improvements can be made

I usually prefer to dedicate an entire day to organization instead of doing it on the fly, since I do not actively navigate through directories in the first place.

12) don't be afraid to quit software and move to hardware / don't be afraid to quit hardware and move to software (twix pick a side!)

I use software for the studio, and hardware for the stage.

[vurt]

stop thinking in terms of software and hardware, they're both just tools, that can be easily combined
removing one or the other from your sonic arsenal is detrimental to the art. use what works.

[Uncle E]

Why deleted? You wrote a good post.

[Uncle E]

12) don't be afraid to quit software and move to hardware / don't be afraid to quit hardware and move to software (twix pick a side!)

Reese's: two great tastes that taste great together!

[jamcat]

i would get rid of bands like bauhaus only to want it again later

One does not simply get rid of Bauhaus.

i got rid of my eagles greatest hits a decade or so ago

Did Don Henley sue you for the $4 you got for the CD?

[yoursoul]

[harryupbabble]

i would get rid of bands like bauhaus only to want it again later

One does not simply get rid of Bauhaus.

i got rid of my eagles greatest hits a decade or so ago

Did Don Henley sue you for the $4 you got for the CD?

hahaha, yes
although it didn't happen...
my third uncle, who kinda looks like peter murphy,
if one gots imagination...
could have kicked me in the eye
for getting rid of that bauhaus cd

about the cds...
i never get them new
but i still do lose money retrading them
and, if one buys a new cd these days, it's like 12 dollars average?
people who get rid of cds for 4 dollars would lose 8 dollars?

and don henley would still be happy?
in his fancy neighbourhood looking at cadillacs
that has deadhead stickers on their bumpers
and witnessing the summer boys leave
and seeing innocence end

[mjolnir]

A solid plan, but I have notable differences from yours [...]

Interesting comparison.
I'm open to change, so it's good to know about. Thanks

@Uncle E:

I do love reeses.

[FranklyFlawless]

The major issue with #6 is that it justifies the existence of holding onto the past, whereas I need as many resources as possible to continue progression within the present and future. The closest equivalent I have for that is fuel, which grants me the sustainable momentum to carry on such work.

[e@rs]

(Choices listed in alphabetical order.)

DAW
Studio One

VA Synth
Diva
impOSCar
Phoscyon

Modern Synth
Icarus
Serum
Spire

Drums
Drumazon
Microtonic
Nepheton

Sampler
Renoise Redux

Compressor
Peakbuster
Presswerk
TDR Kotelnikov GE

Gate
Expurgate
Gatekeeper

Channel Strip
Voxformer

Delay
Echobode
Tekturon

Saturation
Kelvin
Saturn

EQ
EQuilibrium
Pro-Q
TDR SlickEQ M

Filter
Filterverse
TDR Infrasonic
Volcano

Distortion
Chipcrusher
Corrosion
Cyberdrive
F-59
Runciter
StandardCLIP

Limiter
Limitless
TDR Limiter 6 GE
TrackLimit

Modulation
Tube Modulator
UberMod

Reverb
Pro-R
Sobor
ValhllaVintageVerb

Tape Machine
Satin

Utility
MSED
TrackMeter
VUMTdeluxe

Creative
Permut8
ShaperBox
Turnado