Software Hoarding

[jamcat]

Software hoarding can be as cheap as skipping a restaurant visit once a month and by comparing and evaluating software you get to the point within 2-3 years that only 1-2 things are missing from your collection.

The funny thing is, though, no matter how many plugins you buy, there are forever only 1-2 things missing from your collection.

[Hyperbole]

Just tonight I almost purchased Xils-Lab's Oxium synth plugin because it was on sale from the KVR Marketplace for $29. What a deal, right?

It's insane. I have SO many other plugins that can cover similar ground. Fortunately, Oxium is unavailable as a VST3 plugin (at least on the Mac). Because I use Cubase, that ruled it out.

But why would I even consider it in the first place? It's nothing special and I have other things that can do what is does, only better. It's crazy.

[Michael L]

It's crazy.

"In days where you have so many products on the market ... instead of having this mad quest about being scared of missing something, try to just...breathe...take a break, and think about what instruments - a plugin, a module, a polyphonic synth... whatever - where you feel a kind of empathy with ... and then when you choose that, just stay focused for six months or one year only on this.

"Don't take anything else. Just on one element and try to express yourself because what's going to be unique is yourself.

"It's not the machine. It's not the instrument. It's what you are going to do with it which has the value, and nothing else. And that instead of being fully into the trap of being an archivist of presets, where you don't know where you are, you lose your identity. The best way to create something interesting is express your identity - to develop it - and the only way to do it is to focus on one instrument, whatever it is.... Even if you're wrong in your choice, the fact that you choose is more important than anything else."

Jean Michel Jarre 9:54



Hans Zimmer says the same thing. BUT you won't hear it from software companies. The new Reason ReCycle video says, change your software to change your music.

[_leras]

Software & social media are often designed to exploit our bad habits.

Not music software. It's for making music.

As musicians I think we're fairly lucky with software. No Adobe type monopoly, lots of creative people want to make music software, FX, and instruments.

Things run in any DAW, there's a very healthy plug in market. Competition leads to great value, and the technology from ten years ago was already at a very high standard.

The only downside may be that it becomes too commoditised and developers may find it harder to make a living.

But it's nothing like social media.

[_leras]

... instead of having this mad quest about being scared of missing something, try to just...breathe...take a break, and think about what instruments - a plugin, a module, a polyphonic synth... whatever - where you feel a kind of empathy with ... and then when you choose that, just stay focused for six months or one year only on this.

Good post but I can't say agree with this. Plug ins are cheap these days, especially on sale.

E.g. i don't need six months to find if I like the flavour of a new chorus or phaser plug in. Not even for a synth, though I can use a soft synth for maybe years

[Hyperbole]

Software & social media are often designed to exploit our bad habits.

Not music software. It's for making music.

As musicians I think we're fairly lucky with software. No Adobe type monopoly, lots of creative people want to make music software, FX, and instruments.

Things run in any DAW, there's a very healthy plug in market. Competition leads to great value, and the technology from ten years ago was already at a very high standard.

The only downside may be that it becomes too commoditised and developers may find it harder to make a living.

But it's nothing like social media.

Well said.

[Michael L]

But it's nothing like social media.

It can be *like* social media when it promises cheap simple easy fast more exclusive essential amazing features that play on our FOMO; in that way both people and software design can contribute to hoarding.

[IvyBirds]

It's crazy.

"In days where you have so many products on the market ... instead of having this mad quest about being scared of missing something, try to just...breathe...take a break, and think about what instruments - a plugin, a module, a polyphonic synth... whatever - where you feel a kind of empathy with ... and then when you choose that, just stay focused for six months or one year only on this.

"Don't take anything else. Just on one element and try to express yourself because what's going to be unique is yourself.

"It's not the machine. It's not the instrument. It's what you are going to do with it which has the value, and nothing else. And that instead of being fully into the trap of being an archivist of presets, where you don't know where you are, you lose your identity. The best way to create something interesting is express your identity - to develop it - and the only way to do it is to focus on one instrument, whatever it is.... Even if you're wrong in your choice, the fact that you choose is more important than anything else."

Jean Michel Jarre 9:54



Hans Zimmer says the same thing. BUT you won't hear it from software companies. The new Reason ReCycle video says, change your software to change your music.

Sorry but Jean Michel Jarre doesn't even believe his own bullshit. He is the poster boy for hoarding instruments and every picture of him in studio or on stage you see features him surrounded by a ton of synths

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If it's not the machine or the instrument and we should only focus on one why does he have so many? Even in the video you linked he has multiple synths in frame

[arkmabat]

Shab, if you aren't a musician, you could still call yourself a sound technician or something?

[arkmabat]

People have made fun of Bjork over the years, but I like how she obviously values what she has like a friend. Even microphone cables strewn everywhere she can lay out nicely and show some kind of respect for which is the complete opposite of hording just to horde. It's like how ancient cultures used all the parts of their prey and thanked the heavens for it.

[vurt]

Software detox, just like social media detox.
Because they are two forms of the same problem.
QED

yes, a lack of will, on the sufferers part.
there is no physical addiction here, its just a habit. habits can be broken, if you have the will.
do you have the will?

Physical dependence is not the same as addiction. And addictive behavior is not merely a habit that can be broken with "willpower." It's those types of ignorant, morally superior attitudes that keep people from getting the help they need to overcome their addictions.

You should educate yourself. There are only 100 years of addiction medicine to draw from.

i can only be morally superior here, if i dont have any addictions myself.
i have several, no superiority.

much of the help you will receive for this, will be cbt, which is about changing a habit, by intentionally, doing something else and forming new, less detrimental habits.

software, in and of itself, is not the issue, otherwise, everyone would be in the same situation. the persons addictive personality is the problem.

[ROTMetro]

If you give a painter 8 colors they still just mix them and ultimately have up to millions of colors in their completed work. Should they have stuck to 8?

My fridge has 50 ingredients in it but I don't get overwhelmed when I make meals, nor do I make myself use all 50 ingredients in every meal. No one complains 'there's too many ingredients now, I wish I never discovered XYZ dish' (well maybe Hákarl). I never see 'I have too many ingredients I can't make anything' complaints in cooking discussions.

No mechanic complains that they can't get to the job done because they have too many tools.

Daily people complain in electronic music discussions that they have access to too many tools.

OK. What if you own 50 fridges?

Then I'm lucky as hell.

[vurt]

If you give a painter 8 colors they still just mix them and ultimately have up to millions of colors in their completed work. Should they have stuck to 8?

My fridge has 50 ingredients in it but I don't get overwhelmed when I make meals, nor do I make myself use all 50 ingredients in every meal. No one complains 'there's too many ingredients now, I wish I never discovered XYZ dish' (well maybe Hákarl). I never see 'I have too many ingredients I can't make anything' complaints in cooking discussions.

No mechanic complains that they can't get to the job done because they have too many tools.

Daily people complain in electronic music discussions that they have access to too many tools.

OK. What if you own 50 fridges?

Then I'm lucky as hell.

not with your electric bill youre not.

[ROTMetro]

Software detox, just like social media detox.
Because they are two forms of the same problem.
QED

yes, a lack of will, on the sufferers part.
there is no physical addiction here, its just a habit. habits can be broken, if you have the will.
do you have the will?

Physical dependence is not the same as addiction. And addictive behavior is not merely a habit that can be broken with "willpower." It's those types of ignorant, morally superior attitudes that keep people from getting the help they need to overcome their addictions.

You should educate yourself. There are only 100 years of addiction medicine to draw from.

i can only be morally superior here, if i dont have any addictions myself.
i have several, no superiority.

much of the help you will receive for this, will be cbt, which is about changing a habit, by intentionally, doing something else and forming new, less detrimental habits.

software, in and of itself, is not the issue, otherwise, everyone would be in the same situation. the persons addictive personality is the problem.

I have to disagree. I think you could say this 40 years ago. But that fact is that since then so many organizations have paid cumulatively tens of billions of dollars to make everything more addictive. 40 years of food ingredients having the scientific method applied to tuning them to be more compulsive. Facebook/app/all software companies have paid cumulatively billions on psych teams research with a focus on repetitive use compulsion/conversion to more and more sales. Media companies have researched how to consume more media. Advertising companies have researched and then disseminated the techniques to their clients either with specific intention or just harmless 'techniques that work to improve sales'.

I mean imagine someone studying how to beat me at chess for 140,000 years, and then me walking up to a chess table in the park and saying 'well, it's all up to my mental strength'. Advertisers have spent well over that amount of human research years on how to overcome my internal objections/voice.

I'm here barely stumbling through life the same as the previous generations of my ancestors while hundreds of billions of dollars worth (translating to literally hundreds of thousands of human years of research effort into manipulating me) of cumulative research/refinement/and intention to manipulate me is infusing into me from every direction in ways previous generations propagandists/manipulators could never dream. Basic 101 of software sales is now full of all the wisdom from the billions of dollars of 'how to manipulate people' app companies/social media have put in as it's just 2025s normal business.

It's like comparing someone in the 80s who casually chased the dragon to someone smoking fent today. Technically chasing the same high but damn in today's version you are hit. The last 40 years are WILD. There has been around 350 million human years of software development, 250 million human years of scientific research, 900 million human years put into advertising since then (human year equals one person putting one year of effort as their main job).

The world today has had billions of human years of development/though/change/refinement put into it since 40 years ago but we act like it's basically the same place. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[funky lime]

Hans Zimmer says the same thing.

Always helpful when someone with $millions in gear says it's really not about the gear

meanwhile at Hans' place

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