tools don't matter

[cptgone]

xoxos = ? a famous crossword puzzle player?

there's a thread here dedicated to his posts, it's called "today's quotable"

also, he's an innovating dev dedicated to freeware.
www.xoxos.net

[VitaminD]

but I need to create exactness..

Even if no-one will ever notice the difference, or care...except you.

Don't worry, you've got plenty of company....from those searching for the perfect 303 emulation to the perfect orchestral library.

There's a minimum standard, but there's also a huge region of diminishing returns. It's nitpicking over this latter area that makes you look silly.

thats not what I meant and you know it. :bash:

besides the other way doesnt work for you either.. since art is that of the artist.. if they have a different standard for something than someone else, it doesn't mean they are silly as a result.. it just means they have placed the bar at a different level and are attempting to acheive something you arent. Its the difference between settling in life and going after more.. between fitting in line and saying 'thats good enough' or stepping back and saying 'I can do better'

[androidlove]

i'm easy. i think there are a few free synths that rise above the rest, but i'm happy with free. it's about the tune. the sound comes second. i change sounds after i write the music. i even arrange electronic songs for 4 piece rock band. pardon me.....IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC NOT THE INSTRUMENT. if it doesn't sound good on accordion, it's not worth the mixdown

[ew]

i'm easy. i think there are a few free synths that rise above the rest, but i'm happy with free. it's about the tune. the sound comes second. i change sounds after i write the music. i even arrange electronic songs for 4 piece rock band. pardon me.....IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC NOT THE INSTRUMENT. if it doesn't sound good on accordion, it's not worth the mixdown

Very true My true test used to be if it didn't sound good sitting around the kitchen table with an acoustic and a set of bongos, it wasn't worth playing around with

ew

[DaveL60]

it's about the tune. the sound comes second. i change sounds after i write the music. i even arrange electronic songs for 4 piece rock band. pardon me.....IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC NOT THE INSTRUMENT. if it doesn't sound good on accordion, it's not worth the mixdown

I'm fully in agreement with this. It's why I compose / arrange using a GM keyboard (that, and it was easier to use the GM keyboard than soft synths with my older, slower computer before I upgraded). I figure if the music is interesting with that basic and rather unrefined set of sounds, it can only get better when I start really working on the sounds to be used in a "final."

There are sooooo many toys, and it's sooo much less anxiety-provoking to just play with them endlessly, rather than actually doing the work.

Of course, this one pretty well nailed my real work habits to the wall!

DaveL

[Ford Prefect]

Blasphemer! Tools don't matter?!

[kuniklo]

I have always found the whole idea of people feeling that they need to have an FM synth and an additive synth and a V/A synth and a PD synth to make sure they can make "those" kinds of sounds absurd. I can do any of that stuff with Hydra and most of it with kARMAkILLER. That way of thinking seems terribly restrictive to me. I don't feel in any way bound by the equipment I use and therefore I don't feel any need to be constantly on the lookout for this or that piece of gear.

I think you can look at this as a question of "can I make sound X with this tool" or "can I have effect X on the listener with this tool". The answer to the first question will often be no because you can't generally exactly recreate one instrument's sound with another. The answer to the second question is often yes, though, I think, since there are many ways to achieve any particular sonic effect.

For instance, if you want to create a dissonant high pitched sound with a percussive attack to create tension in a piece or you want to create a soft, harmonically rich pad sound to create a feeling of spaciousness or tranquility, you can use any of FM, additive, standard subtractive etc. In the end it's probably less important how close you can come to any particular exact sound than it is how fluidly you can achieve the overall effect and how much of an obstacle your tools are to that goal.

[BONES]

Spot on.

[AsianCarol]

Tools don't matter?...well,that's a matter of opinion...

[Argitoth]

EVERYONE STOP! STOP AND THINK! Guess what this is all about? I can sum it up in one word. MONEY! This is all about money. If you are rich, you won't give a f*** about how much something costs. At the same point, you won't care if you MIGHT be able to get the same result with something cheaper. If you are not rich you must be more cautios of where you throw your money.

I say collect the tools you want, f*** what anyone else thinks. Be smart, research your tools before you buy them, make sure it's a good decision economically and artistically. And finally...

/end pointless thread

[robenestobenz]

/end pointless thread

If I could have it end on anything, it'd of been on kuniklos's post, rather than this.

[Landphil]

I think you can look at this as a question of "can I make sound X with this tool" or "can I have effect X on the listener with this tool". The answer to the first question will often be no because you can't generally exactly recreate one instrument's sound with another. The answer to the second question is often yes, though, I think, since there are many ways to achieve any particular sonic effect.

For instance, if you want to create a dissonant high pitched sound with a percussive attack to create tension in a piece or you want to create a soft, harmonically rich pad sound to create a feeling of spaciousness or tranquility, you can use any of FM, additive, standard subtractive etc. In the end it's probably less important how close you can come to any particular exact sound than it is how fluidly you can achieve the overall effect and how much of an obstacle your tools are to that goal.

That's worth repeating.
Good post, kuniklo.

[funkychickendance]

xoxos = ? a famous crossword puzzle player?

there's a thread here dedicated to his posts, it's called "today's quotable"

also, he's an innovating dev dedicated to freeware.
www.xoxos.net

Ah. Thank you!

/fcd

[Amberience]

Read a quote in a guitar magazine recently...

"Sometimes you can just put on an effect and come up with a whole song. The riff to When The World Was Young came about purely because I had the tremelo effect on my AC30"

In certain ways tools do matter, and sometimes tools have more importance than the song.

I listen to Autechre for example, and it's fairly obvious the tools are more important than the song in a lot of cases. They make sounds for sounds sake, which is a completely valid way of working - just as much as using gear for music's sake.

[rounser]

In certain ways tools do matter, and sometimes tools have more importance than the song.

Of course the premise of that article is a mass generalisation - there's a minimum standard to the tools you use that needs to be observed. But the extreme stance taken is because the pendulum is fixed in a position way too far in the opposite direction.

Electronic music production tools are dissatisfiers on the dissatisfier/satisfier model....a minimum standard must be met to avoid poor material being produced, but exceeding that standard won't result in better material being produced. From therein, diminishing returns set in for the actual timbre used, and how it's used becomes infinitely more important.