How do you produce music? What matters to you? Why?

[TVD]

- What kind of music do you make?

- What do you want from a synth? Features/sound quality/ease of use/what?

- What are your trusted plugins/software/hardware that you turn to all the time? Why? For what purpose? (do NOT list all your plugins. just mention the really close ones to your heart, you couldn't survive without)

- How do you work on your music? What are your most common working methods? How do you get started when creating a new song?

...and everything else that matters to you so your music sounds like it does today.

I make hip-hop and electronic music in general. I also like 70's and 80's music (including funk, disco, electro, synthpop, new wave and latin freestyle).

I want to be able to use my synths to create sounds that has never existed before (the real purpose of synthesizers anyway).

My main weapon of choice is FL Studio. Til this very day, it is the best drum machine programming software that I ever use. As a soft studio, I get at least 75-80% of my music done with that piece of gear alone. I also make time to practice using Kinetic as my new favorite groovebox.

I like most of my vsti/dxi's at the moment. But the one that close to my heart so far is FM7. Why? Because one of the few positives of my childhood in the 1980's were 80's music. I was (still am) a huge fan of the Yamaha DX series (especially DX7). FM synths are as digital as they can be and still sound as funky or cutting edge as I want it to be.

Most of the time, my production always begin with drums & percussions parts (the beats must be bangin'). A bass line is second (it got to be funky). And then everything else would follow (keyboards parts, horns, string, loops, choir, etc.). Most of my work are within 8 to 12 tracks per song.

My most often use effects plugins? Compressions and EQ.

My +'s are rhythm & melody (good beats, riffs, and vamps). My -'s is harmony.

[BONES]

It's a shame that people didn't do any in depth analyzis about their techniques and such...

If I had any in-depth techniques I might have but my working habits are as straightforward as you can get - add an instrument, make it sound how I want it to, fit it in the mix with EQ and the appropriate level, add a little delay and reverb from the sends and move on to the next thing. If something needs a couple of extra effects I will usually first try to find something else that doesn't before I give in to convenience. Once its all in there I just tweak it for a few months until I start chasing my tail, at which point I decide that its done.

[Emerald Tablet]

in reply to the additional question

Sorry for my answer, for my gem-neglecting synth / tool wise I know there are superb tools out there, but i don't really prefer them over each other anymore my approach at this moment is I must be able to get my sphere across with any tool (perhaps i fail)

If all the lights in the world go out and I'm stuck in the dark with a guitar or a harmonica i must still be able to make a ditty What matters to me is the picture i have in mind and i really feel like failing if i need a whole orchestra to work it out

I know it all leans heavy on what goes on in your head - if you hear heavy funk drums all the time you really need the right tools to make em. If you just hear melody's and certain moods (as in my case at this phase of my life) a my first sony would do fine

[CypherOne]

I make music as a hobby, no real aspiration to do anything more than that (prolly just as well...).

Sure beats watching TV.

[nocompromise]

I love making music. Whether its tape op, engineering, live recording or full scale production.
Don't care what tools I use.
Don't care if its a real band or a sequencer.
Reason I love it is cos I learn things all the time and it uses more of my brain than anything else I've ever done.




you'll understand