Article: Gear kills creativity

[kayagum]

http://www.studioreviews.com/killingmusic.htm

This is probably geared (no pun intended) towards the newbies than the seasoned professional, but I found it a good reminder of who should be boss.

[joel hamilton]

That is why I always go back to this statement:

"you are the most important part of the chain."

period.

I dont see options as stifling, unless you dont really understand the options presented to you.

Having more than one paintbrush never "prevented" a great painting....

[curtiswyant]

If you think your recordings sound bad because you don't have X mic/pre/comp, then your music probably sucks balls anyway. It always has been and always will be about the song. Heaven forbid that a musician should be able to hear what a song sounds like in his head without being signed or paying $100/hr at a studio!

[jmligt]

What an ass..... He lost me at "Home Studios are Killing Music." I mean, if you can't balance time between putting together your studio and writing music and being creative maybe you just suck at life.

[campironwood]

I think a lot of the truly talented musicians / songwriters I know "suck at life"... they would be the first to admit to that.

I think it's a good article, but it barely touches on the reasons why home studios are killing creativity.
I think it is a slump that some get into, some don't.
The main thing I know is a problem is that home studio recordings rarely get FINISHED.
In the home studio / DAW world there isn't quite the urgency of completion or time restraints that you have as a driving force in a "real" studio.
At home you can twiddle knobs and tweak gear all you want, day in and day out... and get completely burned out on a song to the point that you forgot why you even recorded it in the first place.

-morgan

[;ivlunsdystf]

Joni Mitchell apparently used to get ticked off about having to perform. Somewhere, maybe on her "Miles of Aisles" live album, she mentions her perception of a double standard between painters and musicians. She complains that a painter would never be forced to get up on a stage and recreate an acclaimed painting while the audience looks on, but that musicians are regularly asked to do this onstage with renditions of their recorded works.

Of course, she actually GOT famous in the first place by networking, performing, and collaborating with all kinds of cats through the late seventies. Only later did she restyle herself as a studio rat, both as a painter and as a recordist. Her stuff that I like (up to and including the Mingus album) was highly collaborative. So maybe the home studio killed her (or maybe it was the octave that her voice plummeted after so many decades of chainsmoking)

[Derrick]

Funny... it's the other way around for me. Having a home studio and learning about different gear options makes me more creative and helps me learn more bout it's best uses and experementing to find more. What a joke.

[;ivlunsdystf]

I think the biggest threat to new music is this messageboard. Dang, I spend a lot of time here when I should be doing more constructive things.

[surf's up]

There is definitely some truth to that article. I think it is an easy trap to fall into when you first start out with a DAW. But after a while of floundering around or trying out different gear, you realize what really matters and focus more on the songs.

For me, while it was fun when I was 12 doing overdubs using 2 consumer cassette decks so I could write harmonies to songs and actually hear them back, getting started in real home recording has opened up so many ideas and possibilities for me. And yes, it has become a big time/energy burglar. But for me, recording has taken a higher priority for me than any possible career as a songwriter or performer.

[John Jeffers]

The main thing I know is a problem is that home studio recordings rarely get FINISHED. In the home studio / DAW world there isn't quite the urgency of completion or time restraints that you have as a driving force in a "real" studio. At home you can twiddle knobs and tweak gear all you want, day in and day out... and get completely burned out on a song to the point that you forgot why you even recorded it in the first place.

TRUE. I definitely find myself falling into this trap. It's even worse when (like me) you're still kind of an amateur at this stuff, and you end up second-guessing yourself all the time. "Is this the best it can be, or could I be doing something else to make it better?" I've noticed that I'm mixing a little quicker these days, because I'm starting to be more confident about what I'm doing. And it helps to have deadlines, like a mastering date or something. At some point you have to be DONE.

[curtiswyant]

The main thing I know is a problem is that home studio recordings rarely get FINISHED. In the home studio / DAW world there isn't quite the urgency of completion or time restraints that you have as a driving force in a "real" studio. At home you can twiddle knobs and tweak gear all you want, day in and day out... and get completely burned out on a song to the point that you forgot why you even recorded it in the first place.

TRUE. I definitely find myself falling into this trap. It's even worse when (like me) you're still kind of an amateur at this stuff, and you end up second-guessing yourself all the time. "Is this the best it can be, or could I be doing something else to make it better?" I've noticed that I'm mixing a little quicker these days, because I'm starting to be more confident about what I'm doing. And it helps to have deadlines, like a mastering date or something. At some point you have to be DONE.

And, too, it's great to NOT have deadlines. Since recording is just a hobby for me, I can put it aside and work on my car or whatever. Self-imposed limits are a good idea but not if you end up half-assing your record.

[thethingwiththestuff]

some guy on the internet wrote:

I see this over and over again: If you meet two performing songwriters who were both talented and hard working and one had a 4-track cassette deck and the other was starting to put together a DAW-based studio. Fast forward one year and ask what they have been up to in the last year.

4-Track Owner: "I wrote a whole bunch of new songs and ran into a cool artist at a jam that ended up putting one of my songs on her major label release. I did a couple tours and last spring I went into the studio for a couple weeks with a cool producer and we cut an album which has been getting some airplay around the country. It's been getting spun a lot on some stations in the southwest so I'm about to do another tour there to support it."

New DAW Owner: "I have been getting the studio together and trying to save up to buy some better A/D converters. My band has been working in the studio a bunch and we've written and recorded basics for almost 7 songs. We should have the album done some time next year. Yeah it would be cool to tour but we are waiting until we get the record done. And we will need a new drummer. The old one got bored of not gigging and split but I have almost got my acid loops to sync up with with some of the old tracks............."

this reminds of the bible. "here's a story i just made up....see how it illustrates how the world works?"

[pandatone]

this is really just someone's opinion.. i would rather hear the work of someone who spent alot of time in the studio, then another crappy rock band live..

but then, thats just my opinion. crazy how that all works.


panda

[thethingwiththestuff]

you just blew my mind.

[bap]

I sometimes have problems finishing recording projects. I sometimes have problems finding projects to record....

However, my skills have broadened and my decision making is more concise even though I still try various mix combos and sometimes start all over if I decide that I might have farted around too much with things. There are always many insecurities and doubts when making artistic decisions.

Joni Mitchell apparently used to get ticked off about having to perform. Somewhere, maybe on her "Miles of Aisles" live album, she mentions her perception of a double standard between painters and musicians. She complains that a painter would never be forced to get up on a stage and recreate an acclaimed painting while the audience looks on, but that musicians are regularly asked to do this onstage with renditions of their recorded works

.

Miles of Aisles was a great album indeed. She made her quote when the audience was calling out song titles they wanted her to play and she said: "No one ever asked Van Gogh to paint 'Starry Night' again, man".

That album was with Tom Scott and the LA Express.