Hey guys I just got revel spire and I'm loving all the arpedggio patches. I'd like to start using them in my electronic projects but I'm jsut wondering from a creativity standpoint is using pre made arps cheating? what about writing my own? just wondering what you guys think about the topic. thankss

 

The main cause of a preset patch is usually to inspire or to use it as a starting point. Just play around a bit and after that, if you 're feelling like programming, get into trouble. It's not cheating at all

 

Only if your sleeping with them

 

Yes and no, depend how, when and why you use it. If you use it here and there for inspiration, that is ok. If you use it and relay on it 100% of time because you simply not able to produce own interesting patern, that is cheating in my view.

If you ask real instrument player, you are cheating already if you just look at computer monitor

 

Of course you are cheating. You should go to forest to get some wood and build your own piano.

 

Is using the sound of a stradivarius or a stratocaster cheating ? Seriously why don't you just make the music you like instead of wondering what people will think ?

Remember those who care don't matter and those who matter don't care.

 

There's no cheating in music if you make it your own - basically what Dorian said

 

Arps.. you know how many producers are using these in productions or even complete basses (wav) from sample packs?

I can name you a lot of populair producers that use them..

 

I don't consider anything to be cheating as long as the final track is unique.

I saw a joke post a while back where a guy said using drum samples was cheating, so he bought a drum set to record, then he said buying the kit was cheating so he learned to build his own drums, then he thought buying drum heads was cheating, so he bought animal skin, then he thought that was cheating so he started his own farm.

I probably butchered the actual joke, but you get the point.

 

"Cheating" is a very harsh word -- especially when it comes to music composition; ideas do not spring up in a vacuum. Subliminally, we have all probably "cheated" to some extent. Musicians tend to listen and record everything they hear. A riff here, a chord there, a phrase from elsewhere, etc. In music and art, or the "Art of Music", the concept of this agonizing 'debate' has been raging for eons. If the end product is ultimately pleasing to the listener's musical palate, you have completed the cycle. A snippety philosopher once wrote, “Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources”. A rather glib and jaded assessment, but in many cases, a nasty piece of reality.

 

lol.

 

• In that case, I'll take a double D arpeggio please!
  

 

Arpeggios have been around for hundreds of years and there are only so many ways that you can play 3 notes

 

Damn man I love that saying!!

 

The only humans who did not know the meaning of cheating were Adam and Eve.

ARPs are just simple facilities for playing more than one note in the predefined orders.

As you know there is a difference between an Arpeggiator (mostly based on chords) and a sequencer (mostly based on scales) but both of them are so simple capabilities.

Some developers use those just for attracting people for buying their products. Instead of sending midi messages by your DAW to them, this is done internally inside the VSTi itself. I think by embedding such attractions, they are cheating too.

EDM artists use ARPs more than other ones and this is one of reasons for the repeatability of their tracks.

ARPs are good for people who do not know much about the chords, rhythms, etc. The real power is hidden inside the Piano Roll. I personally prefer to do that myself because you're dealing with unlimited number of possibilities.

I sometimes cheat too but not on simple concepts like ARPs. I do that for learning not laziness. I also should admit that by using ARPs you may produce an incredible catchy tune but that is just 10% to 20% of the way it to be turned to a real track.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 5, 2016

I think its pretty crazy NOT to use arps..

Couldn't live without em..

Trick is... change em up.

and filter the dog crap out of em..

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2016

Yeah this is the same with people asking if using loops, samples etc... is cheating. It is NOT cheating guys. It's a resource. The whole of electronic music was built on sampling and chopping up loops and music. The trick is to somehow make that sample, arp, loop your own. process it, rearrange it, change it in someway to make it yours and I guarantee you'll come up with something even better than the original.

Arps are awesome. Sometimes I find arp presets that I like and then change up the notes, the sequence, the gating and come up with something totally new. Love it

 

Kind of like asking if using red paint is cheating when creating your painting....it's a color in the pallet use what ever you feel will convey the sound and feel of the piece you are trying to create.

And really who cares what "others" think...personally I don't give two shits what people think, if you like it great if you don't great, if you listen to what other people think about what you should and shouldn't use then "your" music it's no longer your music, just a collection of what "others" think it should be.... fuck that! use what ever you want...me I use everything and play 5 instruments tune the world out and create
just my -0.000 cents lol