This is a thread where we can post and find tools that inspire working with music production.

We have all theese virtual instruments and effects. But sometimes we all get stuck and feel uninspired. Here we post such tools and/or techniques that can help with inspiration.

One of the most important things in these cases is of course to take a break and find inspiration through something completely different. Meeting friends, taking a walk, meditaion and so on. But here lets stick with technical tools - plugins and techniques.

Enjoy the thread, post your tools and techniques that inspire you so that we all can inspire each other to write better music. : )

 

Last edited: Jun 6, 2018

I will start with a nice tool that can help you get new ideas for chords, progressions and melodies.

Cthulhu is a plugin with presets of chords that fit nicely together. You route it to a virtual instrument of your choice and when you press a key on your keyboard it will play a vertain chord from the preset on your virtual instrument. Trying different combinations you will find inspiring progressions you otherwise would never have thought of.

You can then write these progressions to midi and further perfect your chord progression in the piano roll. One idea is to use the bottom line for inspiring bass lines.

Cthulhu is also an advanced arpeggiator that can help you find great ideas for melodies.


https://www.xferrecords.com/products/cthulhu

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/xfer-records-cthulhu-574652

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/ele...ion/802674-how-good-exactly-xfer-cthulhu.html

Manual: https://medias.audiofanzine.com/files/cthulhu-manual-475318.pdf

 

If I may suggest something: TANTRA and LOOPERATOR
Throw a loop in there or your own chords/melodies, play around, export, repeat, etc.
I really like those two because you can get really weird and creative, unintended results.

 

Really nice thread!
There are so many inspiring tools out there....

For special effects and crazy experimental sounds my to go ones are Glitchmachines, InnearDisplay and Eplex7.

As far as VSTi I always feel inspired by Falcon (hard not to get useful sounds and sequences) and Reaktor. Also Zebra, VCV rack, Xils4 and Dune 2 are often in my drawer for "getting unstuck" situations.

On the composing side I am using Sundog and RC. I wish Liquid Music was more reliable so I can use it more often but when the Ableton Gods are merciful I am managing to get some really cool sequences from there also.

Also love to play with Renoise and Redux.

I think I got too excited...

 

Last edited: Jun 6, 2018

My favorite production tool is my Washburn J28-SCE acoustic guitar.

 

The illustrious Mr Steve Foaki

 

Last edited: Jun 6, 2018

Zebra here too can can help unstick the stuck. I know not what magic powers lie behind that gui, but there is a sweetness about the sound of it's intrepid engine that can help shine my light. Also, putting up a mic on my D-15M and running a signal through a great reverb like R2 can really get the juices flowing. And of course, one nice toke of quality ganja seems to point me in a heavenly direction.

 

The outcome of using these tools would be:

https://djing.com/

 

the best tool for music production is you, your mind, your inspiration

 

Except someone be lazy and expect a tool to make music for him. Machine music.

By getting used to the tools (particularly the music-making tools), brain would be sth like virgins' land. Some people like virgins and their lands.

 

After all this years: Acid Pro 7...fastest spliting, joining, transposing, loop bar moving, etc...

 

I find this to be universally indispensible:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain

 

Customization is the final aim. Tools can not make customized music. They're just facilitators for the brain to make customized music. Even the acoustical instruments have limitations. For a hunting mind, every tool has restriction.

Tools are created based on the existing knowledge and become static after some time when people get used to them. Humans' minds are dynamic and can make more developed tools in the future but again, those tools would circumscribe the future brains' capabilities and again new tools ...

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 6, 2018

I'd say it has to be my DAW which I use as a mulitrack tape machine, and it's always ready to go within seconds of turning it on. The first few moments of creativity are infinitely more important than the many hours that follow.

 

Last edited: Jun 6, 2018

It's the basic idea being formed. A creative mind can make lots of basic ideas in a moment and turn each of them into complete songs. People search coherency but by practicing, even incoherency can be a source of inspiration.

The problem is not being bounded by any tool and letting the creativity flow.

 

Digital portable recorder + voice recorder app on my phone. My old piano. Pen and Paper. My seven guitars. Speedwriting. Cubase. Jeskola Buzz. Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators. Co-writing. Generative composition tools. MIDI tools. FSU plugins. Playing with my band.

 

Coffee, strong, black and lots of it.