I'm very much a hobbyist in the main, and influenced by Drumcode in particular, as well as other labels like Filth On Acid, Lenske, KNTXT etc.

However, I've not been making anything constructive for months, and probably straying into years by now, and I feel like it's largely because of options paralysis crippling me before I even start with anything.

I'm looking to try and limit my options, and use Ableton and Cubase as my DAWs (as I also make some live band music too, where Cubase is my favoured option). However, I'm looking for suggestions on plugins and sample library companies to limit my options to, and then try to wall myself into those options to try and get rid of the option paralysis and work creatively within my limited space.

Any suggestions on plugins and sample library company(ies) to limit myself too in order to achieve this with this kind of music (and not looking for "just use stock DAW plugins" because I know there's at least a handful outside of those that are beneficial ).

Cheers!

 

Fors Opal is an amxd groovebox I open when I want to focus in on one device and make sick sounding, intricately programmed techno. It’s been really fulfilling. (I watched Side Brain’s Opal workshop/walkthrough which helped me wrap my mind around it.)

 

Limit yourself to Ableton.
Maybe mix and mastering in Cubase later.
And sorry but yes, use the Ableton stock Plugins.
They're made for heavy techno tracks.

 

i organize my plugins to folders and when im in creative mood i pick from "best of" folder ignoring all other plugs. i think i have 20-30 plugins there

 

Last edited: Jun 23, 2026 at 8:20 PM

i use ableton and also make techno and some other stuff but ive tried many ways of limiting my tools i like to set myself loose limitations (that i usualy break) before starting a project for example i went through a period of only using vital on every track and got good results, i also did this with other synths i find it gives you a chance to go deep on learning a particular instrument , build your own patches and it gives a distinct sound to each track i find the more i limit myself tool wise in the creative sound design and sequencing phase the better results i get of couse with options always there if i need something specific or a sample etc for idea but im pretty much addicted to making music and do it constantly, i dont do this kind of technique all the time but i make a lot and i find its good to mix up workflow but i know friends who are the opposite and need a way more consistent structured approach

 

As you write that options paralysis is crippling you, i won't suggest any (new) plugins.

Here's a Cubase tip for you: Make some new empty plugin lists, only add a few to it, and limit yourself to that. Only your best drum VST, two synths, maybe a 303, and a few essential fx, if not using the stock ones as mentioned above. Both Cubase and Ableton have more that you'll ever need.

Speaking of that, here's another challenge: try making a few tracks with only the stock plugins, both Cubase and Ableton.

Keep in mind that the best techno classics ever were made with only a few pieces of hardware, and mastering was non-existent. Maybe someone from vinyl-production cut out a bit of bass to prevent the needle from escaping the groove.

Final tip: throw away 90% of your samples, no you won't ever need them.

 

I don't disagree with you there, the only problem is which 10% do i keep?

 

Don't do techno but I like doing synth music of no particular genre or label. Between the many synths and samplers I own, the available sounds is mind boggling. I just start crying whenever confronted by an empty Live or Logic project. Then I get depressed and go watch tv.

 

I think you, too, are a victim of the information age and the brain-overloading excess of information. What helps is to gradually cut back on information consumption and eventually introduce days without the internet. Do you use a smartphone?

Take a blank sheet of paper and write this on it: "Someday, I’ll make music in Ableton Live again." How do I get there?
Less information overload and more time in nature—without a smartphone!

 

I've seen many of your posts and I recognize an early me (15 years ago in it). I was doing for years anything around except for finishing music. Most of my time was tutorials and tweaking loops. I ripped the bandaid with one track a day until I hit 100. It was a whole process that pushed me into streamling and creating systems around everything production-related (too many to name all): using fewer tracks, to know my drum machines, to round down to a really small number of effects (delay, reverb), to work on my arrangement technique, sound design and so on. I am very well aware that this is very frowned upon this board, but this is the hill I am going to die on defending. Quit the socials (or reduce them for 3 months), make the tracks and come back and tell the story. Otherwise next year and next tear and next year you'll be in the exact same spot.

 

I will take the "don't limit yourself" stance here. As soon as you allow yourself to use samples, all bets are off what instruments (drum machines, groove boxes, synths), you are using anyway, so the idea of limits is already out the window. So instead of limiting options for sound design, you should refine your own tastes into a sound you like, which becomes your "own sound". So I would build a template. Make individual instrument channels, and put an instance of the synths you like or know best on those. Make a drums group, and add the machines you want to use. Make a group for bass. Make an FX group of synths and a sampler or two, think risers, foley/field recordings for noise layers. Make another group of a couple stereo audio channels and set that up like a vocal group. Setup a group for sends. Create some simple routing for your groups. Color your channels and groups. Add channel icons if your DAW has them. Add a stock limiter plugin on your stereo master out aka 2-bus, and set it at -0.1 dB, which you can just bypass later.

Add any "quality of life" aspects to it like BPM you like to write at, DAW transport layout options, clock format, etc. Set your region/clip gain on each channel at -6dB or -12dB, so you have headroom but all your faders at Unity Gain... any of those kinds of things you do over and over again when you start a new project. Arrangement markers, etc.

Save your template. Your template becomes your "limited options" that you have already pre-selected. Don't add anything to it without a reasonable justification or something you actually have to fix. Stick to your template.

Start every new project with your new template, and refine it as you go and as you figure out stuff you ALWAYS do anyway.

Instead of limiting options, you will be creating a "virtual studio". It doesn't matter if someone shows up to the studio with a brand new 909 or their Fizmo. But your studio does not have the ability to start adding channels to the console mixer and all kinds of new rack FX units. Those are already screwed into place. This is the stuff you need out of your way, and you will not get there by deleting some sample packs or presets.

You lock the infrastructure, not the sound pallette. It becomes a massive time savings, and it functions as guardrails.

 

My advice has nothing to do with how many plugins/samples you have and nothing to do with on what plugins/samples you should limit yourself. One of the biggest gamechanger (at least in making electronic music) was this:

- Work as fast as you can.
- Blank page? No problem, load whatever synth comes to your mind, draw or play any given note. Boring? Why not put a damn cinematic hit on the first bar? No bass line? Again load any other synth und find a fitting note in a lower register. Boring? Let's automate the filter cutoffs so the bass starts barely listenable. We need more! Automate the first synth too, maybe arpeggiate it, open it up. Drag and drop the first snare you kind of like on every quarter. Filter automate that too. Still boring! Take your mic, hold a droning note you hear in your head, pitch or pitchcorrect the shit out of it, drown it in reverb. Cut everything at bar 15, let only the reverb tails ring. You just want to drop at bar 16 feeling like a EDM champ.

- After a while you might be surprised how far you get in only 3-5min. The great benefit: you learn how to work with your IMAGINATION. You learn to work with INTENTION. And your intention is always just the next step. The next note, next bar, next instrument, next little EQ cut. 99% of the time these decisions can be really quick. I mean as fast as possible. It might get easy with time, because you realize you doing only very little step/intention at one time. Vice versa having the intention to make a great track out of nothing, which feels like a mountain to climb.

 

I was half joking. I don't literally cry, lol, but yes, option paralysis is really debilitating. Not glued to smartphone at all but to a computer much of the day. Plus, being a geezer my brain is full and can't fit much in it anymore thanks to info overload. I do need to restrict options but as everyone knows, mind, focus wanders.
It's seems such a simple thing right? I'm just gonna use this one synth, this one drum kit on this occasion but it's just so flippin' hard to do, lol.

 

First off, "problem identified, danger averted"—you’re already taking the first steps toward healing yourself. The digital age is fast-paced and ruthless; you have to hit the brakes yourself and relearn how to think. In principle, we’re "hunters and gatherers," and as long as the supermarket shelves are full, you don't have to worry about building traps to catch food.

It’s a battle you—and others—are fighting against yourselves.
Some people have a lot of willpower and determination, while others don't. Just remember: if you don't do anything, no one else can do it for you. Maybe you should just wipe your hard drive, reinstall Windows, and then limit yourself—or just start by deleting all your plugins except for twenty.

When you're lying in bed at night, gazing at the starry sky and imagining the cosmos, ask yourself: what kind of world do I want to live in, and how can I regain control over the software? Remember back to when you first started making music—how great that was—and think about how to get back to that state... Problems have to be solved...!