Just a thought experiment.
Let's assume you had no more access to new stuff - plugins and updates, DAW updates, samples, libraries, tutorials. So basically, you are completely offline.
How long can you keep producing and stay competitive in your field before the music that other people produce sounds decidedly more modern, or 'better', than yours? How long until new production techniques give others an advantage that your music will lack?
When trying to think how someone who has 2010's equipment and software would handle modern EDM production, for example, I am not sure to which extent that would be possible.
Let me know what you think!

 

hmm im actually working on that by free will deleting the last remains of stupid stuff that only distracts me.

i dont need gbs of drum samples. i dont need multiple bass libraries etc. the hoarding of what i thought very worthy collections of tutorials, "in the studio"-series etc i just deleted them, they dont give me anything and never did actually, nothing but distraction

in my case back in the days i was chasing a quick fix, a holy grail by watching tuts, when the answer i was looking for was in simply producing and learning by doing. other than that only following serious musical courses like university level stuff would give me any actual knowledge and serve any standing purpose, everything else is just cheap distraction

i think it also depends a lot on what kind of work you do. if one makes dance tunes or writes more classical pop with other musicians

i would for instance love to know what percentage of "producers" are just hobbyists who just love to play with settings all day long, get orgasms updating the last crack on every single vsts (a job on its own) etc. they most probably burn all their initial artistic energy fumbling with "sound design" on a loop for days and updating and keeping up with all sorts of trash thinking that makes a difference.

if we listen to dance music over the last 2 decades very little cant be made with very old samples/vsts
if you make more classic pop, same thing. the sounds can be created and "updated" pretty easily i would say.


in any case no "sound" will beat a great composition! and when i say "great" i dont mean complex , great can be super simple, but insightfully great

 

No problem we will sound "vintage".

 

Not just a thought experiment!
You would do what we did in the 80s and early 90s; use whatever was on offer and still make chart tracks and magically find yourself working with the right people!

Well, considering it's all influenced from the hardware drum machine and synth era, I think you could be more sure of what would be possible.

 

My favorite plugins that I use the most are backed up so I have no worries, I don't require many of them as I keep it simple I am a minimalist I have to be able to play live with them, no sequences or loops. I really enjoy trying out new plugins but might keep a couple if they really impress me and are useful for my needs. The plugins I use do everything I require so why constantly update and possibly run into problems. Whatever I use only enhances my performance, I am a musician first and I'm able to play and perform without the need of a computer.

 

By the time music production software companies start innovating again, and by the time new production techniques and software allow producers to make better music than with what we currently have available, I'll probably be 6ft. under... which is why I'm not at all worried about not having access to new content.

 

Last edited by a moderator: May 23, 2021

It will be a blessing for many.

I think anyone can still be competitive in 10 or 20 years with what they currently have. There has not been a game changing vst instrument in decades. On th other hand, the new breed of hardware synths bring little sonic game changing innovation to any synth dating back 5 decades. Indeed, it seems like every new vst plugin or hardware instrument emulates an already existing synth or drum module. After all, there is not much new you can do with substrative or FM synthesis or wavetables, and the stacking of oscillators, and filters. Sylenth and Serum are perfect examples. Sylenth dates back to 2007 and Serum to 2014. How many new synths have been coded since 2007? Hundreds? And Sylenth continues to be used. The same can be said for FX plug ins. True, there have been some nice innovations such as Melodyne and Soothe, to just name a couple. However, either one is more of a time saver than a life saver. There is nothing that can't be achieve without them. This can be sumarized by answering a rethorical question. Did EDM existed prior to Sylenth, Serum, Melodyne?
Moreover, as I said above, the lack of access to new stuff can be a blessing. The chase for the latest takes away from the creative process. Learning new plug ins or hardware gear takes time. Indeed, you get into it and it becomes the never ending story. By the time you finish learning a new vst you have to start a whole new learning process with another. You are constantly trying to catch up. Spending countless hours installing, and trying to make things work. Simply put, with new vsts or hardware gear what may seem like an advantage becomes a handicap. Time is better spend learning music theory, synthesis, recording techniques. Once you get a handle of those you can make music for decades to come. For these reasons, I am a firm believer that anyone who already is competitive in today's market can continue to be so in 10,15, or 20 + years using what they currently have.

 

Since I do almost everything myself: infinite

 

ad libitum

 

I suppose if you have innovative or ahead of its time stuff now, you already have a head start. so say you can mix with your 5 favourite companies fabfilter or whatever, then you have all the sounds from diva etc, Kontakt libs, other instruments like Roland cloud series, spectrasonics, ample guitar stuff, you can do most things. what you would also want tho is some kind of sound design plugins that can really make your sounds different so you essentially can have 100 different variations of every sound you already have. that would give you endless opportunities for many years. only issue is if music drastically moves on in some way, but im sure there will always be space for good music no matter what it is

 

I got a year subscription on one of those sites for about 100$, connected airplay, and probably got 10x my money worth during the pandemic.
way better than orange guy tv.

 

Forever. I barely use new stuff and most of my go-to's are relatively old. The only recent stuff that I really value is Soothe.

 

I started in the 80s with a FM synth and a drum machine, and that's it: I didn't even have enough money back then to buy a sequencer but it did not prevent me from having a lot of fun.

So, to put things into perspective, and in regard to all the soft synths and sample libs I have, I would say that I have more than enough to keep me busy for my next two or three lives. At least.

 

I could manage forever. If you want to make music, you make it with what's available, what you have.

I started making music with Yamaha PSS-680 in 1986 and bought Atari 520 ST in 1987, then Atari 1040 STE in 1990, and worked with it and Cubase until about 1997/8. I also used ASR-10's sequencer in congunction, when I bought it in 1995, In the mean time only the number of MIDI connected synths and samplers grew slowly.

I couldn't afford to make a studio, though, so I started working at one, and recorded my shit during free hours. I picked up a lot of production and mixing experience there. Lovely times.

That's how I still feel. I work with what I have, and I also feel like I have way too much. It's easier to work with less stuff, and you get to know every little quirk and trick it can do.

Cheers!

 

Last edited: May 23, 2021

Totally agree with you.

 

im 100 percent happy with what ive alredy got ive used pretty much the same plugins for years (apart from a coupleof new aditions like soothe)same goes with vstis so yea this consistent urge to try the newest plugin or compressor can be a bad drug that people need to get away from tbh it ruins your thought process.

 

I'd download way less shit. The usual music, shows, porn and stuff

 

If I couldn't use or search for any new plugins anymore I would probably make so much more music