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Solution to GAS
I found a solution to my GAS… realizing I suck at making music and no amount of apps will solve that 
!!!!!
Comments
You’re probably better than you think. This happened to me previously. I found that recording everything I jammed helped. It sounded better listening back to it than it did when I was playing it. Chopping, deleting and rearranging in Cubasis provided surprisingly satisfying results.
Sometimes a change in workflow will work wonders.
Hang in there. If it wasn’t for the lows the highs wouldn’t feel so good 😃
Thanks man! That realization also led to an understanding that I need to learn the apps I have, if I am going to make anything good. It’s a little motivation to learn more and continue. I do feel relieved of not itching like a crackhead every time a new app drops haha.
+1
I said the same thing to my good buddy yesterday. I literally said “I will never buy another piece of hardware again! I most likely will also not buy much if any software at all moving forward now that I have my DAW and drums” cuz if I can’t make music the way I want to with the tools I already have, then I have to accept or realize I dont want to make music really
I’m going to master the tools I own. If when during the course of intermediate level ability , or expert/master level is reached, and there is something out there that could do something unique, then I’ll consider it then, but as far as the very near future, I think OneShot! Will be the cherry on top - it is the drum auv3 I was waiting for for over 5+ years
+1
Deep, as they say… mood.
I don't know what genre (if any) your music falls into, but I feel in the realm of making electronic music in DAWs etc, that many people fall into the trap of making tracks that have too much going on. This can cause problems both with the number of musical elements that can go wrong, as well as the number of technical elements (eg mixing issues) that can go wrong. What would happen if you just focused on making nice stuff with single instruments, perhaps with a few fx thrown on, for a while?
Definitely though also, your comment below that one about how you might need to learn your apps more thoroughly is an issue for loads of people I reckon. This forum is mainly a consumption community. There is far too much focus on app collecting in general. Novelty is fetishized. But buying and figuring out new apps comes at a serious opportunity cost if your main aim is making music rather than collecting apps.
There is so much to be said for the traditional hobbyist approach to making music - getting an acoustic instrument, just one, usually a guitar or a piano, forgetting about fx and amplification and all the rest, and just devoting yourself entirely, and enjoyably, to the act of learning how to play songs or pieces you like. Or just noodling. Then, at some point down the line, if the inspiration strikes, finally learning to write your own stuff. We can take this approach to making music on a device too, it's just a bit harder to have the discipline to do so!
+1,000,000 - The one instrument thing is key. Learning a very basic understanding of music theory and how to build a song and what structures are in place while playing on a little MIDI controller was my start.
When I found out about iOS apps and the low cost of entry I made it a point to build with only Koala at first. Jake One I think is who mentioned it on a live stream. Being able to get a whole track from a to z helps to sort out all the other bits and pieces about making music that you really only learn by doing, making trash, and getting incrementally better each session.
Also taking notes. I know myself well enough to know I never will remember what I say outloud I wil.
I've done this same method for most of the apps I have at this point. Wanted to say cheers to you @Gavinski for your Gauss video, I couldn't grasp the sequencer for whatever reason and the way you laid down those words finally clicked with me. Went from building a gargantuan Set-List in Loopy Pro for a future live stream to toying with the idea of just using Gauss / Koala. 😅
Less is more, to sum it up.
Some of my favorite music came from c64 and Amiga era. Or instrumental tracks with only a piano or guitar. I think it’s “fun” to buy/acquire gear and software, and some tools certainly can do special things, but good craftsmen have been getting good results with the most basic tools.
GAS, how many software synths do you really ”need”, learning one, a few or many….
These topics surface again and again, and for good reason. I’ll throw something in here that is one way to look at it. Personally I like this approach, but I am not ”there” yet. Not even close. It’s just too much fun having many synths😁. Here we go:
I watched a clip a couple of years ago, where the discussion was about TYPES of software synths. The guy argued that only three TYPES of software synths are needed for the majority of electronic music making and sound tweaking cases. It is up to each and every one WHICH synth to use of course, but only three types or workhorses are basically needed:
A good virtual analog synth which faithfully captures the old “analog” sound of the 70’s and 80’s for example Model D, Zeeon and others
A good wavetable synth like Synthmaster, Buttersynth, Tera Pro, Bleass Megalit or others but the functionality of wavetables in one iteration or another to get that moving sound texture
A good digital sounding synth that captures that digital sound that emerged during the later part of the 80’s, I think you all know what I mean, King of Digital, Iceworks stuff and others come to mind
(I think a good sampler of some kind be it Koala or whatever is also a necessity but this is just my own opinion, it was not lifted in the discussion)
Some find these types in just one software synth like Synthmaster, Buttersynth or others. Most DAWs also have some kind of bread ‘n butter synth covering many bases like Obsidian in NS2 (it is a shame this synth isn’t released as an AUv3), ZC1 in Roland Zenbeats or others but it does not matter, as long as you feel at home with a certain synth, workflow, sound character, UI or whatever. The listener in the end will most likely NOT CARE ANYWAY. The general analog sound of the 70’s and 80’s for example is easily recognizable regardless of who made the original synth or with what it is played with today, as long as it is quality stuff.
Then, he argued, you could have a drawer of software synths of any type you need for your specific workflow, find fun to play with, like to sound design with, like for any reason, collect or whatever. But, in the end, you only need the three types of synths as your foundation.
I like these thoughts but I haven’t yet had the guts to go for it fully. What do you think?
/DMfan🇸🇪
I still buy apps, simply because I enjoy a new app purchase. As long as I can financially afford what I buy, I don’t worry about it. I don’t believe it makes any major difference to how I make music now, unless I buy an app that really clicks with my way of making music.
As for the quality of my music, I no longer care as long as A) I’m enjoying the process, B )I’m making music I like to listen to. This latter point changed how I was enjoying my music making - I finally like the music I’m making, so I no longer care if others do. The only reason I ever post music now is to share the music I like and to learn from any technical and helpful comments people make. I don’t sell my music and I’m far too old to desire fame lol.
I think GAS is just people expressing feelings like guilt etc, possibly the self conscious warning to self that they are spending too much in one area of life. It can be helpful and it may be harmful, but in the end, it’s just GAS and a swift breeze will soon blow it away!
silently nodding and lifting my glass
Cheers!😊
/DMfan🇸🇪
While I admire those who look to squeeze every bit of sonic possibility out of each app, I generally agree with DMFan's sentiment that there are often many ways to get a good sonic result, and it really matters how the timbres play together and the overall mood they convey.
This isn't new, Orchestra's have certain types and numbers of instruments because of the way they sound together.
While a distinctive sound can prompt instant recognition of a piece, if the goal is to write a good song then it'll still be a good song if the arrangement and instrumentation is different.
If you have somehow not heard the unplugged version of 'Take on me' for example, then go listen.
I'm not really a song writer myself, but try for melodies from time to time, and at some point during the creative process I play the melodic content on a piano and try to imagine it in a different context. It's not for me to say whether it works for anyone else, but if it works for me then that's good enough.
The other thing about buying the latest apps, is that they can't overcome a hardware issue I have and keep putting off sorting out: my studio monitors are now 22 years old and I've come to the conclusion that the sound of them is seriously degrading!
So, awareness of GAS may not stop me buying apps, but having to save up for some new monitors probably will!
@DMfan and @Gavinski : AWESOME posts
More toys. MORE TOYS!
If music is your hobby, it's best not to overthink it. The only problem is if you're spending money you can ill afford.
Hobbies are by their nature fairly irrational. If you were an Angler, you'd be spending more on a day's bait and rod license fees than the average iOS plugin. Cycle? A bottle of chain lube costs more than VADrum2.
It's funny how we think nothing about spending £/$/€20 on takeout but fret about the synthesiser plugin we bought but never used much.
If you're struggling to make ends meet, and getting the cash to pay the rent is tight, then those take outs and $6 plug-ins are significant and you probably should not be window shopping. If you have a job and a little bit of disposable income every now and then, then there's no harm in a plug-in purchase especially if you're not spending that money on booze, fags or weed etc. I 'justify' it to myself by cycling to work, getting healthier and saving a lot more in petrol costs than I spend on plug-ins. I would never buy a plug-in if I couldn't then afford to buy my kid a new pair of school shoes they grow out of seemingly weekly.
I'd go stir crazy if I didn't have a hobby like music. I don't really need anything new to be honest (do any of us?) but occasionally a new plug-in can kick start inspiration and ends up being well worth it -- and better spent, IMO, than £7.50 on a pint down the boozer.
We all have our own guidelines. If you find you're inundated with stuff you don't need and it leads to option paralysis or guilt about unused goodies, stop, take stock and make some music.
Just have fun with it.
if you're a pro it's all moot. We need tools to earn money. If I was a pro musician I'd be prepared to bet I'd have and use far fewer plug-ins and stuff but use only the best ones and learn and use them well.
Thread has got a little sidetracked I think. Let's remember that the OPs post had nothing at all to do with money. The point was just that he was accumulating apps but feeling that he was not making any decent music, so was losing the desire to buy more stuff. In this situation, the 'cost' of apps is more about frittering away attention and not focusing on learning or practising the skills needed to take pleasure in making music than about money.
I’m so sorry to have offended you. I apologise unreservedly for my dreadful faux pas. I have no idea how I will ever be forgiven.
Thank you for putting me straight. I’ll make sure I don’t respond to further threads in case my reply is interpreted as off topic.
+1
I feel GAS is a type of addiction, and addiction is addiction regardless of your financial situation. I think what you are alluding to is the impact addiction has on different economic groups.
C'mon now! I was not offended, my reply didn't indicate in any way that I found anything offensive in your message, and it was not solely directed at you. Your points are very valid, I just wanted to remind people that the issue was not money. No need for drama, please.
Not sure I totally agree. GAS by its definition is a syndrome and while addiction may be one of the particular symptoms occurring, it also may not be recognised or even present at all.
I can however see how you may have been mistaken in thinking that I was alluding to the financial cost to others. I mentioned financial cost to myself, but when mentioning others 'spending', I was suggesting many types of cost, not just financial.
To be honest I believe there is a cost to all things - for simplicity sake, my example would be a successful person often has the cost of having to ignore some areas of life to do what is needed to succeed in one particular area.
I would think addiction must be present. Can anyone help clarify this?
+5
Pick a sandbox and work within in.
I’ve been doing this more often.
I’ll grab 5 synths and koala.
Not rush to lay down parts… its easy to start a sequence then immediately want drums.. a bass.. etc etc
But just work on that one instrument. The whole session if need be to really invest in it.
Then go on to the next part.
Build a track and finish every one. Even if they suck. Its a habit that we all need to be good at.
Buy the new shiney stuff for dabble time.
But make song time and dabble time separate.
As an ex mental health nurse that worked with people with addictions, I wouldn't have looked at a person as having an addiction that is not harmful in some way to that person. You can definitely have GAS without it being harmful. Yes, definition wise, we could debate it either way, but I personally would not use the term addiction without some form of harm being present.
I did add more to my first reply to you, which you probably missed, but in that I suggest all things we do having a 'cost', but I definitely wouldn't consider that suggests harm and hence addiction must be present.
Yeah, nice to discuss, but we are probably meandering off topic lol
It’s generally fermentation in the gut. Try avoiding sugar, bread and maybe also alcohol for a few months. Hope this helps. Good luck
Please someone add this to the forum gold !
It can be really fun to do this, especially in Koala.
I have a cloud file where all my ideas or samples go and I have Koala, Drambo, etc pointing towards it so I can always find some ideas I've had, trying to remember to take notes of the idea instead of a random audio file being saved with no context but that's a whole other story lol.
Find a sound I want to work with or had an idea for from a ways back and see how it works out in different tempos/pitches, slices, etc. Different scenes and banks in Koala makes it super easy to noodle.
I was listening to a Tape Notes podcast episode where the guest (Fred again..) mentioned listening to Drones in different notes with the samples they want to use or the melody they're trying to create.
Basically puts on the drone and leaves it on the whole time. The kid knows some things, I imagine he got that from his mentor.. Brian Eno, who also just listens to drones in his spare time. What a legend.
This has helped me a ton from that blank space/page anxiety I get sometimes, something about just noise in the right pitch helps get the mind going for me. Then finding the least friction to get going.
This + a million. So much easier said than done but getting into a habit takes time like anything else worth while.
The real solution to GAS is to get ALL the gear you need and want, obviously 😎
The second-best solution to GAS is... ELECTRIC.
lol