The limitations of computer-based music

Guido · Post by **Guido** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:58 am

What really bothers me lately is that all the music I make almost without exception sounds very computer-based and plastic. I don't own any "gear" apart from my computer and stereo setup so I feel forced to be using a bunch of (good) VST plugin's with throwing in some voice recordings of friends and movies being the only human/natural factor. Creating nice melodies and tracks which I can appreciate myself isn't the problem, when I'm inspired everything flows out of my hands easily. The problem is that when I replay my tunes I hear softsynths based on mathematical equations instead of something which I can't really grasp, something that's based on the way nature works and thus would sound very human and natural. It's not only that I've adapted to this mind construct but I or anyone else will obviously hear the difference between me and My Bloody Valentine, Boards Of Canada or any other analogue-based band.

Surprise surprise, I don't have any money for expensive analogue synthesizers and I'm also don't think that would be the solution for me. Just like creativity is an important factor in creating good melodies and tunes, creativity must also be the solution to my problem. I'm still getting to respect Boards Of Canada more and more for their natural, DYI, creative approach to creating electronic music, you all know they use the strangest devices and strategies to come up with music that comes from their heart. Though a copycat would be the last thing I'd like to be, copycatting is the death of creativity after all.

I don't have the the will (because of the time it takes) to learn to play a physical instrument, and I barely have any audio related equipment like I said. I'm prepared to buy low-cost equipment and I also think a voice recorder for making field recordings and editing them later on would help.. But that's as far as my ideas go.

Compare it with someone who likes to draw and is serious about it - such a person wouldn't be exclusively using Photoshop and other software either.

I guessed that there are other "bedroom producers" (which I don't mean in a negative sense) on this board who face the same problem from time to time.. I'm curious to your ideas.

hungry_manweaselbeast · Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:16 am

Just being free as a person helps. You don't need the latest plug ins. A handicap of computer based audio is having too much free at a click. Work with a set up that you enoy, the right synths and plug ins. Take time to get to grips of where it is you want to go. BoC and MBV didn't happen overnight or within a few years.

I don't know music from a perspective where I might have been taught the technicalities and as much as the people you mention know these factors they also throw rules and limitations out the window and give themselves up to a more natural and artistic process.

I am a pretty good artist, I made a living from portraits and have studied graphic design and attended a few colleges but my time now lies mainly with computer based design (with the help of manmade input). Not for profit but from wanting to eek out more alternatives and choices. It's all well and good creating something analogue and handmade but it can be restrictive.

It's all a balance of what you choose to spend time learning. Make it a culmination of natural and synthetic. This is the reason BoC sound the way they do. The drum patterns and performed music goes through countless computer and hardware processes before it reaches the listener.

Personally, after yeeears of playing about with audio I am still doing very rudimentary things, but they sound good to me. I work with mates who are musicians, producers, I record stuff, fiddle on my PC for hours and all because I enjoy it. That, is sometimes the first hurdle of an artist doing something that sounds removed from the pack.

This post may mean nothing, I've been awake far too long and have got myself into a slurred state ... just keep it up, refine it, make it work.

turquoise70 · Post by **turquoise70** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:55 am

iunno man, but i can relate at least. yours is also my predicament precisely.

747Music · Post by **747Music** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:22 am

i can relate too. I cant get that really high quality sound that comes from analog synths and effects. one day when i have money, ill get some more equipment.

The Telepathic Kid · Post by **The Telepathic Kid** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:40 am

Well since I don't really want to have an old, worn sound, I'm not really fussed about using a computer program.

Guido · Post by **Guido** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:29 pm

Note that I don't necessarily want to sound vintage and worn out or want to sound like MBV or BoC , those were just two examples of bands who make music based on earthly sounds.

As a reply to hungry_manweaselbeast, I know what you're saying but I just feel the time is right to experiment with other things than a keyboard and a mouse. It's a bit like when I got my record deck some time ago and I started playing records, I could hear the dust-induced crackling, I could play them at different speeds, sometimes I delay it a bit by putting my finger to the record, and if my deck and records weren't as valueable to me as they are I could intentionally scratch them like some minimal techno gods do for example. All those things might have a digitial, winamp-plugin counterpart (or not) but it's never the same, both not in the way in what actions you take to achieve a certain sound and the eventual effective sound itself. It are different dimensions.

Perhaps that's just a lame example, but I hope you get my point. I very much agree with you that being free as a person helps because it breeds creativity and inspiration which are important factors in creating good music in my eyes as I mentioned in my first post. Yet I want to experiment with other things now, it feels like a logic thing to do for me, and all the experimentation and identity-finding it would bring would be my pleasure.

sinkfield · Post by **sinkfield** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:30 pm

a lot of ppl will say, its not the gear that matters but what you do with it...and its true, you just gotta work a lil bit harder sometimes, to get what you want...but its always fun, and if its not youll at least end up learning some new tricks

bleak. · Post by **bleak.** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:22 pm

personally i would love to be able to create a studio with a range of analog and digital equipment. but realistically at this time in my life i simply do not have the money or space for it.

i do not see computers as a limitation. i will often record a melody on the cheapest of piano's - at home, in a cupboard, in a shop, on a hill with a simple mp3 player and then manipulate the hell out of it using computer software. i still dream of building a studio...but it shall take time. x

Treefingers · Post by **Treefingers** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:24 pm

I second bleak.'s last paragraph.

CoBoC · Post by **CoBoC** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:52 pm

Just look at Caribou. The guy has a drum set, but otherwise his setup appears to be basically just a computer and a controller. (And a microphone too I guess) I seriously thought Caribou was an entire band playing instruments until I looked it up.

Save up for a sampler if you can.

Guido · Post by **Guido** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:20 pm

Yeah, thanks for the replies, I think I will start with buying a proper lossless (voice) recorder until I have a bigger budget.

isawdrones · Post by **isawdrones** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:12 pm

hardware production doesnt have to be costly, you just gotta know what to look for.

ArtOfTheGroove · Post by **ArtOfTheGroove** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:28 pm

Limitations are the basis for creativity - when faced with unlimited choices humans are unable to choose. For example, with thousands of synth sounds or loops it becomes impossible to settle on the "right" one. (And you will spend hours searching through library after library, thinking that the next sound may be "it".) Or, with all of the editing and tweaking capabilities of current audio software you have an increasing tendency to push decisions later and later in the creative process - "I'll fix it in the mix"!

The best things I've done always seem to have happened when I was faced with extreme limitations.

Just my $.02, anyway...

Mexicola · Post by **Mexicola** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:33 pm

isawdrones wrote:hardware production doesnt have to be costly, you just gotta know what to look for.

At the risk of hijacking this thread, I've been hoovering up info from this site for some time now regarding home studios/setups generally. I've not had a home studio setup for around 4 years now, and when I did it was more of a guitar-based setup last time: PC with Creative Audigy soundcard, Cakewake (never got on with Cubase for some reason), cheap MIDI keyboard, Zoom drum machine, Peavey mixing desk, plus various mics and effects, plug-ins, plus various guitars and basses etc. Worked nicely for what I wanted it for at the time.

Today, I'm 100% out of the loop and have been for some time, but hearing some of you guys discuss your art and hearing the new Twoism release has really inspired me to get something up and running again. However, I'm severely short on cash (mortgages are a bitch man!). Alot of my old gear was sold around 4 years ago to fund travelling (worth it!) and needs replacing, but stage one is getting a new pc with a decent(ish) soundcard that I can use as a base to build on over time. Anyone have any tips/sites where I can pick up some entry-level gear without having to sell my 2nd kidney? Seriously, this site can be so inspiring sometimes - really just wanted to say that too.

Cheers peeps...

Shadowshocker · Post by **Shadowshocker** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:00 pm

ArtOfTheGroove wrote:Limitations are the basis for creativity - when faced with unlimited choices humans are unable to choose. For example, with thousands of synth sounds or loops it becomes impossible to settle on the "right" one. (And you will spend hours searching through library after library, thinking that the next sound may be "it".) Or, with all of the editing and tweaking capabilities of current audio software you have an increasing tendency to push decisions later and later in the creative process - "I'll fix it in the mix"!

The best things I've done always seem to have happened when I was faced with extreme limitations.

Just my $.02, anyway...

I completely agree, unless you take what you have, and learn it inside and out...Though when I first started, I didn't know much so I would just kind of take whatever came first that sounded good. Then I got a lot more options as I got more equipment and it was a lot harder, as there was so much more to work with. But I find as you learn each piece of equipment (or in some people's case, "computer synths"), you can immediately translate the sound in your head to the sound coming out of the speakers. It's the same thing as learning notes. When you first start playing an instrument, usually you just kind of play around and work off of something that sounds good. As you become more used to sounds and notes, you can immediately think of a sound in your head, and go to a keyboard and play it, without having to think where it's played.

Mexicola, just keep checking local classifieds, online classifieds, forums, ebay, etc for gear...You can save a lot of money by buying used gear and most of the time you can get it in mint condition. Good Luck!