The gear doesn't make the music...

Not to open up old wounds here, but I wanted to get some other views on the topic of "the gear doesn't make the music, the musician makes the music."

It annoys me how much gear purism I see go on in some of these threads. Like if someone suggests a plugin alternative, someone gives them hell for sharing it because it's not "real gear" or whatever. I don't know, it just annoys me. How do you feel about it?

Sorry if this is a boring thread.

If it sounds good, it sounds good....lol it shouldn't bother you that much

I wreck shop with my phone and a monotron delay if need be.

I do like find like many others do, that I might do different thing depending on what I grab. On the flipside I can can sound the same whatever I use. Only variations if that's my mentality are like if I use an ASR or something just because it has character and creaminess in spades. To the extent that if you don't here the cream your ears don't work.

Plugins, I love 'em. You just gotta know what sound you want or what analog or HW character you're looking for.

I got 1000's of bounced loops I've made here that if I lied and said they were off hardware people would believe it with no hesitation. I'm looking at you Omnisphere...and smiling.

But folks who say you can't bang with ITB/plugs or you must have this or that or it'swack sauce, no, emphatically no.

If it's wounds, well they probably brought their own salt to perception wise so I'll just use anything that I feel sounds solid whatever it is. Like a TR -505 is kinda booty, but run it through $400 of top plugins it's now a whole different thing.

A Korg Monotribe run through a quality ITB FX change is a great merging of analog and digital, and sounds like it's a much more expensive synth than it is. Plus the FX make it sound way different than the limited tones you get using it by itself.

Its obvious that the gear makes the music, I mean Ray Charles wouldn't be Ray Charles without the piano. Its what Ray Charles did with the piano that brought amazement. Same thing with gear, its what you do with it. Whether its plug in, hardware, or actual instruments its what you do with it.

The gear DOES make the music, in many ways.

Talent will always expose itself regardless of the medium.

Cheers,
Ian

With a cup of coffee I make beats then read the newspaper and get tied up on some sudoku. While you looking shitfaced in the morning and trying to emotionally collect yourself, I'm getting stoned to your beats and getting inspired to make another gem.

Well Ray could have sang, hummed or tapped his feet and brought the music to us still. The piano without a player behind it is silence so I don't really what some of you are trying to say.

Sure quality instruments and instruments that innovate give a performer a world of ways to get his internal music out there and sound better doing it, but again same thing, you could kill a guy easy before a 40 cal was invented.

The shoes, the shoes it's gotta be the shoes - Mars Blackmon

No, Mars. like....MJ said back then. Jordan could have dropped his 20,000+ point with egg cartons taped to his feet.

Metatron72 wrote:Like a TR -505 is kinda booty, but run it through $400 of top plugins it's now a whole different thing.

A Korg Monotribe run through a quality ITB FX change is a great merging of analog and digital, and sounds like it's a much more expensive synth than it is. Plus the FX make it sound way different than the limited tones you get using it by itself.

Hardware combined with software definitely makes a huge difference in a good way. So I definitely agree with you here.

MaZe wrote:The gear DOES make the music, in many ways.

Yes, but I'm not really here to split hairs. It does, but I feel like some people are dependent on their gear to make their music. A lot of times, I'll hear people brag about the gear they used for whatever song, and it sounds like absolute garbage, but they think it's gold all because of the expensive gear they used to make it with.

^Probably people who rely strongly on presets have that fixation I would guess. A far as an MPC the MIDI timing's tightness is the real defining characteristic and that could be any sounds.

Agree 100%. I have been messing around with an older FL Loops and made these beats linked below: I think i got them pretty lofi considering it's FL. Let me know what you think. Basic boom bap stuff nothing crazy.

http://www.divshare.com/download/24250425-61e

http://www.divshare.com/download/24250292-a98

http://www.divshare.com/download/24250225-ec4

http://www.divshare.com/download/24250331-ea4

http://www.divshare.com/download/24250439-f9e

bearhead wrote:Yes, but I'm not really here to split hairs. It does, but I feel like some people are dependent on their gear to make their music. A lot of times, I'll hear people brag about the gear they used for whatever song, and it sounds like absolute garbage, but they think it's gold all because of the expensive gear they used to make it with.

Expensive and expansive gear doesn't make any better music than cheap and limited gear.

I personally feel that a lot of people, and even myself at times, fall into this trap of thinking that they need this next piece or this new piece in order to make music. When in actuality, I feel that you need to find that ONE piece that you can MASTER and groove with, get all of your ideas out on, and makes you feel comfortable. There is no coincidence why Dr. Dre still uses an MPC 3000 to this day. Most of the top producers, while they will mess around with new pieces and new gear, usually gravitate towards their old faithful and that's the piece that they make their best music on. Point blank, gear lust, gear envy, and gear hoarding hurts the music. Again, IMO.

MaZe wrote:
Expensive and expansive gear doesn't make any better music than cheap and limited gear.

I personally feel that a lot of people, and even myself at times, fall into this trap of thinking that they need this next piece or this new piece in order to make music. When in actuality, I feel that you need to find that ONE piece that you can MASTER and groove with, get all of your ideas out on, and makes you feel comfortable. There is no coincidence why Dr. Dre still uses an MPC 3000 to this day. Most of the top producers, while they will mess around with new pieces and new gear, usually gravitate towards their old faithful and that's the piece that they make their best music on. Point blank, gear lust, gear envy, and gear hoarding hurts the music. Again, IMO.

No, I totally agree with you. I think my thing about having new gear is just for me to learn new ways to make music, to get different results. So, in a way, I guess I kind of fall into that trap, but I don't think that thought should ever limit someone's creativity.

Your gear will only sound as good as you can make it sound.

Gear can inspire music. I feel the connection knowing my favorite producers used what I'm using. But gear cannot make music without the mind and soul of the individual that crafts it. If that was the case then my machines are Go-Bots!!