I’m a dad, so I have no time and all my gear is old. I want to start making music again, but I think I need to more or less start over in terms of gear and software.
I’d like to hear a bit just about what you all are using to make music.
Are we all using Macs and commercial software like Logic or Abelton? Anyone bravely trying to work things with Linux? Anyone kicking it old school and recording to tape? Anyone using light weight set ups like iPads or tiny Zoom recorders?
It’s funny, but this describes my musical journey well!
I started music production because someone organized a 2 hour Ableton crash course at work. I signed up without much expectations, and I was blown away by how powerful and easy it was. After that I started watching some EDM tutorials on YouTube and running Ableton on a Mac Mini to make songs. Eventually I switched to using Bitwig as my DAW, and I fell in love with the modulation and routing options it offers.
But I’ve always been huge Linux user (since 1998), so at some point I decided to switch to Linux. I tried a few different DAWs, my productivity took a huge hit, and eventually settled on Ardour and few open source plugins. And even though I was way less productive I think the switch made me a better producer, because I had a limited selection of plugins, most of them without any presets, so I had to be more creative and learn to use my ears more.
Back in 2017 I discovered a group of people that write songs together using 4-track recorders and mailing cassette tapes to each other. Each song is done by a group of 4 people, with someone starting a cassette by recording something on track 1 and a click on track 4, and mailing the tape to the second person, who records something on track 2, and so on. I bought my first 4-track recorder and joined the fun.
In 2019 I bought an OP-Z and it really clicked with me. I started writing complete songs on the OP-Z, sometimes using the Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2S for effects, and often recording straight into my phone via a USB cable. I bought some other gear to play with it, and these days my setup consists of small-but-flexible gear: the OP-Z, the Empress ZOIA, the Critter & Guitari Organelle, a guitar, usually recording into a Zoom H6.
That being said, my recommendation, if you’re starting over, is to try different things. Play with different DAWs, download as many free plugins you can (and trials), try to buy used hardware so you can sell it later. Because many times an instrument or software might have all the features you’re looking for, but the workflow might not be the best for you, and it’s really hard to know without trying first.