this track was written with just a 303 and 606 multi-tracked in Live using ITB effects. i have a large collection of synths and drum machines, but i wanted to force myself to work within the limits of these devices, to really push myself.
anyone else confining themselves to be more creative with their hardware?
__________________ a 909, a box of paper clips, and an anvil
When I still had my studio, I was most productive when I worked with just the Monomachine. I'm definitely not one of those guys who would like to work in a studio with 10 drum machines and 20 synths, I'd never get anything done!
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Would Schrödinger's cat sound better OTB?
I think it's about making the best of everything at your disposal. I think my best tracks combine an element of everything I have and everything I know to create something a bit sonically different.
I do this all the time. I just took out 70% of the gear in my studio and now I want to see what I can do with just an Analog Four, a 303 and a D-50. I work a lot better with limitations.
I guess I'm just conditioned from my days with the EPS and making music with 1 meg of RAM.
I agree, limitations can often force us to be more creative. Too many option options can leave us dead in the water and forcing yourself to depend on technology to help you write better music can be detremental to a creative process. But this is very subjective. If I didn't have my virus TI's sounds or Moog Voyager to inspire me the way it does, would my music still be just as creative?
For me, I really wasn't getting the results I wanted using my analog synths, romplers and samplers with outboard sequencing. When I switched to Ableton, my musical world changed and am now more creative than ever.
So it becomes a question, what evnvironment are you most creative in? I have a lot of outboard gear, synthesizers and software synths, not only for my love of synthesizers and gear, but becuase I like having a lot of options. For me, my creative process changes depending on what kind of sound I am looking for in my end result. Having so much gear, my set-up has a built in back up system. I know when I get stuck on a tune, it's not because I am lacking a certain synth sound, sample or piece of gear. It's probably due to my lack of programming new sounds, finding new ways to do things or my own lack musical ideas at the time. It puts me in check, everytime.
I feel like the biggest detriment to having lots of choices is time. Most don't have the time or energy to audition bits from a hundred different devices or software.
Of course when you limit yourself then you tend to nurture a more intimate understanding of those select pieces. I believe this is huge element to getting the most out of something. Jack of all trades, master of none?
Hee, yeah, I went through my phase of gear hoarding a few years back; made me feel great, I used to think by the lines of: "Hey I got a synth for pads, one for leads, one for basses, one for glitchy noises, one for farts, one for burps... you get it... but NOTHING was done during those times.
It was only after I got together with a couple of people who where just interested in making music with me (as opposed to sitting in front of a whole bunch of synths drooling all day) that I started regaining focus; after that, I only kept 4 synths of the 14 boards I had, 1 drum machine /sequencer (not counting the V-drums), a few guitar pedals and my KP3. Not only do I have plenty of space now, but I know the synths I kept from the inside out, there's no sound I can imagine that I can't create on those; my playing chops have improved unexpectedly (Keys and drums); and something else happened too, I am a much sharper songwriter now .
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e, yeah, I went through my phase of gear hoarding a few years back; made me feel great, I used to think by the lines of: "Hey I got a synth for pads, one for leads, one for basses, one for glitchy noises, one for farts, one for burps... you get it... but NOTHING was done during those times. 
