"Click here for a complete overview..." -> *_click_* -> "There is, quite literally, too much great stuff to list... Sign up with your email address" :( So there's no way to get a list without signing up for a marketing service?
@@RonSwansonIsMyGod Yes totally agree with this. The pendulum has so shifted to "gear lust" (check out Telekom Electronic Beats channel) at the expense of "creative lust"- breaking new artistic ground with minimal gear is rarely discussed or promoted. Punk, Acid, Techno. Drum & Bass etc etc all came about from creative expression based on cheap available gear. I think Brian Eno is leading the pack again with his in the box software approach these days. Using things like scripting in Logic X and generative software is really interesting. Sorry to be a bit preachy - just an opinion !
I had this Ibanez guitar that for a long time was played often. But, it was meant for speed and metal, which I don’t play, so it wasn’t played for years. A friend’s son was becoming quite skilled and one day I decided to give it to him. It was a bit painful. I had a lot of memories in that guitar. But one fine day the kid’s band came to town opening for a really big band and I went with his dad to see him play. First song ... there was my old guitar! That made me so happy! I hope this happens with you too.
I know the feeling! I have built a synth collection during the past 25 years myself. I do use most of them in my music all the time, but some can sit on the shelf unused for years. But there's an even bigger moral dilemma in this for me: I have an active TH-cam channel, where I feature myself performing with my huge synth collection, and I feel that I'm giving people the wrong message. You definitely don't need tons of gear to make great music! As society is going people are just buying more unnecessary stuff, which puts an even greater burden on the planet's resources. In addition, there has lately been a recent surge in the availability of new, cheap synthesizers, making the temptation stronger than ever for electronic musicians to buy instruments they don't necessarily need. Rumors are that you can't even get spare parts to these new cheap synths, meaning that they will likely end up as waste much sooner than the more expensive modern or even vintage synths (that many 3rd part enthusiasts provide new spare parts for). Many also have a problem with their personal economy and consume more than they can afford to. So I congratulate you on your decision! You give a great example to the many musicians that look up to you. Hopefully, it will convince a few that less is indeed more. I could never do it, but I really need to think about the message I'm relaying...
I don't think it arises in mind, but in heart, as I see it. For me at least, the burden of having too much gear came also about a year ago. And it came as sensation that there is something wrong here. I looked around and felt that I am buried under too many synths. My psychiatrist told me that all great decisions come from within and then mind forms some explanation. And so my GAS stopped, I have one more thing to buy and that will be SSL X-Desk to give me limits to all my fixed synths and one channel for my modular (which I limit to four cases, selling all overflow modules). When you will feel that it is time to sell you gear, there will be no other way. As for your impact - don't put it on your shoulders. I think that most people are gassing because of totally different reason. I could write a lot about those reason. Let's just say, that it is not amount of gear that some famous musician has or displays. In short: it comes from expectations and ignorance or lack of experience. Regarding resources and consumerism: it is hard to draw universal line. Collecting gear sure looks like one. But heading into music production also requires more gear than simple singing or acoustic guitar playing. My nonscientific hypothesis is that what is right for us, is to learn how to listen to your heart and then follow it. Love should be ultimate target. ;-]
Hey Kebu, totally agree with you. But I think it is a general problem, buy more than needed, obsolescence chips, and so on. I have just a small studio, but I have always to stop myself to buy new shit I don't need. Btw. I really love your music, keep the spirit😍😍
Kebu if we didn’t have people like you who use vintage synths , then we wouldn’t have the great music that you compose and play live . We can’t let these beautiful vintage synths go too waste , after all they are history . Even if you don’t use them all , they won’t break if you don’t use them much . Keep up your amazing channel . If you could only have a couple of synths what would they be and would you get a new synth or would it be vintage ?
you need less = new Gen i7 Mac + software or 80ies polysynth, 00's monosynth, 90ies rompler, 90 sequencer. New computer versus reusing of older gear that may've ended up as ewaste
It’s called mid life realignment.. it happened when I turned 50 ... declutter my life and kept things simple. Even gave things away. I began to look at life differently.
Good point. I can think of two things I ought to sell straight away: the Proteus/1 that I settled-for instead of saving a bit more for a U220, and the uninspiring Boutique JP-08 despite its cute little faders (I seem to be the only person who actually likes them).
This is something I appreciated about The Prodigy and the tools they used to make their music. From every album they were almost always using commodity synths, samplers or software. There was no esoteric modular eurorack system.
Some of my best techno came from the use of a Juno 106 keyboard, Roland R8 mk2 drum machine, Alesis MMT-8 sequencer and my Tascam 688 8 track cassette recorder. Back in the 90’s Detroit techno was all about minimal. I still feel that way today. It’s not the gear you own, it’s what you do with the gear that matters. When you’re limited, you tend to be more creative. With that impulse, your sound becomes more personal. You’re rig is what defines you. I couldn’t imagine owning or hoarding all that gear. I’d be lost and overwhelmed. Out of all that gear you have, I’d pick the Jupiter 8, I’ve always wanted a Jupiter 8 but could never afford one.
I'm excited for this new turn you're taking on! I had to do the same with most of my gear in my old studio. I put tons away and sold even more. It was such a weight lifted off of me. The biggest notice i've had is mental clarity and focus while making music now. But you don't need me to tell you know, you know the world of constraints :)
Hi Junkie XL. Nice move, I feel the same now, choice paralysis, I have been studying classical piano for 3 years, doing shows with different gear every time, I had sold all my studio gear in 2008 but then I had an inheritance and the pandemic isolation enticed me to buy gear again, I don’t have as mulch as you of course but it can still be a burden especially when things break down and take up space in my 1 bedroom apartment. The fact that you can sample all this gear before selling it (I always do that) will give you a magnificent super producer killer library ! I am from Montreal Canada. Cheers !
Why not rent it or open a little music school with it where kids can have the benefits of hardware gear?? We will hopefully face a prosper post COVID time. This collection is YOU. I think a lot Young People would appreciate participating in your knowledge. Just my two cents! ✌🏽🎹
There's really not a lot you can teach young students on old collector grade equipment.. Everything worth teaching can be taught on a modern PC that would probably be 1/4 the price of the vintage hardware. Collections aren't people.. I've recently (most likely) lost my entire record collection.. Those records aren't me.. My enjoyment of the music I had is me.
Interesting indeed. Being a 5U modular guy, I will be most looking forward to how your modular wall is divided up. Phew, that will be work for someone. All the best!
I really recognize your motivation for selling your gear. I'm afraid though that it will end up in the hands of collectors, who will not use it, because the people who would use it a lot cannot afford it. Maybe just start with selling the gear that you've used the least and see how that feels. I agree with others here that you might regret selling some of the great rare gear.
This topic kind of reminds me of how so many people will buy 'a' or even multiple classic cars to restore and it sits in their yard for 25 years and they die never having done anything with it. It would be better to either jump in and do it or sell the things, but I think they keep them as a dream more than anything. Honestly it's kinda sad. For me, my life motto is "only own what I use" everything else I get rid of, it makes for an efficient life and I don't have to upkeep or store a bunch of crap I don't use.
Don't do it Mr. Junkie, you will regret it, big time. I know because I've done it many times myself and ended up re-buying almost all I've sold at a higher price. This crisis is tough on every one. Hold on tight, will be better soon. Don't do it.
I have a very modest synth collection that's taken many years to gather and am kind of glad I can't afford to get every shiny new thing that comes out. It takes ages to be able to dig into the features of any capable synth so being limited to only a few units has helped me get more confident, especially for live improvisation.
I collected RCA ribbon microphones for many years and had them sonically restored where needed. I used them for recording and they brought me great joy, but after a while I Started using more condenser microphones In my recordings. The ribbon microphones just stayed in their cases and aside from a few favorites. They eventually were just never used so one day I just sold them all to good homes. I didn’t look back, and continued on recording. Thank you for your video
My first own synthesizer was a Roland D20, which stood next to a Jupiter-8, which cost less than half of the money. For piano-pads i connected the D20 via Midi with a JX8P and so morphing was born. 🤘😀
I felt exactly the same way! Not just I felt bad but frustrated cuz beautiful gear is collecting dust is a no no! Decided to just keep what I want to use.
This is so interesting on several levels. I too remember picking up Moogs for $70 when they were out of fashion, I once got a Juno 60 in good condition for $50. But more importantly, I understand philosophically what he means by walking into the studio, feeling overwhelmed with the choices, and feeling bad for not using some of this classic gear more. I look around my studio at some of the great synths and samplers I have collected that I would have used 24 hours a day as a kid and feel bad sometimes they go unused for a while. I used to do a lot more buying and selling, and I still have more than I need, but I will say everything is hooked up, gets used, and has been on at least one record. All of that said, the vintage synth and gear market has to be at an all time high, not a bad time to get out.
Man I feel that. Sold all my Yamaha Reface months ago because I'm not using it enough, glad the new owner actually a full time musician and make a better use of it than sitting under my desk all the time.
@Tom I know exactly how that feels. Why? Because i got rid of my small studio 3 times. Gave away instruments to people who were in need. Yes also i walked into the room and could not give the instruments the time i felt they needed. We were staring at eachother so to say, and only i could make a choice. Over the past 3 years i got new gear. All second hand, and i prommised myself only to touch them when i emotionally feel i need to connect with the world through music. Music is emotional connection. Wonderful in its energie and truly a state of honesty.
Yeah I'm moving away from sequencing on hardware as I'm trying to get rid of all of my workstation keyboards and Akai MPC. However I'm still going to continue to use a mixture of hardware synths by replacing the keyboards with rack mount synths installed in my Argosy Console desk. Basically just consolidating down but using a Hybrid mix.
As a photographer it's a good idea to occasionally to put down the digital and take an old film camera out for a spin. The 'disadvantage' of having a limited number of shots, the lack of an instant review and the (eventual) high cost of processing makes you concentrate on the composition and keeps you from just firing away knowing that you will get at least one good shot. Use what you have wisely. The limitations WILL enhance your creativity. Having said that we're all gear junkies though. Despite having a DX7S I still had to grab myself a Volca FM!
Did the same thing when I relocated. Decided to sell all my hardware - lot's of cool stuff I had collected over the years - synths, drum machines etc. Was hard at first, but after you sell the first piece it gets easy.
Woow first you've built the ultimate collection, and now you're selling it... I can't imagine a more "full circle" feeling then this. Wat een baas ben jij zeg Tom!
Excellent choice! Less things screaming at you every day means less stress and more mental freedom. Did the same thing last December - still don't regret it a bit.
I signed up I'm a broke musician. Not a collector probably cant afford anything but telling my bandmates maybe we can pool together and get a couple pedals or a synth machine if theres an affordable one. But I'm with yall they deserve to be in museums or collectors hands but man i wish i could see actual bands creating with all these goodies. I just hope the junkie himself signs all the gear so people will know it was his. What an amazing creator and artist. Guys like me at least would have a cool story explaining the gear and where we got it and how.
I mean, realistically you have to part will all your things at some point. Better to do it while you're still alive, decide who deserves it, and appreciate that it's getting put to good use. I feel really good when I pass on something I've had for a while & see that another person is grateful to give it new home, rather than have it end up in the junk.
Well put Tom.. i sometimes have the same problem (on a lesser scale obviously) .. too much gear can bog you down ! ...and sometimes i`m happiest with an old £50 classical guitar and a pad and pen than i am even firing up the computer ..
My first thought it was because many people are cleaning house and leaving California to work remotely in a cheaper state. I know a couple composers doing that now as we speak. Hope to pick up something on the 9th :)
I just bought your Mutable Instruments Edges as my first eurorack module! I'm really excited to play with it and make it a well loved piece of my own studio!
I missed an ARP Pro Soloist, an Odyssey in 1989-90 and also an SH-101 around 1987ish. About 100 quid each. Did get a Pro-One in 1987 for £160, a Prophet-5 for £840 and VS for £700. All the Sequential stuff broke!!! Worth more broken than when they were bought. Wish I still had the Prophet-5 but the rest, never mind. Got some new stuff and it's good.
As I get older pass 60, I feel a sense of urgency to make good music by embracing simplicity. I find myself feeling anxious when I look at the instruments I own and don't play. So I totally get what you are saying. With experience and knowledge comes a greater access to creativity and artistry which don't necessitate a lot of gear and things but more of time, space and peace of mind. The most beautiful sounds are easy to find and harvest when we stop chasing it. Good luck with your new space and spend time well in it... Life is a flicker!
Found my instrument. Got rid of the electronics. I play for me, not an audience. My instrument is a jaw harp. FINALLY I can play MY music, not trying to play someone else's. I am 72 years old.
I understand you perfectly. In 2020 I have sold: Moog grandmother, Elektron Digitakt, Roland TR-09, Roland JU-06 and something else, precisely because I felt that I was not taking advantage of it and I was very sorry. Now I work with my old Roland XP-30, an SP-404A, the iPad and the computer with Reason. I don't need more. I know it is not comparable to your situation or your study, but I understand the feeling you are talking about.
This is the way. I have watched several folks (including myself) start to downsize the synth collections over the past year. Well done Tom. I applaud you on this direction and all the best to you and your musical direction and brand new studio. Can't wait to see it and let's get you on my podcast soon my friend.
Zou mooi staan in mijn achtertuin studio. Ga ik bouwen als mijn rug weer is hersteld. Ik wil ook een ecoplate 2 nabouwen. Succes met je verkoop. Grt uit Holland. Helaas LA moeten missen dit jaar. Take care en stay save.
Must be hard time let go of all this great gear, but I get it. Creativity is king, and getting creative with limited gear is such a great feeling. I hope your pieces find great homes. Good luck.
Uh oh, my collection issues no longer enjoy a comparative rationalization 😬! Good on you, Tom! May you enjoy the freedom it brings! Best wishes, Daniel 🙏🏼
Good luck Tom! I have been through this myself, sometimes you need to purge gear to free your mind and creativity. It masks sense, I think it will be great for you and a whole bunch of people who will find a great new instrument!
Hi I did the same in the 90s . I had a little money and was able to buy in the used ads the synthetic I had dreamed over as a young musician. We had a small studio and could experiment in our own time . Happy days. I sold most in the 2000s. Some I wish I still had.. My first fave was a yamaha cs30. Had a cs80 too!
Always love your inspiring videos Tom. You could make music with two soups cans and a kazoo. Looking forward to hearing about your new studio and setup.
This is exactly what I have done for the last couple of years (on a much much smaller scale of course). Get rid of the stuff that's become a burden - that slows you down - and keep the gear that excites you, makes you more agile!
i want to do the exact thing and decided to sell all my gears -- only to have fact check that i don't have any valuable gears... you Tom is my music hero and will make phenomenal musics no matter what gears you own.. salute to you..
Some really nice gear kit in there, although I was sad to see the lovely brown Chesterfield sofa was not included. But, if you should change your mind, I know a great home for it.
I think you speak for quite a few of us who have been collecting for years and now just look at our gear and wonder if it's going to get used this year. Brave decision Sir. I still can't part with my Gary Numan Polymoog 280a, don't think I have not tried!
i dont have as much gear (only 20 synths) but i can relate ..at my age i need to stop the collecting all the gear and cables. I need to release these synths to a new loving home ...eventually
Awesome video thank you for this. I have a lot of gear myself and I feel the same way at times. I also started to thin the herd it’s hard but I get to appreciate the gear I keep. Stay safe Godspeed
I fully understand this decision. I did the same thing last month, although my gear collection was quite a bit smaller than yours. I definitely feel that having less gear forces me to be more creative with what I have. Having too many options was very taxing on my writing process. I am very exited to see what you kept.
that's a wonderful approach, mate, I'm a music producer my self and I had the same issue with some of my guitars and recording equipment so I sold some guitars I didn't use that much and got mountain bikes so i could stay in shape since our work is mostly in front of the screens or the mixing board sitting. I'll be checking reverb for ur listings
I'm overwhelmed with my EPM12 and less than a dozen synths plus a few guitars and pedals. Cannot fathom getting one's head around your setup. Very keen to see what you are getting rid of.
I think your decision is both wise and good! You will feel better, and the gear will inspire many, many musicians worldwide! Cheers man, looking forward for more studio time :)
Everything in the box is just way easier and applications such as Massive X and Zebra is just makes things easier, plus you don’t need to carry all that gear on the road and the future of media composers are on the road where you can prove a piece of music right there. Those are the composers that will get the jobs for big motion pictures cause in the end of the day producers want real live musicians playing orchestral sounds. Percussions and sound design can be done inside the box. Cheers!!
You just made me cry on the inside sir. You spoke with such care of a father giving out his daughter in marriage, however this one means that you will never get to see these awesome gears again. Thanks again sir. I live in Nigeria, so I don't think it will cheaper for me to request a buy. I hope, like you said, those gears find new good homes
Sad to see you part with the stuff that took so long to collect. Glad to see that you allow others to share a piece of history to use. Too bad I am just seeing this right now, too bad there is no Moog gear (left ?). I am an electronics engineer and a big Moog fanboy so my motto is "Moog or mine": All synth gear is either build be me or by Moog. But it's tempting to buy one of your old VCO modules
AS a guitarist with guitaritis I understand the feeling of guilt. I got some great guitars I maybe played once... It's like with clothes, 80 percent of the time you wear 20 percent of your wardrobe. But when I see an instrument I like, and I fall in love I GOT to have it, even though I do not NEED it. I own a Gretsch I bought 13 years ago, such a beautiful instrument, but I just played it a few times. When I see that guitar in my studio every day I feel guilty. But they are all like my kids, I just cant part with them... So, I swallow the guilt, and take the loss... Greetings from the homeland, Tom!
Well... just know if you ever feel/felt guilty for not using all the awesome gear you own, don't forget how valuable the fact is that you have touched/inspired many people with your knowledge and love for these machines trough this youtube channel. That might be one of the most powerful things you could have done. Must be hard to give it all away an d I respect that decision, nonetheless thanks for sharing it and I hope you can still share some wonderful little facts about the gear you use every now and then. But I'm sure that we shouldn't worry about that too much. Anyways.... grrrroetjes!
Good video, I do that all the time. Just sold a guitar which I still loved, but was not using it at all. And after it went it felt very good, because that cool guitar would not just standing in the corner waiting to be treated with a feather duster but used by an excited guy who could not effort a new guitar. Made me happy actually.
I would have experimented with putting your gear in storage first before pulling the trigger on selling off. But I am not a professional who relies on an uninhibited creative headspace in order to propogate succesfully through a career. Streamlining to improve focus, imposing limitations to force creativity. It's probably a good move.
I'm going into this route (of collecting) soon, i feel ) For the balancing I've decided to buy some raspberry pi stuff to make my "own" (not totally) boxes with knobs, screens, encoders, buttons and etc. The idea is simple - to make a cheap and a great sounding fx box (for my summer house music sketching mostly). Yeah, i could buy a ready-to-go solution... But such things usually has some big compromise parts like: very limited memory, just few effects in one box, the controllers that you can't connect to them (like ribbon pots which will be my next level there). Also, as an engineer i plan to create some custom synths and controllers by myself. I want some totally weird but usable things. With a help of 3d printing some of them will be not hard to produce. One thing is bothering me is the procrastination! Sometimes i feel that many things that I want to make and starting to produce are just the loops of a big big life procrastination ))
well, i guess im bit late to catch the DX1 from you ? hehe awesome insight here, i absolutely agree with what your saying.. i already feel similar and have only a quarter of what you have! thank you for sharing. You so cool !
It must be very difficult to get rid of such amazing synths after taking care for years, but you definitely are right. The focus must be in the music with all gear behind, and not in front. Many times it's so easy to get lost with all gear without making music, but music must be always the first!
Dude, great move, comes directly from a great heart. Love your work, but you impress me even more whenever you show us a part of your personality. Wish you best of luck and hope you're going to achieve what you're looking for, but the way you sound leaves no doubt about that.
Tom, wat een bijzondere stap, maar snap goed wat je bedoeld. Ik hoop dat de diverse apparaten en instrumenten de nieuw plek krijgen bij de creatieveling die er iets moois mee kan doen. Met warme groet, een fan uit de Lowlands.
There's a complete overview of the gear over at Reverb's blog, check it out here: bit.ly/ReverbJXL
Awesome! ☕❤️
Def Beat is still one of the greatest tracks to street race to.
"Click here for a complete overview..." -> *_click_* -> "There is, quite literally, too much great stuff to list... Sign up with your email address"
:(
So there's no way to get a list without signing up for a marketing service?
@@ToyKeeper our passion is their real estate
@@RonSwansonIsMyGod Yes totally agree with this. The pendulum has so shifted to "gear lust" (check out Telekom Electronic Beats channel) at the expense of "creative lust"- breaking new artistic ground with minimal gear is rarely discussed or promoted. Punk, Acid, Techno. Drum & Bass etc etc all came about from creative expression based on cheap available gear. I think Brian Eno is leading the pack again with his in the box software approach these days. Using things like scripting in Logic X and generative software is really interesting. Sorry to be a bit preachy - just an opinion !
I had this Ibanez guitar that for a long time was played often. But, it was meant for speed and metal, which I don’t play, so it wasn’t played for years. A friend’s son was becoming quite skilled and one day I decided to give it to him. It was a bit painful. I had a lot of memories in that guitar. But one fine day the kid’s band came to town opening for a really big band and I went with his dad to see him play. First song ... there was my old guitar! That made me so happy! I hope this happens with you too.
nice story, nice example.
I know the feeling! I have built a synth collection during the past 25 years myself. I do use most of them in my music all the time, but some can sit on the shelf unused for years. But there's an even bigger moral dilemma in this for me: I have an active TH-cam channel, where I feature myself performing with my huge synth collection, and I feel that I'm giving people the wrong message. You definitely don't need tons of gear to make great music! As society is going people are just buying more unnecessary stuff, which puts an even greater burden on the planet's resources. In addition, there has lately been a recent surge in the availability of new, cheap synthesizers, making the temptation stronger than ever for electronic musicians to buy instruments they don't necessarily need. Rumors are that you can't even get spare parts to these new cheap synths, meaning that they will likely end up as waste much sooner than the more expensive modern or even vintage synths (that many 3rd part enthusiasts provide new spare parts for). Many also have a problem with their personal economy and consume more than they can afford to. So I congratulate you on your decision! You give a great example to the many musicians that look up to you. Hopefully, it will convince a few that less is indeed more. I could never do it, but I really need to think about the message I'm relaying...
I don't think it arises in mind, but in heart, as I see it. For me at least, the burden of having too much gear came also about a year ago. And it came as sensation that there is something wrong here. I looked around and felt that I am buried under too many synths. My psychiatrist told me that all great decisions come from within and then mind forms some explanation. And so my GAS stopped, I have one more thing to buy and that will be SSL X-Desk to give me limits to all my fixed synths and one channel for my modular (which I limit to four cases, selling all overflow modules). When you will feel that it is time to sell you gear, there will be no other way.
As for your impact - don't put it on your shoulders. I think that most people are gassing because of totally different reason. I could write a lot about those reason. Let's just say, that it is not amount of gear that some famous musician has or displays. In short: it comes from expectations and ignorance or lack of experience.
Regarding resources and consumerism: it is hard to draw universal line. Collecting gear sure looks like one. But heading into music production also requires more gear than simple singing or acoustic guitar playing. My nonscientific hypothesis is that what is right for us, is to learn how to listen to your heart and then follow it. Love should be ultimate target. ;-]
Hey Kebu, totally agree with you. But I think it is a general problem, buy more than needed, obsolescence chips, and so on. I have just a small studio, but I have always to stop myself to buy new shit I don't need. Btw. I really love your music, keep the spirit😍😍
Kebu if we didn’t have people like you who use vintage synths , then we wouldn’t have the great music that you compose and play live . We can’t let these beautiful vintage synths go too waste , after all they are history . Even if you don’t use them all , they won’t break if you don’t use them much . Keep up your amazing channel . If you could only have a couple of synths what would they be and would you get a new synth or would it be vintage ?
you need less = new Gen i7 Mac + software or 80ies polysynth, 00's monosynth, 90ies rompler, 90 sequencer. New computer versus reusing of older gear that may've ended up as ewaste
Would be cool to see a vid from you, only using one or two synths :D Some looper/sampler would be obviously required then..
It’s called mid life realignment.. it happened when I turned 50 ... declutter my life and kept things simple. Even gave things away. I began to look at life differently.
Sometimes the things you own, they end up owning you.
It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.
Well said
Tyler Durden
@@_innerscape_ nope, crappy author.
Seeing people quote Fight Club is a deep level of cringe...
Only keep the things that always inspire. The rest is just hoping and wishing.
Good point. I can think of two things I ought to sell straight away: the Proteus/1 that I settled-for instead of saving a bit more for a U220, and the uninspiring Boutique JP-08 despite its cute little faders (I seem to be the only person who actually likes them).
Oh Keith, I am not at all surprised to see you here :)
From my point Novation circuit is most inspiring piece of hardware I have ever owned
Totally agree!!
m.th-cam.com/video/zbjjEd7rhG4/w-d-xo.html
I probably couldn't afford one of your midi cables, but I have mad respect for this move.
As George Lucas once said "Choice is the antithesis of commitment". Too much gear, too many plugins etc can limit creativity with choice paralysis!
reason i sold komplete and all my NI stuff. No more scrolling through ridiculous sounding presets i would never use.
Orson Welles: "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations"
Ditto!
@@embodie_breaks7089 NI sounds horrible and artificial anyway.
This is something I appreciated about The Prodigy and the tools they used to make their music. From every album they were almost always using commodity synths, samplers or software. There was no esoteric modular eurorack system.
Some of my best techno came from the use of a Juno 106 keyboard, Roland R8 mk2 drum machine, Alesis MMT-8 sequencer and my Tascam 688 8 track cassette recorder. Back in the 90’s Detroit techno was all about minimal. I still feel that way today. It’s not the gear you own, it’s what you do with the gear that matters.
When you’re limited, you tend to be more creative. With that impulse, your sound becomes more personal. You’re rig is what defines you. I couldn’t imagine owning or hoarding all that gear. I’d be lost and overwhelmed. Out of all that gear you have, I’d pick the Jupiter 8, I’ve always wanted a Jupiter 8 but could never afford one.
That is an ace setup. Oh the good old days.
I'm excited for this new turn you're taking on! I had to do the same with most of my gear in my old studio.
I put tons away and sold even more. It was such a weight lifted off of me.
The biggest notice i've had is mental clarity and focus while making music now.
But you don't need me to tell you know, you know the world of constraints :)
Appreciate your honesty in sharing your own thought process. It can help us revise our relationship with our own gear too.
Hi Junkie XL. Nice move, I feel the same now, choice paralysis, I have been studying classical piano for 3 years, doing shows with different gear every time, I had sold all my studio gear in 2008 but then I had an inheritance and the pandemic isolation enticed me to buy gear again, I don’t have as mulch as you of course but it can still be a burden especially when things break down and take up space in my 1 bedroom apartment. The fact that you can sample all this gear before selling it (I always do that) will give you a magnificent super producer killer library ! I am from Montreal Canada. Cheers !
Why not rent it or open a little music school with it where kids can have the benefits of hardware gear?? We will hopefully face a prosper post COVID time. This collection is YOU. I think a lot Young People would appreciate participating in your knowledge. Just my two cents! ✌🏽🎹
There's really not a lot you can teach young students on old collector grade equipment.. Everything worth teaching can be taught on a modern PC that would probably be 1/4 the price of the vintage hardware. Collections aren't people.. I've recently (most likely) lost my entire record collection.. Those records aren't me.. My enjoyment of the music I had is me.
Kids?? Nobody wants to have dirty little booger hands all over a $100k keyboard ;D
@@rmzmusik what if its mozart
Interesting indeed. Being a 5U modular guy, I will be most looking forward to how your modular wall is divided up. Phew, that will be work for someone. All the best!
I really recognize your motivation for selling your gear. I'm afraid though that it will end up in the hands of collectors, who will not use it, because the people who would use it a lot cannot afford it.
Maybe just start with selling the gear that you've used the least and see how that feels. I agree with others here that you might regret selling some of the great rare gear.
Or you could sell it for stupid low prices since you are already a millionaire from all those filter sweeps and dramatic thuds you sold to the MCU....
Brave ! I did the same with all my vintage computers. I now just have one synth, a CMI Series III..
This topic kind of reminds me of how so many people will buy 'a' or even multiple classic cars to restore and it sits in their yard for 25 years and they die never having done anything with it. It would be better to either jump in and do it or sell the things, but I think they keep them as a dream more than anything. Honestly it's kinda sad. For me, my life motto is "only own what I use" everything else I get rid of, it makes for an efficient life and I don't have to upkeep or store a bunch of crap I don't use.
Don't do it Mr. Junkie, you will regret it, big time. I know because I've done it many times myself and ended up re-buying almost all I've sold at a higher price. This crisis is tough on every one. Hold on tight, will be better soon. Don't do it.
Perfectly logical. Best wishes!
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles
Good luck! I just wish I could make a 'I'm selling most my VST collection' on KVR that generated as much interest. The feeling is the same.
I have a very modest synth collection that's taken many years to gather and am kind of glad I can't afford to get every shiny new thing that comes out. It takes ages to be able to dig into the features of any capable synth so being limited to only a few units has helped me get more confident, especially for live improvisation.
I collected RCA ribbon microphones for many years and had them sonically restored where needed. I used them for recording and they brought me great joy, but after a while I Started using more condenser microphones In my recordings. The ribbon microphones just stayed in their cases and aside from a few favorites. They eventually were just never used so one day I just sold them all to good homes. I didn’t look back, and continued on recording. Thank you for your video
My first own synthesizer was a Roland D20, which stood next to a Jupiter-8, which cost less than half of the money. For piano-pads i connected the D20 via Midi with a JX8P and so morphing was born. 🤘😀
I felt exactly the same way! Not just I felt bad but frustrated cuz beautiful gear is collecting dust is a no no! Decided to just keep what I want to use.
This is so interesting on several levels. I too remember picking up Moogs for $70 when they were out of fashion, I once got a Juno 60 in good condition for $50. But more importantly, I understand philosophically what he means by walking into the studio, feeling overwhelmed with the choices, and feeling bad for not using some of this classic gear more. I look around my studio at some of the great synths and samplers I have collected that I would have used 24 hours a day as a kid and feel bad sometimes they go unused for a while. I used to do a lot more buying and selling, and I still have more than I need, but I will say everything is hooked up, gets used, and has been on at least one record. All of that said, the vintage synth and gear market has to be at an all time high, not a bad time to get out.
I can hear the pain and relief in his voice in the same time.
Man I feel that. Sold all my Yamaha Reface months ago because I'm not using it enough, glad the new owner actually a full time musician and make a better use of it than sitting under my desk all the time.
The world thanks you Tom!
@Tom
I know exactly how that feels.
Why? Because i got rid of my small studio 3 times.
Gave away instruments to people who were in need.
Yes also i walked into the room and could not give the instruments the time i felt they needed.
We were staring at eachother so to say, and only i could make a choice.
Over the past 3 years i got new gear.
All second hand, and i prommised myself only to touch them when i emotionally feel i need to connect with the world through music.
Music is emotional connection.
Wonderful in its energie and truly a state of honesty.
Yeah I'm moving away from sequencing on hardware as I'm trying to get rid of all of my workstation keyboards and Akai MPC. However I'm still going to continue to use a mixture of hardware synths by replacing the keyboards with rack mount synths installed in my Argosy Console desk. Basically just consolidating down but using a Hybrid mix.
As a photographer it's a good idea to occasionally to put down the digital and take an old film camera out for a spin.
The 'disadvantage' of having a limited number of shots, the lack of an instant review and the (eventual) high cost of processing makes you concentrate on the composition and keeps you from just firing away knowing that you will get at least one good shot.
Use what you have wisely. The limitations WILL enhance your creativity.
Having said that we're all gear junkies though. Despite having a DX7S I still had to grab myself a Volca FM!
Did the same thing when I relocated. Decided to sell all my hardware - lot's of cool stuff I had collected over the years - synths, drum machines etc. Was hard at first, but after you sell the first piece it gets easy.
Thanks for the Intellijel Quad VCA.
Woow first you've built the ultimate collection, and now you're selling it... I can't imagine a more "full circle" feeling then this. Wat een baas ben jij zeg Tom!
good luck on your new projects Thomas, amazing studio, gear is awesome, and...less is more.
Excellent choice! Less things screaming at you every day means less stress and more mental freedom. Did the same thing last December - still don't regret it a bit.
I signed up I'm a broke musician. Not a collector probably cant afford anything but telling my bandmates maybe we can pool together and get a couple pedals or a synth machine if theres an affordable one. But I'm with yall they deserve to be in museums or collectors hands but man i wish i could see actual bands creating with all these goodies. I just hope the junkie himself signs all the gear so people will know it was his. What an amazing creator and artist. Guys like me at least would have a cool story explaining the gear and where we got it and how.
I mean, realistically you have to part will all your things at some point. Better to do it while you're still alive, decide who deserves it, and appreciate that it's getting put to good use. I feel really good when I pass on something I've had for a while & see that another person is grateful to give it new home, rather than have it end up in the junk.
Well put Tom.. i sometimes have the same problem (on a lesser scale obviously) .. too much gear can bog you down ! ...and sometimes i`m happiest with an old £50 classical guitar and a pad and pen than i am even firing up the computer ..
....and plugins are soooo good now...so ,i understand Tom.
My first thought it was because many people are cleaning house and leaving California to work remotely in a cheaper state. I know a couple composers doing that now as we speak. Hope to pick up something on the 9th :)
I just bought your Mutable Instruments Edges as my first eurorack module! I'm really excited to play with it and make it a well loved piece of my own studio!
We've missed you Tom
I missed an ARP Pro Soloist, an Odyssey in 1989-90 and also an SH-101 around 1987ish. About 100 quid each. Did get a Pro-One in 1987 for £160, a Prophet-5 for £840 and VS for £700. All the Sequential stuff broke!!! Worth more broken than when they were bought. Wish I still had the Prophet-5 but the rest, never mind. Got some new stuff and it's good.
As I get older pass 60, I feel a sense of urgency to make good music by embracing simplicity. I find myself feeling anxious when I look at the instruments I own and don't play. So I totally get what you are saying. With experience and knowledge comes a greater access to creativity and artistry which don't necessitate a lot of gear and things but more of time, space and peace of mind. The most beautiful sounds are easy to find and harvest when we stop chasing it. Good luck with your new space and spend time well in it... Life is a flicker!
Found my instrument. Got rid of the electronics. I play for me, not an audience.
My instrument is a jaw harp. FINALLY I can play MY music, not trying to play someone else's.
I am 72 years old.
So cool. Awesome explanation. Thank you for the music J XL
You'll have to change your channel name to "Minimal XL", the recovered Junkie
Hehehe, Junkie XS
Junkie Ex-L
Junkie Pinky?
good one. maybe change it to a Junkie XnomoreAnalog
Clean XL "I'm Clean Now"
Totally understand - it's overwhelming at times.
Think this a great move.
I can’t wait to watch your studio on mine Oculus
Hey man, your modular wall is so beautiful. I love looking at photos of it in the book, Patch & Tweak. Your modular collection is inspiring
Very brave and I’d imagine, a very tough decision.
I understand you perfectly. In 2020 I have sold: Moog grandmother, Elektron Digitakt, Roland TR-09, Roland JU-06 and something else, precisely because I felt that I was not taking advantage of it and I was very sorry. Now I work with my old Roland XP-30, an SP-404A, the iPad and the computer with Reason. I don't need more. I know it is not comparable to your situation or your study, but I understand the feeling you are talking about.
Looking forward to see the new studio.
Aww, sweet! At least most of it was vlogged before finding a new home. I still regret selling my Ltd. ed. Korg Poly-800 30 years ago
This is the way. I have watched several folks (including myself) start to downsize the synth collections over the past year. Well done Tom. I applaud you on this direction and all the best to you and your musical direction and brand new studio. Can't wait to see it and let's get you on my podcast soon my friend.
Zou mooi staan in mijn achtertuin studio. Ga ik bouwen als mijn rug weer is hersteld. Ik wil ook een ecoplate 2 nabouwen. Succes met je verkoop. Grt uit Holland. Helaas LA moeten missen dit jaar. Take care en stay save.
You are doing the right thing.
Good choice!
The absence of limitations is the death of creativity!
Must be hard time let go of all this great gear, but I get it. Creativity is king, and getting creative with limited gear is such a great feeling.
I hope your pieces find great homes. Good luck.
Uh oh, my collection issues no longer enjoy a comparative rationalization 😬!
Good on you, Tom! May you enjoy the freedom it brings! Best wishes, Daniel 🙏🏼
A true legend! and massive respect for respecting the gear as much as respecting the need for less pressure to drive the creativity!
you need grammar lessons yo, nice sentiment
@@Barefoot_Joe ill consider!
Just leave the ones that has deep memories from your heydays like a "feel good" nostalgia moment thats creeping-in in our latter years.
Good luck Tom! I have been through this myself, sometimes you need to purge gear to free your mind and creativity. It masks sense, I think it will be great for you and a whole bunch of people who will find a great new instrument!
Looking forward to seeing the process of the new studio build hopefully documented at its fullest : )
So humble!
Hi I did the same in the 90s . I had a little money and was able to buy in the used ads the synthetic I had dreamed over as a young musician. We had a small studio and could experiment in our own time . Happy days. I sold most in the 2000s. Some I wish I still had..
My first fave was a yamaha cs30.
Had a cs80 too!
Always love your inspiring videos Tom. You could make music with two soups cans and a kazoo. Looking forward to hearing about your new studio and setup.
This is exactly what I have done for the last couple of years (on a much much smaller scale of course). Get rid of the stuff that's become a burden - that slows you down - and keep the gear that excites you, makes you more agile!
i want to do the exact thing and decided to sell all my gears -- only to have fact check that i don't have any valuable gears...
you Tom is my music hero and will make phenomenal musics no matter what gears you own.. salute to you..
Some really nice gear kit in there, although I was sad to see the lovely brown Chesterfield sofa was not included. But, if you should change your mind, I know a great home for it.
I think you speak for quite a few of us who have been collecting for years and now just look at our gear and wonder if it's going to get used this year.
Brave decision Sir.
I still can't part with my Gary Numan Polymoog 280a, don't think I have not tried!
i dont have as much gear (only 20 synths) but i can relate ..at my age i need to stop the collecting all the gear and cables. I need to release these synths to a new loving home ...eventually
Good luck with your new smaller studio Tom ,, an Hope the movie business recovers from this corona situation
Awesome video thank you for this. I have a lot of gear myself and I feel the same way at times. I also started to thin the herd it’s hard but I get to appreciate the gear I keep. Stay safe Godspeed
This is a service to the world. I wish other hoarders would follow your example. Thank you.
I fully understand this decision. I did the same thing last month, although my gear collection was quite a bit smaller than yours. I definitely feel that having less gear forces me to be more creative with what I have. Having too many options was very taxing on my writing process.
I am very exited to see what you kept.
that's a wonderful approach, mate, I'm a music producer my self and I had the same issue with some of my guitars and recording equipment so I sold some guitars I didn't use that much and got mountain bikes so i could stay in shape since our work is mostly in front of the screens or the mixing board sitting. I'll be checking reverb for ur listings
I'm overwhelmed with my EPM12 and less than a dozen synths plus a few guitars and pedals. Cannot fathom getting one's head around your setup. Very keen to see what you are getting rid of.
I think your decision is both wise and good! You will feel better, and the gear will inspire many, many musicians worldwide! Cheers man, looking forward for more studio time :)
Everything in the box is just way easier and applications such as Massive X and Zebra is just makes things easier, plus you don’t need to carry all that gear on the road and the future of media composers are on the road where you can prove a piece of music right there. Those are the composers that will get the jobs for big motion pictures cause in the end of the day producers want real live musicians playing orchestral sounds. Percussions and sound design can be done inside the box. Cheers!!
I hope you make a video where you explain what gear you kept and why. That would be very interesting.
You just made me cry on the inside sir. You spoke with such care of a father giving out his daughter in marriage, however this one means that you will never get to see these awesome gears again. Thanks again sir. I live in Nigeria, so I don't think it will cheaper for me to request a buy. I hope, like you said, those gears find new good homes
Thank You So Much!
also signed up to your reverb notifications as i have just gone modular recently.
Sad to see you part with the stuff that took so long to collect.
Glad to see that you allow others to share a piece of history to use.
Too bad I am just seeing this right now, too bad there is no Moog gear (left ?). I am an electronics engineer and a big Moog fanboy so my motto is "Moog or mine": All synth gear is either build be me or by Moog. But it's tempting to buy one of your old VCO modules
Fingers crossed I nab that JP8080... I’ve seen plenty for sale that needed more work than was worth it.
AS a guitarist with guitaritis I understand the feeling of guilt. I got some great guitars I maybe played once... It's like with clothes, 80 percent of the time you wear 20 percent of your wardrobe. But when I see an instrument I like, and I fall in love I GOT to have it, even though I do not NEED it. I own a Gretsch I bought 13 years ago, such a beautiful instrument, but I just played it a few times. When I see that guitar in my studio every day I feel guilty. But they are all like my kids, I just cant part with them... So, I swallow the guilt, and take the loss... Greetings from the homeland, Tom!
Well... just know if you ever feel/felt guilty for not using all the awesome gear you own, don't forget how valuable the fact is that you have touched/inspired many people with your knowledge and love for these machines trough this youtube channel. That might be one of the most powerful things you could have done. Must be hard to give it all away an d I respect that decision, nonetheless thanks for sharing it and I hope you can still share some wonderful little facts about the gear you use every now and then. But I'm sure that we shouldn't worry about that too much.
Anyways.... grrrroetjes!
Good video, I do that all the time. Just sold a guitar which I still loved, but was not using it at all. And after it went it felt very good, because that cool guitar would not just standing in the corner waiting to be treated with a feather duster but used by an excited guy who could not effort a new guitar. Made me happy actually.
Thank you very much for the explanation.
I would have experimented with putting your gear in storage first before pulling the trigger on selling off. But I am not a professional who relies on an uninhibited creative headspace in order to propogate succesfully through a career. Streamlining to improve focus, imposing limitations to force creativity. It's probably a good move.
I'm going into this route (of collecting) soon, i feel ) For the balancing I've decided to buy some raspberry pi stuff to make my "own" (not totally) boxes with knobs, screens, encoders, buttons and etc. The idea is simple - to make a cheap and a great sounding fx box (for my summer house music sketching mostly). Yeah, i could buy a ready-to-go solution... But such things usually has some big compromise parts like: very limited memory, just few effects in one box, the controllers that you can't connect to them (like ribbon pots which will be my next level there). Also, as an engineer i plan to create some custom synths and controllers by myself. I want some totally weird but usable things. With a help of 3d printing some of them will be not hard to produce.
One thing is bothering me is the procrastination! Sometimes i feel that many things that I want to make and starting to produce are just the loops of a big big life procrastination ))
well, i guess im bit late to catch the DX1 from you ? hehe
awesome insight here, i absolutely agree with what your saying.. i already feel similar and have only a quarter of what you have!
thank you for sharing. You so cool !
It must be very difficult to get rid of such amazing synths after taking care for years, but you definitely are right. The focus must be in the music with all gear behind, and not in front. Many times it's so easy to get lost with all gear without making music, but music must be always the first!
Hey Tom, love your channel, couldn't help but notice, however, that one classic item seems to be missing from your studio/collection: A mellotron. ;-)
Dude, great move, comes directly from a great heart. Love your work, but you impress me even more whenever you show us a part of your personality. Wish you best of luck and hope you're going to achieve what you're looking for, but the way you sound leaves no doubt about that.
Thanks Tom. 😎👍🇨🇦
Was confronting, but do understand your flow -> Less Is More & Ockham Razor Principal (most simple solution to go for)
Tom, wat een bijzondere stap, maar snap goed wat je bedoeld. Ik hoop dat de diverse apparaten en instrumenten de nieuw plek krijgen bij de creatieveling die er iets moois mee kan doen. Met warme groet, een fan uit de Lowlands.