3 Reasons Why Your Synth Setup Doesn't Work

Listening to your videos while I am crocheting a blanket for my daughter lol. So I have a long history with music. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I had a friend whose family was stationed in the U.K. I remember my friend putting in a cassette of speak and spell from Depeche Mode in the early 80s I was completely blown away from it. I somehow stumbled upon Kraftwerk too. I lived in NA at the time when country was huge. I fell in love with old Analogue sounds. My father had his masters in music education and I was always raised around music. I am now an adult closing in on my 50s. I am creating a home studio consisting of a minilogue xd, keystep, poly d, voca beats and an arp 2600. I am looking to use my home studio as a creative outlet. I have no idea if I will make music worth consuming but I have a larger family and I need a creative out.

The idea that the world doesn't need my music output, but maybe I need my music. That really touched me. Well done Bo!

Its just not fun vs beer n weed 😢 i find myself having gas from sales videos

I'm pretty sure that most of us synthgeeks buy so much stuff because of the example that has been set by the greats for decades: klaus schulze, jarre, underworld, orbital, prodigy, 808state etc.
All these artists have warehouses full of stuff..

15 minutes a week of trully jumping, smiling, and dreaming, for me is awesome, korg xd, yamaha an1x, thinking on tr8s, 404 mk ii... :) JUST ENJOY!!!

this message is so much bigger than what it simply sounds like at as surface wow!

My G.A.S. has met itsmatch after four solid years of spending every penny begged or borrowed on my dream setup.

Now it is a batch of unboxed devices waiting for the next....

Oh Crap! I can't afford the five thousand cables it take to hook it up.

no, I need a matrix mixer that nobody has builty yet.

oh crap

now i save for a batch of cables and parts and ediucation to design and build that

real soon now ;-)

One of the most helpful videos I've come across: straight to the point, assertive, no beating around the bush, and really thought-provoking. The world of synthesizers and electronic music is fascinating, but it's common to feel, after delving into so much information, watching numerous videos, and investing in equipment, that one can do more than they actually can. It truly resonated with me...

Huh, i got the feeling he is talking about me, anyway i definitly will buy the Microkorg II 😂😂😂

aroujnd the 6 minutes era you talk about the whole "i invested money in gear and im not making anything out of it" thing people tend to feel

i see a lot of that sentiment, and it always confused me.

many families buy a piano, and never make a scent or create new music on it
most guitar owners dont perform or record
i know someone who bought a metal tongue drum and an expensive pantam, just to chill with them.

there is nothing wrong in investing money in a hobey just because you want to sometimes have fun with it, capitalistic culture got us believing that if you dont spend every minute of your day, and every cent you make toward making money, there is something wrong with us.
to anyone who is feeling this sentiment, i hope you read this and realize that your setup is first and foremost, for you.
your neighbor who bought a 72 inch tv isnt more responsible than you just because they spent their extra money on something mainstream!

if you dont make music professionally, than enjoy your hobby <3

Complex setups can be great for live jamming and improvisation. I have real difficulty imagining productivity without going on a whim first and using intuition to slap together a live track. Then you can listen to it, zero in on the parts you like, and only leave "on" the gear you used to record these parts. Now just keep working on using that gear to develop these parts more. Complicated setups begin paying off when you do such live jams often. Although you certainly can do it for pure enjoyment, - it also helps you memorize how the parts of the whole interact with one another and to develop fast reflexes which you will no doubt find helpful with your future live performances and gigs.

Very good take on the issue, thanks for sharing

You nailed it Bo, this resonates so much for me and I imagine thousands of music hobbyists. Thank you.

Rewatched this, so good. Being new to the synth and electronic music world, one thing I underestimated was how much learning I had to do. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Beyond the synths and gear that we want to focus on, there were mixers, and audio interfaces, midi controllers, all kinds of cables to manage, decisions about hardware vs. software, etc. etc. When you watch videos on gear it’s easy to overlook the work that went into the setup supporting the demo as well as the expertise of the presenter that may make things look easier than they end up being for you. I remember the frustration getting my first synth, a Moog Mavis, trying to hook up a keyboard before finally realizing that the oscillator needed to be calibrated. This is not even to mention that it takes time and experimentation, trial error, to figure what gear you really vibe with. I’ve learned for myself that I’m less interested in gear specs and more interested in character, sound, and interface. There’s gear that many folks love and swear by, and even that I can appreciate as a listener, but that just leaves me cold as a player. It’s a process, and although there are ups and downs, I try not to let frustrations and limitations prevent me from enjoying what I have.

Omg !
You totally hit the nail on the head and the opening comments of this video. Once again thanks Bo. Awesome video I watched the whole thing straight through and it made so much sense and it also makes you sad but yet happy because you’re absolutely right and it also makes you think.

My journey has led to lots of gear and finding what works for me in terms of workflow, sound, ergonomics and fun. I love my Virus TI2 and Elektron Rytm combo, my modulars into an audio interface sequenced with various modular sequencers. Still not there all the way but getting close and no new gear this year!

The fact that it feels like you're speaking about MY LIFE goes to show how common the artist struggle really is. Thanks for this!

I can totally relate having purchased the Korg Minilogue XD when it was released, but now it's gathering dust.
Now I am kinda disappointed that the effects don't carry over between timbre changes.
And I wonder if I miss an essential complementary device to make it work for me, but I am afraid of GAS.
Can I make music only with the Korg Minilogue XD?

This really helped me, I thought it was just me, loving synths but not using them. Thanks so much 👍

Needs more cowbell

Wise advice thanks.

You had me at blinking lights and beeps and bloops.

You said exactly what I needed to hear because I wouldnt say it to myself. Im too hard on myself sometimes. thanks for this.

Low key feel targeted

❤ Bo, I like the way you look at things. Always a good time…

I jam stuff out on my synths, stumble across cool sounds and grooves. Sometimes I get a natural high and endorphins from doing so. I don't have a recoding setup yet but I don't mind. The creative and explorative aspect gives me a buzz.❤

I am so isolated from other creatives. I wish i had local people to make music with. Or anyone, really.

what helped me massively was learning guitar. that invigorated my love for music again, taught me so much about music and it's very life compatible. just need to grab that thing and go for a few minutes.
eventually other gear came back but I'm content with a sampler and a synth now whereas back in the day I would just zone out on all the possibilities of three or four connected machines. (which is fun too)

Skills can also be surpressed if you are constantly facing gear issues. I sometimes compare that to someone with zero interest in IT or computers but are insanely talented with other things. For me (who actually work with IT) I try to avoid overcomplicating things, but that said - it's been a LONG journey of doing just that - overcomplicating things. I've wanted as much polyphony as possible, as many sounds as possible and an easy way to adjust/record/playback all of that, and it's only when something I Initially wanted came to me - A poor-man's Fairlight, aka the Akai MPC Key 61, which is sort of an all-in-one dawless but-still-daw-in-a-box vst-combo that can do it all, like a one-man show. What I loved about it was the old fashion recording technique, since I'm old...and old fashioned, I liked that, just select a sound, press record, next track, select another sound, and go... realtime. Makes me make music in minutes instead of fiddling for hours with a setup.

The part about making music having to abide to the rules of physical and mental energy being available for other parts of one's life (job, family etc.) has struck me hard.

After 4 years of not making any music, I wanted to get back to it. Unfortunately, a depression has hit me in the meantime. After I've collected myself a bit, I thought that getting back to music would be the right thing to do, being something to distract myself from the overall situation and the bad thoughts.

Well, no, I've had so little mental energy that I haven't even got any motivation to spend time on my beloved hobbies (not just music). Every remaining bit of energy goes into somehow managing my day job and everyday life, plus for masking (ND people will know what I mean), leaving nothing for other things, which sucks.

That's the life with burnout, I guess.

We always miss you Bo.

hardware is overhyped.

Just: ❤️

I've been more productive since I decided to use only one synth at a time.

I probably needed to hear this, pretty sure I need to simplify my setup and my goals.
Might have to take some time and make some hard choices.

Since I became a dad, (I still play in a band and make music) but regarding the time and energy I can put in my music projects I realize my expectations and the way I think about it are kind of set in the past when I didnt Have childrens and had a lot of time and energy in my hands. lots of wisdom in this video Thank you !

OK. Downsize? and then I see the videos by you and Loopop on the Komplete Kontrol MK3. Ha. Guess what ...

I know the view count on this video isn’t super high, but this video contains some of your most valuable insights. Thanks, Bo!

Spot on. For most of us this is a hobby and nobody makes us do this. If you are not having fun stop for a while until you feel like having fun again.

Excellent video, Bo. Lots of wisdom in there.

Bo! Thank you so much for sharing this❤ it came right on time as I feel exactly that inner conflict between the normal life (work, family etc.) and music. Recently it almost felt like pain being torn between these parts of my life. You have inspired me to overthink what is really important, where I want my music to go without having my family members to feel forgotten (does this make sense? I am no native speaker ;)
Keep your direction, I really like what you do!

First you need a trust fund why don’t you talk about that?

My hardware use got a true renaissance when I finally understood that all the gear needs to be accessible easily, and placed in the studio in such a way. I can highly recommend getting some proper stand for your gear, like Jasper's and place it near the corner you work the most, so you can easily access them, when the inspiration hits your way.
The second revelation was when I finally went into thinking "it's ok not to use some gear you own all the time" or "it's ok tat I have this specialized synth or effect I only use in 1/10th of my projects". Also dropping the hardware purism was such a productivity boost, i.e. it's ok to use what ever gets the job done and what ever inspires you to create. I'll probably nowadays go 50/50 hardware/software.
The 3rd revelation was to divide my gear into two categories: the gear I use to record into DAW and the gear I use to play live. This killed so much of the setting things up overhead and made it super convenient for me to use my gear.

I think one of the reason my setup doesn't work, erm nothing is powered on lol.
I have a few keyboards I may get rid of, there is plenty else that would replace and be more useful.

Very very true. When the things are not working and you start being frustrated, it is sometimes about take few steps back and think if what I do is the right thing with the proper setup. It is also about not being afraid to change your setup, sticking to the gear you purchased and you have to do something with that. Recently I sold most of my gear, keeping two instruments which quite works well with DAW/computer, which makes my work process a lot easier and saves time. These two synths along with other two VST synths is more than enough. What I also found some time ago, that I prefer to use presets instead of doing own sounds, so I am not focusing on fancy synthesizers who can do everything but are overly complicated and with long learning time. For me it is better to load some presets and perhaps tweak them a little.

Again, if something is not working, do not be afraid to think about it and do some changes which may help you do music. Another thing is - as Bo mentioned - sometimes life is not giving you enough time or energy to do or finish music. It is all about not getting frustrated too early and be patient - if you keep trying and do anything with your instruments, time will come and you will be able to release something finished and new. In the past, there was very different time gaps between anything new was released. Sometimes it was a week, a month, year and even few years.

What I know now is to keep doing music, experiment, look and search for inspiration, learn something new, try new sounds, instruments or effects... and not to be angry if this doesn't work. Be patient and keep doing things.

Wishing you all good time with your music, instruments, gears, machines and computers.

Because people use cheap plastic sounding hardware. It's astonishingly better to have 1 synth worth 2000$ than 20 pseudo synths worth 100$ each.

The unrealistic expectations are definitely what I see when I hear that people sell a new piece of gear after a month because it didn't "click" with them. Give yourself some time to actually learn the gear and don't expect to be great with it right away! Anything that has a reasonable depth to keep you entertained for longer than a month is also hard enough to learn that it will take you a bit longer to understand it. In my case it usually takes me months to get warm with new gear and I usually only start finishing music with it a long time after I bought it. With my Launchpad Pro I first thought that maybe I had made a mistake and bought the wrong thing, because it didn't quite gel with me. Then a year later I took the time to actually learn it and I use it on virtually all my tracks now. I've had my Microfreak for a year now, still haven't finished a single track with it. That's ok. Making music is very personal after all. You can't just let any stranger into that mind space 😂

Hello Bo, hope you are doing well my friend.

Cool video.