Lost in the options

Too much of a good thing?

Many electronic musicians and producers have gathered large collections of instruments, plug-ins and devices in order to be as flexible as possible. But in many cases this flexibility can slow down your creativity, as you are struggling to choose which option to use for the current task.

Jack of all trades – master of none

Any device you know really well, will often get the results quickly and reliably. You are operating the device intuitively, and won’t have to read manuals. Having only basic knowledge about many different devices and software, narrows your imagination and prevents you from digging deeper.

You can do a number of different things to avoid being overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

• Limiting your sound set
• Use rules to steer your selections
• Reference other recordings to stay on track and keep focus
• Clean your plug-ins folders for items that you don’t use.
• Invest in a really good and sufficiently deep instrument and learn it inside out.