It's coming to the end of the tax year, if I'm going to buy anything, now's the time. But I'm completely out of gear-lust! I'm equipped to do what I can realistically do at home, and have been for several years. My biggest outlay on gear this year so far has beem a £30 headphone distribution amp (because I had to record 3 girls who sing harmony, prefer to record together, but need a LOT of individual pitch-tweaking.)

Where's the new piece of gear that really makes a difference? Over the years I've saved up for a Grundig TK18L tape recorder, an Akai 4000DS, an Atari ST, a 200Mhz Pentium 2 with Pinnacle sound card (rapidly followed by cheap, thoroughly over-powered computers and soundcards), the first affordable, quiet, recording mixer (a Mackie, I think), the first affordable quality microphones..... All these offered new possibilities, new techniques, noticable increases in quality. Then came stagnation. I stopped seeing new products that opened new doors - just the same stuff, but every year it was cheaper!

What's a girl to do? :-) Maybe a theremin. I quite fancy a theremin. "Anne Francis stars in, 'Forbidden Planet'..." (Ok, I KNOW it wasn't actually a theremin in FP.)

Go to ASDA - go to the toys section - then the music bit. The kids percussion there records very nicely and costs £2-3 per item. The little green shaker eggs are fantastic: I use them regularly. The half size toy tambourine has a nice pitch.

There you go: retail therapy on a credit crunch budget.

Reg

Yeah, those eggs are great! I must admit to buying a FEW new things recently - I replaced my Acme Nightingale (the bottom of the can had rusted off - the new one's all plastic so should last for ever) and my Acme Duck Call ('cos it was nicked). But I'll certainly investigate your suggestion!

You raise an interesting point. Though we all sometimes have to construct music completely "in the box" with electronic and sampled sounds, adding just one element "live" can make an enormous difference. Even if it's only an overdubbed shaker egg or tambourine.

I just ordered a theremin, by the way :-) Stand by for completely inappropriate additions to my next few recordings.

a piece of inspirational original artwork???

A cheapo old synth, old sampler, crappy piece of gear that you hated donkeys years ago but just buy it for the nostalgia ahaha
Chose wisely lol

Just get some Guinness and be done with it.

I believe Max and I spent our combined tax benefits for this fiscal year on 2 bottles of Guinnae and I'm almost certain we shared a packet of Hula Hoops.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Traditionally in this position I've gone for an instrument rather than a bit of gear. It could be a bit of percussion, or another guitar or keyboard, or a new drum... anything that makes me want to try it out and make some music.

Boxes of electronics with flashing lights are overrated. But not as much as computers.

Try taking a DAW or an outboard compressor to a party and saying "anyone fancy a song?"

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Dynamite with a laser beam...

I agree that an instrument gives the most pleasure. I recently bought a Victorian piano (built c. 1860) for 80 quid in eBay, had it tuned for £55. It is still a semitone low, but has a gorgeous, dark, ghostly tone. In it's day it was a very good instrument, and I'm sure I'll enjoy playing it for years to come.



Other than that, well a theremin is great but a bit limited. I like the idea of an old analog synth. Or a kit? Are you handy with a soldering iron? You can build some clones of amazing classic gear, for not much money, if you have the patience. See

the prodigy pro forum.

I question whether a theremin is limited....stick it thru some wacky effects and watch that baby burn!!!! (not literally i hope you understand) Dave

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My head hurts!

A Korg Kaoss Pad is on my list of 'risky purchases when I'm flush'.

Past low-cost highlights from my list were:
Yamaha DJX (Mk1) - I've had lots of inspiration from this one.
Marshall belt-clip amp - mangles eveything from Hammonds to backing vocals for me. Love it.
Patchbay - done correctly, this is a very creative tool.
Alesis Midiverb 4 - for the price a good curry I've got a world of 'just try-it' effects.
Kid's audio toys - my favourite came from the 'Orange Shop' in Kissimmee - they had no idea what it was, how much to charge, or why they had it in the store, but they sold it to me and I've been eternally grateful! It samples (badly) and it messes with your head!
E-Bow - the only way I've been able to make a nice noise from a guitar.

HTH!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

If you gotta get something, +1 for new instrument. But even that may not be necessary. Sounds like you have plenty of stuff. Here are some thoughts:

Strike up a collaboration with someone new, whether or not you come from the same musical background or influences.

Listen to types of music that are new to you.

Revisit music long forgotten but exciting at the time. Use what you've learned over the years to give it a different slant.

Dig out something you wrote and liked, but didn't finish. See what you can bring to it now. What better therapy than to complete a favorite gem in a way that excites you?

Combine your existing instruments and tools in ways different from your usual practice. Use what you have to create or locate rhythms or sounds that inspire you to write.

Best of luck!

Quote turbodave:

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I question whether a theremin is limited....stick it thru some wacky effects and watch that baby burn!!!! (not literally i hope you understand) Dave

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You can see a theremin lterally burn here.

My theremin arrived this morning! First attempt: http://www.auym23.dsl.pipex.com/show/nellie_the_theremin.mp3

WAY to go :-)

Quote Rave On:

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Revisit music long forgotten but exciting at the time.

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Did that yesterday, pulled out a bunch of old dats and whacked them in, at random.

The upshot was - well, at least I've improved, since !

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http://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/ http://anotherfineday.co.uk http://apollomusic.co.uk

I wish I could play my theremin half way as close to in tune as that is. I've not really pregressed much beyond the sound effects stage, although I can do that quite well.

Don't go setting fire to it now.

Quote tomafd:

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Quote Rave On:

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Revisit music long forgotten but exciting at the time.

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Did that yesterday, pulled out a bunch of old dats and whacked them in, at random.

The upshot was - well, at least I've improved, since !

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Yes, I've been pulling out some 5 year old tracks recently and it's nice to have a template ready for some tweaking that I had completely forgotten about. Better ears and processing helps as well.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote Exalted Wombat:

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My theremin arrived this morning! First attempt: http://www.auym23.dsl.pipex.com/show/nellie_the_theremin.mp3

WAY to go :-)

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Quote Exalted Wombat:

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My theremin arrived this morning! First attempt: http://www.auym23.dsl.pipex.com/show/nellie_the_theremin.mp3

WAY to go :-)

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Nice!
(I think I found a new use for auto-tune!)

Paul

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Paul