I was asked by one of the members here to post about my sound setup for making music. However, because my setup is pretty small, there wouldn't have been much to talk about, so I'm supplementing it with my processes for making music.Musically speaking, I've been playing bass for 5 years now. I've been in a few bands, and currently in one now. In terms of favourite music to make, electronic music is my first love, and I've been at it for ten years now, but everything I learned about music I've pretty well learned playing bass. And up until about maybe two-ish years ago, I had been completely digital (all softsynths), as well as having not learned anything about compression, or mastering.I use FL Studio 9, been using it since it was called Fruityloops 3.4. I don't like 10, I haven't upgraded.I love the built in stuff. I'm very adamant about learning to use what's there already, in terms of softsynths and effects. I don't use presets, that was something I learned very early on, and up until relatively recently, I was a die hard 3xOsc fan (before that, it was the TS404 - right around version 3.56 - then when I found out that there were no note slides in the piano roll… I moved on ). I still use it for a lot of things (when It comes to needing next to pure waveforms, or some sample processing, it's boss).This part is a little preamble to the next… I don't like to read on the box of digital synths "Features real time analog modeling." I almost feel like they're restricting it's use by saying that. I think that the functionality should be there if you want to put it in (ie: add a hair of noise, be sure to let your transients breathe, also don't forget harmonics. Analog circuitry loves harmonics. Different circuits give you different results)… which leads me into:My favourite softsynth! Thus far it's Sytrus. There is nothing I can't do with that. Reading the FL Studio help file about the DX10, and Sytrus was what taught me about the geniousness of FM synthesis (digital, not analog), as opposed to simply subtractive synthesis (which tends to be great when you're dealing with analog gear, because anything you would want to do with it harmonically is already built into the circuits, and it's warmer and rounder sounding). Digital, crisp and clear synthesis was the new thing in the 80s. The Yamaha DX7 is entirely responsible for all the electronic sounds of the 80s :P.Nowadays we're seeing this resurgence in analog gear, and lots of the weird psychedelic dance stuff that gets played these days (as well as IDM), the best stuff is still on analog gear, there are things that you simply can't do with digital gear. (musicians to check out: Juno Reactor, Autechre, Hallucinogen, and by extension Shpongle).As for my setup, my first piece of analog gear has been my Korg Monotribe, which has been hours of fun. I have an external M-Audio Fasttrack which has been my DI for quite a while. It's been awesome. I can use it to record anything, and I have recorded almost everything I've used with it.Only very recently, I've ordered my first decent set of monitoring headphones - Fostex's T20RP MKIIs. I've kinda been mastering on really shit headphones. A buddy of mine has said that the Fossys deliver the flattest band signals out of all the headphones he's tried, and that most headphones have a tendency to boost the mids or lows, which obviously colour the sound toward one end of the spectrum.So really, my gear collection, outside of my laptop is basically pretty negligible. On the horizon, I have a new bass amp, which'll serve as a preamp, as well as a MIDI kit for my monotribe.Stretch goals musically, I'd like to get my hands on a TX7 (Basically a keyboard-less DX7), ultimate dream synth would probably be a Korg MS-20.
