u/nycuk_

I’m a lifelong musician, I’ve been in gigging and recording bands since my teens. I’ve always done my own stuff and in 2015 I left my band to concentrate solely on my solo career. Around a year ago I started noticing that my enthusiasm was starting to diminish, just slightly at first. Lots of reasons why, but mainly it’s the lack of traction that has worn me down.

Over the years I’ve built up a bit of a following, played some great gigs and festivals. I feel like I have the respect of my peers. I’ve released an album, two EPs and a bunch of standalone singles. I’ve been in magazines and played a couple of radio sessions. This is all good stuff but it seemed to peak around 2022-23. Since then it’s just been more of the same without any growth, despite my best efforts.

I started to feel frustrated, by the hours and miles driving to a small gig somewhere halfway across the country, by the audiences that despite having paid an entrance fee insist on talking to their friends and doomscrolling throughout my set, by putting my heart and soul into songs that not even my family really care about, by enduring the tedious open mic nights because the guy who runs it also curates a festival I want to play at, and a hundred other reasons.

But I did it, year after year, because I loved it. I loved the thrill of being on a stage, of playing a new song that I’d but my heart and soul into for the first time, because it was an important creative outlet and it was mine. My thing. Mine.

But slowly the frustration creeps in and you begin to ask yourself where this is all going. What’s the point? Why am I doing this, with a sizeable financial and emotional impact when my progress has stalled? I played three shows on consecutive weekends at the end of last year which left me feeling low. It was a bit of a blow, and at the start of this year I went away travelling for three months. I thought I’d come home raring to go, but I didn’t miss playing whilst I was away. I came home to no planned gigs in my diary (my choice) and I felt totally ok with that.

I got asked to play at a small local festival last weekend. I played, it went well, but I felt nothing. Couldn’t wait to finish my set and go home. So everything I’ve felt over the last year has led to this. I think I’m done.

If you’d have told me a couple of years ago that I’d quit music I’d have been devastated. Today, I’m totally cool with it. I’ve made peace.

I might continue to write and record as and when, although I no longer feel that compulsion to write all the time. Will I play live again. Never say never, but I cannot imagine doing so.

This is a long post and I’m venting to some extent. It’s inconsequential to anyone else but it’s a big deal for me

Sixteen albums. Where on earth do I start?

I’m getting back into film photography (mainly black and white, developing my own film) for the first time since around 2012-2013.
I’m shocked at how expensive film and chemicals are, since I last was involved. Yes I understand inflation etc but in relative terms the cost seems very high.
So, please recommend anywhere supplying film and chemicals at a reasonable price. I’m in the U.K.
Thanks.

I’m getting back into film photography (mainly black and white, developing my own film) for the first time since around 2012-2013.
I’m shocked at how expensive film and chemicals are, since I last was involved. Yes I understand inflation etc but in relative terms the cost seems very high.
So, please recommend anywhere supplying film and chemicals at a reasonable price. I’m in the U.K.
Thanks.

I’m starting out in the world of making techno music. I have Logic on my Mac, I have a MIDI controller keyboard, interface etc.
I want a synth, with knobs. My budget is $100. I see lots of low cost options from Behringer etc.
Say you’re starting out and you’ve got 100 bucks to spend, what are you buying?

UK guitarist here, trying to sell a great condition used Gibson acoustic on eBay. No one’s buying. I’ve lowered the price to something that I think is very reasonable, much lower than on the same item on Reverb. I can’t understand why there appears to be no interest. Is anyone else having trouble selling? Has the market slowed significantly?

I’m so happy to have a decent sounding and nicely packaged official release of this masterpiece. I won’t elaborate on how much this album means to me because I’ve done that elsewhere.
Obviously, this release has been cleaned up sonically from the bootleg that we all know and love, but what’s left is a really vibrant sound which I like a lot.
I’m interested to try and find more out about the recording process of The Suicide Handbook. A quick Google search tells me that it was recorded largely at Javeline Studios in Nashville (which now belongs to Dave Cobb, formerly RCA Studio A). I knew that Bucky Baxter is there too, I can’t find any confirmation that Ethan John was involved but I assume he must’ve been, in some capacity. Can anyone confirm?
Sonically it’s very present - it sounds like the guitar and vocal tracks were one take, both mic’d separately. It sounds very rich, almost at the point of distortion, so presumably recorded to tape with levels pushed.
Does anyone know more? Factual knowledge preferred, as opposed to assumptions, please.

I’ve made music all my life. I spent my teens and twenties in a succession of bands, got signed, got dropped, came close to making it a few times. Then spent a couple of decades doing the covers band thing, had a blast, made money, but still did the occasional solo / originals gig to keep my hand in. In 2014 I decided to quit the covers band to concentrate 100% on my solo original material. Played live lots, wrote lots, got an agent and toured, quit my agent to handle bookings myself and found a nice level where I could do 3-4 gigs a month and throughly enjoy it whilst having time for life. All good.

Then around a year ago I started to sense that I wasn’t feeling quite the same way about making music. Gigs started to feel like a bit of a hassle. My songwriting dried up, having been quite prolific for years. Towards the end of last year I played two gigs on consecutive weekends that i didn’t enjoy. I played well at both, but got nothing back - audience not engaged, talking loudly, on their phones etc. People who have paid money and made an effort to be there, but the music they were there for seemed like an inconvenience to them. Both nights (different venues in different towns) featured 3-4 acts including me. All the acts I spoke had the same experience. I felt a bit wounded by this and I decided to take a break for a couple of weeks, which turned into six month.

But I didn’t miss it. I thought I would miss it terribly, but I didn’t miss playing music. I was surprised, even saddened. How could I live without this thing that I’ve done all my life and had brought me such joy, that I thought I couldn’t live without?

I didn’t book any gigs, so for the first time in my adult life I had no bookings. And I was fine with that. Actually, there was one booking - a gig next week opening for a touring American artist. It’s been in the diary for over a year, and I will absolutely honour it, even if I’m feeling indifferent about it. As it’s been so long without playing I decided to play at a local open mic tonight, as a warm up, to see how I felt about it. Yeah, I enjoyed playing tonight, but I didn’t feel like the love had been rekindled. So I’m facing the fact that, sad to say, I think the feeling has gone. Even sadder, I’m not that bothered. This confuses me, something in my attitude has changed radically and I don’t know why.

I’ve made music all my life. I spent my teens and twenties in a succession of bands, got signed, got dropped, came close to making it a few times. Then spent a couple of decades doing the covers band thing, had a blast, made money, but still did the occasional solo / originals gig to keep my hand in. In 2014 I decided to quit the covers band to concentrate 100% on my solo original material. Played live lots, wrote lots, got an agent and toured, quit my agent to handle bookings myself and found a nice level where I could do 3-4 gigs a month and throughly enjoy it whilst having time for life. All good.

Then around a year ago I started to sense that I wasn’t feeling quite the same way about making music. Gigs started to feel like a bit of a hassle. My songwriting dried up, having been quite prolific for years. Towards the end of last year I played two gigs on consecutive weekends that i didn’t enjoy. I played well at both, but got nothing back - audience not engaged, talking loudly, on their phones etc. People who have paid money and made an effort to be there, but the music they were there for seemed like an inconvenience to them. Both nights (different venues in different towns) featured 3-4 acts including me. All the acts I spoke had the same experience. I felt a bit wounded by this and I decided to take a break for a couple of weeks, which turned into six month.

But I didn’t miss it. I thought I would miss it terribly, but I didn’t miss playing music. I was surprised, even saddened. How could I live without this thing that I’ve done all my life and had brought me such joy, that I thought I couldn’t live without?

I didn’t book any gigs, so for the first time in my adult life I had no bookings. And I was fine with that. Actually, there was one booking - a gig next week opening for a touring American artist. It’s been in the diary for over a year, and I will absolutely honour it, even if I’m feeling indifferent about it. As it’s been so long without playing I decided to play at a local open mic tonight, as a warm up, to see how I felt about it. Yeah, I enjoyed playing tonight, but I didn’t feel like the love had been rekindled. So I’m facing the fact that, sad to say, I think the feeling has gone. Even sadder, I’m not that bothered. This confuses me, something in my attitude has changed radically and I don’t know why.

Hi, i’m looking for some help with integrating hardware synths into a Logic set up.
A bit of background, I produced music using synthesisers extensively during the 80s. My setup was as follows: a Yamaha drum machine into an Ensoniq ESQ1 workstation, with the eight track internal sequencer running a couple of external senses that were daisychained by MIDI to use their sounds, in addition to sounds from the ESQ1.
I really enjoyed this set up, it enabled me to be very creative and to work quickly.
Fast forward to today and I’m getting back into making music after a very long break, 30+ years. I don’t have any of that old equipment anymore, but I do have Logic running on my Mac. I’m intrigued by some of these cloned lower-priced classic synths like those offered by Behringer etc. I’ve never really got on with soft sense for having some boxes with knobs and buttons on is very appealing.
So my question is, how can I use these hardware synths into Logic? Would, for instance, the Behringer Pro-One clone be able to play more than one sound at a time?
Please be kind. I’m coming at this from an 80s point of view with pretty much zero idea of how to do this in the current age, using the equipment that we have now. What do you suggest I get and how do you suggest I best put it to use? Thank you.