It's not just about the music ..

Experimentation in music production is great. It produces new ideas and possibilities and takes us in directions we hadn't thought of before. If musicians can improvise to create happy accidents and discover new progressions and riffs, then so can we.

But how often do we remember to do this? Sometimes we try new ideas out when producing or mixing, but mostly we just reach for plug-ins and settings that have worked before. It isn't always the best time to experiment.

How often has someone told us that us recording enthusiasts should stop obsessing about our gear and start making music. Sure we love music, but we also get a thrill out of a superb reverb algorithm or a beautifully designed filter.

In fact, here at PSHB we can spend hours just fiddling around with a compressor, EQ device or time domain effect. No music gets recorded but it's just as enjoyable. One of our colleagues has never made a finished LP, but he still spends most days in his studio. He JUST LOVES SOUND!

We think it's good to experiment when we are NOT working on a production. Try opening up a favourite reverb plug-in, or patch in that old hardware unit, and experiment with settings and effects. We can easily while away several hours messing around with a Drawmer DS201 (there's loads going cheap 2nd hand!), a delay, and a simple synth plug-in.

Today we are messing around with a beloved Yamaha REV500 and an old Korg SD1000. Who knows, we might just discover an effect that inspires a whole new musical genre! Or we might just go to bed at the end of the day with nothing more than a smile on our face.

Thanks for watching and reading
FairFax