Who else is enjoying thinning-out their music software?

nightjar
nightjar Member Posts: 1,322 Guru
edited October 22 in Social Club
A picture of several VST plugins on top of Ableton Live.

I have recently begun a rather extensive "thinning out" of my music software and it FEELS GREAT!

None of this purge is because of lack of storage space.. I have plenty of that

I had far too many choices of plugins, presets and ponderous possibilities.

Gone are DAWS I had installed out of curiosity...

Gone are redundant effects plugins that are pointless variations of the same thing...

Gone are ancient VI's from a different era of look/feel and limited capabilities...

Gone are "music construction apps" that are limited in scope and capabilities...

I am putting a huge premium on anything that is deeply embracing NKS2.

I care little for legacy when it comes to music making tools.

But this is just my approach..

Anyone else enjoying a purge?

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Comments

  • Jamie Hunter
    Jamie Hunter Member Posts: 33 Member

    I did this about a year ago, I deleted every plugin I had and then re-installed the ones that I actually use. My plugin folder now consists of Studio One stock plugins, Native Instruments, iZotope, Heavyocity and Melodyne. Gone are Waves, Softube and Plugin Alliance. My workflow is now much quicker and streamlined as I'm not thinking which compressor, EQ, reverb, am I going to use and spending time scrolling through folders. You definitely don't need 10 different EQs. The other thing I realised is that stock plugins can get you 90% of the way, the only thing I would add are plugins for Mastering and I've always used Ozone for that.

  • nightjar
    nightjar Member Posts: 1,322 Guru

    DAWs I removed: Pro Tools, Cubase, LUNA

    DAWs I kept: Logic, Studio One

    Gone: Everything Waves, UJAM, Plugin Alliance

    More to follow.....

  • Gee_Flat
    Gee_Flat Member Posts: 906 Guru

    I've always said; if you can't create a killer track using Kontakt Factory Library and maybe a stock plugin from a DAW, then you shouldn't be making music. Not that I don't love my Scarbee Pre Bass or AR drums.

    If I owned Komplete I think I would spend more time twiddling than creating.

  • Kaldosh
    Kaldosh Member Posts: 414 Advisor

    I keep everything because I use everything

  • nightjar
    nightjar Member Posts: 1,322 Guru
    edited September 2023

    From Komplete 14 CE.. here are just some of what I've purged:

    Absynth 5

    Battery 4

    FM8

    Machine 2 Essentials and every "Machine" Expansion...

    Massive

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,466 Expert
    edited September 2023

    Not a wrong approach the “if I don’t use it, better remove it”.

    But for me this is valid for things that require time investment to learn them.

    For things like “different sounds”, I still think that the more you have, the better it is. Two pianos, even if slightly different, can always give a different vibe to 2 different songs

  • JesterMgee
    JesterMgee Member Posts: 2,967 Expert

    Yep

    I threw out all my guitars and bass because I don't need tired old instruments that everyone uses. Also threw out my piano because that too is based on centuries old tech.

    I decided to then just ditch the whole computer and everything because it wasn't an ipad, so now I just ask chatGPT to make music for me and I don't need anything, beats any music I have heard released in the last 20 years. Way of the future for forward thinking individuals.

  • nightjar
    nightjar Member Posts: 1,322 Guru

    I just got my shipping notice from Sweetwater for my S61 MK3.

    Having the next generation keyboard in my hands and experiencing NKS2 directly will help me further refine the thinning out of my music/audio software.

    I love smooth workflow that keeps me in the zone... it has been my long-sought holy grail for years and years.

    Less can be more if it's well-designed and curated.

  • Laidbach Media
    Laidbach Media Member Posts: 33 Member

    I was thinning out my music collection making folders safe for 3 weeks.

    Failing to realise Rekordbox was averse to removing files permanently.

  • Kubrak
    Kubrak Member Posts: 3,067 Expert

    From time to time, I sell HW that I do not use much (at all) and do not intend to use it in future.

    So far, I sold only that SW that I had duplicities for....

  • DunedinDragon
    DunedinDragon Member Posts: 971 Guru

    I haven't "thinned out" my collection, but I have stopped getting new ones for the most part. I still have a fairly large collection of instruments and synths, but I came to the conclusion I have more than enough at this point to accomplish everything I need to accomplish

  • mykejb
    mykejb Moderator Posts: 1,747 mod

    I'm in the "think before buying more stuff" camp at the moment. I've got K14UCE along with all the softube/waves/eventide/arturia stuff plus with the usual suspects for DAW, although I really only use Steinberg these days. Along with probably everyone else I've got a bunch of random VSTi and FX that I bought on a whim and never really used so don't get installed on a rebuild. So far resisting "Special offers" and renewing subscriptions I didn't use is going well. So far ..... 😂

  • Milkman
    Milkman Member Posts: 277 Advisor
    edited October 2023

    Not really, no. Ive never done this, and would never be motivated to. Reason: I am a 30+ year network/sysadmin and manage everything very well, and Ive never felt overwhelmed with it all. The choices I have in my vast collection is one of my very favorite aspects of my collection, and supports my sometimes short attention span very well. I also know exactly what I am looking for now, and acquire products with purpose.


    Edit: did the OP.... just try to suggest "thinning out" anything that isnt NKS2?? That just hit me. LMAO!

  • BIF
    BIF Member Posts: 965 Guru

    My library will continue to grow at a breakneck pace, and when I die, I'll have it copied to a petabyte hard drive and have it buried with me!

    HAH!

    But seriously, yeah. I've kind of stopped using ancient plugins like X-Phrase and the original Virtual Guitarist by Steinberg. There are better things available now but I don't delete them because today's 8TB SSD drives just don't need me poking around deleting stuff. I also haven't used the East West titles since they went subscription only and started ignoring us loyal customers. I don't even know if PLAY will still work these days. But yeah, one of these days I'll see if I can get that stuff working again. If not, I probably won't cry much since they won't likely work with NKS anyhow. At that point, all that stuff will be junk and it will probably get uninstalled sometime in the next year or three.

    I hate subscriptions, and when I told them so, they deleted my forum posts. When a customer stops getting excited because you're silencing him, eventually he'll move on. One of these days, I'll go over there and see if they're still in business.

  • nightjar
    nightjar Member Posts: 1,322 Guru
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/102292#Comment_102292

    I sure did!

    It will be a handy filter as to what products and/or developers are likely to have a better forward lifespan.

    Always happy to amuse others.

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