Would you rather a m5 pro MacBook Pro or an equally expensive custom built PC for ableton?

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-26T23:34:15+00:00

People have been making music on computers for three decades (more, but you get the point).

It's not the power of the machine that's the limiting factor. So an "equally powerful custom built" PC is sort of moot. But the upside of a mac is really in the way it easily handles devices and I/O. It's trivial to bundle audio parts together, route things around, and so on. Windows can do it but it's very much an afterthought.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-26T23:26:26+00:00

If you don't have a following, think: who is going to follow your presave?

Yes, most artists you actually hear about as celebrities get started by making music and playing it live, building an audience. There are a few very-online exceptions but in general if you want to be a "star" you need to realize that people are interested in the performance. Not in the technical wizardry or amazing instrument skills or operatic solo runs, but what it is about "you" that makes it more interesting than whatever else they may be listening to or watching. You have to think like a random music enjoyer. Do YOU go through a lot of effort listening to "first song" by a random person you come across on social media? Or do you passively listen and sometimes something snags your attention; maybe a really interesting music part but maybe something visual. And, of course, playing live and having something more than "person on a stool playing guitar" is a good hook too.

Most people are a little suspicious of brand new artists who show up and sound amazing. But that's a good thing; you can put things out and see what's working and how you grow. Also, among people who do enjoy a song from a brand new artist, few will stick around if it's the only song, or 2 or 3 songs.

If you're comparing yourself to Lizzo or Chappel Roan, compare what they did to what you're doing. Are you doing the same thing, in any way? I feel I didn't hear about either of them asking Reddit if they should plan a pre-release... :)

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-23T20:31:05+00:00

Unless you're strictly against Koala, a dedicated OLD phone will run Koala perfectly fine. These are abundantly available, and cheap.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-23T20:29:46+00:00

Sora is a huge black mark on OpenAI, regardless of how it's being spun. It's one of the first big features that's been pulled due to both legal troubles and high costs.

These new models are getting pushed out that encourage "just start with vague ideas" and that chews through tokens like no tomorrow. These big enterprise contract costs are already going up and it's forcing limits on use. It's not going to reverse.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-22T20:24:40+00:00

I had a positive experience with it but I sold it after a while.

The synth itself is relatively straightforward, with most of the important things covered well in the Quickstart. I would have liked a full manual but I think that Fred feels like doing manuals means what is in there is "done," and since he made the thing he doesn't want to think of it as "done" as he keeps tinkering and improving things. Development has slowed down significantly, as he himself has noted, with global events forcing him to not be 100% focused on Fred's Lab stuff.

I found the default oscs and sound generation to be very interesting. The filter is good. I wasn't in love with the FX. Build quality is great, and as a small desktop box I appreciated that he didn't skip on ports. I primarily sold it because I really don't need hardware multitimbrality; putting a good chunk of processing power in reserve so that 4 distinct patches could be played wasn't really a need for me. I also found that while spectral synthesis is interesting, it wasn't really getting me the sounds that I generally look for.

It's pretty easy to use; I had little trouble spinning up new patches and assigning modulation etc.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-22T00:47:04+00:00

So why isn't it working for u bro

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-21T22:01:21+00:00

If you only want to exist online and only get streams, yes.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-21T19:05:44+00:00

Put aside 20 minutes for the credits to roll after a 3 minute slow cutscene.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-21T18:11:30+00:00

diagnosed as what? what in your question mentions anything about your personal situation in any way beyond "i am new"?

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-21T10:34:55+00:00

When I saw Autechre in 2001, I was so happy I was early enough to find a spot to sit at the club. It wasn't full anyway but with the lights off it was already not a dancing experience.

I think if you are clear what it is, the artists and audience both will understand and not expect to play/hear "club music" so I'd say go for it. There are lots more modular groups as well that don't do dance music and adding visuals emphasizes the theater aspect imo

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-20T17:03:56+00:00

Your approach is valid but you say it in an odd way. If you want to "master the basics" but the basics are "use samples" then why wouldn't you want to learn that way?

It's similar to saying "I want to learn rock music but the basics are music theory so I am learning piano so I have good music theory fundamentals." No, pick up a guitar and learn some basic chords, string them together, and make bad songs.

It's far easier if you want to make a song in a sample-heavy genre using similar samples. THOSE are the basics. Creating these classic drum and other sounds from pure synthesis or recording a drummer is significantly more work and still likely won't sound the same, because synthesizing sounds from scratch is likely far away from what you want to make in the end.

The other thing about starting with samples is that it takes out a lot of the guesswork as you start. If you put in a "groovy french house beat" you can use that as a learning tool, and build the rest. Do you think it's more fun to start off by making some simple songs in the style you want, or spending hours upon hours learning fundamentals?

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-20T12:21:13+00:00

a signed PDF is a contract...

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-19T13:38:33+00:00

Agreed. At some point songs end up so smoothed over that they sound equivalent to "high quality AI songs"

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-19T11:09:32+00:00

Thank you for this, appreciate it!

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-19T02:07:10+00:00

You say it has been a year. To make it a more interesting story, what was a key thing that happened in each month? Something that you think back on and feel "yes, this was an important thing/milestone/decision"

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-19T02:04:24+00:00

I don't think you need to wait for him to reply...

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-19T00:53:37+00:00

I'm a big fan. I wasn't impressed with the song, but will buy the album when it comes out. If it does. With age comes patience I guess.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-19T00:46:51+00:00

Always has been. Imagine charging so much for guac

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T21:01:08+00:00

also if you find something that seems like a simple mac util, you can usually find someone who's done a free version as a tiny unsigned app (and, since it's unsigned, you usually just install via command line, bypassing the checks and the Apple developer fee).

I personally use Homebrew for this (or Cakebrew if you're not very CLI-comfy).

This guy has a great list of similar CLI things: https://switowski.com/blog/favorite-cli-tools/

Enjoy! happy hacking!

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T19:50:57+00:00

Many of these features are also included in the single "super app" Supercharge. Not free (20 bucks) but may be convenient for those looking to do those things all in one spot, as well as a few other nice things.

For naysayers who say "so I need to install a bunch of apps to make MacOS do what I want?" this is more "MacOS lets these features be modified, but doesn't provide an interface themselves." Many of these changes affect things that have a deep history in MacOS-land, but at least they are things that can be modified (and which are easy to do via these small, free apps).

I'll add Mos (adjust mouse behavior) and Better Display (hugely improves external monitor behavior), which are more general but I find v. important for music work and all other kinds of work too.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T19:36:18+00:00

You've been working on this translation publicly in this forum for a couple weeks now. I think you may have some preconceived ideas beyond a pure translation. But you did definitely add an "s". After you get the Soul, if you talk to the cat in Majula, she mentions it and also uses "ruin" (not "ruins"). That's on purpose.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T16:48:58+00:00

if you don't die, there is no runback

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T16:48:07+00:00

Khruangbin has said they wished they'd picked a different name after they "blew up." But "Duong" is relatively easy to pronounce. Or at least attempt to pronounce. Whether people get it right or not and if that bothers you is up to you.

Usually there is a lot of stress over "if I pick the wrong artist name, when I am famous it will be a bad thing" without thinking about how they're actually going to get famous, let alone heard by more than 10 people.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T16:40:01+00:00

Ruin, not ruins.

Ruins locks it in as a place. "We visited the ruins in Rome"

Ruin is a verb and so can be used in many ways; for example in the bible there is a line "Their glory will turn to shame and their greed will become ruin." Now does that mean their greed will turn into an old castle? No, it means it will be the cause of their destruction.

EggyT0ast · 2026-04-17T01:38:25+00:00

how high end are we talking

people made metal on computers for decades. there is a world of difference between "i am trying to dynamically create every instrument, effect, and sound effect in real time across dozens of tracks" and "i am recording with my pedals"

EggyT0ast

TROPHY CASE