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What do you do with all the synths you don't use that much?

H

holonology

Active Member
Let's be fair, we all know that hard drive has a bunch of stuff lurking on it from over the years.

But something struck me the other day as I was thinking about the trial and error aspect of making music. As the saying goes, "you don't know what you don't know" and so there's some costly experiementation at arriving at a setup that works for you, especially in the early days. Often like other pursuits, that cost comes up front. Later on, when you know what you like and what you don't, you can see the wood from the trees and you start to identify ways of working, synths, libraries and effects that are the go-tos, and the ones that didn't quite make it. Let's be honest even with the benefit of walkthroughs, demos and everything, sometimes it's only over the long haul that it becomes obvious what was worth the investment.

What I wondered, especially for those of you in the game for ages is - what do you do with the ones that started out as love at first synth, but then you moved on? You've locked down those main synths, but what to do with the few that are hanging around, that are still good but just not your absolute favourites? I feel the answer has a lot to do with how your brain is wired with this stuff.
  • Be brutally minimal and say; if they don't play a role you'll sell them on.
  • Keep them, but hide them on your system.
  • Keep them, but have a setup that focuses you in on a handful of plugins per project.
  • Keep the license but delete the plugins.
  • Keep them, and use them as a rotating cast of inspiration super-subs to throw into the mix when you need to switch it up.
  • Keep them, the more the merries, and flit from synth to synth because you enjoy the madness of indulging in your collection.
Obviously software is (as Steve Duda once said) unfortunatley, like vaporware. It's not always going to last. And it's not like it goes off with time either, it's really just a case of whether it keeps working (or not!)

So folks, what do/did you do when you hit your stride with the setup that works for you?

Interested to hear your take.
Click to read more...
 
I have switched to Linux, and thus, don't use all my Spectrasonics plugin. But the license transfer is too expansive to be interesting to sell them.
I'm now minimalist, and I consider myself covered with simply Zebra hz (waiting for Zebra 3). I don't use any other synth, and don't reinstall my other synths when I change my setup.
 
I sell them if I can but that has to net maybe 25$ to be worth it because there is a bit of an overhead in time selling them

(I completely agree that is takes time to settle into a working system - and that changes over the years as well as when one's compositonal interests change)
 
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yydr_cc said:
I sell them if I can but that has to net maybe 25$ to be worth it because there is a bit of an overhead in time selling them
Click to expand...
Yeah good point.

I think the other thing I've noted is that it's sometimes not worth the hassle of a sale. I have sold some software I just didn't get on with. But after a few near misses on various trading sites, and slightly too much lowballing for my liking, I did start to think that hiding plugins and just focussing on others is less mental overhead than trying to make back a basic sum of money for what I've invested.

I do get the "uncluttered mind" argument, that putting things away can be a nice option. I could probably sell 1/4 of what I have and be unaffected and get some money back. But then, there is a case that your tastes might change, or you might change your mind and if that happens (always possible over a decade or so) you'll have a ready made alternative right there.
 
Really depends on your situation. Me, right now I'm selling off what I don't use as much (like Falcon, which I know many people love and adore and use all the time, but for me just wasn't as necessary as other synths).
 
holonology said:
Yeah good point.

I think the other thing I've noted is that it's sometimes not worth the hassle of a sale. I have sold some software I just didn't get on with. But after a few near misses on various trading sites, and slightly too much lowballing for my liking, I did start to think that hiding plugins and just focussing on others is less mental overhead than trying to make back a basic sum of money for what I've invested.

I do get the "uncluttered mind" argument, that putting things away can be a nice option. I could probably sell 1/4 of what I have and be unaffected and get some money back. But then, there is a case that your tastes might change, or you might change your mind and if that happens (always possible over a decade or so) you'll have a ready made alternative right there.
Click to expand...
The strangely named Knobcloud is working best for sales for me
 
yydr_cc said:
The strangely named Knobcloud is working best for sales for me
Click to expand...
I buy stuff from there, but I've yet to sell anything. They want license transfers, not activation codes, but it seems some people manage to sell just the codes. I'd like to do that as well..I have quite a few redundant serials via bundles, etc.
 
YaniDee said:
I buy stuff from there, but I've yet to sell anything. They want license transfers, not activation codes, but it seems some people manage to sell just the codes. I'd like to do that as well..I have quite a few redundant serials via bundles, etc.
Click to expand...
I have seen codes/serials sell on kvr but I am finding I get a few too many time wasters on KVR so might not advertise there any more
 
I have sold on here as well - my tracktion account just sold to ranny, who was a very good person to deal with
 
YaniDee said:
I buy stuff from there, but I've yet to sell anything.
Click to expand...
It’s there that I’ve seen then most lowballing. There are ways around it, but it can be a bit annoying, especially when your stuff is priced reasonably. Otherwise many decent transactions there.
 
Not brutally minimal but rather minimal setup and feeling very happy and creative with it..

The only plugins I have installed are ZebraHZ, Kontakt7 and some Valhalla fx. Using stock fx and Simpler + Granulator in Ableton Live with its vast routing and layering possibilities (rack devices).

Installers and licenses of my other software are stored on an external drive.
 
MisteR said:
I’m not answering that until you promise me I won’t get stuck in a loop.
Click to expand...
Haha. I do get that. The idea of an idealised setup is as much of a distraction as GAS and its easy to get stuck with buying and selling to arrive at that point. In that case actually hide/delete makes more sense.
 
The point is if I get GAS, I can easily compensate it. Installing a synth that I haven't used for a year or so it almost feels like having a new synth.
 
robismz said:
I have switched to Linux, and thus, don't use all my Spectrasonics plugin. But the license transfer is too expansive to be interesting to sell them.
I'm now minimalist, and I consider myself covered with simply Zebra hz (waiting for Zebra 3). I don't use any other synth, and don't reinstall my other synths when I change my setup.
Click to expand...
How is Linux working out for you? I've often considered doing the switch but usually too chicken to make a big switch like that. Perhaps I'll set up a secondary system on a laptop or something and try it out.

Are you using Reaper as a DAW?

holonology said:
Let's be fair, we all know that hard drive has a bunch of stuff lurking on it from over the years.

But something struck me the other day as I was thinking about the trial and error aspect of making music. As the saying goes, "you don't know what you don't know" and so there's some costly experiementation at arriving at a setup that works for you, especially in the early days. Often like other pursuits, that cost comes up front. Later on, when you know what you like and what you don't, you can see the wood from the trees and you start to identify ways of working, synths, libraries and effects that are the go-tos, and the ones that didn't quite make it. Let's be honest even with the benefit of walkthroughs, demos and everything, sometimes it's only over the long haul that it becomes obvious what was worth the investment.

What I wondered, especially for those of you in the game for ages is - what do you do with the ones that started out as love at first synth, but then you moved on? You've locked down those main synths, but what to do with the few that are hanging around, that are still good but just not your absolute favourites? I feel the answer has a lot to do with how your brain is wired with this stuff.
  • Be brutally minimal and say; if they don't play a role you'll sell them on.
  • Keep them, but hide them on your system.
  • Keep them, but have a setup that focuses you in on a handful of plugins per project.
  • Keep the license but delete the plugins.
  • Keep them, and use them as a rotating cast of inspiration super-subs to throw into the mix when you need to switch it up.
  • Keep them, the more the merries, and flit from synth to synth because you enjoy the madness of indulging in your collection.
Obviously software is (as Steve Duda once said) unfortunatley, like vaporware. It's not always going to last. And it's not like it goes off with time either, it's really just a case of whether it keeps working (or not!)

So folks, what do/did you do when you hit your stride with the setup that works for you?

Interested to hear your take.
Click to expand...
I generally keep everything in my template and deactivate what I'm not using at that moment. That way it's ready to go when I need it. One never knows when a particular synth might come in handy. I was doing a small little commercial and what they wanted I could only get with Super 8 (fun, light almost 80's sounding). I'm glad I had it because every other synth I tend to use is heavy, dramatic, analog beast mode by default.
 
I don't have a huge software toolkit like many people here, but I've accumulated quite a lot over the years. I have many favorites that I keep returning to repeatedly, while honestly regret buying a bunch of stuff. Some of those I purchased as a stopgap solution or based on (wrong) first impression. Some I initially liked, but they turned out to be something I'm not keen on working with. This mainly applies to libraries, but also to a few virtual synths I have around.

These days, I know better. I'm extremely judicious with any new software purchase, especially as there is so much quality freeware. On the other hand, I tend to suffer from freeware GAS from time to time, if there is such a thing.

I'm one of those who like to have not too many options to choose from while still having a certain variety. So I try to keep my setup as simple as possible. I archive or delete everything I don't see myself using regularly. Unfortunately, most of the software I own is not transferable.
 
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holonology said:
Brutal. I like it. This could even be a little reminder for gassing too much!
Click to expand...
I delete them from the computer and keep the license. A couple months later install them again. If they still collect dust for a couple more months it’s time to delete them again and forget about them - though I sell any in this situation, if possible.

I have 10-15 software synths installed. That’s still more than I need or regularly use. But many more have gone away, one way or another. I have five or so in a folder in the DAW and the rest in a subfolder out of the way.
 
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