I’m a new user. In my experience, it takes three tries with a new tool, programming environment, whatever to get on track. Try number one is experimental with a low signal to noise. It’s a critical part of the learning experience. With GP, it’s a matter of loading presets and playing around. It’s also a matter of trying to do things that don’t make sense or are hard to solve. It’s the house of straw. Attempt number 2 is more realistic, but the foundation is flawed. We start to build cool stuff, but the underlying organization is lacking. It’s usable, but hard to build upon and inefficient. Often, this is related to not having good file and naming strategies. It’s the house of wood. Attempt number 3 makes things sustainable. The foundation is strong and we can build the details from there. We still screw up when learning new things, but no longer need to start from scratch. Welcome to the house of bricks.
I’m just now tasting the third step. My Global Rackspace is coming together nicely. The signal is starting to outweigh the noise. I can take most steps forward without having to search for secret handshakes. “She’s a brick… house!” I have yet to touch scripting, OSC, and other advanced topics, but the foundation is firming up.
My recent “aha” is that my next step needs to be song-focused. Others might seek that signature sound and work on “identity.” That’s a valid way of working. It’s not like Robin Trower needed a huge variety of sounds. He dug deep and found a small number of killer sounds. Listen to half a bar, and you know the album.
In my case, I’m looking to do covers in my own style. This requires creating sounds that channel the original and branching out from there. It’s not a pure copy-cat game, but it’s not just clean/crunch/lead either. I also plan to do guitar/keys/vocals along with backing midi/audio recordings. Nothing like a good challenge…
One pleasant surprise is that the included libraries are killer. I don’t need to waste my time and money demoing and buying libraries. I can build the structure with the included plugins and refine later. To put it in another way, I can focus on building songs, rigs, and variations and work on the performance without too much distraction. I can insert the perfect plugin later, if at all.
Thank you to the Gig Performer team for enabling this journey. It’s taken less than two weeks to know that this is the right path. As the foundation cures, I can’t wait to build and furnish the upper stories.