I'd been accumulating modular gear over the course of the pandemic, but over the last month or so I sold the majority of my modular, including swapping my 6U 89HP case for a much smaller model, without anything in it as of yet. Instead, I'm using a lot more standalone gear.

Interestingly, where my process tended to run up against the limitations of my gear in the past, it now seems much more constrained just by the time I am able to spend playing music each day, as I work a full time job and do most of the chores in my household.

I'd love to know how gear and process interacts for you folks, and what you do to make sure you're having fun and making music, despite the many demands on all our time.

It seems like hip-hop is not the most popular genre on Tildes based on what I see most of the "what are you listening" responses to be, but I want to see if there are any of you out there. I happen to be a big fan of hip-hop, all of it - from 1980 to 2020 and any subgenre that has existed. Just a true love for the art and culture. Out of all that love poetry came into my life, and eventually writing lyrics to hip-hop songs just as some of you talented folk here write to or produce other genres.

I recently decided to take a step and record some of the lyrics I was writing and I feel pretty confident and happy about it for the first time. I like to write to any beats, experimental to boom bap to trap so if you make hip-hop in any sense or with any influence from any sphere of other types of music at all, I'd love to hear some different takes on it.

Bottom line: if I like it and you like my style, let's collab! That's why I'm asking. I just met a dude from Russia via reddit and made a track with him - the internet is an amazing place (I'm from US). So, yes, plug your tracks if you're a producer I want to hear em.

Hey everyone!

So I've been writing poetry and ghostwriting lyrics for friends of mine for nearly a decade at this point.

Due to recent life events, I've gotten back into the hobby of writing my own songs.

Up til now, it's been entirely topline work. Sifting through instrumentals online until I find one I can't help but write for, then staying up until four am driving around for a couple nights and churning out lyrics. I've recently grabbed an entry-level DAW and a couple courses aimed at producing my own instrumentals. I'd like to be able to go beyond writing lyrics and get to a point where I can cover the whole process. It sounds fun to me to put money aside and casually build up a home studio! :)

One thing that's caught my attention recently is the different vocal styles that a lot of artists have. Not just in their delivery, accent, etc. but also in the way that the tracks are edited! Pardon the lack of jargon, but for some examples:

I notice artists like Hålsey tend to have a very "crisp" kind of sound,

artists like Joji tend to have a more "echo-y" sound,

and artists like Lil Peep do this cool thing where it sounds like he triple-layers his voice to give a more dynamic sound to his songs.

Are there any books or courses online I can look into to learn vocal editing? I follow along with YouTube channels like Roomie and Andrew Huang, so I've seen them play around with AutoTune a few times, but that's the limit of my knowledge.

Thanks!