Electro, gothic, noise, darkwave from the Side-Line
so the new gear is piling up... FX processors, new synth/controller/interface and now new DAW.
all of the manuals have barely been read
i know how important it is to RTFM
but... for some reason... i seem to enjoy bumping into walls in the dark.. feeling around for a door that'll take me where i want.
so.
what do you do to make yourself stop playing with new gear and just read the fucking manual?
If it isn't a printed manual, I'll read enough to get me up and running, then carry on until I get stuck. PDF manual, forget it. I really do have to be stuck and then I'll usually use the Search function. They really aren't written to be read, more used as reference.
Oddly the Virus manual was very well written and came with an excellent guide on how to programme a synth so I actually enjoyed reading it. Usually 30min a day or so before bedtime. 90% of things I can figure out, it's just the odd hidden piece of information that is going to make your life easier that you need.
i read an old virus manual to learn some basics of subtractive synthesis. very well written that manual from access.
soillodge
offlineTech Moderator
ah, I hate gear people say RTFM. It shows they have enough time to waste to check a forum and reply, but not enough to help out. They need to STFU.
RTFM is originally a military term. Read The Field Manual. Where information that is vital to your survival is available for you, written from experience and extensive field testing. Not stupid ass "stereo instructions", like "most", electronic gear manuals. I bet half the people that use RTFM have never actually sat down and RTFM.
Personally, I delve into the gear until I have a question. Then I check the references. I will spend a lot more time with hardware than software though. I cannot tell you how many times store owners asked me to buy something or leave in the early days of pawn shops and tiny music instrument stores as I would just sit there working on how to use a piece of gear for hours. It really became an issue when I got access to some really cool gear while in Japan. The manual was obviously no help, I was just lucky I could change the languages inside the gear menus and the store owners did not seem to mind having an American showcasing their new gear. I was in heaven in 96 working at a Guitar Center in the Pro Audio and Keyboard dept. That is until I found out the ridiculous mark-up of most gear. After that I just spent time in other pro or home studios and building my own arrangement.
Anyhow, my advice. Get to know your own gear, since you already paid for it. But try to find an opportunity where you can use some stuff and get to understand how it works, before you have to buy it yourself. See if you can do a sit in at a local recording studio [they never seemed to mind some free help], or hang out in gear shops until they kick you out [tip-buy something the first time you go, then they will be more lenient] or hook up with other musicians and see how they worked out different techniques. Also you can get to know your local venue sound-person and pick up some tips, they like beer and love to talk about their job and how they made some shitty band end up sounding like Sabbath in their prime. It is really amazing how much of a good show can really be attributed to a proficient soundguy.
and avoid forums where they constantly tell you to RTFM :D
`michael
I'm certainly enjoying my printed Cubase 5 manual. Although a lot of it is already known from having used Cubase since the mid-90's, so it's not needed to get me started. But it's definitely something cool to read on my lunch breaks or whatever.
Also, yesterday I found a manual online for the SE-70 (http://safemanuals.com/314159.php?k=4a667cafe314c1cc61edca74ff8f48c5&ID=304046&q=ROLAND%20SE-70) which is pretty damn handy (I didn't know about the MIDI control stuff, for example).
how do you like the se-70?
i want to get a budget fx rack going. se-70, dep-5 and dp/4
I learn more from my hands-on, too than reading. It is much easier for me to imagine or 'memory map' an interface than follow numbered directions. One, because it's more fun that way, and two, i'm dense.
Like has been said, later, when you know how to get around the program and want to get a specific effect, it's to the directions... I am currently trying to wrap my head sound the whole direct box thing, but i'll get there eventually ;)
GC dudes might be able to rattle off specs and numbers, but all the time i only want to know "yeah, but HOW DOES IT SOUND?"
The SE-70's allright. Decent for live-FX but I think modern plugins can do better for production-work.
heretic909
offlineMember
"PDF manual, forget it."
I fucking HATE PDF manuals. I picked up a Novation Xio recently and it only has a PDF manual. All I'm trying to do is control it as a sound module with my old ass Cakewalk program, but do you think I can figure this shit out? Either I'm too friggin retarded or else I'm blind and just can't find the section that tells me how to do this.
soillodge
offlineTech Moderator
@Dracos- Are you using the editor prog? It should be pretty easy. It is no issue on my X-Station
`michael
hours after try and error its nice to read the manual -.- i enjoy all the technical informations and use the new gathered information to make some noize^^
@PDF-Manual Haters: print it out :-)
I think that one should know at least the basics of what one is doing....probing around is OK but leads normally to hazardous results...which may be exteremely well sounding...but are hardly reproduceable...and also most of the "magic" of a gear comes not by handling just the obvious main buttons on the frontplate....
depending on the topic/item I would suggest you the following...build up a test-song, nothing clubhitty but solid work, then read one bit of a manual, think of how you could use it in this arrangement (or also not, to prove you were right deciding NOT to choose if), then proceed to the next bit..so you always have immediate result view, and also, which imho is very important, you learn to see if an effect is useable for this and this situation or not....
Eric Christian
offlineMember
"what do you do to make yourself stop playing with new gear and just read the fucking manual?"
leave then next to the toilet, then you have to read them...
funny you should say that Eric. i've done that with a few... some of the binders are too big to find a proper place to set them though
Eric Christian
offlineMember
Better yet, take them to work and read them. You'll find that as tedious as reading manuals are its far better than actually working. You can also stick them inside some work manual and walk around looking all busy & shit too. Beats talking with your douchenozzle co-workers as well because they'll think you're all engrossed in some work task and they won't bother you. Somehow I always come up with lyrics, drum beats and melodys in my head while I'm at work so I keep a small sampler & blackbook on hand in my toolbox.
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