I have a lot of people ask me these days "Why did you quit making music with software?"Well, a lot of my points can be extracted from my previous post .:Are We Utilizing Our Gear to its Fullest?:.I have found that for me personally the unlimited choices and opportunities afforded by software has actually stunted my creative abilities. Instead of learning the tools that I had, I continually fell back on presets instead of trying to create new sounds. When I looked back at the tools I used I might have had 100 synths, but in actuality I had probably thousands of pre-sets.The simple process of just sorting through prests is an extremely time consuming process. As you can imagine, this did not lend itself to very a efficient production schedule.Not only did the sheer amount of tool options become distracting but the computer itself becam distracting. Internet, email, blogs, Stumbleupon. I just could not operate in that atmosphere. While the 2" LCD screen of my Command Station is not the most intresting thing in the world, it is more intresting then my wall and it forces me to concentrate on the audio and not the visual aspect of the process.I have found that my hardware setup, while "limited" in sound possibilities has actually made me more efficent. I have learned that I work better with a tactile control interface, being able to play the instruments, rather then simply program them. Electronic musicians have often recieved a lot of criticism because most of the songs these days are simply created on the computer and then exported from the project file. Many people feel the musciality is lost.While I personally don't neccisarily share these thoughts, there is a certain amount of satisfaction that comes from having to actually sit down and record the tracks that I make, while playing the instruments instead of simply hitting "render".While I find more creativity and personal appeal in using hardware over software, I understand that each person works differently. I do dabble on occasion with some software for 8-bit music creation, namely the .:Raster Tracker:. Raster Tracker stays consistant with my personal philosophy of simplicity and minimalism in music creation.I encourage all of the producers out there however to try not to be one minded in your production tools. Remember, there is no "one best way" to the creation of music. Look at music creation with an open mind and an open heart. Find your own path and find what works for you. Tags: music software personal thoughts production techniques