anyone done this Slate everything bundle deal?
Any drawbacks?
I have heard of an “i-lok” and it seems from what I hear they are a pain in the rear. I assume an i-lok is some sort of usb dongle that has to stay plugged in while im using the Slate stuff?
the thought of that is almost a deal breaker lol
That Slate bundle is one of the best deals you can possibly buy, but you do have to put the time into learning what stuff does, and it takes a lot of experimenting. If you already know what you’re doing though, I think you’ll find the tools really useful.
The only major drawback on the plugins is that the 1176 clones aren’t very flexible. They don’t have all buttons in modes, and the attack and release parameters are jacked up. The bundle also lacks width and imaging tools.
The ilok isn’t any big deal, just be really careful not to lose it.
yeah it sort of seems like a no brainer…especially since lots of people use the Slate stuff (AFAIK) so finding advice etc will be easier
on the flip side I was considering this back at Xmas and TBH I havent hardly mixed anything since then anyway lol
Need a good reverb? That Lexicon 480 clone is nice for short over-the-top non lifelike digitally sounding jobs. The Bricasti that comes in that bundle is absolutely out of this world. Also, if you get it for a year, he’ll probably get that distressor plugin released sometime this year.
yeah, just glancing at the reverbs alone looks like one could lose a month easily lol
The “Monster” module is dedicated to the 1176 all buttons in mode. For some reason they thought it would be better to spin that out into a whole separate thing, but whatever. That Monster plugin is also completely free to download and use as long as you have an iLok.
I have it - I resisted for a long time, as I already had perpetual licenses for most of their earlier stuff. Eventually they made a special offer to long time customers on the Everything Bundle that was just too good to pass up. No downsides from this POV - I love it!
Just checking in to see if you gave it a shot?
holding off for the moment since I seemingly havent been motivated to actually record any new vocals lately lol
Well, get busy!!! Haha!
definitely experiencing a “blockage” of some sort lol. I wonder if there is some sort of “fear of creativity”
Its crazy because:
my guitar lead playing should absolutely be at its best right now. I have been really putting in the hours of scale practice etc and TBH im wailing pretty good
My voice should also be better than ever since I have diligently worked it 4x per week doing sirens etc etc. Last time I recorded any singing was late Oct 16 I think
My overall tone(s) should be getting better all the time as i have continued to invest in more and better guitar equipment and also kept building my EZ Drummer library etc
So whats the problem? Somehow it seems to have to do with #2. Im having trouble picturing and hearing in my mind EXACTLY what I want to sing like. Therefore im having trouble clearly writing any vocal melodies or getting a good feel for what type of song I want to do etc.
Should I aim for a VanHalen vibe? Led Zep? Creed? Whitesnake? Alterbridge?
Of course that didnt stop me from writing songs in 2016 when I absolutely had no idea what it would come out like. Half the time I didnt even have the lyrics finalized before I stepped to the mic.
Plus maybe some deep fear of it not sounding “pro” enough
Plus laziness lol
Its frustrating because I KNOW I have a decent amount of talent and creativity and I have also put in lots of hard work. I want to make music on the level of VH, Zep, Beatles, etc etc…so maybe perfectionism is part of the current hang up too
Do you listen a lot to other bands ?
Sometimes is good to completely stop listening to music for a few months. It really helped me get loose again. Cause I was too focused on this and that, that my head got to full. There was no space for creativity anymore.
Maybe worth the shot. The first 2 weeks do nothing at all. Then start playing again, but don’t start listening again, until you got the feeling you can handle it again 
there is definitely some over thinking going on.
There is so much I WANT to do. So much I COULD do. So much so that there is nothing actually happening lol
part of the issue is sort of like, I dont know exactly what I am lol.
Tiny list of things id like to do or directions id like to try:
VH/LedZeppish vibes (basic classic blues rock but still lots of ground covered)
Creed/AIC/STP/Soundgarden vibe. my main guitar stays tuned to D standard
Yngwie/Priest/Dio/Maiden metal vibes
So those are sort of the main vibes im interested in. Sort of classic rock/grunge/Euro metal
But there is also:
and I have lightly touched on MOST of those areas here and there is my songs already.
My voice does already have some decent natural soul and bluesiness to it but ive also worked hard in the last months going toward a more Brice Dickinson type of vibe. Im not even totally sure what im capable of at the moment but I have a decent range and power etc.
It reminds me of once when I had a bad headache. I started reading the labels on the aspirin bottles and there were soooooooo many choices that it got confusing and was taking forever and finally I realized I didnt even have a headache anymore lol
My advice would be don’t think, just do it. When you want to walk from point A to point B you don’t have to think about it , you don’t need a plan. You just put one foot in front of the other and do it. You might trip, stumble or step on a rock , or in a hole but you don’t worry about it. The same goes with music. But yeah, I do the same thing as you. I procrastinate because I’m worried about not being perfect. Usually the best cure for procrastination is to let go of your perfectionism and just do it. Mistakes and imperfection can be more valuable than perfection…We learn from our mistakes. If we were perfect we would never learn and improve…This is something that I have to remind myself of constantly…I have a bad habit of being a perfectionist BUT perfectionism is a perfect way to get nothing done. Perfectionism = failure. Perfectionism = Procrastination. I would say that being a perfectionist is mostly a negative quality when it comes to the creative process.
Try this exercise. Write a song that is meant to suck. Sometimes it helps to quickly shoot a few shitty songs together before you try to write and record something good. The thing I like about writing and recording crappy songs is that I don’t give a shit about every little, fine detail …, because they’re not going to be on the radio or in the public eye anyway. If you’re planning on creating a great masterpiece every time you write and record you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot before you even begin the process.
Go for Led Zeppelin or Van Halen…
Stay away from Creed, PLEASE ! The world does’t need anymore of that ! 
[quote=“Wicked, post:14, topic:1279, full:true”]. If you’re planning on creating a great masterpiece every time you write and record you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot before you even begin the process.
[/quote]
This is part of it for sure
I understand that people love to hate Creed for whatever reason, but the way I see it, Creed at least kept some semblance of heavy guitar rock on the radio after “hair metal” was deemed verboten. (didnt fit the agenda going forwards)
Where is there heavy guitar music on the radio now?? take all of the hiphop/rap/girl bands off of radio and put even the 5 worst guitar oriented bands back on and the world is better
Hell, I hate Nickelback but id take them over Meghan Trainor anyday
I feel forces all around me. Come on raise your head.
lol
My voice isnt quite as heavy as S Stapp’s anyway
That’s exactly what I was about to say. 
Yeah, getting started is the hardest part. So if you can take the pressure off of getting started by intending to create a lousy song, you’ll be over that hurdle already! And by the time you’re working on it, the creative tends to flow and before you know it you’re doing something interesting. And if not… no big deal!
Well, you’re exactly in the same spot I was almost a year ago. And I got the advice to stop listening to music al together for a while. It really helps mate! At least try it out. A few weeks later I was already writing stuff again without overtinking it. Saying stop thinking, and get to doing is sometimes easier said then done, and sometimes impossible if your head is TO full. Just like with a burnout. You have to rest for a while. But not to long of course. After you rest a bit you indeed have to start DOING. But give it a shot mate. Don’t turn on your radio or anything the next couple of weeks, and if it works relaxing, keep at it for a while, you’ll notice when you can go of it again.
Good luck ! DO IT SOON, cause being blocked is not a happy state of mind!
that sort of brings up another of my perfectionist mental blocks. I try to be original which ends up translating into I dont like using cliches. BUT a lot of those cliches are simply basic building blocks. I love a lot of songs for instance by Cheap Trick and some of them are just plain jane 3 chord songs. I love them but its hard for me to see myself writing them lol. I like the twists and turns better
and if I am for real for real, probably the MAIN issue is simply that Im not that familiar with writing/recording vocals. I have maybe 100-150 guitar/drum “songs” recorded on my HD. So thats an easy hustle for me now. Shoot, I even wrote one today. Drums and a full songs worth of guitar parts
Problem being ive only maybe done 10-15 vocal songs and that spaced out over the last 15-18 months.
So I dont currently have a good workflow and habit worked out for the vocal side of things. That makes it hard to get going