I think I am off to a good start this year, 3rd song and video done. I have mentioned feeling motivated and inspired in another thread, I am going to try to feed and fuel that inspiration through the year. So I decided to start creating some SMART goals for music. (For anyone who does not know SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realist, Timely).
Goal: Complete and publish a music video every week this year. This is definitely a lot more concrete than in the past 'record music and videos and get better at them' and not too taxing, I am not being specific on each song, which leaves me open to style, etc. The idea behind my thinking is that instead of trying to get better, I will actually improve just by doing it. I think this weeks video is better than last weeks, which was better than the one before, etc.
Gear: Also a goal of mine, use only the gear I alread have. And in the case of the DAW, use only what came with Logic Pro even if some of my other plugins become supported. I think at this time, honing skills on what I already have will benefit me far more than anything additional. I definitely have enough music and video gear to do quality productions, it's experience needed. That said, the core gear:
DAW: M1 Mac mini, RME Babyface, Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro
Mics: AT3035, AT2021 and SM57
Guitars: Gibson Les Paul, Harmony H814 Flying V, Daisy Rock Rock Candy Extreme, Zilth Custom
Amps: Synergy SYN-30 with SLO Module in to Boss WAZA Tube Amp Expander
Cabs: Crate 4x12 (Greenbacks and V30s) and ADA Split Stacks
Bass: Ibanez MiKro
Keyboards: M-Audio Hammer 88 and Roland LX17
Violin: Fiddlerman Soloist, Shar Plug'n Play electric
Drums: Roland V-Drums
That's pretty much my studio setup, and I just finished re-arranging it last month and only have a couple of small things to clean up/re-arrange. BTW, 'studio' is a fancy name I am using for 'living room'.
Guidelines: I think I have already covered the guidelines I have given myself, mainly do 1 per week, and use only what I have. (Strings, picks, maintenance don't count) but for example, I will only use the SLO module. When I got the Synergy, it was so I could have a bunch of amps and more tones without taking up too much room, but, I think I will take this year and really see what I can get out of what I already have.
That's pretty much it, here's to a fun year, and hopefully learning a few things!