Use gear you know well rather than chasing the newest tools to make music

May describes still using a Korg SQD-1, a 16-track sequencer that bounces tracks on recording so you cannot undo them — ‘it better be the shit, because it’s going to be layered.’ He uses it because he has made so much music with it and ‘it just feels good.’ His rule: ‘use what you like, go with what you know. Don’t try to impress friends or family or those so-called colleagues.’ He gives the example of Prince picking up a guitar and making music, and of artists making hit records on four-track digital boards. The principle is anti-accumulation: deep familiarity with limited tools outperforms superficial mastery of many.

Examples

The Korg SQD-1 has been out of production for decades. The early Belleville Three setup was ‘Yamaha, Roland, Korg keyboards, Korg sequencers, Roland drum machines’ — nothing exotic.

Assessment

State the principle in your own words. Give a real-world scenario in which chasing the newest gear would be counterproductive, and explain what May says you should do instead.