Yesterday in a fit of nostalgia over synth modules and Yamaha MIDI sequencers, I made the following statement on my Neocities profile:
"i wish i was a game composer in the '90s. sitting down everyday with my MIDI sequencer and equipment rack with a proteus 1 & 2, roland sc55, sc88 pro, and jv-1080 with the orchestral, piano, and synth cards installed. spending all day pressing buttons and watching screencaps of gameplay to write music for what i see."
I had been thinking all week about how all a freelance music composer back then needed to have a broadcast-quality studio was an equipment rack, a couple of MIDI modules, and a keyboard controller. I mentioned once in relation to writing Nintendo 64-style music that a game composer back then didn't need anything more than a Roland Soundcanvas and Soundbrush; both of which could be rack-mounted. The Soundbrush would act as the MIDI sequencer in lieu of a computer with notation software, which is undoubtedly how several composers got their start. Being MIDI-compliant, all you would need to do is change the port number on the SB-55 for it to control another module on the rack; so now, instead of just an SC-55, you also have a Proteus/2 for example. Port 1 is the SC-55, move a knob and you've got port 2, then port 3 which is a Proteus/1, then port 4. Or you could just get rid of the SB-55 because the JV-1080 could do sequencing natively.
Simply, I was envisioning myself before I took up with FL Studio, when I was using my Fantom X6 as my entire studio. If the Fantom X6 couldn't do it and it couldn't be simulated by sampling, I couldn't do it. So, basically, I ported myself into the body and mind of a freelance composer in the '90s. My studio was a JV-1080 with a couple expansion cards and a daisy-chain of MIDI modules; namely the SC-55, SC-88 Pro, Proteus/1, and Proteus/2.
I appreciate what a couple people were trying to say about turning your passion into your work and sacrificing your interests on the altar of capitalism. However, this is not what I was suggesting. Music is not a hobby for me, it is my living. Nobody told me to write music for a living, I just did it. I write music for the sake of creation as well, but I've written around 100 purpose-built songs for largely commercial projects since I first hung up my proverbial shingle in 2015. Commercial spots, public service announcements, non-profit, for-profit, you name it. I certainly wouldn't recommend this for every composer, it just happened to fit with my idea of a good job. And yes, I've certainly burnt out at various points in time. I've gotten to the point where I'm just pretending to have ideas and I have to declare a project finished or table it for a bit while I have some coffee and play Doom or something. Eventually, my creativity will return. There's no timetable for it, which has complicated a few projects in the past, but I know that the burnout is temporary and I'll get back to writing music eventually. I know that I'll hear a drum machine or find a soundfont or drum my fingers on the table or hit upon something good while whistling tunelessly that will get me back into my seat and writing MIDI again.
I guess this whole thing stemmed from the fact that Roland bafflingly decided not to resample the Soundcanvas series when they made Soundcanvas-VA and its iOS equivalent. That would have been easier, but it didn't happen. Who knows why? And, like, I wouldn't limit myself to game music. It's the '90s and I have all the industry standard equipment! I'm still a freelance composer, writing music for whoever wants some, including just myself.