WHAT CONSTITUTES GOOD TONE? IS IT A CERTAIN WARMTH IN A PIANO NOTE? IS IT A REFINED AMP THAT SENDS OUT CLEAR DEFINITION TO AN EXPENSIVE MICROPHONE? IN THIS DIGITAL AGE MORE AND MORE OF US ARE USING DIGITIAL DAWS TO RECREATE THE TONES THAT ARE ALREADY IN FRONT OF US. WE CHOOSE TO USE A KOMPLETE PACKAGE OR PLUG OUR BASSES STRAIGHT INTO A COMPUTER INSTEAD OF EXPLORE THE TONAL RANGE AND FIND OUR OWN UNIQUE SOUND. I THINK FOR MANY ARTISTS OUT THERE WE TRY TO EMULATE INSTEAD OF INNOVATE. WE SPEND OUR TIME TRYING TO SOUND LIKE THAT ARTIST, OR THAT ALBUM INSTEAD OF SEEKING OUR OWN IDENTIFYING SOUND SIGNATURE. RECENTLY I WENT INTO A MUSIC STORE. MY BUD AND I JUST PLAYED AROUND WITH CRASHES HITTING THEM WITH VARYING STICKS AND MALLOTS. HEARING THE DARKER AND VIBRANT TONES OF EACH CRASH WAS REFRESHING. IT REMINDED ME WHAT SOUND DISCOVERY WAS LIKE BEFORE COMPUTERS, HEARING A SYMPHONY OF TEXTURES PLAYING IN REAL TIME. ITS GENUINE, ITS VISCERAL, AND ITS PURE SOUND. I THINK A LOT OF ARTISTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE GET TRAPPED IN THE "DIGITAL". MAKING MUSIC STRAIGHT FROM DIGITAL PACKAGES INSTEAD OF GOING OUT AND FINDING THAT ANALOG SOUND TO RECORD. ULTIMATELY ALL OF OUR MUSIC GETS TURNED INTO DATA AND BIT DEPTH, BUT ARE WE AS ARTISTS LOSING OUT ON THE MUSICAL JOURNEY WHEN WE JUST USE DIGITAL EMULATION? JUST SOMETHING I WANTED TO CHALLENGE YOU ALL WITH AS WELL AS MYSELF. STOP EMULATING SOUNDS AND START BUILDING YOUR OWN SOUNDS FROM THE WORLD AROUND YOU. ITS EASY TO PULL UP A DIGITAL SOLUTION ITS HARD TO FIND A SOUND OF YOUR OWN AND RECORD IT WITH A MIC. YEAH IT MIGHT SOUND CLOSE TO THE DIGITAL SOLUTION IN MANY WAYS SCARY CLOSE. STILL THE PURSUIT OF REAL SOUND IS SO IMPORTANT. I HOPE FOR MYSELF I CAN START TO EMBRACE THAT MORE AND MORE IN THE COMING DAYS. THANKS FOR READING AND FOLLOWING OUR JOURNEY.