Digital Emulation of Analogue - Who Cares?
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- KVRian
- 1058 posts since 27 Apr, 2016
Old gear becomes a reference point. So for your ears it can be a useful starting point even if the goal is not to make a retro analogue composition. Without a close emulation reference there would be little to judge what has come after cause 99.9pct of people cannot own the original analogue synths to compare.
Curious really. There was a time a decade or more ago where we simply moaned about digital synths not sounding like the analogue versions they were emulating. Now we take it for granted that they are pretty much nailed.
A good example is some synths make nice warm FM sounds which are not analogue at all but cause I know how analogue can sound it gives a reference point on which to position a type of sound in your sonic palette and aural mindscape.
So I don't concern overly from the perspective that I need something to sound incredibly authentic in my music activities but it is educational and helps me assess and judge other synth sounds.That aspect is quite important to me cause I don't have a Moog, a Pro-1, Pro-5, SH-101, TB-303 etc. available.
We all like to think and show we know it all. But maybe we should understand that knowing it all or maybe knowing it well enough to be able to share something of tangible value with others is usually a thing related to time, experience and accumulated knowledge. I think in this modern world people think knowledge is repeating something they read on a website.
Curious really. There was a time a decade or more ago where we simply moaned about digital synths not sounding like the analogue versions they were emulating. Now we take it for granted that they are pretty much nailed.
A good example is some synths make nice warm FM sounds which are not analogue at all but cause I know how analogue can sound it gives a reference point on which to position a type of sound in your sonic palette and aural mindscape.
So I don't concern overly from the perspective that I need something to sound incredibly authentic in my music activities but it is educational and helps me assess and judge other synth sounds.That aspect is quite important to me cause I don't have a Moog, a Pro-1, Pro-5, SH-101, TB-303 etc. available.
We all like to think and show we know it all. But maybe we should understand that knowing it all or maybe knowing it well enough to be able to share something of tangible value with others is usually a thing related to time, experience and accumulated knowledge. I think in this modern world people think knowledge is repeating something they read on a website.
- KVRAF
- 10293 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
For synths I don't really care one way or the other, at least not after getting Diva and Monark which covers already a lot of ground. However, on the FX front there are some absolutely unique awesome units that would be awesome to have properly emulated as plugins. Too bad it's still very costly (CPU wise) to get some of these older units to be as close as Diva/Monark is to the real deal.
We are getting there though.. at an astonishingly rapid pace.
We are getting there though.. at an astonishingly rapid pace.
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot
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- KVRist
- 63 posts since 19 Sep, 2015
yes, who cares ? especially for synthesizers
as bmanic said, there are some interesting fx units.
would love to get the "jaw" wavefolder effect from Repro1, tried various similar vst fx plugs today and not amused.
anyway
as bmanic said, there are some interesting fx units.
would love to get the "jaw" wavefolder effect from Repro1, tried various similar vst fx plugs today and not amused.
anyway
- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
Good topic.
For some users at KVR it seems getting the MiniMoog sound is all that matters
For some users at KVR it seems getting the MiniMoog sound is all that matters
- KVRAF
- 7325 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
It's all about analog emulation of digital stuff now. WMD Synchrodyne is my second favorite piece of analog gear right now, and it aliases more than any 90s VA ever did. I'm also thinking about a Bastl Tromsø, which implements an analog version of "sample rate" reduction.
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- KVRist
- 469 posts since 21 May, 2016
Tbh I don't really give a shit about analog because I don't own, nor have I used, any high end analog synths. I wouldn't know how to compare them.
That said, u-he synths -- apparently one of the finest at emulating analog synths -- definitely sound and behave different than other VSTi and there are a plethora of sounds that I'd make on a u-he synth before anything else for that reason.
That said, u-he synths -- apparently one of the finest at emulating analog synths -- definitely sound and behave different than other VSTi and there are a plethora of sounds that I'd make on a u-he synth before anything else for that reason.
- KVRAF
- 12334 posts since 7 May, 2006 from Southern California
Yep, and even before those products, there was the Bin-N-Tic (switched cap filter), Doepfer A-196 (PLL) and the Malgorithm (audio rate sample and hold). I'm sure that there are even earlier examples, but the intention probably wasn't to emulate DSP at the time.foosnark wrote:It's all about analog emulation of digital stuff now. WMD Synchrodyne is my second favorite piece of analog gear right now, and it aliases more than any 90s VA ever did. I'm also thinking about a Bastl Tromsø, which implements an analog version of "sample rate" reduction.
- KVRAF
- 5927 posts since 8 Jul, 2009
I started out in 1977 with electronic music and so I have used many analogue synths and effects that were out there during that time. I was always buying and selling gear over the decades. I still own a number of analogue synths and effects. So this is one reason I look to plugins that are good emulations of analogue. Whether it be a digital tool that is intended to emulate a specific analogue product, or do something analogue-like, that's important to me.
But also important to me are digital tools that are purely digital and make use of technology to do interesting and musical things.
But, for me, accurate analogue emulation is an important consideration in purchase decisions for me.
But also important to me are digital tools that are purely digital and make use of technology to do interesting and musical things.
But, for me, accurate analogue emulation is an important consideration in purchase decisions for me.
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- KVRAF
- 10260 posts since 19 Feb, 2004 from Paris
At the end of the day, if you're choosing your instruments because of audience boos/woohs instead of because you think/feel it serves your music and/or joy of playing best , you might do something wrong as wellV0RT3X wrote:At the end of the day if you're paying audience boos you for using a VA then you're doing something wrong.
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fluffy_little_something fluffy_little_something https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=281847
- Banned
- 12880 posts since 5 Jun, 2012
On studio recordings, nobody notices, and live it is all playback, anywayV0RT3X wrote:At the end of the day if you're paying audience boos you for using a VA then you're doing something wrong.
- KVRAF
- 25051 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
It has no moment in my life. I know what the sound is, but there are synths that give you warm analog, including synths that many people believe are strictly from cold digital, and it just isn't that difficult to saturate with this or another plugin. It was time for me to embrace the actual technology some time ago. It seems very boring to me to A/B with an old synth. I'm not very enamored of any of them, except Moog, and I'm happy with Monark for the mini.
- KVRist
- 251 posts since 7 Feb, 2017
It's more relevant to those who grew up with analog and have internalized its sounds. Less relevant to the new kids that started mixing/creating music strictly from DAWs however.
- KVRian
- 527 posts since 22 Sep, 2016
I think that U-he, Synapse, and Xils have definitely raised the bar for analog emulation. Now, as a developer, if you are going to call it an analog emulation it damn well better sound like it! However, synths like Largo, Spire, Serum, and Icarus don't pretend to emulate analog synths...they are different, and they sound just as awesome on their own. I think it's great to have both! There is a lot of modern music that doesn't really benefit from having a "pure" analog sound...and that's ok. It works the other way too. It's funny because I approach a plugin now as to whether, or not it has "balls". Whether it produces a pure analog emulation, or not is less important to me now. Does it have "balls"? I can remove bottom end with a bandpass filter to make a synth sit in a mix but. Trying to add it with EQ, or compression doesn't always produce satisfactory results. That's a radical oversimplification, I know but, it's not a bad yardstick to measure by.