So have we gone all soft?

[spaceman]

just a K5000S and a Nord Modular soon
but that's it.. I don't want more hardware

[CypherOne]

well I've got a drill, but the missus won't let me buy a chainsaw or sit-on lawnmower

[spaceman]

well I've got a drill, but the missus won't let me buy a chainsaw or sit-on lawnmower

kick the bitch out man, she's holding you down

[CypherOne]

well I've got a drill, but the missus won't let me buy a chainsaw or sit-on lawnmower

kick the bitch out man, she's holding you down

Well, I can kind of see what she means about the lawnmower, our gardens so small it would be like Austin Powers....but every man deserves a chainsaw

[AD80]

F*** my old hardware! Switching back would be like trading in my car for a horse.

[Improv]

well I've got a drill, but the missus won't let me buy a chainsaw or sit-on lawnmower

kick the bitch out man, she's holding you down

Well, I can kind of see what she means about the lawnmower, our gardens so small it would be like Austin Powers....but every man deserves a chainsaw

Gotta realize the inner lumber jack in all us guys!

[Rabid]

I’ve struck a happy balance and with hardware prices falling eBay is my friend.

At times I do feel that being tied to a computer is like trying to play music with gloves on. Just thinking about composing with a mouse and a piano roll makes me break out in hives. Give me a piano, a dim room with a good view, and something to record what I play.

Then give me a computer and a good set of VSTi’s to use when finalizing the song.

Robert

[monty]

Hi there,

I am probably older than most of you and started with a TEAC 3340S: a very long time ago!

Over the years I have graduated to 8tk, 24 tk, huge mixer and a room full of synths.

Today, with the new generation of vsti's I love my PC and the sound it can generate without my switching on the outboard gear. Cost/benefit: the current setup wins every time.

However, since I have the full monty, there are times I switch on the old gear, watch the temperature of my studio rise, see the dip in the local electricity and that enormous bank of leds talk to me and I am seduced. Do I make better music. No not really but the experience cannot be duplicated.

best wishes,

Monty

[Aff]

However, since I have the full monty, there are times I switch on the old gear, watch the temperature of my studio rise, see the dip in the local electricity and that enormous bank of leds talk to me and I am seduced. Do I make better music. No not really but the experience cannot be duplicated.
Monty

yes monty, i totally agree. even on a small scale bedroom full of loads of hardware all overloading one single electric socket.

it's just a feeling. definately not more practical by any means, but it's like being at the helm of the starship enterprise boldly going where............

fast forward a hundred years. 'aah, why bother. we have the technology to click our fingers and be there in an instant'.

[monty]

Hi there,

sometimes I feel my hardware getting "ratty". I switch it on so little.

Today it is pissing with rain in England I have switched off the Central heating for the summer. I came into my studio and the old gear just begged to be switched on to warm up the room. So when I get offline I will speak to my toys and make some music. Ths will be less efficient than using my PC for the same task but it will be much more fun.

Going "offline".

best wishes,

Monty

[ugo]

i use to be a hardware-only guy but these days im using softsynths almost exclusively and my hardware is basically collecting dust. i feel bad, but software is just whats inspiring me now. however, i wont sell all my hardware. some, yes, eventually. but others...no way...they sound too good, are still unique, and are too much fun. (and others just are just personal to me.)

however, interestingly enough, after many years away from bass playing (because i became addticted to synths) im actually playing my basses again. so it seems that i've both returned to my roots and become inspired by all the new software as well. its just the stuff in the middle thats sitting around right now. but i know i'll go back to them again someday. (and probably not all that long in the future either.)

-ugo

[Rozzer]

I like knobs...

... it just the way I am

[ugo]

F*** my old hardware! Switching back would be like trading in my car for a horse.

well then...care to give away those worthless old horses?

-ugo

[AD80]

F*** my old hardware! Switching back would be like trading in my car for a horse.

well then...care to give away those worthless old horses?

-ugo

I sold it all. I didnt have anything you would want anyways. Just Korg Tritons, Emu modules, Akai MPC, Akai S3000, Novation K-station, some other synths. Not much compared to you gear heads. Still, that way of working seems incredibly outdated and slow to me now. I could never go back.

I like hardware controllers tho. And real instruments of course.

[kritikon]

Well, I can kind of see what she means about the lawnmower, our gardens so small it would be like Austin Powers....but every man deserves a chainsaw

I've gota little 16" electric one, but recently hired a 23" petrol monster - I need to buy one of those babies. Tool heaven

About the h/w s/w thing.... When I listen to the results in recording quality I get nowadays with mostly s/w, it leaves most of the old stuff standing. However there are certainly some tunes I made old-style that had a little more "organic" quality to them - better flow/ cohesion. With the s/w and sequencer driven stuff now, I can rarely resist the urge for sequencing pyrotechnics and flashy effects - but truth be told - I'm just having an audio wank more often than not - When I had to keep it simple(r) with h/w, my tracks flowed so much more.

And soundwise, just in the past couple of years I am finally happy that I can make exactly the sort of sounds with s/w synths that I could make with h/w - with synths like impOSCar and CS80v etc s/w has (for me) finally reached its potential. So I'm happy there.

But........ I don't have anywhere as much fun in the actual recording/ composing process. It was and still is a real musical pleasure to use h/w synths with all the interaction it gives you with physical knobs/ sliders etc. I will shell out for a controller soon, and I'm sure that will help hugely, but I still prefer playing with h/w (synths only - I actually find dynamics, FX etc preferable with s/w - better interfaces than some of those old diddy LED screens for sure).

So I'm in no hurry whatsoever to get rid of my better h/w synths - some of the more ordinary ones have gone, and probably more will go, but the good'uns are still setup, wired in and powered up. Cables don't worry me...I discovered the joys of patchbays many a year ago.

I seriously miss mixing with a real desk, but I'll probably stick with s/w mixing, just because the logistics and extra time/effort to go in/out/shake-it-all-about with a soundcard ain't worth it.

I'll stick with both - the fun and spontaneity of h/w synths but the practicality and results of s/w for everything else. Almost a win-win situation.

But....... I still remember the setup I used to have. Banks of keys, racks stuffed full of flashing lights and horizon-to-horizon mixer channels. I could walk into my old studio, sit down and feel pleasure before I'd even started - master over the field of technology kind of thing (in a sad geek way). I always had a lovely sense of anticipation every time. There's no way I get that now to the same degree. And it is a sad geek thing - us electronic musos tend to have that collector mindset....."mine's bigger than yours"........and with a h/w studio you can really wallow in it. Whereas a 15GHz HAL9000 looks just the same as a 200MHz Pentium II - where's the penis envy in that?