While there will be some possibilities to alter the timbre and control, the synth in its current form will focus on modeling existing instruments. I'm not saying never, but the sound of an instrument combined with an alternative controlling model just isn't as exciting as you might believe. The acoustic instruments have been refined for hundreds of years, and it becomes very apparent when you do the job I'm currently doing. So maybe in the future, but just to give you an idea, alternative patches sound much like standard patches in Physical Modelers. There's some sort of timbre, and there's some sort of behaviour, but you can tell something just isn't right.aMUSEd wrote:No - I'd rather have one synth capable of multiple models. Only then would one have the capability to create hybrid instruments and explore new musical territory. If its not sample based then there's no reason why an instrument that includes several models such as a horns and blown instruments model, a plucked model etc would be bloated at all. I'm with Tony - we need something like an Uber VL that you can move between sounds with fluidly - not have to load a new synth to change models - that is far too limiting.
Synthesized sounds are definitely a huge leap forward for music in general, but I'm a bit reluctant to the birth of new sounds from analysis of acoustic instruments/sounds. The sound of acoustic instruments tend to be very thin compared to just about any synthesizer, even though you get lots of emotional response from associations you make with the sound. The instruments are meant to function as a whole (in a band/orchestra) and not until brought together they give the impact of the orchestra. I'd argue that there are no exciting sounds in acoustic music, only exciting writing/orchestration. Exciting synthesized sounds tend to sound like large ensembles of acoustic instruments (rich and evolving) but such sounds also grow old quickly. Acoustic instruments that tend to dominate the orchestra in a similiar way are hard to use constructively when orchestrating, and hence they never become standard members of the orchestra because of their limited use. Good examples are the saxophones, that are great solo instruments, but tend to dominate the orchestra when used in symphonic music.
Popular sample libraries often have instruments that sound larger than the instrument ever have sounded in any real setting. This equals good sales, but the instruments won't blend, and good music coming out of it tend to be percussive/noisy in nature. One library that doesn't use that approach is VSL, but that library also gets critique all the time for sounding too thin.
