American vs European and/or Japanese sound

[Lotuzia]

But then look at Arturia and XILS-Labs for example, there seems some similarities exist in design to me for a lot of things, like the patch browsers. Certainly cultural thinking affects some things about the design of interfaces etc and what prominence certain features have in a design.

Actually its more the fact that they were made by the same guy.

(Xavier, was it?)

Exact, as he also was the author, or one of the authors, of many of their flagship synthesizers.

This said, the Xils Preset management System has evolved a lot since that time, and will be evolving also in the future. Cant say more atm.

[vurt]

But then look at Arturia and XILS-Labs for example, there seems some similarities exist in design to me for a lot of things, like the patch browsers. Certainly cultural thinking affects some things about the design of interfaces etc and what prominence certain features have in a design.

Actually its more the fact that they were made by the same guy.

(Xavier, was it?)

Exact, as he also was the author, or one of the authors, of many of their flagship synthesizers.

and the guy spreading disinformation about competitors synths through sock puppets...

[Lotuzia]

As for the Japanese vs etc etc.

Like McNoone said we are going to a kind of world culture. And a very free culture too.

Some guys meet in hi school and decide to make a band, and this gives them a kind of coherence, while some supergroups ( remember supergroups ? ) are a collection who can come for very diverse countries, and this will give something else.

During my holydays I saw some gigs, like Earth Wind & Fire, Eddie Palmieri, and the music was pretty different.

I also saw a French band specialised in ..... Country Music Very good musicians, and the gig was really enjoyable.

All mixes can be found in the world culture. The melting pot is so deep that you can find a lot of good surprises on your way, if you just open your eyes, and .... read the local newspapers ( Wich is what I did to find out about all these gigs )

[mcnoone]

Like the greatest jazz fusion came from the US

ECM says you're blinkered

Maybe should have mentioned quantity and not quality...or greatest imo.
My favorite prog rock 70's bands are all from the UK.

[fluffy_little_something]

Thanks for all your answers so far. No, I was not trolling, I was really wondering if there was something to the original claim about the typical American or Japanese sound, and whether or not whatever it was got lost in the digital age.

Himalaya confirmed my impression when he or she described those sound characters. Not so much my own impression but the impression I got from what other people said and wrote. I thought maybe one of the original differences was the use of VCOs vs DCOs.

I am a bit older and relatively new to that whole DAW/soft synth thingy. I have only tried a dozen or so plugins so far. Almost all the soft synths out there seem to have English or fictional names, the brands are also usually English or fictional, on the websites it usually doesn't say where the maker is located or who the developers are. So I can't really tell if there is an American or European or Japanese soft synth sound left or whether that is all a thing of the past. I can well imagine that those old differences are gone as whenever there is a new feature, sooner or later the others feel like they have to copy it. Like now with those zero-delay feedback filters, soon everyone will use them.
Another sound globalization booster might be the use of platforms such as Synthedit or Synthmaker, which are used around the world.

[soundnaut]

The japanese are a little nation, but they devote and comit themselves to things to obtain perfection. They have already made a name for themselves in several industries. They havent made anything new to contribute to electronic music culture, (as far as ideas), but they have a lot to offer the industry.

What?!?

Where were the Roland 808, 909 and 303, Korg MS20 (and lots of other standard electronic music gear) invented and made? Ever heard of Tomita or Yellow Magic Orchestra? (Or Pizzicato 5, or Cornelius?) Ever wondered why Kraftwerk made a special Japanese version of Pocket Calculator?

Oh yeah how could i forget.



But yea i still think there are cultural differences in the digital age. Europeans and americans get on kvr and post a synth and the comunity says "that sucks," or "that rocks," and the developer tailers to the comunity (sometimes). Well there is probably a japanese version of kvr, and since they would have a different set of users, they would have different likes and dislikes.

However, i still know of japanese bands/producers that use the same gear as everyone else in the world.

[quayquay17]

Their ninja skills are seriously lacking too.

It's a little known fact but modern day ninjas kill with self oscillation.

Along with stealth and zero delay feedback