Have we reached the end of hardware synths with software plug-ins?

[vurt]

Why do either of you give a shit what other people use to make music?

Yeah, a fool jumping and stomping in $hit in a rhythmic and musical way is as good as any way to make music, of course.

gg allin?

[Uncle E]

Especially polyphonic synths lack the different voices interacting with each other like what I perceive is happening in the hardware polysynths I´ve owned, P5, P6 and Alesis Andromeda. So I´m waiting for the next gen.

Cherry Audio Eight Voice and GForce OB-E both allow you to vary the individual voices similarly to discrete analog synths. This should accomplish part of the interaction you're describing. I think the rest would require modeling VCA saturation, which I'm guessing they both do.

[teilo]

Yeah, I left out "in my opinion", because that´s a fact that needs no discussion. The VSTs of today which try to emulate the classic hardware synths like Moog, Oberheim, Prophet, etc, still, objectively, sound more digital.

"Facts" are funny things. Some people equate them with "opinions," without seeming to know the difference. "Objectively" this has been tested, and blind A/B testing on the best analog emulations has "objectively" proven you wrong.

[hebex]

Especially polyphonic synths lack the different voices interacting with each other like what I perceive is happening in the hardware polysynths I´ve owned, P5, P6 and Alesis Andromeda. So I´m waiting for the next gen.

Cherry Audio Eight Voice and GForce OB-E both allow you to vary the individual voices similarly to discrete analog synths. This should accomplish part of the interaction you're describing. I think the rest would require modeling VCA saturation, which I'm guessing they both do.

Nah, I´ve tried them both, I don´t get the hype. Thanks anyway, no disrespect.

[HAL76]

When I first went ITB a couple of years back I became sucked in the deep rabbit hole of finding synth perfection in terms of the 'perfect analog sound', the 'most accurate emulation' etc. I realised eventually it really didn't matter so long as it sounded good to me.

That is a for sure constructive and realistic point ov view. But you should take the time for exploring what really sounds good for you. My demands are constantly changing and having heard certain "sources" has changed them significantly.

My demo of the Arturia softsynth universe didn´t take long. I better use the Microfreak or even Synth1.

[hebex]

Yeah, I left out "in my opinion", because that´s a fact that needs no discussion. The VSTs of today which try to emulate the classic hardware synths like Moog, Oberheim, Prophet, etc, still, objectively, sound more digital.

"Objectively" this has been tested, and blind A/B testing on the best analog emulations has "objectively" proven you dead wrong.

I´ve seen a quite a few such "tests", and I personally don´t approve of any of them.

As I´ve said earlier in this discussion, sure, you can find situations when some generic VST-sounds are indistinguishable from real analog sounds, but as soon as I´ve tried the demo of every such VST-synth, they all fall flat.

It´s one thing looking at the graph or hearing a note in isolation, but playing the synth with your own hands and feel the fingers interact with the synth and the synth voices interact with each other is another thing.

The "tests" I´ve seen don´t quality for more than marketing ploys.

[Uncle E]

As a hobbyist

Aren't we all?

Some VSTs can make very large/wide/lush sounds (albeit with CPU hit perhaps but computers are getting better every month!)

True but that version of lush is something different. Nothing wrong with it.

I doubt many festival/gig attendees can tell if that pumping bassline/backing pad sound etc. was produced by hardware or software. Different story if the software sounds crap, but does it really? Especially in the context of a mix...

Then why not just use samples and save your CPU?

3. I found hardware a pain in the a$$. Unless it has multiple audio channels, it was a pain to use the same synth on multiple tracks without bouncing to audio all the time. I appreciate for some that's actually an advantage for the creative process (less tinkering!).

Yes, when I'm using hardware, I write and record a part, then move on. If I need to add or fix something later, I use a different sound and that just ends up adding ear candy. It's a feature, not a bug.

4. I never owned an analog 'old skool' synth but I get that some love the tactile feedback & immediacy of hardware. Of course software won't give you that. But I get my kicks in that regard by mapping my Arturia KeyLab Mk2 controller to various parameters.

DiscoDSP Discovery not only maps to the Nord Lead but is basically a copy of the interface, so using the Nord to control it feels exactly like working with good hardware. It's better than using a one-size-fits-all controller.

With that said, Serum is a beautiful example of a plugin that is meant to be a plugin. No hardware can do what it does.

[glokraw]

The piano in the living room was never touched.

We are in an age where fear of ridicule and the craving for instant gratification
are producing kids/adults who won't practice piano or other instruments 'out loud', because somebody might hear the imperfections. Add in the numbers of apartment dwellers for whom practice 'out loud' on most any instruments presents it's own issues.

My wife was gifted a piano and quality lessons at age eight, but the sicko older siblings were jealous, and tormented at every opportunity, which sadly had a lasting effect.

Times and tech and societies have changed, and a lot of music is made by those safely tucked away in their space, with their earbuds/headphones and screens, rarely or never hearing a critical or encouraging voice, both of which have a place, when offered with good intent. Hearing one's performance applauded after having investing immense numbers of practice hours, is a thrill that too many people will miss out on in life.

Little wonder the 'music industry' is becoming a feedback loop in an elite closed inner circle. But for those feeling on the outside, it is still a golden age for musicians, where practice, learning, and wise $pending, make it possible to create like never before. With just seven white notes and five black notes to figure out, and practice being quite inexpensive, it isn't as hard to make music as most people believe.

(sorry for rambling )

[Uncle E]

For me however this is just a bit of fun and sitting down at a computer with a mouse and keyboard isn't what I want from this hobby...It's nesseseery sometimes, but the more I can avoid it when 'playing' music and tinkering around the better for me.

Agreed. The process and sounds have to be something I enjoy because fewer than 100 people will likely ever hear the end result.

[hebex]

(sorry for rambling )

Not rambling to me, some good points there IMO. The snowflake youth who live isolated in pods, it´s scary to think of what will come of that.

[Urs]

the synth voices interact with each other

?

[Uncle E]

True, of course you want instant gratification, you don´t want to have to work hard. Take a pill to lose weight instead of exercising, watch a 15 minute music theory clip on YouTube and you´ll seen everything you need to know about that, eat a burger at a drive-in in 5 minutes and/or eat the bugs and you´ll get your proteines, etc. Quick fixes is all you need and you´ll get rich and famous.

I will not eat the bugs! I will not live in a pod!

[Uncle E]

that is the most ridiculous thing i've read on this forum in a long time (and that's saying a lot).

gonna have to step my game up.

He obviously hasn't been exposed to your best work.

[Uncle E]

tbh, ive been so off my tits at a festival before now, i was once found dancing to cows mooing.

"Why do the Tibetan monks have bells around their necks?"

[ramseysounds]

So unless I'm very much mistaken, software wins