Is virtual analog an advertising ploy?

[vurt]

i dont think martin and phil have spoken since, they wouldn't even appear in that documentary together.

[noiseboyuk]

i dont think martin and phil have spoken since, they wouldn't even appear in that documentary together.

Oh that's odd. I never realised there was any animosity there - what's that about? I was thinking of the members of the two bands.

[vurt]

maybe im mixing them up, which one left to play synths in heaven 17?
him and phil, he said he'd never speak to or appear with phil ever again
it's in that documentary, i think phil laughs about it, but the other guy, you can tell he's not forgiven phil.

[noiseboyuk]

maybe im mixing them up, which one left to play synths in heaven 17?
him and phil, he said he'd never speak to or appear with phil ever again
it's in that documentary, i think phil laughs about it, but the other guy, you can tell he's not forgiven phil.

Oh I see, I thought you meant Martin Rushent not Martin Ware - me being slow.

Well damn shame.

OK, I'm feeling guilty for this insane tangent now. Really, back to dodgy sales techniques.

[jamcat]

If Analog where so great in the beginning people would'nt have run away from it and embrace Digital and sold them for peanuts.

ironic then that the same thing happened to those digital synths.

and that that 'embracing digital' basically boiled down to 'replicating analog'

It's always simply a matter of being the latest technology.
FM did stuff that subtractive synthesis couldn't.
Digital (sampling) did stuff that FM couldn't.
Each technological advancement got players closer to the sound of real instruments.

Mathematical physical modeling takes that realism a step further.
To the point that, now, we've come full circle and we're physically modeling those old pure analogue synths.

But we're also modeling things analogue synths and FM synthesis could never replicate, like pianos and violins. This is where synthesis is now, and it is ALL digital, even when we're talking about it as though it's not.

[whyterabbyt]

But we're also modeling things analogue synths and FM synthesis could never replicate, like pianos and violins. This is where synthesis is now

actually its where digital synthesis was 20-30 years ago, just not in realtime. dont know why people seem to forget that digital synthesis dates back to the 50s.

[noiseboyuk]

It's always simply a matter of being the latest technology.
FM did stuff that subtractive synthesis couldn't.
Digital (sampling) did stuff that FM couldn't.
Each technological advancement got players closer to the sound of real instruments.

It's interesting to me that although it may have been the original aim, we collectively had to unlearn the importance of this. When drum machines came out, people were genuinely worried they would replace real drummers, even though they sounded nothing like them. Eventually the Linn came along and it was - gasp - sampled real drums (and Dare was made). But not only did the world not cave in, people started to go "hold on, for this particular track I actually PREFER the sound of the CR-78" (and In The Air Tonight got made - alongside actual real drums).

In other words, we began to notice that things didn't have to pretend to be something else, we could like them for their own sake. Don't use a DX7 to give you a nice lush analog pad - use an OB-Xa for that. Entire genres rose up around particular machines that had a unique sound.

Eventually appreciation of the past got fetishised, and the value of old wonky stuff started to become prized beyond all reason, and now we're in this silly place where people actually believe that buying a modelled plugin from Abbey Road might bestow some of the greatness of The Beatles on to them.

[whyterabbyt]

people actually believe that buying a modelled plugin from Abbey Road might bestow some of the greatness of The Beatles on to them.

ahem, i think you'll find my guitar playing now sounds exactly like Ringo's.

[jamcat]

People forget that there was a time not that long ago that if you wanted the sound of a piano you had to actually have a piano.

So the first digital samplers were really revolutionary. Now who among us doesn’t have at least one piano in our pocket?

[vurt]

People forget that there was a time not that long ago that if you wanted the sound of a piano you had to actually have a piano.

So the first digital samplers were really revolutionary. Now who among us doesn’t have at least one piano in our pocket?

me.
my pockets are empty.

[whyterabbyt]

People forget that there was a time not that long ago that if you wanted the sound of a piano you had to actually have a piano.

some people might forget that. others dont.

ironically, the OP is basically positing that you still do.

[jens]

I wonder why Jens hasn't been back to this thread to apologise? It seems the right thing to do after the way he carried on.

I apologized immediately (= weeks ago) - what more do you want?

[whyterabbyt]

I wonder why Jens hasn't been back to this thread to apologise? It seems the right thing to do after the way he carried on.

I apologized immediately (= weeks ago) - what more do you want?

a big snog; he's lonely and desperate for attention.

[jens]

Not gonna happen though...

[noiseboyuk]

Dagnamit, I’m dragging it back to the Human League one (last) time:

i dont think martin and phil have spoken since, they wouldn't even appear in that documentary together.

Happily this isn’t the case. I’ve been on a League-fest this past week, and there’s multiple sources of them saying they buried the hatchet long ago. They actually did tour together in (I think) 2009.

So yay.