Is the Virtual Instrument era over?

[HAL76]

Why discuss DCOs when we should better focus on digital pretenders?

Or the discussions, the rumors about the long awaited game changer. You know who. Will there ever be one - really?

[Double Tap]

BONES is right.

Whoa there, big guy, steady on!

To be fair, maybe he's not, but this time I agree with him.

@Double Tap
Nothing's over til people have no more money left to spend

Since none of us has hard data to support our ideas either way, I personally look at the level of discounting, and other hard price changes to test for market saturation. We all have our method.

I don't think Tony P is that far out with his guesses. He certainly presents himself intelligently. But none of us really know.

And Tony's (controversial?) ideas are interestingly provocative, which generates good KVR contributions from all comers (vurt too )

.......................................................

I'd still like to know what people make of an AI future?

A future where the synth "learns me" and predicts accordingly.

eg, a synth that analyses all my songs and figures out starter presets for me, or some alternative solution to browsers with their endless and almost bewildering-to-the-point-of-meaningless list of tag-fitting presets. AI will anticipate my needs..

eg, a synth that has a simpler gui that tends to populate with "knobs" depending on the way I'm using it.

eg something intelligent that links different parts of synth architecture in different ways so if, say, I wiggle a knob a couple of times it'll offer me some proper musical lfo or other ideas I'd not normally have thought of, and not just offer unmusical trash ideas (so often the case)

eg a synth arp that followed the key I'm playing in (not AI this, but worthy of a mention in a world of arp machines that mostly don't modulate to fit the key)

In short, a synth (or any plug or daw) that learned the way I operate, that configured, customised and organised itself in every way to what I actually do.

Anticipate me please, oh smart synth.

Bones could do with one of these

I started off asking a whole load of questions because maybe his OP was based on some insider knowledge but reading the thread it seemed that it... wasn't. But he's not trolling, it's a fair debate - I just think those sweeping statements didn't really help illuminate much? They provoked contributions and opposition but I don't think we're much closer to understanding what's going on.

I didn't just fall off the turnip truck...

My articles have appeared in numerous publications including Mix, Electronic Musician, Recording, Recording Engineer/Producer, AV/Video, Roland Users Group, Millimeter. I have also worked on projects for major MI companies including Roland, Kawai, and New England Digital.

Sure, I read your bio and saw your bylines, which is why I asked questions to engage rather than be dismissive. When I read through the thread though, it doesn’t look like there’s any actual data one way or the other. But maybe there’s stuff you’ve been told on background that you can’t share. I know data is hard to come by.

[dellboy]

The problem I have with VSTs is not the sound they make but the way they are controlled. I currently have a Nektar Panorama P6 which is pretty clever at mapping a VSTs parameters to keyboard knobs and sliders, but you still end up staring at a small screen to see what's what. The alternative is gazing at a computer screen and clicking on knobs etc with a mouse.

The focus should be on designing a controller keyboard with many knobs and sliders that illuminate with whatever they are controlling. VST developers could come up with some common method of mapping so that a cutoff knob is always a cutoff knob. An attack slider is always the same slider etc. We could then experience a VST as if it was a hardware instrument. The developers could then resell all their VSTs over again to accommodate the new standard.

[syntonica]

I don't know the technical details but I can see how excited developers in particular are about CLAP, so I hope it turns into a success - I can see that an open source standard is going to be much better for the industry than something propietary.

On VST3, it does seem to me that part of the reason why it's been glacially slow is that VST2 has been available. Now that it's not for new products, adoption of VST3 is starting to pick up. Either way, I don't see that whatever happens next with formats is likely to contribute to the end of the VI era, if it's going to make things easier for developers.

From a programmer's perspective, VST3 is strictly C++, crippling and actually closes far more doors than it may actually open. It offers nothing over VST2 that I can think of, and that's why devs clung to VST2 rather than "upgrading". CLAP leaves all the doors wide open, providing great flexibility in what their plugin does and allows the programmer to choose their own tools, provided they use the C ABI.

Adoption of VST3 is only picking up because devs have to use it now.

[whassup]

We had a Sylenth on the bench the other day. Opened it up and...lo and behold...Curtis chips!

/s

[BONES]

VST developers could come up with some common method of mapping so that a cutoff knob is always a cutoff knob.

It's called MIDI and there are supposedly standard assignments that everyone basically ignores. e.g. IIRC, cutoff is supposed to be cc14. It used to work pretty well with hardware, it made it really easy to automate my ESQ-M from my M1 or my ASR-10 or K5000 from my Trinity. It would be the easiest thing in the world for someone to publish a list and for everyone else to follow it but that went out the window with VSTi.

[_leras]

Well... There also vastly more parameters than can be controlled these days.

It would be great if some came up with a modern standard though.

[Dencheg]

Fine, you made me interfere.
The VI era is not over.
Actually that's it. I managed to squeeze 16 pages (front and back ) into one sentence

[cryophonik]

The VI era is not over.

Well, there you have it. So, that logically means that the hardware era is dead and gone because obviously software and hardware could never coexist….

…or, could they?





That’s not directed at you Dencheg

[JerGoertz]

The Virtual Instrument Era is over. So is the Hardware Era. So is any other preconceived era you care to mention.

Now is the era of music by whatever means necessary.

This isn't music production. This is warfare.

[cryophonik]

Damn, does that mean I need to learn how to beatbox?

[Uncle E]

Mic and a looper
The rhythm of lips smacking
Sounds like teen spirit

[tony10000]

s-l500.jpg

[jamcat]

Virtual Instruments are so

[JerGoertz]

Mic and a looper
The rhythm of lips smacking
Sounds like teen spirit

I'm MC AAX and I cannot lie
Poppin fresh beats with my VSTi

*a-prrummphh a-yuh-huh pltuthththth pththththth*
*record scratches*