Software vs Hardware

[mikeybabes]

I recently decided to buy the Korg MultiPoly Synth.

I really wanted the hardware, as I knew it would be more fun playing around with the dedicated hardware interface on the synth/module.

But I didn't really have the room, would have to arse about with cabling etc, and it would cost me nearly £ 800 as opposed to just over £ 100 for the VST. Plus I can stick the VST on my laptop and can noodle around with working it out whilst I travel, which I do a fair deal.

Even if it wasn't sonically identical, the convenience factor alone would be a big pull.

So I bought the VST. Even though I would personally have preferred the hardware, it just seemed the smarter choice.

Anyone implying that people are unprofessional for choosing to go with software, or unprofessional for going with hardware is behaving in an extremely unprofessional manner.

The one thing I can't abide in music is elitism, people who try and use music for their own status.. It' a most unpleasant trait.

Music should be collaborative, people coming together, that's it's true beauty and purpose.

But here....hey, dude, you are using the wrong reverb.....nobody uses that reverb.....

[frag]

I recently decided to buy the Korg MultiPoly Synth.

I really wanted the hardware, as I knew it would be more fun playing around with the dedicated hardware interface on the synth/module.

But I didn't really have the room, would have to arse about with cabling etc, and it would cost me nearly £ 800 as opposed to just over £ 100 for the VST. Plus I can stick the VST on my laptop and can noodle around with working it out whilst I travel, which I do a fair deal.

Even if it wasn't sonically identical, the convenience factor alone would be a big pull.

So I bought the VST. Even though I would personally have preferred the hardware, it just seemed the smarter choice.

Anyone implying that people are unprofessional for choosing to go with software, or unprofessional for going with hardware is behaving in an extremely unprofessional manner.

The one thing I can't abide in music is elitism, people who try and use music for their own status.. It' a most unpleasant trait.

Music should be collaborative, people coming together, that's it's true beauty and purpose.

But here....hey, dude, you are using the wrong reverb.....nobody uses that reverb.....

You're using the wrong synth! Even if everyone uses it, it's still wrong!

[jethrobull]

I recently decided to buy the Korg MultiPoly Synth.

I really wanted the hardware, as I knew it would be more fun playing around with the dedicated hardware interface on the synth/module.

But I didn't really have the room, would have to arse about with cabling etc, and it would cost me nearly £ 800 as opposed to just over £ 100 for the VST. Plus I can stick the VST on my laptop and can noodle around with working it out whilst I travel, which I do a fair deal.

Even if it wasn't sonically identical, the convenience factor alone would be a big pull.

So I bought the VST. Even though I would personally have preferred the hardware, it just seemed the smarter choice.

Anyone implying that people are unprofessional for choosing to go with software, or unprofessional for going with hardware is behaving in an extremely unprofessional manner.

The one thing I can't abide in music is elitism, people who try and use music for their own status.. It' a most unpleasant trait.

Music should be collaborative, people coming together, that's it's true beauty and purpose.

But here....hey, dude, you are using the wrong reverb.....nobody uses that reverb.....

Great post

[whassup]

Anyone implying that people are unprofessional for using the wrong reverb.....nobody uses that reverb.....

Yo Mikey, summed that up for ya.

No seriously, great points you make.

And about that reverb, dude...

[pdxindy]

Music should be collaborative, people coming together, that's it's true beauty and purpose.

And that usually means hardware

All the times I've played music with friends, it is always with physical instruments (guitars, bass, synths, vocals, percussion) I love making compositions by myself in my studio, and both software and/or hardware works fine. But when it comes to live playing with other musicians, it is always hardware.

[vurt]

Music should be collaborative, people coming together,

other people? besides me? in a room, together?

[Shabdahbriah]

Music should be collaborative, people coming together,

other people? besides me? in a room, together?

IKR?

[elxsound]

Music should be collaborative, people coming together,

other people? besides me? in a room, together?

IKR?

I’ve done lots of group music. Now, I don’t want to share.

[IvyBirds]

Music should be collaborative, people coming together, that's it's true beauty and purpose.

And that usually means hardware

All the times I've played music with friends, it is always with physical instruments (guitars, bass, synths, vocals, percussion) I love making compositions by myself in my studio, and both software and/or hardware works fine. But when it comes to live playing with other musicians, it is always hardware.

Yes because you can't play live with software with other musicians or something

It's like laptops and Mainstage and/or Gig Performer do not exist or are being used everyday on the largest stages in arenas, stadiums, and festival main stages all over the world

I gig multiple times a week with software synths

[pdxindy]

And that usually means hardware

All the times I've played music with friends, it is always with physical instruments (guitars, bass, synths, vocals, percussion) I love making compositions by myself in my studio, and both software and/or hardware works fine. But when it comes to live playing with other musicians, it is always hardware.

Yes because you can't play live with software with other musicians or something

Sure, there's a tiny percentage... and that's it.

If I think of all the places I've listened to live music; clubs, bars, cafes, outdoor markets, street buskers, festivals, etc., it has been rare that I've seen live musicians playing a midi controller connected to a laptop.

And even if there is a band where the keyboard player is using a laptop with a midi controller, the rest of the band is playing guitar, bass, drums, and so on.

When it comes to groups of musicians playing live music, hardware reigns supreme.

[kritikon]

I'm with vurt. Music is about me (or in his case him), not other people. Hell is other people, no doubt about it. Whenever I've got together with other people to make music it generally ends up in arguments and naturally they're all wrong. It still surprises me that I can sometimes be the only person in the whole world who is right all the time, but it's a funny old world. That's one of the beautiful things about electronic music - it can be done with absolutely nobody else but me, whether hw and/or sw.

[Hyperbole]

The one thing I can't abide in music is elitism, people who try and use music for their own status.. It' a most unpleasant trait.

Elitism gets a bad rap. Everyone intuitively understands a need for experts, i.e., elite members of society who can perform a task better than the average person. No one wants an "average Joe" flying their plane. They don't want people "coming together and collaborating" in the cockpit in one Kumbaya moment. Likewise, if someone is about to undergo brain surgery, they wouldn't want their surgeon to say, "Well, I'm no expert. But my opinion is..."

Music requires expertise and elitism, just like any other field. The difference between an actual musical expert and a self-aggrandizing, self-promoter is that the expert knows he is exceptional at what he does and, therefore, has nothing to prove.

[zerocrossing]

Music should be collaborative, people coming together, that's it's true beauty and purpose.

And that usually means hardware

All the times I've played music with friends, it is always with physical instruments (guitars, bass, synths, vocals, percussion) I love making compositions by myself in my studio, and both software and/or hardware works fine. But when it comes to live playing with other musicians, it is always hardware.

I don't even understand this. Is there some way to use software without hardware?

There was a time when I went full ITB and I was still jamming with a handful of friends coming over for sessions. Of course, my controller and computer are hardware, and I'm often using a guitar as well, but my point is that it's kind of odd to suppose that software is somehow some thing that's divorced from hardware. The multi/poly runs on a dedicated hardware platform, as well as Windows and OSX based hardware platforms. If my friends were to come over and I started running multi/poly on my computer, how would they know that what they were hearing wasn't coming from one of my hardware synthesizers? If I had it all routed in Bitwig, and they just saw me arming tracks to change what was playing, they'd have no way of knowing.

It just seems weird to me that these kind of ideas are still hanging on as if they had some validity. I'm not trying to convince you to change your preferences, but to suggest that everyone is better off using dedicated hardware instruments for playing with other musicians is just not true.

[_leras]

joined a bird watching forum, and it's no different.
was ripped apart as a noob, for not being sure if my sparrows were house or tree?

aggression everywhere.
don't get me started on the knitting forum.

Well what were they? House or Tree?

Ignore those people. There are plenty of people who are experts and also enjoy teaching and sharing information and knowledge.

[crimsonwarlock]

Yes because you can't play live with software with other musicians or something

Sure, there's a tiny percentage... and that's it.

Actually.... basically all big live concerts are running largely on a computer with software. Any professional FOH engineer will tell you that a big part of their job is managing a DAW that is running "the show". By the way, Digital Performer is a big thing in that world.