Software vs. Analog in 2025 – Has the Balance Shifted?

[IvyBirds]

Probably 50% of the posts in this thread are from one person banging on the software can do anything and sounds as good as hardware in all situations.

Weirdly no one has said that in this thread, despite your disinformation

Software has limitations but so does analog hardware

I have asked repeatedly for people to define "good" in a measurable way, and so far no one has done so

In the end both hardware and software sound good and either one is able to overcome the limitations of the other

So it comes down to a personal choice as to whatever it is you want to use, based on whatever parameters you decide for yourself

[IvyBirds]

I listen to and play a lot of techno, I think it's often pretty easy to pick out hardware sounds.

But yet you posted a bunch of videos that were the sound of software that were supposedly hardware

[enCiphered]

will the balance shift to the thread with the poll?
should we have a poll to see what we think about that?
ad infinitum.

Probably 50% of the posts in this thread are from one person banging on the software can do anything and sounds as good as hardware in all situations.

Yep. No doubt, the most epic monologue in KVR history

[ghettosynth]

will the balance shift to the thread with the poll?
should we have a poll to see what we think about that?
ad infinitum.

Probably 50% of the posts in this thread are from one person banging on the software can do anything and sounds as good as hardware in all situations.

Yep. No doubt, the most epic monologue in KVR history

Right?

[IvyBirds]

will the balance shift to the thread with the poll?
should we have a poll to see what we think about that?
ad infinitum.

Probably 50% of the posts in this thread are from one person banging on the software can do anything and sounds as good as hardware in all situations.

Yep. No doubt, the most epic monologue in KVR history

Monologue? What Monologue?

[_leras]

Digital filters can be easily automated, for some kinds of things that's very helpful.

And I don't think anyone said anything like all digital filters are bad. I think people have just, accurately, stated and shown examples of tonal qualities software doesn't quite do yet.

I am not putting any words in your mouth just stating the obvious you don't find Analog Filters to be better than digital ones because you use digital filters and again just said you use "all kinds of processes on all kinds of sounds"

Once again with the twisted logic.

I've never said I don't use software, and I do think Analog Filters generally sound better. These two things are both true.

[_leras]

But yet you posted a bunch of videos that were the sound of software that were supposedly hardware

Again with the myopic twisted statements.

One great sounding analog synth demo may possibly have had some sounds include some digital built in FX, and you try to claim that that makes it a software synth.

[ghettosynth]

It is hard to beat the organ!

Speaking of... On the album Agharta, Miles Davis played a Yamaha YC-45D organ. It had a really good tone and dynamic presence. Not sure what sort of signal path he had.

Do you know if there is a good software emulation?

I don't, but, it's an awesome instrument. It doesn't have quite the footprint on the public's eye as did the Vox or Farfisa owing to their use in pop hits. So, I don't know if it will attract Arturia's attention. It uses the typical architecture of the era with LC tuned master oscillators and transistor based flip flops. I once reverse engineered a farfisa voice card for a friend in an early band that I was in. The thing didn't work at all, it seemed that it had been dropped. Almost all of the voice cards were cracked or broken, so I was able to glue and solder bridge them back to life. One, however, was missing. One of the black keys, so not that important. At any rate, the boards were built, IIRC, on the very common 22/44 pin bus that radio shack sold perf cards for. So, I was able to cobble together an approximate workalike using some sort of oscillator, maybe a 555 with a ten turn trim pot, I'm not sure. I did use 7474 TTL chips for the flip flops though. It sounded thin, but in key. Probably owing to pulse width, but maybe also to the missing distortion. What can you expect, the 7474 is a digital logic chip, of course it sounded thin. In my defense I was broke at the time and did not have the ability to source correct vintage parts nor the time to properly fix it. We needed a keyboard to play Doors tunes, and that was the only thing that was available to us.

At any rate, the service manual for the YC45D is online, not that it's easy to read in terms of trying to sus out the circuits. I think you'd have to have one. Other people are interested though:

viewtopic.php?t=81876

https://gearspace.com/board/electronic- ... ative.html

[whassup]

Paige eins null fumpf

[_leras]

And I don't think anyone said anything like all digital filters are bad. I think people have just, accurately, stated and shown examples of tonal qualities software doesn't quite do yet.

Bazille is one of my favorite synths and I make great use of its digital filters which are excellent. However, if I could magically make the filters analog I would.

An analog filter is not going to have digital artifacts or that hint of brittle edge when driving the filter with high resonance and filterfm.

I've gotten some great sounds out of Bazille, the resonance in particular is great. (I just wish I was better at programming it in general, lol).

Massive X has a rez boost on its SVF filter which can also generate some really nice tones. (Though I know you don't like that synth)

I also have an old MC 505, which by many interpretations could be said to have a terrible filter, but which does some really great steppy filter/rez sweeps more like an effect.

My Waldorf Pulse, though analog, also has a steppy filter, but which also can be used in an interesting way at times.

So many ways to get different sounds.

[justin3am]

And I don't think anyone said anything like all digital filters are bad. I think people have just, accurately, stated and shown examples of tonal qualities software doesn't quite do yet.

Bazille is one of my favorite synths and I make great use of its digital filters which are excellent. However, if I could magically make the filters analog I would.

I've gotten some great sounds out of Bazille, the resonance in particular is great. (I just wish I was better at programming it in general, lol).

I really want Bazille as hardware and completely digital but with each voice running on it's own processor with it's own DAC. This way each voice can be clocked according to the pitch of that voice and any aliasing is related to the fundamental pitch of that voice, like old samplers and wavetable synths. It'll never happen but I can dream, lol!

Bazille is such a remarkable instrument, I'm still finding new ways to make it sound broken. Very few other synths handle feedback patching as well as it does.

[pdxindy]

Speaking of... On the album Agharta, Miles Davis played a Yamaha YC-45D organ. It had a really good tone and dynamic presence. Not sure what sort of signal path he had.

Do you know if there is a good software emulation?

I don't, but, it's an awesome instrument. It doesn't have quite the footprint on the public's eye as did the Vox or Farfisa owing to their use in pop hits. So, I don't know if it will attract Arturia's attention. It uses the typical architecture of the era with LC tuned master oscillators and transistor based flip flops.

The sound of it in Davis' piece Maiysha (particularly from the Get Up With It version) has so much character. I know it had a volume pedal and it can be heard, but I'm not sure of there is other gear in the signal path as well.

I read that on Agharta the lead guitarist ran the guitar through a VCS3 in some parts. There are so many unique tones from Miles music from that period.

[IvyBirds]

But yet you posted a bunch of videos that were the sound of software that were supposedly hardware

Again with the myopic twisted statements.

One great sounding analog synth demo may possibly have had some sounds include some digital built in FX, and you try to claim that that makes it a software synth.

And yet many of the videos you posted stated they used things like the effects in Abelton and other software based effects

They were not built into anything they were software based plugins in a DAW

But thanks for admitting you cant hear the sound of hardware

[vurt]

But thanks for admitting you cant hear the sound of hardware

hardware. 2;10 on, but the whole tack is divine

[vurt]

not evidence of anything, just felt it was time for some tunes.