Software vs Hardware

[SoftSynthLover99]

Hardware vs Software? Hardware wins for me (and quite easily) despite my username

1. The speed of designing and working with patches is infinitely faster than midi (or mouse and keyboard).
2. You can achieve sounds in hardware that are not achievable in software (despite what plugin companies tell you).
3. Expression! The Keybed on most synths are far, far superior to even the most premium midi keyboards.
4. Saves tons of resources on your studio CPU, allowing you to work faster and stack sounds faster and more efficiently with a greater overall sound quality.
5. The RAW sound (no effects or gimmicks) just has a different weight that software just hasn't got right yet.

Hardware Synths are musical instruments, and musical instruments by design are the best way to create musical ideas. I want my studio computer to help capture and shape my ideas, not be the only instrument in my studio. THAT would be a sad studio to create in for me.

Worth noting that I look at it from a professional musicians standpoint. Hobbyist may not share the same fondness for the creative process which I understand. Different worlds!

I have to agree, for professional work nothing beats hardware.
Your point 1 is the most important. It's all about speed. Having, for example, 8 synths turned on, plugged in, and setup with your favorite patches ready to play is infinitely faster than any software project template.

Going to have to disagree, having 8 hardware synths turned on, sure make sure they are all in tune or you will waste time making them all play in tune. Did the air conditioner come on and cool that one analog synth and throw it out of tune? How about the heat?

Crap we have 60 cycle hum time to track down that down again taking time, opps where is that noise coming from let me track that down

Crap I want to use a different synth for that part, let me get it out of the stack and replace it, what MIDI channel? Wait why is it scratchy? Crap let me tune it, damn there is that 60 cycle hum again, wait why did the volume get so low? Let me turn up the gainstage in the mixer damn it where is that noise coming from, wait maybe it's the power supply damn it I need a 12 volt center positive and all we have is a 12 volt center negative, wait this is supposed to be for 100 volt Japanese current not American 120, or European voltages, damn it

Those are all things as a professional musician I have run into using hardware synths while on the clock being stared at by other musicians and the engineer also on the clock

Any professional musician for any length of time can speak of similar horror stories

If time is money NOTHING is faster then someone prepared using plugins and a good computer. You can have hundreds of different Synths at your finger tips ready to go

This just sounds like someone in the studio who has no clue of what he/she is doing, and has literally nothing to do with a hardware synth or a professional recording studio. Nothing in a real studio or even home studio should be that out of whack or damaged, and if so you have some bad gear and need to get it fixed. So my experience has been the exact opposite you describe as a professional with over a decade of experience. Never had any hardware crap out like that especially a synth.

Many times a producer can derail a session browsing presets of a synth or sounds that he has no clue if they're good or not, killing any vibe in the room. Or a producer who has poor sound selection and can't get the writers actually writing anything worth listening to.

The most effective sessions I've been apart of have always started with someone on a real instrument (guitar, piano, synth, bass etc) and those sessions usually fly by because everything is immediate and nobody is messing with a mouse searching presets or trying to get a soft synth to sound right. 9 out of 10 times a real instrument sounds "right" at the source. Especially a quality hardware synth!

[IvyBirds]

This just sounds like someone in the studio who has no clue of what he/she is doing, and has literally nothing to do with a hardware synth or a professional recording studio. Nothing in a real studio or even home studio should be that out of whack or damaged, and if so you have some bad gear and need to get it fixed. So my experience has been the exact opposite you describe as a professional with over a decade of experience. Never had any hardware crap out like that especially a synth.

Many times a producer can derail a session browsing presets of a synth or sounds that he has no clue if they're good or not, killing any vibe in the room. Or a producer who has poor sound selection and can't get the writers actually writing anything worth listening to.

The most effective sessions I've been apart of have always started with someone on a real instrument (guitar, piano, synth, bass etc) and those sessions usually fly by because everything is immediate and nobody is messing with a mouse searching presets or trying to get a soft synth to sound right. 9 out of 10 times a real instrument sounds "right" at the source. Especially a quality hardware synth!

Wow as a professional with close to 40 years of experience you are dead wrong. If you have never had hardware fail well count yourself lucky

As an actual working professional time is money for me and that's the biggest advantage of software

Besides hardware failure it's recall ability

If a client wants to me to revisit something we worked on on the past I can pull that session up in seconds with a computer, how do I do that with hardware? Should I keep every piece of hardware and never change anything? Never create any new patches and have to delete others

Good luck in 2025 with being true to hardware and if you are juggling multiple clients at the same time all with different needs and timelines again good luck

Everything you describe with the most efficient sessions you have been involved with can be done on a laptop, I am sorry for your clients that you are unprofessional enough to not grasp that

Gee producer you want a piano sound? Awesome here it is in 2 seconds, oh you want a B3? Here ya go, oh your want a Minimoog type lead awesome here you go. Everything takes seconds. Of course if they want a piano sound there is already one in the studio, same with a B3. I most certainly am not lugging a Steinway around

A month later you get a call back because they want to change something? Awesome let me spend 3 seconds recalling that exactly like we left it. And I get paid again awesome

Oh geez you see Mr Producer I can't recall that patch exactly because it was my hardware synth back at home and I only brought these 7 instruments

And hey if a producer or engineer wants to derail a session with presets awesome. I am on the clock, let's spend 15 hours doing that I don't give two shits I am still getting paid either way

But that is on them, my hardware deciding to have an issue with anything that delays a session is on me however and I am the one costing the client money

All in takes is your hardware to cost a client money and you are done

[SoftSynthLover99]

2. You can achieve sounds in hardware that are not achievable in software (despite what plugin companies tell you).
3. Expression! The Keybed on most synths are far, far superior to even the most premium midi keyboards.
4. Saves tons of resources on your studio CPU, allowing you to work faster and stack sounds faster and more efficiently with a greater overall sound quality.
5. The RAW sound (no effects or gimmicks) just has a different weight that software just hasn't got right yet.

2 - you can achieve in software sounds hardware can't do

3 - Disagree. There is high premium midi keyboard

4 - You have a minimoog, I can make a poly minimoog, play with 64 instance. You can't.

5 - Some soft synth will blow you mind on a blind test.

Everything is about different taste. Keep in mind hardware is not only about analog. I love both,
if I need a lot of stage gain and distortion. I choose my hardware. FM, Wavetable, sample, granular.
I pick up soft synth.

2. Nope! The right hardware synth can make any sound a soft synth can and far beyond. Prophet X/XL is one example of a synth that goes far beyond anything a soft "synth" can do, and goes into Kontakt territory very easily. As well as a workstation like the new Montage M. Pretty much unlimited potential that goes beyond capabilities of a VST.
3. As a keyboardist and piano player, feel is important and no midi keyboard even the most premium, has a good feel for real time playing in my opinion. Which midi keyboard would you say has a great keybed?
4. As I have a Moog One 16-Voice, what I can do goes far beyond just a minimoog LOL
5. Nope, I can always tell the softsynth vs hardware if the patches are identical. Release timing and the way the decay and sustain sound is always a dead giveaway. Even with TAL and u-he who do the best emulations IMO.

I agree hardware is not only about analog and sound. Polyphony, voice count and the way it actually handles voice switching etc is all done better in hardware. Software is convenient though and can actually spark some creative ideas! So that's why I stay hybrid with everything best of both worlds.

[SoftSynthLover99]

Hardware vs Software? Hardware wins for me (and quite easily) despite my username

1. The speed of designing and working with patches is infinitely faster than midi (or mouse and keyboard).
2. You can achieve sounds in hardware that are not achievable in software (despite what plugin companies tell you).
3. Expression! The Keybed on most synths are far, far superior to even the most premium midi keyboards.
4. Saves tons of resources on your studio CPU, allowing you to work faster and stack sounds faster and more efficiently with a greater overall sound quality.
5. The RAW sound (no effects or gimmicks) just has a different weight that software just hasn't got right yet.

Hardware Synths are musical instruments, and musical instruments by design are the best way to create musical ideas. I want my studio computer to help capture and shape my ideas, not be the only instrument in my studio. THAT would be a sad studio to create in for me.

Worth noting that I look at it from a professional musicians standpoint. Hobbyist may not share the same fondness for the creative process which I understand. Different worlds!

I have to agree, for professional work nothing beats hardware.
Your point 1 is the most important. It's all about speed. Having, for example, 8 synths turned on, plugged in, and setup with your favorite patches ready to play is infinitely faster than any software project template. Music is a thing of a moment - without hardware instruments and excellent playing technique, that "unique musical thought" is quickly gone. People on PCs write track for a month, many input notes using mouse, so in the end it usually sounds like meaningless torture. It's just sound, not music!

While there's no equivalent to Moog One in software world, many VSTis sound pretty good. Now we have Virus, Nord, Triton, Blofeld etc. in VST - these are 100% digital synths so that's it. It's same as HW. But as I said, there's no need to obsess that much over timbre. High quality compositions sound great on any instrument. I've spent too much time studying timbre, instead of studying music theory and practicing playing. For example, just listening to Bach and playing Bach a bit will improve music writing skills infinitely faster than experimenting with filters and oscillators.

Of course, for a hobbyist, it's software all the way. Get a fast CPU and have fun...

Yep I agree with you. Some software synths are indeed amazing (Falcon, Omnisphere, U-HE, TAL, Synapse Audio, GForce to name a few faves).

But do note that not all digital synths are the same. I owned a Triton for many years, and while the VST is awesome, the Triton hardware does sound a bit different. So just because they are both digital, doesn't mean they will be identical. Converters, sample rates etc all play a factor in the overall sound.

[SoftSynthLover99]

This just sounds like someone in the studio who has no clue of what he/she is doing, and has literally nothing to do with a hardware synth or a professional recording studio. Nothing in a real studio or even home studio should be that out of whack or damaged, and if so you have some bad gear and need to get it fixed. So my experience has been the exact opposite you describe as a professional with over a decade of experience. Never had any hardware crap out like that especially a synth.

Many times a producer can derail a session browsing presets of a synth or sounds that he has no clue if they're good or not, killing any vibe in the room. Or a producer who has poor sound selection and can't get the writers actually writing anything worth listening to.

The most effective sessions I've been apart of have always started with someone on a real instrument (guitar, piano, synth, bass etc) and those sessions usually fly by because everything is immediate and nobody is messing with a mouse searching presets or trying to get a soft synth to sound right. 9 out of 10 times a real instrument sounds "right" at the source. Especially a quality hardware synth!

If a client wants to me to revisit something we worked on on the past I can pull that session up in seconds with a computer, how do I do that with hardware? Should I keep every piece of hardware and never change anything? Never create any new patches and have to delete others

What are you talking about? LOL when you record a hardware synth into your DAW, it is there forever with perfect recall of however you recorded it. I can pull up sessions from 10 years ago with hardware synths I don't even own anymore and all the sounds and parts are still there.

And modern hardware synths (and even vintage ones) have the ability to store a lot of presets for patch recalling, so again what kind of ancient hardware are you talking about?

[mjolnir]

What I miss most about my hardware setup of the 1990s was the speed of accessing my favorite patches and configurations without having to menu dive or fiddle with the mouse. I just don't like computer mice.

When auditioning my patches, I'd have one hand on my MIDI keyboard of drum machine pad, and the other hand on the patch increment button and I'd rapidly audition the sounds, playing the exact rhythm or melody that I was thinking of using.

I just don't have that kind of fluidity with software. And each VST / CLAP has it's own unique interface. There's not full standardization. So you have dozens or hundreds of learning curves instead of just a few. (Unless you scale down a lot)

[IvyBirds]

This just sounds like someone in the studio who has no clue of what he/she is doing, and has literally nothing to do with a hardware synth or a professional recording studio. Nothing in a real studio or even home studio should be that out of whack or damaged, and if so you have some bad gear and need to get it fixed. So my experience has been the exact opposite you describe as a professional with over a decade of experience. Never had any hardware crap out like that especially a synth.

Many times a producer can derail a session browsing presets of a synth or sounds that he has no clue if they're good or not, killing any vibe in the room. Or a producer who has poor sound selection and can't get the writers actually writing anything worth listening to.

The most effective sessions I've been apart of have always started with someone on a real instrument (guitar, piano, synth, bass etc) and those sessions usually fly by because everything is immediate and nobody is messing with a mouse searching presets or trying to get a soft synth to sound right. 9 out of 10 times a real instrument sounds "right" at the source. Especially a quality hardware synth!

If a client wants to me to revisit something we worked on on the past I can pull that session up in seconds with a computer, how do I do that with hardware? Should I keep every piece of hardware and never change anything? Never create any new patches and have to delete others

What are you talking about? LOL when you record a hardware synth into your DAW, it is there forever with perfect recall of however you recorded it. I can pull up sessions from 10 years ago with hardware synths I don't even own anymore and all the sounds and parts are still there.

And modern hardware synths (and even vintage ones) have the ability to store a lot of presets for patch recalling, so again what kind of ancient hardware are you talking about?

Wow tell me you have never had an actual client without telling me you have never had an actual client, or maybe you have and just don't like getting repeat business and making money

Here is how it works. You go in and play a session. At some point in the future they want to rework and rerecord something

So they will call you up and pay you again to come do exactly that. Only that chorus/bridge/whatever they want reworked needs to sound exactly like the first time you recorded it. That's simple with virtual instruments on a laptop as everything is saved

If you used a hardware synth well that's a different thing all together, maybe you can recall it or maybe you can't. Maybe you still own the synth or maybe you don't, maybe that patch was saved properly and not over written or maybe it wasn't

I have been called back so many times over the years for additional work and made so much money in the process it's crazy. Again it's not me that messed anything up the first time it's the fact that clients want to change something and I am viewed as a professional who makes that dead simple to do. When I leave every session I always tell everyone if they want to rework something or make changes just to give me a call and I will be happy to come back. I like coming back as I get paid again

I have engineers and artists and producers who LOVE the fact that I can do that for them and as a result I get first call for a lot of projects. Again why wouldn't I want to get that business.

I have a literal crap tons of sounds ready to go on my laptop that can give the artists and engineers I work with whatever they want in seconds, and if they call me back a week, month, year, or even 5 or 10 years from now I can get those sounds up exactly the same way in seconds

Having them recorded to a DAW or tape is awesome, but those files can get messed up by some engineer, or they might want to rework it at a different tempo, or key

So if I recorded it in D and they want to change it to G not a problem I will come down and play it in G with the same exact timbre 5 years later, not an issue. I could do that with hardware but that would require me having tens of thousands of dollars tied up in hardware I could never sell, and hoping and praying that nothing ever breaks, or I don't need to overwrite any patches

Again I feel sorry for your clients that you can not grasp why clients might want to revisit old projects, but I am more than happy to take all this business for myself

As a hired gun pianist and keyboard player I am competing against lots of other hired guns. Being easy and flexible and being able to save a clients or engineers ass when they have an issue

My brand is being a serious player with a great work ethic who gets things done, it's not that guy with a Jupiter 8 or whatever. I am super easy to work with both today and tomorrow and can give you pretty much any sound you might want in seconds

And if they have a Jupiter 8, or Steinway or B3, or DX7 or whatever in the studio already I am more than happy to just come in and play that also of course, in any key you want on the fly

[SoftSynthLover99]

This just sounds like someone in the studio who has no clue of what he/she is doing, and has literally nothing to do with a hardware synth or a professional recording studio. Nothing in a real studio or even home studio should be that out of whack or damaged, and if so you have some bad gear and need to get it fixed. So my experience has been the exact opposite you describe as a professional with over a decade of experience. Never had any hardware crap out like that especially a synth.

Many times a producer can derail a session browsing presets of a synth or sounds that he has no clue if they're good or not, killing any vibe in the room. Or a producer who has poor sound selection and can't get the writers actually writing anything worth listening to.

The most effective sessions I've been apart of have always started with someone on a real instrument (guitar, piano, synth, bass etc) and those sessions usually fly by because everything is immediate and nobody is messing with a mouse searching presets or trying to get a soft synth to sound right. 9 out of 10 times a real instrument sounds "right" at the source. Especially a quality hardware synth!

If a client wants to me to revisit something we worked on on the past I can pull that session up in seconds with a computer, how do I do that with hardware? Should I keep every piece of hardware and never change anything? Never create any new patches and have to delete others

What are you talking about? LOL when you record a hardware synth into your DAW, it is there forever with perfect recall of however you recorded it. I can pull up sessions from 10 years ago with hardware synths I don't even own anymore and all the sounds and parts are still there.

And modern hardware synths (and even vintage ones) have the ability to store a lot of presets for patch recalling, so again what kind of ancient hardware are you talking about?

Again I feel sorry for your clients that you can not grasp why clients might want to revisit old projects, but I am more than happy to take all this business for myself

I can assure you with your attitude we are not working in the same circles lol. I never said you can't revisit old projects, its the same process with hardware as it is with software though so idk what you're on about (unless you rely on midi chord packs and drawing in notes). And most modern producers are bouncing Midi to Audio anyway so its no different than hardware in the end.

And the amount of times I've had a VST start on an INIT patch instead of pulling up the saved preset?! Software is NOT always 100% perfect recall as you suggest.

And you do know guitar players and session musicians who play real instruments outside of a laptop have successful careers right? How do you think they get by playing those real instruments on records? Just because you have a gazillion sounds on a laptop doesn't mean you're gonna get more business or credits as a producer. Best of luck to you though!

[IvyBirds]

]

I can assure you with your attitude we are not working in the same circles lol

Absolutely because based on what you say I am making more money than you are, while you are getting the scraps people like me turn down

. I never said you can't revisit old projects, its the same process with hardware as it is with software though so idk what you're on about (unless you rely on midi chord packs and drawing in notes). And most modern producers are bouncing Midi to Audio anyway so its no different than hardware in the end.

Nope not use chord packs just decades of experience and if they are bouncing to MIDI tell me again why hardware is the superior choice of professionals?[/quote]

Again I feel sorry for your clients that you can grasp the need to redo something once it's recorded

And the amount of times I've had a VST start on an INIT patch instead of pulling up the saved preset?! Software is NOT always 100% perfect recall as you suggest.

Again I feel sorry for your clients if you are having that issue so much you think it's a thing. I can't remember that last time that was ever an issue for me

And you do know guitar players and session musicians who play real instruments outside of a laptop have successful careers right? How do you think they get by playing those real instruments on records?

You do realize we are talking about professional keys players right? Playing Pianos, Organs, EPs, and Synths in a studio right? And again I feel sorry for your clients if you don't think software is a "real instrument" in 2025

Just because you have a gazillion sounds on a laptop doesn't mean you're gonna get more business or credits as a producer. Best of luck to you though!

Compared to you? Sure it does because I am easy to work with

[SoftSynthLover99]

@IvyBirds
Lol yes of course, professional keys players who play real Pianos, Synths etc. I love virtual instruments, but they are fundamentally different by design. One is designed to be performed with and played live (real instrument) and the other is designed or sampled to sound and mimic the real instrument (Virtual Instruments). Nothing wrong with either virtual or real instruments.

But somehow you think because you have a bunch of sounds on a laptop, that makes you more desirable to work with?? Lol ok.

These are the kinds of delusions I was talking about earlier in the thread lol. I appreciate the nightly laugh though Mr Birds!

[IvyBirds]

@IvyBirds
Lol yes of course, professional keys players who play real Pianos, Synths etc. I love virtual instruments, but they are fundamentally different by design. One is designed to be performed with and played live (real instrument) and the other is designed or sampled to sound and mimic the real instrument (Virtual Instruments). Nothing wrong with either virtual or real instruments.

But somehow you think because you have a bunch of sounds on a laptop, that makes you more desirable to work with?? Lol ok.

These are the kinds of delusions I was talking about earlier in the thread lol. I appreciate the nightly laugh though Mr Birds!

Again you are putting words in my mouth, but hey if that's what you are reduced to awesome

But again tell me why professionals only use hardware and how hardware is so faster or something

From Platinum selling records to Hollywood blockbusters you will hear the sound of virtual instruments, but sure real musicians like you only use hardware right?

[SoftSynthLover99]

@IvyBirds
Lol yes of course, professional keys players who play real Pianos, Synths etc. I love virtual instruments, but they are fundamentally different by design. One is designed to be performed with and played live (real instrument) and the other is designed or sampled to sound and mimic the real instrument (Virtual Instruments). Nothing wrong with either virtual or real instruments.

But somehow you think because you have a bunch of sounds on a laptop, that makes you more desirable to work with?? Lol ok.

These are the kinds of delusions I was talking about earlier in the thread lol. I appreciate the nightly laugh though Mr Birds!

Again you are putting words in my mouth, but hey if that's what you are reduced to awesome

But again tell me why professionals only use hardware and how hardware is so faster or something

From Platinum selling records to Hollywood blockbusters you will hear the sound of virtual instruments, but sure real musicians like you only use hardware right?

Hardware is faster, but I never said professionals only use hardware. You however are incorrect if you think top producers are not using hardware synths to make records today. Jack Antonoff and Daniel Nigro for example have done several breakdowns of modern grammy winning records, using hardware synths on artist like Taylor Swift Olivia Rodrigo to Sabrina Carpenter etc.

Then you got keyboard wizards like Cory Henry or Greg Philinganes who use hardware not only in the studio but live as well.

You seem to have some kind of weird hatred for hardware synths lol I wish you well in your recovery!

[Morty-C-137]

Ironic post SoftSynthLover99

Don't get me wrong I love a good soft synth! I use them (and other plugins) often, but people need to stop deluding themselves

How about; you personal preference is just that; a preference. And others have theirs.

[frag]

IvyBirds, why so nervous? The man doesn't claim software is useless, he's just saying hardware synths are still very much relevant in pro environment.
I mean, would there be so many new hardware synths if that weren't true? Why don't we all get that Ultra 9 285K and forget about hardware. Look at how many new HW synths are released.
And it's true same synth doesn't sound identical in HW and SW version. I remember I really liked Korg's Opsix HW demos, but the native version sounds like a regular VST. There was nothing interesting about it.
I suppose HW synth has dedicated audio signal processing, while CPU does everything at the same time. And that compromises sound quality.

[Hanz Meyzer]

I think the recent Korg Multi/Poly actually is an awesome and very useful hardware. Even though it is a purely VA and there will be even a 1:1 sounding VST3 for it, too!

Korg made an excellent job in streamlining many features into a small form factor synth. So it is uncomplicated to handle, easy syncable, and excellent quality.

This opinion comes from someone who never ever uses hardware synths - THAT convincing is this product. I guess there are similar examples of recent hardware synths.

But I _absolutely_ doubt the need for analog synths (not modular!). Seems to me a waste of resources (and money), since you can perfectly emulate these in the digital domain, which then is cheaper, better to handle, feature-richer... This multi/poly actually sounds more analog to my ears than an analog synth.