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

[zerocrossing]

Software has come a long way, but so has hardware. For instance, we a very accurately model a Prophet 5, but that's a pretty simple synth, even with some additional features. But something like the Arturia PolyBrute? There's nothing that can do the analog emulation that's as good as the Prophet 5, but that has the feature set of the PolyBrute. You may not care about that level of complexity, but if you do, it's well worth it. I keep 8-10 instruments like that in my studio to complement my software. Software and CPUs will get better and maybe catch up, but I feel like I'm at the point where everything is really working for me and I don't have much need to change it up. I guess if we move into a smaller place when my daughter moves out, but that's probably not for another 10 years.

[Papuzzo]

If there's one thing I've noticed from Internet discussions, it's this: If you don't have a real 1928 Steinway, a hardware 1965 Moog synthesizer, a 1954 Stratocaster through a Dumble amp, a boutique handmade 5 string bass, a string section with all Stradivarius level instruments all going through the most expensive Neumann mics into an SSL G console connected to a room full of old rare compressors, EQs and reverbs and recorded at Abbey Road onto tape, your music will suck.

[_leras]

Software vs Hardware June 2025 edition.

Shhhhh....

[_leras]

The ship has long sailed in terms of software being good enough to use for just about anything.

Instruments in movies, nearly all mainstream electronic music. 99% of mixes are also now done in the box with software FX.

The tools available are incredibly, there's no doubt.

For me though, I think there's still a little extra to get got out of hardware synths in terms of Sonic's and presence in the sound.

Just listening to e.g. software preset examples against 'analog' synths you can feel the difference. I think that for some things my analog/hybrid synths sound better than software.

For FX, I think it's closer, but for sure hardware distortion still (just) have an edge, and things like analog delays and filters can have a super present sound. But as they are not tone generating it's less important.

I use tons of software 60-80% of instruments and like 97% of FX are software. I surely don't need the analog synths and pedals, but I also feel lucky to have them and appreciate them very much.


The balance has long shifted, but the moving electrons are still more alive.

[markello]

HW v SW thread 2025.

The title has changed but the song remains the same.

[Ah_Dziz]

Software continues to get better. Hardware remains pretty much the same or is just software running in a box that isn't a computer workstation. I love my hardware bits but they rarely make it onto a song. I would take that stuff out of I ever performed though (at least my nord and my TC electric FX).

I do like the sound of my hardware mic preamps more than using the super clean amps on my soundcard and trying to color the sound afterwards. For a lead vocal I'll bounce it through my Neve clone for the mix if I record somewhere else. It has a pleasant distortion that eats peaks and tilts the spectrum in a very pleasing way (if one can avoid a pronounced proximity effect). For the "current sound" I find using a large diaphragm in Omni mode in a nice booth give me a very good tonal balance.

Edit: all that being said, I don't really find that any of the hardware I've ever used can "beat" current software or most things from the last 10 years or so. I just think the hardware can be a bit quicker for certain things and definitely handy in a live situation.

[enCiphered]

Software continues to get better. Hardware remains pretty much the same or is just software running in a box that isn't a computer workstation. I love my hardware bits but they rarely make it onto a song. I would take that stuff out of I ever performed though (at least my nord and my TC electric FX).

I do like the sound of my hardware mic preamps more than using the super clean amps on my soundcard and trying to color the sound afterwards. For a lead vocal I'll bounce it through my Neve clone for the mix if I record somewhere else. It has a pleasant distortion that eats peaks and tilts the spectrum in a very pleasing way (if one can avoid a pronounced proximity effect). For the "current sound" I find using a large diaphragm in Omni mode in a nice booth give me a very good tonal balance.

Edit: all that being said, I don't really find that any of the hardware I've ever used can "beat" current software or most things from the last 10 years or so. I just think the hardware can be a bit quicker for certain things and definitely handy in a live situation.

Really appreciate your perspective, this is the kind of discussion I was hoping would come out of this thread.

What you said about hardware being great but often staying unused in actual productions rings very true for me as well. I’ve held on to a few pieces for years thinking I’d use them more, but software just keeps getting more flexible and fast, and that ends up winning in most studio situations. Still, there’s something about running a signal through an analog chain that just works without needing to chase it with multiple plugins. That part hasn’t really changed.

[_leras]

I do like the sound of my hardware mic preamps more than using the super clean amps on my soundcard and trying to color the sound afterwards. For a lead vocal I'll bounce it through my Neve clone for the mix if I record somewhere else. It has a pleasant distortion that eats peaks and tilts the spectrum in a very pleasing way (if one can avoid a pronounced proximity effect). For the "current sound" I find using a large diaphragm in Omni mode in a nice booth give me a very good tonal balance.

Yes for sure if capturing an audio signal, if you have good hardware it will help you start with a better recorded sound, and that first recorded sound is very important, especially with vocals. This is another place where hardware still has the edge.

At the same time though, a cheap mic in a half decent sound card can still capture a great performance. Not all great tracks/songs are perfect technical recordings - and thank god for that. Do the best with what you have got.

[D-Fusion]

There are some people that are stuck in a loop and believes that HW is the only way and that the tiny differences in sound is worth 1000s of more $ compared to the SW Emulations or cheaper HW Clones and that Newer Modern synths are crap and that only the oldest Synths and Romplers are the best because they where used in some hit songs in the past.

I use a mix of Both even when I doesn't actually need the HW but there is one company that starts with a "R" that has a horrible Copy protection system so I use their HW Instead.

[Ah_Dziz]

Yeah. I just prefer it. I only was able to afford nice preamps after I made some money making music. I was perfectly happy with various soundcard preamps from emu to maudio to rme or using a crappy behringer mixer to mic up a drum kit. Hell I run an old sm58 for very many vocals still as well as for acoustic recordings of banging on shit. Some things don't need to sound "shiny". A nice cheap dynamic mic can get blasted with SPL and still sound fine. I also run homemade extra cheap contact mics into my nice preamps sometimes. I also use my phone, a cheap portable digital recorder and my component tape deck I used to mixdown to when I was still in high school to record stuff directly, and then bounce to the computer.

Nice stuff is just handy now and then, and... nice. The same can be done with work and plugins.

[Papuzzo]

Here's an interesting twist on these software vs hardware debates. Imagine you could go back in time to 1980 with a modern computer loaded with the U-He instruments and FabFilter's Pro-Q, Pro-C, Pro-R and Pro-L plugins, and a Focusrite 2i2 audio interface. Who in their right mind then wouldn't rather use your setup instead of all the cutting edge analog equipment back then? So why do we say the equipment back then was better? I remember recording in 1982. My band had to go into a recording studio and plop down a shit ton of cash for a demo tape that was of laughable quality in today's standards. Garageband and its included FX could blow that demo out into space. We all played guitars and bass because no one could afford a synthesizer. Digital has made music so much more powerful and affordable than we could ever imagine 50 years ago. The only thing it hasn't done is increase musical talent, but that's a whole other discussion.

[Vortifex]

I think there's something of a revival going on with hardware. Vinyl sales are growing as a reaction to the digitisation of art. People want something tangible again. They want cool stuff to look at and play with. Similar thing with music production, and Behringer has helped to enable that with their cheap knockoffs. It's not just about the sound, it's about the process.

For under a grand I can buy 8 voices of analog polyphony, an SH-101 clone, a Minimoog clone, an 808/909 clone or a Drumbrute Impact (all real analog), and a Mackie mixer. Even 10 years ago that would have been unthinkable. Hardware effects are still relatively expensive, so a hybrid setup with hardware instruments and software effects seems like the way to go if you want a tactile experience beyond clicking your mouse and playing your MIDI controller.

[whassup]

Here's an interesting twist on these software vs hardware debates. Imagine you could go back in time to 1980 with a modern computer loaded with the U-He instruments and FabFilter's Pro-Q, Pro-C, Pro-R and Pro-L plugins, and a Focusrite 2i2 audio interface. Who in their right mind then wouldn't rather use your setup instead of all the cutting edge analog equipment back then? So why do we say the equipment back then was better? I remember recording in 1982. My band had to go into a recording studio and plop down a shit ton of cash for a demo tape that was of laughable quality in today's standards. Garageband and its included FX could blow that demo out into space. We all played guitars and bass because no one could afford a synthesizer. Digital has made music so much more powerful and affordable than we could ever imagine 50 years ago. The only thing it hasn't done is increase musical talent, but that's a whole other discussion.

This!

[whassup]

If there's one thing I've noticed from Internet discussions, it's this: If you don't have a real 1928 Steinway, a hardware 1965 Moog synthesizer, a 1954 Stratocaster through a Dumble amp, a boutique handmade 5 string bass, a string section with all Stradivarius level instruments all going through the most expensive Neumann mics into an SSL G console connected to a room full of old rare compressors, EQs and reverbs and recorded at Abbey Road onto tape, your music will suck.

[IvyBirds]

I think there's something of a revival going on with hardware. Vinyl sales are growing as a reaction to the digitisation of art. People want something tangible again. They want cool stuff to look at and play with. Similar thing with music production, and Behringer has helped to enable that with their cheap knockoffs. It's not just about the sound, it's about the process.

For under a grand I can buy 8 voices of analog polyphony, an SH-101 clone, a Minimoog clone, an 808/909 clone or a Drumbrute Impact (all real analog), and a Mackie mixer. Even 10 years ago that would have been unthinkable. Hardware effects are still relatively expensive, so a hybrid setup with hardware instruments and software effects seems like the way to go if you want a tactile experience beyond clicking your mouse and playing your MIDI controller.

More than half of people who buy vinyl records don't actually own a record player they buy them as Wall Art or as a collectible, while they listen to digital music

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ ... ata-shows/

As far as a tactile experience goes there is nothing more tactile than your own custom control surface controlling software

Because if you really want knobs and faders, you don't settle for the limited control surface of hardware synths that are predefined for you, you make your own layout