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

[Ah_Dziz]

a good fast food burger

No such thing

There's an amazing regional burger drive thru where I am (SE US) called Cook Out. They make chargrilled real beef burgers from real meat and use real veggies. It's the best. Also it's open until 2AM every day. The burger patties go: Small Medium Large Huge. I prefer their burgers over many "real restaurant" burgers. 99% of the time I'd prefer to make my own or just get Cook Out.

[pekbro]

Someone just told me there’s a place here that makes a burger with feta and fried peaches on it. Supposed to be really good. First I ever heard of that.

[Uncle E]

The "wagyu" ground beef at Costco is pretty pointless. Tastes the same as regular ground beef. Plus, since it's 75/25, the patty shrinks down to nothing once it's done cooking.

[zerocrossing]

Beef or Beyond?

Bruh...

We're not vegetarian or vegan, but we tried Beyond and Impossible, and I forget which one we thought was better, but my daughter definitely prefers it to beef. I personally don't, but on a complex burger, the kind with some fancy cheese, sauce and toppings, it seems to hardly matter. I guess that's the "in the mix" part of the analogy.

But my point stands. Just because we fossils have nostalgic love for the classics, and similar sounding synths, it doesn't mean someone who didn't grow up with them is going to have the same idea. There are people who have to have the sound of an original Prophet 5, people who have to have the sound of the Access Virus, and I'm sure there are people who have to have the sound of Sylenth or Massive. It seems like whatever people were exposed to when their refractory period was a half hour, is something that stays with them for life. Like the baby duck that thinks the golden retriever is its mom. I don't have this as much as many here, because I was anti synth during those years. It was all about guitar for me, and I still own two of the guitars I bought during that time period, and I'll never sell them. I bought a Strandberg last year and while I love it, it doesn't get much use for some reason. It's not my "golden retriever." There's no logic in it, and there shouldn't be.

So for me, I just love things that make cool sounds. The computer has always had a romantic mystique with me, ever since I was a kid, reading sci-fi. I was actually super disappointed with how limited they were in the 80s on. It wasn't until the mid 90s that I started doing the DAW thing, but virtual instruments and effects were still too primitive. It wasn't really until the mid 2000s that I found things had changed. Synths like Zebra 2 blew me away. I sold a lot of ROMplers and VA and never missed one. I did load up on some analogs, though. I still have a bunch of analog and hybrid stuff that's not really "better" but unique in some way that makes me value having them.

[Uncle E]

We're not vegetarian or vegan, but we tried Beyond and Impossible, and I forget which one we thought was better, but my daughter definitely prefers it to beef.

[zerocrossing]

We're not vegetarian or vegan, but we tried Beyond and Impossible, and I forget which one we thought was better, but my daughter definitely prefers it to beef.

Oh, I block all trolls, so I kindly ask you to not quote him to me. Thanks.

That said, I did make my family eat chips made from crickets. "Chirps." Genius marketing. They were good. They basically just tasted like any other multigrain chip. Not sure why there's a stigma about eating bugs when we eat lobster, crab, etc. Many people seem to live a life of being afraid of everything new. SAD!

[El°HYM]

[SoftSynthLover99]

Beef or Beyond?

Bruh...

But my point stands. Just because we fossils have nostalgic love for the classics, and similar sounding synths, it doesn't mean someone who didn't grow up with them is going to have the same idea.

I would disagree as I'm only just turning 30 and started my music journey with software synths well over a decade ago. And over the last few years discovering hardware synths and diving into the sound of analog more has made me appreciate both options and realize they both have a place in modern music. In fact some of the best music being made right now incorporates both software and hardware together.

I would say the older dinosaurs are embracing software more and the younger generation like me and those in their 20s and 30s are really into hardware synths these days and have a hybrid approach. From Nashville to LA I'm seeing the OB-6 a lot or at least 1 kind of hardware synth in every studio I travel to.

This interview is interesting as all these guys are software and plugin enthusiast really but one of them had the chance to have someone bring some hardware synths in the studio and he really could tell the difference. 28:49 when he talks about his experience hearing hardware synths in his studio vs plugins

[Erik_Lucas]

Beef or Beyond?

Bruh...

But my point stands. Just because we fossils have nostalgic love for the classics, and similar sounding synths, it doesn't mean someone who didn't grow up with them is going to have the same idea.

I would disagree as I'm only just turning 30 and started my music journey with software synths well over a decade ago. And over the last few years discovering hardware synths and diving into the sound of analog more has made me appreciate both options and realize they both have a place in modern music. In fact some of the best music being made right now incorporates both software and hardware together.

I would say the older dinosaurs are embracing software more and the younger generation like me and those in their 20s and 30s are really into hardware synths these days and have a hybrid approach. From Nashville to LA I'm seeing the OB-6 a lot or at least 1 kind of hardware synth in every studio I travel to.

This interview is interesting as all these guys are software and plugin enthusiast really but one of them had the chance to have someone bring some hardware synths in the studio and he really could tell the difference. 28:49 when he talks about his experience hearing hardware synths in his studio vs plugins

100%

[elxsound]

50%

[IvyBirds]

I would disagree as I'm only just turning 30 and started my music journey with software synths well over a decade ago. And over the last few years discovering hardware synths and diving into the sound of analog more has made me appreciate both options and realize they both have a place in modern music. In fact some of the best music being made right now incorporates both software and hardware together.

I would say the older dinosaurs are embracing software more and the younger generation like me and those in their 20s and 30s are really into hardware synths these days and have a hybrid approach. From Nashville to LA I'm seeing the OB-6 a lot or at least 1 kind of hardware synth in every studio I travel to.

This interview is interesting as all these guys are software and plugin enthusiast really but one of them had the chance to have someone bring some hardware synths in the studio and he really could tell the difference. 28:49 when he talks about his experience hearing hardware synths in his studio vs plugins

if you honestly think this why do you continue to shit all over software synths in thread after thread after thread? For example in this thread where you compared software with McDonalds and hardware with 5 Star Fine Dining Restaurants? If that were actually the case why in the studios you claim to visit are you only seeing a single hardware synth? When if they really were the 5 star dining experience that you claim they should have dozens as that is how they could book clients?

I have been in and out of studios for 40 years, what we see now is hardware synths becoming completely irrelevant in the pro studio environment. Studios that have been around for a long time might have a bunch that they have owned for a long time as many studios never sell or get rid of anything, especially as all of that equipment has already been paid for and depreciated on their taxes, but newer studios especially ones that cater to the vanity market, or the semi pro market might have one or two and even then its usually something like a Motif or Montage

Back in the day studios could book time with clients, because they had a specific synth or synths. That is no longer the case as no one cares

If you are a hardware synth enthusiast you are probably recording those at home, or bringing them into the studio with you, not to mention LA, Nashville, NYC, and most other major cities will have rental houses that can rent you synths as needed, and good studios probably know locals who own specific hardware synths and will rent them, or hire them and their instruments as session players

the bottom line is no one is paying money to book studio time to mess around with designing patches on the clock on unfamiliar synths, you are bringing synths with you into the studio that have your patches already on them ready to go and that is where software really shines

[Uncle E]

I would say the older dinosaurs are embracing software more and the younger generation like me and those in their 20s and 30s are really into hardware synths these days and have a hybrid approach.

It's probably because we (us dinosaurs, I mean) can't believe how good softsynths have gotten. You don't know how good you have it.

[vurt]

I would say the older dinosaurs are embracing software more and the younger generation like me and those in their 20s and 30s are really into hardware synths these days and have a hybrid approach.

It's probably because we (us dinosaurs, I mean) can't believe how good softsynths have gotten. You don't know how good you have it.

woohoo im in my 20s or 30s
ow me knees ffs

[_leras]

But my point stands. Just because we fossils have nostalgic love for the classics, and similar sounding synths, it doesn't mean someone who didn't grow up with them is going to have the same idea.

Well Serum is about as close as you can get to the sound a lot of mainstream electronic music. It just sounds like a lot of music that's out there. But that doesn't mean it's the ultimate best sound, even if it's an incredible synth.

I don't think nostalgia is the deciding factor of sound quality. That would be our ears.

Nostalgia is also not the driving force of the resurgent hardware synths or modular synth market, that's also down to the sound these things make.

Software can do things that many hardware synths can't. It's very possible to make music, even electronic, without even using a synth.

[zerocrossing]

Beef or Beyond?

Bruh...

But my point stands. Just because we fossils have nostalgic love for the classics, and similar sounding synths, it doesn't mean someone who didn't grow up with them is going to have the same idea.

I would disagree as I'm only just turning 30 and started my music journey with software synths well over a decade ago. And over the last few years discovering hardware synths and diving into the sound of analog more has made me appreciate both options and realize they both have a place in modern music. In fact some of the best music being made right now incorporates both software and hardware together.

I would say the older dinosaurs are embracing software more and the younger generation like me and those in their 20s and 30s are really into hardware synths these days and have a hybrid approach. From Nashville to LA I'm seeing the OB-6 a lot or at least 1 kind of hardware synth in every studio I travel to.

This interview is interesting as all these guys are software and plugin enthusiast really but one of them had the chance to have someone bring some hardware synths in the studio and he really could tell the difference. 28:49 when he talks about his experience hearing hardware synths in his studio vs plugins

A YouTube splash graphic like that tells me all I need to know about it. It's b.s. Nothing sounds like an OB-6... because there is nothing like an OB-6. That doesn't mean there couldn't be something like it, and one day there may be, but until that day, if you enjoy the sound of an OB-6, get an OB-6. However if you're telling me an OB-6 sounds objectively better than GForce's OB-E, I'll tell you you've got cognitive bias. I've got the Prophet 6, and I love it. There's nothing that sounds like it either, but does it sound "better" than Repro or Model 80? No. It's just a different flavor of that family of synths.

I do a lot of a-b type comparisons of stuff. I am really careful to make sure filters and oscillators are tuned exactly, times on envelopes are the same, etc. I'm listening to things from C0 to C6. I'm going deep in the way that few influencers do. I'm hitting the extremes of settings, as well as making typical sounds. I'll fully admit that a lot of emulations that still sound great, break at various points and either sound harsh or dull, but there are also emulations that hold up. Diva vs. RePro are good examples of this. Diva can sound amazing and do 80% of what you'd want an analog synth to do, plus a lot of extra tricks, but fails in edge cases. Repro does not fail in edge cases, but also does fewer tricks and has a greater CPU load. Then there is the Model 80 Prophet 5 emulation that gets even closer, but at the expense of voices and extras.

I'm reminded of an influencer's video where he goes to show that the 3rd Wave can replace his Prophet 6. I'm sure he convinced a lot of gullible people that this was true, but I went a lot deeper than his surface level comparison, and the 3rd Wave fails on multiple levels... in ways that software plugins actually did a lot better. I actually made a 3rd Wave vs. Waldorf PPG 3 comparison for a guy who was claiming how bad the plugin sounded in comparison to the 3rd Wave. (note: he did not own a 3rd Wave) He refused to respond to my challenge of picking out the software, and went on to cry like a baby about how I made it unfair.