Should we ditch VST/AAX instruments altogether?

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Should we ditch VST/AAX instruments altogether? 2023-11-05T01:10:41+00:00 (English is not my first language, fyi) I know it might seem strange to ask this kind of question in this kind of forum, but there are some questions that need to be asked. Lets say that our ultimate goal is to create music. And lets say that we want our music to sound as humanely as possible. Do we really NEED virtual instruments, or maybe it does more harm than good? Here is obstacle number one: Latency and quantization. It doesn't matter if you are an 8 grade pianist, eventually when you record your performance via midi, you'll have even the smallest amount of latency (lets even say 2ms). And then you'll have two choices: Quantizing, or leaving the performance as it is, with the tiny delay. Each option will ultimately not be 100% identical to your original performance, as it could have been if it was recorded with a real piano via microphone, or with an external synth via direct audio signal. When recording with midi, you are going to sacrifice some humanity in your performance, and any attached "fixes" are still mechanical in their nature and won't be 100% identical to your natural, instantaneous performance. Obstacle number two: Way too many options. Do we really need Kontakt Komplete, Sampletank MAX, Omnisphere, or any other gigantic vst that includes thousands and thousands of sounds, just to create a song? How many sounds do we need in a song, anyway? How many instruments Bach needed to create Toccata and Fugue in D minor? How many instruments The Beatles needed to create Strawberry Fields Forever? How many instruments Queen needed to create Bohemian Rhapsody? Lets admit it: modern music is mostly rubbish. The vast majority of the greatest hits in popular music were created way before the invention of digital instruments. Is it possible, that the endless amount of possibilities, perfect editing options etc just shifted the focus of musicians from writing the perfect song, to chase after the perfect sound and production? Maybe having some limitations is good for creativity? Maybe one keyboard and one guitar is all we need these days to create a good record? I think we reached an absurd time where we have companies that are excited to announce that their product "includes over 14,000 sounds!" or " a massive 600 GB of sounds and over 18,000 instruments" as if its a necessity to create music, and an endless amount of customers who are willing to fill in their credit card number in order to get their hands on another piece of code that produces sounds which the majority of it they'll never need, hear or use. How come companies made us believe that having 600 GB of sounds is an advantage instead of a hindrance? How many brushes Picasso needed? How many tennis racquets Rafael Nadal uses in a game? How many balls Lebron James need in the court? How many many balls Messi use in a soccer game? Pink Floyd didn't use 600 GB of sounds to create The Dark Side Of The Moon, why should we? I know it might seems like an old man yells at cloud type of rant, but trust me I ain't old at all. And even if I was it doesn't matter. I think it's time to admit it that some of us became sound collectors instead of music creators. I know that in some way, I did. I hope that I made some of you ponder a little bit about this whole concept in some deeper level, and maybe reach some new conclusions. Personally, I decided to walk away from virtual instruments for the time being. Maybe one guitar and one external keyboard is all I need. There is something liberating with knowing that you have a limited amount of options. I swear I didn't feel so free in a long time. Bippo https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=436587

JerGoertz JerGoertz https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12897: KVRAF; 4328 posts since 20 Feb, 2004

Post by JerGoertz » Wed Dec 13, 2023 4:20 am

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ALL MUSIC HENCEFORTH SHALL BE CREATED WITH AN IMPULSE RUN THROUGH VARIOUS REVERBS

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