Is the Virtual Instrument era over?

[vurt]

'FACTS'

Someone is confusing facts with opinions

Then prove me wrong!

No thanks. Up to you backup your claims, not me.

"lay, lady lay, lay across my big brass bed" bob dylan.

[FotoxBr]

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows…” Bob Dylan

[Robmobius]

'FACTS'

Someone is confusing facts with opinions

Exactly... Where is he getting all these 'facts' and figures?

And the onus is on him to prove it too.

[Synthman2000]

I think it is just living happily inside everyone's computers. Once you have got to 97pct of everything you need you just won't be buying more of the same... a new VA, a new WT.. has to be something superb to buy with all the super instruments we have available. My music is made 97pct ITB and I am extremely happy with that way of working personally speaking.

[vurt]

ftr, i love my hardware, in recent years, ive predominantly used hardware, with the computer being nothing more than a two track recorder, recording a performance. no editing post recording, straight to youtube livestream. so you could say pretty much dawless.

i would still argue, plugins outweigh hardware, in units, more than enough to compensate for the higher margin on an individual piece of hardware.
meaning they're as likely if not more so to survive the cost of living crisis, i am more likely to spend 50 quid on a plug in than 500 on a piece of hardware, in the current economic climate and id imagine most people would do the same, as it's quite hard to justify big expenses at the moment but we all live a new toy occasionally.

a few hardware companies have folded too, and the chip shortage doesn't seem to be passing very quickly. not that it will end the hardware market, people will always want to make music somehow.
some will want a modern itb system, some a more hands on, it's not a contest.

[Lbdunequest]

There was never era of virtual instruments, it just is. They will never vanish they will ever be. People will still use them.

[gearwatcher]

Plus it's much easier to hide a plugin purchase from the missus than another 61 key space invader or so I heard

[ramseysounds]

My thoughts? CPU processing power is getting stronger and faster all the time. VI are a fraction of the cost of HW. Studios are closing. More and more people are making music on laptops. VI makes music more accessible. But yeah, VI has had its day and will no longer sell anything. Oh and yeah you make posts just to be seen and keep the dialogue going with unproven comments. That ok?

Then why are we seeing all these wonderful new hardware synths and very few new software ones?
There is a lot larger profit margins in hardware these days and no worries about piracy.

Do you think companies can keep afloat from virtual instruments that you bought several years ago? That is why many of them are attempting to switch to subscription models.

Let me have a think. Oh yeah. You're wrong. Let it go.

[Jafo]

Is it over? No. Are people still buying synths? Yes. Do you have to use virtual instruments? No. More to the point, is arguing about it productive? No. Shut up and make some music.

[Sinisterbr]

I don't understand why people are having such a strong opinion about this topic.
First of all, that's a rethoric question: Of course people won't stop using VI overnight.
Second, he does have a point, IMO. Things in this market are indeed slowing down. The amount of news and softsynth releases are decreasing year over year.
We can debate about the reasons, but this looks very clear to me.

[Vortifex]

Shut up and make some music.

No.

[pdxindy]

I think it is just living happily inside everyone's computers. Once you have got to 97pct of everything you need you just won't be buying more of the same... a new VA, a new WT.. has to be something superb to buy with all the super instruments we have available. My music is made 97pct ITB and I am extremely happy with that way of working personally speaking.

I have all the synthesis I need. Hardware, software... I'm covered. The quality is great, the sonic versatility is great.

I've hardly looked at any of the recent new synths. So yeah, it would have to be something superb to get me to buy it. The only synth I am looking forward to is Zebra 3.

[fisherKing]

I don't understand why people are having such a strong opinion about this topic.
First of all, that's a rethoric question: Of course people won't stop using VI overnight.
Second, he does have a point, IMO. Things in this market are indeed slowing down. The amount of news and softsynth releases are decreasing year over year.
We can debate about the reasons, but this looks very clear to me.

there are always news synth & effects plugins being released. and slowing down (ie, something like dune not updating every 4 months) does not mean anything is over.

it's like computers; not every update can be revolutionary. a lot of synths have reached a peak, and next up, we'll see smaller improvements & enhancements.

anyway, without actual numbers (which no one here has), it's all just... discussion. and nothing wrong with discussion.

[vata44]

With the AI hype, I think we will see more and more innovation as far as AI does a lot of the work / creative process. I figure it will really boil down to user experience / interface more than new mind blowing deep as hell features.

[Downangle]

Back in the 90s I had a Korg 01/W, Ensoniq TS12, and an Ensoniq SD1. I added an ASRX Pro, Mackie mixer, and a Roland hard disk recorder. I was so distracted by all of this and trying to make it easier to work with that I had no idea that plugins existed in the early 2000s. When I started working with plugins, I was angry at myself for not keeping up with what was going on with technology. I absolutely CANNOT stand the sound of those three keyboards after only using them for many years. Even adding samples using the ASRX Pro didn't cover up their sound. Plugins have been an amazing relief for me. I now have access to whatever sound I want. I will absolutely never limit my setup again, and I certainly won't invest thousands in an instrument that has a character I will learn to hate over time.