hi,
I was looking at the korg MS2500R (rackmount synth)
And I noticed that all the new Korgs are dsp based synths
soooo.... should i simply forgo getting this and go with an old circuitry based synth on ebay? (something made in the 90's)
are new hardware synths really worth it or are they pretty much vsti's with dedicated computer platforms?
DSP synths vs. old fashioned circuitry
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- KVRist
- 337 posts since 12 Apr, 2003 from The Greater Atlanta Area
Pay $1,000 for a sequencer? ummm... no
I'm going to have to disagree with you there...
I'm going to have to disagree with you there...
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- KVRAF
- 6937 posts since 4 Jun, 2004 from Utrecht, Holland
Forget technology under the hood, go for how it actually sounds...
My MusicCalc is temporary offline.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
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- KVRAF
- 8735 posts since 24 May, 2002 from Tutukaka, New Zealand
Depends on what you're after. Certainly there is a sonic difference between most of the good analogue synths and most of the usual digital VA synths, but that's down to taste. And the good VA synths can be better than the average analogue synths.
Yes, most modern synths are simply VSTi with a h/w interface and usually a few extras thrown in. Even the majority of the 90s synths are digital - i.e. plugins in a box. You need to go back to the early 80s for analogue synths, although there were many hybrid analogue/digital synths throughout the 80s. I can't think of many standard commercial synths from the 90s that weren't digitally coded throughout. There are still analogue synths being made today, but they tend to be costly compared to the digital ones.
And you also have to consider the trade-offs, such as:
Analogue - may not even have patch memory. Digital has loads.
Analogue - may not have tuning stability (especially the real old ones) - digital are stable every time unless you program in pitch variation.
Analogue cost against digital savings.
Analogue fluid sound against mostly thin and "cold" sound.
Analogues are far more likely to hold a resale price - any digital loses the moment you walk out of the shop door with it.
Interface - although that's evened out now - but still many of the earlier digital synths have apalling GUIs with only a few buttond and diddy LED/LCD screens, whereas most analogues have easy obvious interfaces with a knob for every parameter that invite you to play with them.
Reliability - some analogues are starting to break down and can be difficult getting replacement parts. Digital more easily fixed (although may not be worth fixing).
Keyboards - not too many analogues have things like aftertouch or even key velocity - almost all digitals do.
So as someone else said - you measure all of that, disregard it and then buy whichever one you think sounds the best to you.
Although I'd add that if you like the VA type sound - most analogues sound better at it than most VAs. But some character digital synths do things you simply cannot do on any analogue synth.
Many of the analogues I've owned, I'd be hard pressed to say I'd honestly buy them again today if I had all the spare cash for them. But the ones that I would - wouldn't trade them for a studio full of digital synths.
Yes, most modern synths are simply VSTi with a h/w interface and usually a few extras thrown in. Even the majority of the 90s synths are digital - i.e. plugins in a box. You need to go back to the early 80s for analogue synths, although there were many hybrid analogue/digital synths throughout the 80s. I can't think of many standard commercial synths from the 90s that weren't digitally coded throughout. There are still analogue synths being made today, but they tend to be costly compared to the digital ones.
And you also have to consider the trade-offs, such as:
Analogue - may not even have patch memory. Digital has loads.
Analogue - may not have tuning stability (especially the real old ones) - digital are stable every time unless you program in pitch variation.
Analogue cost against digital savings.
Analogue fluid sound against mostly thin and "cold" sound.
Analogues are far more likely to hold a resale price - any digital loses the moment you walk out of the shop door with it.
Interface - although that's evened out now - but still many of the earlier digital synths have apalling GUIs with only a few buttond and diddy LED/LCD screens, whereas most analogues have easy obvious interfaces with a knob for every parameter that invite you to play with them.
Reliability - some analogues are starting to break down and can be difficult getting replacement parts. Digital more easily fixed (although may not be worth fixing).
Keyboards - not too many analogues have things like aftertouch or even key velocity - almost all digitals do.
So as someone else said - you measure all of that, disregard it and then buy whichever one you think sounds the best to you.
Although I'd add that if you like the VA type sound - most analogues sound better at it than most VAs. But some character digital synths do things you simply cannot do on any analogue synth.
Many of the analogues I've owned, I'd be hard pressed to say I'd honestly buy them again today if I had all the spare cash for them. But the ones that I would - wouldn't trade them for a studio full of digital synths.