Hardware synths not for me?

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Teknobeam

but also, intangible aspects such as the process of for instance transferring the samples, etc. I mean, how many hit songs are you cranking out in a day..... a week.... a decade? is this a Ford efficiency assembly line or something else? I would suggest that it's something else.

Here's how I see it. When you're doing bicep curls, it's pretty boring. Up. Down. Up. Down. The reward is that with every move your bicep improves, and if you turn it into a routine with a little music, the tedious practice becomes bearable - and eventually even rewarding.

But tediousness has no virtue all by itself. So - if you're spending your time doing janitor duties like naming files/moving them and the interface through which you do it sucks, it won't make your music better. It might give you more time to think, though.

Then again, so would just pausing and taking some time to think - because then you wouldn't be distracted entering filenames with a data wheel or texting with giant square rubber buttons like it's 1997.

We'd be off a lot better if all samplers had monitor/mouse/keyboard I/O, even if it was old, someone'd eventually dream up a retrofit for it so you wouldn't just be limited to Roland (AFAIK E-mu/Akai never had those options except for the MPC4000 which had a B/W monitor out).

[fateisaweapon]

did you get your virus ti yet? I'm still looking ><

[Teknobeam]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Here's how I see it. When you're doing bicep curls, it's pretty boring. Up. Down. Up. Down. The reward is that with every move your bicep improves, and if you turn it into a routine with a little music, the tedious practice becomes bearable - and eventually even rewarding.

But tediousness has no virtue all by itself. So - if you're spending your time doing janitor duties like naming files/moving them and the interface through which you do it sucks, it won't make your music better. It might give you more time to think, though.

Then again, so would just pausing and taking some time to think - because then you wouldn't be distracted entering filenames with a data wheel or texting with giant square rubber buttons like it's 1997.

We'd be off a lot better if all samplers had monitor/mouse/keyboard I/O, even if it was old, someone'd eventually dream up a retrofit for it so you wouldn't just be limited to Roland (AFAIK E-mu/Akai never had those options except for the MPC4000 which had a B/W monitor out).

Yes, tedium can impede and stifle creativity, but so can obsessive compulsive organization. It's OK to be highly organized, but sometimes you need to be completely scattered, loose, and derailed, and let it all hang out in order to facilitate new inspiration. I did say "sometimes". I guess my original point was about the essence of creating something as opposed to the backbone or infrastructure, or platform that is the vehicle. Sometimes too much stuff is counter productive. Sometimes what you have can also be limiting, yet also define your sound. It's a very subjective discussion.

[djugel]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

We'd be off a lot better if all samplers had monitor/mouse/keyboard I/O, even if it was old.

That got me thinkin... doesn't every old Roland sampler use a mouse and monitor?

My S-50 uses this actually...

[CoolColJ]

Originally Posted by djugel

That got me thinkin... doesn't every old Roland sampler use a mouse and monitor?

My S-50 uses this actually...

Only Roland gear, even the Fantom allows you to plug a USB mouse/trackball ...

But with touch screens, it's less of a need these days, but still I find a mouse more comfortable, less raising your arm etc

[CoolColJ]

Someone who knows the right balance - Fred Falke
CS80
Somehow his music doesn't sound "old"

[Acid Mitch]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

(AFAIK E-mu/Akai never had those options except for the MPC4000 which had a B/W monitor out).

MPC3000 has VGA output.

[foodeater]

Originally Posted by CoolColJ

Someone who knows the right balance - Fred Falke
CS80

+ (Free) TAL Chorus 60 haha.

[enossified]

C'mon if the OP wrote he "admires" acts like Skrillex and is already using software while his hardware gathers dust, maybe software is what he should be using. This thread has descended into the usual hard vs. soft pissing contest without paying any attention to what the OP is trying to do tutt

To argue that music was being made before software isn't much of an argument. Music was also made before electric guitars but I doubt any metal bands are selling their Jacksons and Marshalls to buy acoustics.

Skrillex himself hit a brick wall when he had his laptop stolen...the guy is obviously working 100% ITB. Could you use hardware to get the same sound? Probably if you had a lot of time or money, but why bother when $1000 for Logic, Live or Cubase and Komplete does the job?

[cane creek]

I've spent that much money on boutique plugins over the years £100 here £200 there that £169 for a Monotribe seemed a no brainer, looking forward to see what analog korg release next year

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by enossified

C'mon if the OP wrote he "admires" acts like Skrillex and is already using software while his hardware gathers dust, maybe software is what he should be using. This thread has descended into the usual hard vs. soft pissing contest without paying any attention to what the OP is trying to do tutt

To argue that music was being made before software isn't much of an argument. Music was also made before electric guitars but I doubt any metal bands are selling their Jacksons and Marshalls to buy acoustics.

Skrillex himself hit a brick wall when he had his laptop stolen...the guy is obviously working 100% ITB. Could you use hardware to get the same sound? Probably if you had a lot of time or money, but why bother when $1000 for Logic, Live or Cubase and Komplete does the job?

Not sure why you singled out Skrillex out of the bunch. And admiring them doesn't mean I want to sound like them. I was just trying to make a point about the fact that most successful modern electronic music producers are working solely ITB.

[Teknobeam]

Originally Posted by ohmicide

Not sure why you singled out Skrillex out of the bunch. And admiring them doesn't mean I want to sound like them. I was just trying to make a point about the fact that most successful modern electronic music producers are working solely ITB.

Without offering any kind of philisophical argument, or ITB vs OTB sentiment, I would agree that it's pretty obvious that the product that is emerging in the commercial realm right now is probably ITB. This is a morphed argument in terms of analog vs. VA. I will concede that some very different sounds and modulation possibilities are much more easily realized ITB. Can you simulate those sounds via hardware ? probably, but not as easily, and not with one instrument in some cases. It's a specific genre, but granted, some cool new stuff. But i don't confuse this argument with the debate regarding analog and VA in terms of inherent sound quality and organic nuance.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Acid Mitch

MPC3000 has VGA output.

I knew I missed one Anyway, that one (if I recall correctly - feel free to tell me I'm wrong!) duplicates/magnifies the contents on the screen; on the S50/S330/S760 et al you get a really nice big editor that would never fit on a tiny display.

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by Teknobeam

Without offering any kind of philisophical argument, or ITB vs OTB sentiment, I would agree that it's pretty obvious that the product that is emerging in the commercial realm right now is probably ITB. This is a morphed argument in terms of analog vs. VA. I will concede that some very different sounds and modulation possibilities are much more easily realized ITB. Can you simulate those sounds via hardware ? probably, but not as easily, and not with one instrument in some cases. It's a specific genre, but granted, some cool new stuff. But i don't confuse this argument with the debate regarding analog and VA in terms of inherent sound quality and organic nuance.

That is exactly how I feel about the whole argument.