SynthModules

Andrew, Grant, and everyone else,

It seems that general dogma has crept in again. Nothing is wrong with soft synths
or plugins. In fact they are wonderful, simply amazing actually. There is also nothing
wrong with a TX816 as a creative tool, but that doesn't mean that a Buchla 200 is
an obsolete piece of crap (actually many would contend that the TX816 was an 
obsolete piece of crap also at this point). All of these things have their place in
the creative process. I like to play around with soft synths but I like to play around
with my Wiard a lot more (when I feel like just sitting down and emoting). I do agree
with Grant and Rex with respect to the "Spit Valve" joke. The world of music production
is moving rapidly toward a hyper antiseptic environment. I view this kind of
exclusionary attitude a great loss for those who adopt it. I think that people are
really missing out. But the reverse is just as bad. If I run across a cool or unusual 
soft synth, digital synth, rom-pler, or whatever, I certainly won't turn my nose up 
at it just because it doesn't use patch cords. These attitudes are the same ones that 
torq me about religious debates (or bananas vs. minis debates, or macs vs. 
pc debates, or vi vs. emacs debates, etc.).

PS I'm looking forward to playing with my (on order) PSIM-1, I have my workspace
all setup for programming the little sucker (speaking of dogmatic views, I now have
another reason to not scrap my PC, other than my EPROM burning environment, damn!).


--- In SynthModules@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Scheidler" <xpandrew@p...> wrote:

> Just the other day (President's Day actually) I had the day off and went
> to see where a friend of mine works.  One of his co-workers was "into
> music" and I invited him to the AHMW get together by showing him the
> info web page about it.  He was perusing thru a few of the pictures from
> last year and I pointed at the Obie 4 voice and (jokingly) mentioned my
> upcoming birthday.  He immediately smirked and said something like "ah,
> I could set that up on the computer in five minutes"
> 
> I went into a mild rant about wires, electrons, imperfection, etc, but I
> doubt that I had any effect.  Oh well...
> 
> Andrew
> Yahoo! Groups Links

Just the other day (President's Day actually) I had the day off and went
to see where a friend of mine works.  One of his co-workers was "into
music" and I invited him to the AHMW get together by showing him the
info web page about it.  He was perusing thru a few of the pictures from
last year and I pointed at the Obie 4 voice and (jokingly) mentioned my
upcoming birthday.  He immediately smirked and said something like "ah,
I could set that up on the computer in five minutes"

I went into a mild rant about wires, electrons, imperfection, etc, but I
doubt that I had any effect.  Oh well...

Andrew

>>> grichter@asapnet.net 02/19/04 10:23 AM >>>
> ==> As one of the recent "computer bashers" on AH, I would 
say there is
> a huge difference between the PSIM computer use and the 
"softsynth -
> sequencing - sampling - recording" computer use that I have 
banned from
> my studio ;)

The difference in philosophy is the elimination of the physicality 
of the music process. Rex and I have a joke, no spit valves in the 
future of music. The down and dirty physicality of music, the 
smell, sight and taste aspects of it, are what are under attack. 
And what softsynths will try to eliminate.

If you turn music making into twiddling a 1/1000" thick layer of 
photons on a screen, it becomes a purely intellectual exercise. 
And sounds like it. Music as Chess.

Take advantage of this opportunity to buy cheap hardware. It is 
just like the early 80's where everybody dumped their Buchla's 
for TX-816s. Then MIDI was going to do everything, now it is 
Plugins that are going to do everything. Wrong again.

History doesn't just repeat itself, it stutters...



Be sure to check out the primary Web site at:
http://www.SynthModules.com
  
Yahoo! Groups Links

> It seems that general dogma has crept in again. Nothing is 
wrong with soft synths
> or plugins. In fact they are wonderful, simply amazing actually. 
There is also nothing
> wrong with a TX816 as a creative tool, but that doesn't mean 
that a Buchla 200 is
> an obsolete piece of crap (actually many would contend that 
the TX816 was an 
> obsolete piece of crap also at this point). All of these things 
have their place in
> the creative process. I like to play around with soft synths but I 
like to play around

What I meant was the over enthusiastic marketing techniques 
that end up getting used in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

They keep coming up with great technologies, but then over 
selling them as "the next big thing that replaces all others".

I have nothing inherently against soft synths. I just wish they 
wouldn't market them as a "superior replacement' for something 
else. And I wish people wouldn't buy into that marketing crap, 
and then parrot it back at me. It gets on my one remaining nerve.

Yes the marketing of new gear (of any kind) is obnoxious. Just
recall the big hoopla about synthesizers replacing musicians that
went on in the 70's (I guess there was some truth in it since that
seems to be coming into fruition now in the computer age, but
you know what I mean).

> 
> What I meant was the over enthusiastic marketing techniques 
> that end up getting used in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.
> 
> They keep coming up with great technologies, but then over 
> selling them as "the next big thing that replaces all others".
> 
> I have nothing inherently against soft synths. I just wish they 
> wouldn't market them as a "superior replacement' for something 
> else. And I wish people wouldn't buy into that marketing crap, 
> and then parrot it back at me. It gets on my one remaining nerve.