MOTM

Yeah, it's a bit aggravating how some of these artists bad mouth analog all
the time. I realize that they were at the vanguard, fighting with the older
equipment, tuning all the time & splicing tape, and maybe that left a bad
taste in their mouths.

But in "Secrets of Synthesis," Wendy seemed to just take a swipe at analog
every 6 or 8 minutes, sometimes as a complete break from what she's talking
about. She'll be making one point and then seemingly just do a right-angle
turn to slap analog for a line or two.

(She also presents "unfair" comparisons: "This is a rhythm track with a
technology I *don't* like..." <<crappy samba setting on a bad drum machine>>
"And here it is when I do it MY way..." <<cool timbres hopping around in a
stereophonic rhythm>>.)

In restoring some of her old albums, she seems continually surprised at how
good they sound after decades of not even listening to them. You want to
just say, "*YES*, Wendy! It was good music! We LIKED it! We LIKED those
sawtooth waves going through that old reverb!"

In a recent interview, Tomita was bad mouthing the old technolgy until the
interviewer asked what he thought about the resurgence of interest in analog
synthesis, of which Tomita seemed unaware. Then he did a 360 and started
saying how he feels that he can't express himself now the way he used to
with his old analog modular.


---Original---

		... the booklet contains a long paean to how much _better_
all this new digital gear is than the bad old analog ... I guess if she was
trying to make real orchestral music with drifty Moog oscillators it must
have gotten frustrating :)

Ken.Tkacs@... writes:

>>Yeah, it's a bit aggravating how some of these artists bad mouth analog all
 the time. In "Secrets of Synthesis," Wendy seemed to just take a swipe at 
analog
 every 6 or 8 minutes, sometimes as a complete break from what she's talking
 about. She'll be making one point and then seemingly just do a right-angle
 turn to slap analog for a line or two.<<

The "Secrets of Synthesis" should only be listened to those who know enough 
about analog synths to know where Wendy is downplaying their capability.  
Your rhythm example is one good example.  The record starts out by telling us 
the three basic simple tones a synth creates:  hollow squarewave, pure 
sinewave, and noise.  What about brassy sawtooth, and nasal pulse ???  It 
continues like that throughout.

>>In a recent interview, Tomita was bad mouthing the old technolgy until the
interviewer asked what he thought about the resurgence of interest in analog
synthesis, of which Tomita seemed unaware. Then he did a 360 and started
saying how he feels that he can't express himself now the way he used to
with his old analog modular.<<

So someone else noticed this too.  He was bad mouthing virtual analog / 
digital as not being personal or unique to ones sound.  I thought that was 
very strange considering he was using a Synclavier, Emulator 1, some unknown 
Casio digital synth and was planning on getting a Con Brio.  He was actually 
using the crappy factory Synclavier presets and awful factory Emulator 
samples in his "Grand Canyon Suite".  They stood out like a sore thumb.  
Practice what you preach, as the saying goes.

-Elhardt