Digital synths - are they rubbish or what?

[chiara]

What's the point in virtual analogue when you can just get a real one?

[t_k]

Finally! :D

[t_k]

...And by the way. The only digital synth i 'could' consider to buy is the Hartmann Neuron!

[Drusillus]

If I had a real grand piano, and a real Hammond, and a real Mellotron, and a real string quartet, and a real choir, and a real marimba, and a real Rhodes, and a real Wurli, and a road crew to carry it all around, then no, I wouldn't need a digital synth either. :roll:

[Liquid Shadow]

What's the point in virtual analogue when you can just get a real one?


You mean like Pinnochio was a real boy?


Personally I thought Pinnochio looked pretty sweet when he was made out of wood, but he got kinda ugly when he went all real.

Now that Gepetto character...there was a fine looking fellow, and he had quite the way with words. You gotta love those little old men and their big red noses, especially when they dance around dancing to clocks and they're dancing.

[Luca_Capozzi]

well, doesn't seems but is an interesting question. Chiara is right when she says that an analog synth is better than a digital virtual analog because this last one cannot emulate perfectly the "imperfections" of real analog circuitations. Btw, if we wanna talk of whole world of digital synthesizers, i want to remind that synthesis is not focused only to emulate analog ones... we can try to "emulate the real thing" or just create new sounds.. so digital synthesizers aren't crap :)

see ya

[Kirby]

Real analogues are of often:
- expensive
- old
- heavy
- unrealiable
- hard to tune
- hard to find

Of course, they sound fatter! But many people are satisfied with the fatness of the VAs. And most VAs offer things like digital waveforms, which a traditional analog can't offer.

[Tusker]

Most real analogs are also pretty limited in the range of sound they can create. A $400 VA like the Micron is going to do a much better job of imitating a classic CS80 pad than a Minimoog, a Juno 6 or a Poly 6.

So if you've got room in your closet for 20 synths, by all means eschew VA's.

Jerry

[Tusker]

And I don't agree that analogs sound better. Some of them do. Sometimes. Sure a Minimoog is 90% of the time going to give you a stronger bass than most VA's. But get that CS10, that Korg Delta out of here. :P

It's a question of the best tool for the job. In a mix, it's hard to tell the difference, even for a classic sound. Live, the real analog stands out, if it's a quality synth like the minimoog. But I wouldn't take a Juno or an Sh-1 to a gig.

Have you played the new Korg MS20 emulation? It rips in a way I don't remember the original doing.

Jerry

[Luca_Capozzi]

well.. don't forget the impact of a real analog.. why about enjoy to scream "OMG!WTF I OWN A M00G!!!!" :lol:

[Enigma™]

I love my Kurzweil though. I wasn't raised on the analogue sounds of a Moog, so although I can respect people when they think that "digital sounds are crap" but what about a perfectly sampled string quartet? Your Moog can't make that. Or a Choir. See my point?
Until I can preform the whole RPM album on JUST analogue synths, I'm keeping my Kurzweil at the head of the studio.

It's what works best for me.

[Luca_Capozzi]

Mister.. try to put your kurz into a modular and resynthesize it ^^ you can get REALLY satisfied :D

see ya

[Over The Edge]

Guys, guys, digital synths are NOT crap. You can pretty much
pull off whatever genre of music with 'em nowadays. I have
the big 3 in a K2600, Triton and Motif ES and unless I have to
pull off an ABSOLUTELY AUTHENTIC sounding film score I can
do wonderfully, especially with the K's orch bank. The ES and
Extreme perform admirably in the classical genre as well but
can really rip in the electronica/techno arena. The Korg can sound
rather thin without the stellar built in FX but the Motif has got to be
the fattest sounding workstation around , and I happen to own several
analogs as well (Sequential Circuits, Moogs, Andromeda...).

Dave's right. For the sake of practicality, nothing beats a digital
workstation with a multitude of sounds, sampling capability and a
powerful sequencer. I know that's what I usually bring to a
recording session...just much more flexible.

Oh, by the way, t k and chiara...I could record tracks mixing and
matching my analogs and digitals. I KNOW you guys wouldn't even
come close to getting 100% right in a blind taste test.


FL
www.franklucas

[Liquid Shadow]

Ladies and gentlemen, I have one announcement to make.



ZING!

[Tusker]

:D

Maybe it's time for some "guess the synth" games.

Jerry

[Eric Zane]

I voted for "Maybe.".

[Kurzweilfreak]

One word: ION

Where else are you gonna find an analog synth for $799 that can do what the Ion can do?

There's plenty of reasons to buy digital synths over analogs, and if you can't see why, then you've REALLY got some issues. :lol:

How about you give me all of your digital synths that you don't want anymore? :wink:

[Purator]

How about you give me all of your digital synths that you don't want anymore? :wink:

Digital synths I DON'T WANT?!?

*gives togakure a Casio*

:lol:

[Kurzweilfreak]

*LOL*

Better be careful, Dave keeps a Casio next to his Kurzweil. :P

[Purator]

oops...the Casio mafia will be after me now :wink:

[LiQuId TeNsIoN]

Real analog are expensive :?

[FunkyDigits]

It's a dead heat! Three for yes, and three for yes... I don't know about you, but I'm excited. Who's your money on?!?!?

Oh, and why does a digital synth simply have to be limited to the accurate reproduction of analogue sounds? I love digital synths simply because I have the ability to make a sound the has NEVER been heard before... all right at my fingertips.

[Eric Zane]

How about you give me all of your digital synths that you don't want anymore? :wink:

Digital synths I DON'T WANT?!?

*gives togakure a Casio*

:lol:
WHAT?!? CASIO R0X0RZ TEH BIG ONE111!

[Liquid Shadow]

Booya

:wink:

[Omega Monkey]

FM, and especially RCM are the shit. Therefore, the answer is no!

I think I will have an SY/TG series or an EX series until they pry it from my cold dead hands!

I mean, I LOVE subtractive, and when Im a rich rock star, I will LITERALLY have a room full of old analog and electromechanical keyboards. But right next to them will be a host of classic digital boards from the 80s to today like the PPG Wave, Wavestation, SY99, etc...

My problem is Im trying to think of how to mix those sounds together, because it hasnt really been done that much before. Mostly you hear either mostly analog or mostly digital.