Sampled analogue warmth vs the real thing?

[philipc]

The main thing that can't be done digitally yet is distortion or saturation

Agreed 100%. Next thing I want Urs Heckmann to work on is a distortion/overdrive plug - I think he could nail it.

Yeah, that'd be great. His Uhbik bundle contains Runciter, which does distortion but it isn't even vaguely analog, it's more 'digital and proud.' Fabfilter's Saturn sounds really nice and does lots of useful, creative things but it still has nothing on hardware.

[JuanSOLO]

Aphex Twin's "Analord" releases..

Thanks for pointing out how awesome these albums are, been listening for 2 days straight.

[Rabalder]

[taffmonster]

Aphex Twin's "Analord" releases..

Thanks for pointing out how awesome these albums are, been listening for 2 days straight.

This might start a storm but analord was pretty hit and miss. Tracks like crying in your face were fantastic but there was a lot of boring shit on there too. Long acid rants over the course of eleven records.

[Rabalder]

For all the "greatest-hits-people" out there, he released Chosen Lords.

[JuanSOLO]

this one bangs hard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3Uy_hK9nU

[taffmonster]

This week I bought a blofeld and a mopho. While the blofeld is lush, my god, the mopho is immense. The sound out of it is crazy good. I just wish I had a tetra.

The hours of crappy clips on YouTube of the mopho just don't do it justice.

Analogue has definitely stepped up a gear in my book. I'm half tempted to try n sell my road bike so I can buy a voyager lol

[Vios]

The main thing that can't be done digitally yet is distortion or saturation.

I agree this is what really gives analog gear its sound. When you look at analog amplifiers, they are inherently non-linear. So if you put a perfect sine wave in, you mostly get a sine wave out, but you get some very mild distortion. Better yet, that distortion changes in amplitude and character depending on the amplitude of the wave.

I haven't seen any analog simulators that do a really good job of simulating this effect. There's no doubt you can get warm sounding stuff straight out of a digital synth from a DAW. However it's not the same warmth that you get when it's passed through some analog gear.

If you listen to some stuff from the 60s and 70s you'll hear that analog sound (esp stuff that has not been remastered!). Listen to the Beatles' albums and you'll know what I mean. There's an analog sound there I would have no idea how to reproduce on a computer.

It's also not rare for electronic artists to have their stuff at least partially mastered through some analog equipment, to give it a bit more of that warm analog character.

[shauns303]

Great Thread! Can I start it back up again?

I am also at a point of moving away from my digital midi type set up and wanting to test out some more analog gear.
Mainly for when it comes to performing. The laptop has got to go... Ableton with max4live is absolutely one of the best instruments in its self, but as far as being simple, productive and sounding epic. I think its best just to keep it as a DAW at home.

An Analog Ableton Box Please....

What would people suggest when making this type of move? I've been looking at DSI Evolver (desktop) and also the Electro-Harmonix 2880 Looper as a start. Plus my Guitar and Saffire Pro soundcard. Im thinking would sound pretty good all together and keep it simple which is always the best way .. When using Ableton or other DAW's and plug-ins, I find the menu is too big and I waste far to much time stuffing around with the infinite options. Not very productive in my case. Taking nothing away from Ableton of course. I do fear that I will probably end up back where I started and realising that Ableton Live is just irreplaceable

Any thoughts?

[Matt_Quinn]

I'm going through something similar right now, tossing around the idea of picking up a Subphatty just for kicks. It's really Pretty Lights that has gotten me thinking about it, I have always been a huge fan of software synths, but PL is one of the few producers I just can not seem to get my synths close enough to. I've always been able to emulate just about any sound I heard from Ableton's native devices, but there's a bunch of PL synths that just seem to have an extra bit of grit and punch that I can't replicate.

[JuanSOLO]

Any thoughts?

the Electro Harmonix 2880 looks awesome, they make killer stuff and I heard it syncs well with others.

As far as an "Ableton Box" I often wonder about the Electron gear, also something like an MPC 1000.
I got a Tempest as part of an effort to escape the laptop.
I already had a SlimPhatty.
Since then I got more hardware choosing things specifically to replace stuff I have been doing with the laptop.
As soon as I get my hands on a Cirklon I will completely abandon the laptop for a live performance rig.
getting closer


As for getting something DSI, I dont care much for the anything other than Tempest or Mopho. I would never recommend any of the evolver stuff. I feel like there are better synths out there.

It's hard to recommend hardware to replace Ableton without knowing what you think is irreplaceable and how you use Ableton.
Also Ableton does spoil you in a way when you migrate into hardware, splinter in the mind.

[shauns303]

Yeah the Electron Analog Four is very impressive. The sound quality seems as good as it gets. Pricey though.. And there is something strange about one device that does it all, it almost feels like cheating

As for getting something DSI, I dont care much for the anything other than Tempest or Mopho. I would never recommend any of the evolver stuff. I feel like there are better synths out there.

I actually think that the Evolver is one of the best sounding synths ever to unleash upon us but each to their own. It is an od lay out and is only one voice so it does have its limitations.

the Electro Harmonix 2880 looks awesome, they make killer stuff and I heard it syncs well with others.

Yes.. I think I will definitely be investing in one of these. Would be very interesting along side a good synth. I just wish it had more than one stereo input.

What do you think about the Mopho X4 ?

And does anyone have the Electron Analog Four?