Hardware Snobs

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:50 pm

jp76 wrote:People always seem to long for the good old days, I guess. I also think some people think that anything having to do with computers is bad or lazy or something. MPCs and hardware samplers are basically computers; they just look different.

And you operate them differently - hence you get different results. It's like comparing guitars to keyboards, IMHO. They each lend themselves to a different way of working/style of playing/composing, so the results will be different...

Funny this should come up, actually, I've just emailed a mate saying I'll buy his yamaha sampler, and another bloke that I'd like his RM1x sequencer... horses for courses, etc.

-Paws

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:52 pm

sqook wrote:Old hardware is expensive, therefore it can be made into a status symbol...

Actually, you can get stuff like Akai samplers for next to nothing these days - a tenth or less of what they used to cost. Same goes for effects boxes and synths (with certain exceptions, naturally), and even mixers...

-Paws

Komplex · Post by **Komplex** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:17 pm

noisetonepause wrote:
jp76 wrote:People always seem to long for the good old days, I guess. I also think some people think that anything having to do with computers is bad or lazy or something. MPCs and hardware samplers are basically computers; they just look different.
And you operate them differently - hence you get different results. It's like comparing guitars to keyboards, IMHO. They each lend themselves to a different way of working/style of playing/composing, so the results will be different...

Funny this should come up, actually, I've just emailed a mate saying I'll buy his yamaha sampler, and another bloke that I'd like his RM1x sequencer... horses for courses, etc.

-Paws

Yeah thats exactly it. Everything has its place, and is systemised which allows you to learn it and then play it on the fly. When you have a few dedicated boxes and you know what each one does you can reach out for it at any moment and work it. Thats what I missed the most when I did the switch to software only. It was all a bunch of mousing around and no physical human interaction with the instrument but theres heaps of flexibility. So now I'm grabbing the best things from both ways of working and combining it

As for snobs, they shit me too but u get them everywhere, not just "gear snobs".

Music snobs are lame. Fashion/image snobs are another bunch of fuckwits.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:22 pm

Komplex wrote: Music snobs are lame. Fashion/image snobs are another bunch of fuckwits.

say's the guy from melbourne ..

regards,
sydney guy

Komplex · Post by **Komplex** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:25 pm

sweetjesus wrote:
Komplex wrote: Music snobs are lame. Fashion/image snobs are another bunch of fuckwits.

say's the guy from melbourne ..

regards,
sydney guy

hahah

vince watson · Post by **vince watson** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:30 pm

seeing as i have both setups, i think my honest answer has to be that i always go back to using my synths to find sounds.....there's a definate jump in the quality of the sound...although you can do more on the computer.....it is obviously a personal perference to everyone, but I would never get rid of my hardware and replace it with my desktop, no matter what spec my computer was..

mpc's are indeed just computer's, and so is the 909...but you havnt heard any instrument give you the same funk...its just never been replacated....

i use the mac for some great sounds on top of my liveset, with some great effects, but i would be lost without using my synths.

Maybe there's a generation of poeple writing music now have never really owned synths because computer's had became reasonably powerfull by the time they got into it......if they sat down for 3 hours in front of my Supernova 2 or my Alesis Andromeda, they would for sure change there mind.....

....sure gear is more expensive, i would never try and justify the £2000 price tag of it coz you cant, but a few months down the line when you forgot how much it cost, and you have this amazing synth in front of you, you realise its a good thing not just having a softsynth....

one of the great shame's is that Novation moved away from producing the Supernova 3, and developed into a softsynth company only who made controllers etc....

if anyone thinks they can recreate a jupiter 8 on there computer, then you are very much mistaken...

actually, how good would a jupiter 8 sound through some ableton fx.....cool..might try that...

Zakari Luk · Post by **Zakari Luk** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:57 pm

vince watson wrote: if anyone thinks they can recreate a jupiter 8 on there computer, then you are very much mistaken...

actually, how good would a jupiter 8 sound through some ableton fx.....cool..might try that...

that is the main point, there are certain pieces of gear that can never be replicated with computers, regardless of how much better sounding they get.

where new sonic ground is broken is in taking a piece like that and putting it thru some kick ass computer effects. i wish i had a jupiter 8. i got a juno 60 though which is very phat, i like running it thru logics spectral gate, i get some totally alien pads that way.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:59 pm

I always prefered the Jupiter 6 , the 8 had all the Kudos ... but I prefered the noises the 6 made.

Unfortunatley now they are collected as investments like oil paintings by people who dont use them, so I wont be buying either

Komplex · Post by **Komplex** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:05 pm

Zakari Luk wrote: where new sonic ground is broken is in taking a piece like that and putting it thru some kick ass computer effects. i wish i had a jupiter 8. i got a juno 60 though which is very phat, i like running it thru logics spectral gate, i get some totally alien pads that way.

this works in reverse too. using digital or software synths through analogue filters, effects and shit makes them sound real good too.

the advantage of digital and software synths is the new types of synthesis, and new sounds that they can create which old synths just can't. a combination of new and old, hard and soft is the way to go.

Zakari Luk · Post by **Zakari Luk** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:42 pm

Komplex wrote:
Zakari Luk wrote: where new sonic ground is broken is in taking a piece like that and putting it thru some kick ass computer effects. i wish i had a jupiter 8. i got a juno 60 though which is very phat, i like running it thru logics spectral gate, i get some totally alien pads that way.
this works in reverse too. using digital or software synths through analogue filters, effects and shit makes them sound real good too.

the advantage of digital and software synths is the new types of synthesis, and new sounds that they can create which old synths just can't. a combination of new and old, hard and soft is the way to go.

i completely agree with you. regardless of which way one goes with this stuff, i think we get the most out of it by combining analog and digital.

vince watson · Post by **vince watson** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:10 pm

yes indeed mate...the juno60 was the original 808 state 'Pacific state' strings machine...and the 5ths on it were sooo beautiful...
the fact you could actually save the sounds after the ol juno6 was a godsend.....

i also thought the juptier 6 gave the prophet 5 a good run for its money in that bass flavour......but the 8 had not only the kudos, but fatter osc's all round.....and all those flashy lights...

mine's is almost dead

vince watson · Post by **vince watson** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:14 pm

i bought an ms-20 in mint condition a few weeks ago for 75 pounds for instance....

while the legacy soft is extremly good and has masses of useabilty, this ms20 has something you cant get from the computer.....until you stick it thru one of the channels and go haywire on all these plugin effects...yeeehaaa

Zakari Luk · Post by **Zakari Luk** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:22 pm

vince watson wrote:i bought an ms-20 in mint condition a few weeks ago for 75 pounds for instance....

how the hell did you manage that? im jealous now. damn, i wish i could be so lucky.

also if your jupiter 8 is dying on you there are still a few places around that can restore them.

kennerb · Post by **kennerb** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:25 pm

You can't put your rad stickers on software!!

I do prefer my mpc just because I can feel it. So I am really smacking pads and not mathing them. Other than that can't say that software hasn't offered me everything that hardware has.

Most of those opinions are from ignorance and the same purist mind set that have (some) oil painters hating acrylic painters who hate airbrush artists who hate photoshop users...

JAMM · Post by **JAMM** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 1:36 am

i used to own a lot of analogue gear: sequential circuits pro-one(what a kickass bass and what a nice name!) some roland stuff but also i had two Elka synthex synths. They were both on one heavy keyboard stand and if the studio was dark the many flashing and bubling lights both were glowing and flashing away and f##k what a nice sound.
Now i do eveything on my powerbook, but on stage i like to connect my powerbook with my yamaha an1x or my remote 25 to control everything and for sure i rather tweak some knobs and have something in my hands than looking on my screen and people in front of me thinking...
is he checking his email or what!?
Also hardware still looks and feels more rockandroll!

greetinz Jamm