Quote:
Originally Posted by MBTC
When I first got into softsynths, one of the things that really blew me away is that there is really no more notion of a limitation on things like multi-timbrality or polyphony. By that I mean there is a limitation, but the limitation is simply how much can your computer CPU handle rather than an inherent limitation like "X number of voices" or layers supported. Need more? Just add more instances, sort of just like having multiple hardware instruments responding to the same MIDI channel input.
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That's the thing about plug-ins. Another great advantage is that you can automate every single parameter on the fly, thus surpassing the modulations included on a modulation matrix, for example. Layering is key to have a good sound, like you say. Even using the same synth - this is valid for any kind, both hardware and software, saving two separate versions of the same phrase with little differences on them, panning one to left and another to the right, delaying one of them a few "ms", for example, opens wild avenues in sound design. One can extend this to very complex patches, like: having a sound on the centre with the highs filtered out, then two others panned to the extremes on tops, with lows filtered. That's a big sounding patch!
The ability to press some keys (ctrl+b) on Logic and instantly render the audio from midi in perfect sync and being able to edit the audio afterwards with fades, time-stretch, reverse parts, so forth and so on - surely is another big advantage. The Daw has become the laboratory for our imagination and the tools are so readily available that it would be insane not to make use of them.
But if you're like me: you don't want everything quantised, you want some organic textures and sounds with a human touch (and feel) on them. This is the part where hardware still wins, no matter what. And even the pre-amps on sound cards can add some warmth to the equation.
I think it still makes a lot of sense to have good hardware synths but the developers must look for better ways to integrate them with the software: perfect sync, the ability to easily save projects on disk or within the projects, and to edit the sounds on screen, and (most important of all) being able to write automation for our patches is something that I think hardware synth developers need to focus on. I'm pretty sure such efforts will be rewarded.
At the same time, I see a re-emergence of the euro rack taking place. I think it's more the sound design enthusiasts and geeks more then music makers that go down this avenues - but it's very very cool that this stuff is back for good. I've seen some setups on youtube that make me scratch my head, thus the old saying: once you go euro rack, you never look back. it's kind of a warning XD