Removed vote, in fact 99.9999...% isn't 100%, but ears of majory of people can't distinguish difference between original hardware and software emulation. Your message in fact isn't clear, confusing, because this depends of synth model, and Diva isn't an useful example to compare with real synth (Diva is exceptional, but doesn't emulate a specific hardware). Probably Diva in your comment, I suppose.

 

Well, I am a beginer in soft synth as I recently tryed kontakt using a midi controler keyboard.

I must say I'm a little bit desapointed on soft synths and I will explain:

1- Hardware synths (I own botg a kORG Triton Estreme and a kORG kronos) are much more responsive. I mean, even with a good laptop nd a good audio card I have about 6 to 8 ms latency. It seems to be ok, but those fractions of second are enough to unsync some arpeggiators when playing live.

2- I found some great kontakt libraries with astonishing sounds (orchestral sounds, for exemple) but they seem to be useless in live performance once different dynamics and articulations are stored in different sets of samples. In studio reciording/production, they sure are of great value, but for live performance, I don't see how to use them.

3- With both my hardware synths I can easily look for a sound I want to use in live performance (or in it's internal sequencer) by fast navigating into their libraries. I can also install aditional libraries wich contains hundreds of sounds and try any of them really fast (they are also in tabs or cathegories wich makes it easy to find them and swich between them). By the other hand, in kontakt, most libraries are huge in size and very specific. I mean, I download a 80 Gb woodwind library wich contains no more than a few wood instruments and even worse, only after downloading such a big library and try it I can evaluate if the download worth it. Just to give an exemple: Since I installed kontakt i downloaded about 2 GB of libraries, however, untill now, I did't find a fasthsynth sound that pleases me and fits for live performance or an acceptable accordion/musette sounds (I have plenty of good accordion sounds in my korg keyboards).

Just my humble opinion

Salomao

 

Having used the Tal uno plugin and the Cz emulator I can say that they sound great, however the real Juno 6 sounds way nicer to my ears and the Cz5000 is a lot more grainy and basic sounding than the plugin which I prefer but the software is nice. The Korg M1 plugin, Alpha Juno (Redominator) and Pg8x (Jx8p) plugins are about the closest I have heard to the real thing. Would be great if I could replace all my hardware with software but its not quite there yet BUT I expect it will be within 5-10 ys.

 

Professionals have their own studios can have many hardwares, but for hobbyist at home, 1-room apartment (like me), having many synths (and racks for hardware effects) is simply impossible! Is it possible to fit real hardware (not workstation, it's emulation too running Linux, have samples on HDD/SSD such Kronos) like... Steinway-D grand piano + upright + Rhodes + B3 + acoustic (complete) drum + cellos + brasses + guitars/basses (with many amps)... Having one hardware isn't enough (hardware limitations)... having many synths (or samples/Kontakt banks) in 2.5"/3.5" hard disk (or SSD) into your PC or Mac is useful and viable solution (good compromise) in general, IMO.

 

Also consider (many videos and, better, audio demos) about OP-X PRO-II (SonicProjects), as Oberheim OB-X and Roland Jupiter-8 (largely better than Arturia "toy"). Discovering recently TimewARP2600 (AS member recommendation) as fantastic ARP2600 emulation. Old SQ8L (Butchy) as Ensoniq SQ-80/SQ-1 - perfectly emulated (but discontinued, too bad). TAL synths also are fantastic, ReDominator (AudioRealism), PG-8X (free Roland JX-8P emu), Dexed (Yamaha DX-7)... the list is long...

 

Last edited: Feb 13, 2016

A person who can appreciate the any subtle sonic qualities of expensive hardware is most likely so experienced they can make better software synth sounds than anyone wondering whether it makes a difference anyway. Hardware has advantages (and disadvantages) of course, but it's completely wrong to think they're a necessity to making great music.

I think a lot of people undervalue soft synths because they're so easily attainable for free, or even legit the price isn't completely outrageous as far as musical instruments go. Instead of dreaming of home studios and drowning in hardware (Guilty!).. we should take pride in the stuff we have and make beautiful music. There have been masterpieces made on much, much less.

 

no its true. hardware is way more advanced and complex. even sounds itself patches are made of different waveforms.. and other effects filters
i checked out a few songs and you can clearly hear its hardware made.. plugins although flexible dont really come to identical results.. it may be close but not identical. i like hardware more..

 

We still have the same "arguments" in guitar world.

Most ppl don't realise they listen to guitar sims for at least two decades (being hardware or software sims).
And they didn't got it until they were told.

All Fear Factory albums AND live since 2001 ?
Line6, Kemper ... and more

Another fun fact : a friend of mine was praising Pantera "all tube" sound.
Let's imagine what happens when you tell ppl it is SOLID STATE.

Entombed Left Hand Path "massive" sound ?
HM2 pedal into a ... Peavey Bandit (cheap solid state combo).

Most ppl pretend they can hear it ... but most simply don't.

I can tell apart a solid state from all tube.
But nowadays, it is almost impossible to tell apart sims from real.
Sometimes i can with isolated track.

Same with synths.
I started hitting my head on the wall with fxpansion dcam synth squad years ago.
They used zero delay filters and it was a revolution.

 

Human mind is a very tricky thing. It lies to you a lot.
Sometimes you want it to lie to you ... and it does.
Sometimes you don't want it to lie to you ... but it still does.
On rare occasions it doesn't lie to you, you wish it did ... or sometimes don't.

Which gives? Go figure.

 

I´ve just made a diy transformer path, being itb and now hearing kicks thru this thing and how they clip and even afterwards with plugins, iron is what i want and i want it now, i need cash...

Forum setting is a problematic place for most discussions that are already pre-defined because most people who defined that area(music, synths etc.) got the information from their gut and the intuition and went with it... while everybody down the ladder is using words. Inventors always have to learn the language of the user, because the language that got them there actually making the product is a different mind altogether.

Dance music wise Boris Brejcha somehow makes it work ITB but i always have problem with the separation and the space, it drove me insane.

 

Really it does not matter. So my thoughts is to stop thinking about it and stop spending time looking into it. Spend the time making music and enjoy life. This rabbit hole is pointless and will not make you finish any tracks.
You can do all you need to do with software. Unless what you need to do is to sit and sound masturbate on your hardware synths.

 

In a quadruple blind test I can't hear any difference comparing hardware to software but can when comparing software to hardware.

 

This makes no sense.

Audio nihilism.

Look up on gearspace 300+ pages of upcoming mixers asking John H. how Serban mixes his music. Tell them to enjoy life.

It is the hierarchy of music production in question and implies on this forum too(you have your own hierarchy).

Thinking is much more than the initial first line of thought, most of the time the "quantum trickster" is awake when you do it, it feels like you can think because nobody around you has done it, but it is still not it.

I´m also not saying digital is not good or something, but if a person is questioning, there are reasons why he maybe wants to know if his time is being spent with a purpose other than self grandiose or fiddle.

And i´m itb, i stroke no knobs, but you have to know the scale of where you are, opinion is worth nothing.

 

Last edited: Jul 14, 2026

You could argue anything all day and night, it wouldn't make it so in the real world if it weren't so.

You could argue the sky is blue, but some might ask: "When, and where?" Depending, the sky can also be black, grey, orange, red, purple, pink, and even green if you're far up north enough.

Anyway, back to synths: I love synths - I've bought and kept synths because I loved (and used) ONE sound out of it (maybe two for some).

I figure a composer needs colors on his palette, so I get this one for breathy-flutey sounds; I get that one just for the strings sound, etc.

Software synths are amazing (the new Absynth 6 in particular, and of course Omnisphere), and models (e.g., the whole Arturia platoon) too, but hardware synths can sound and feel different to play (e.g., MiniMoogs, but also mass produced items like the venerable D-50 of which I had several, each playing, feeling, slightly differently - keyboard action wise).

I've even swapped my first D-50 with a friend because he liked the keyboard action of mine better than his (and he was right).

But to your point and mine: I came to a recording session once with a brand new Dave Smith Instrument synth called the Tetr4. I think it was Dave Smith's first or second comeback product (a four voice version of the first, if memory serves). I thought I'd use it to play a bass line on a pop/funk tune, in the style of some early Gino Vanelli records (where his brother Joe did just that).

So here I was sat, setting up, and going through the various synth and keyboard sounds I was going to use (off of my laptop: Komplete, Arturia, and Omnisphere). I went through a dozen or so of the patches needed for the song while everyone else was setting up in the live room. And then I dialed in a synth bass sound on the Tetr4, and played ONE note, and everyone stopped in their tracks and turned their heads to me, and said: "Whoa, what was that?!?"

And that's what you get with a (great) hardware analog synth: the Whoa factor from your fellow musicians.

Bear in mind: most of us trained musicians can't tell the difference between a 1 year old violin and a 250 year old violin (in the hands of the same player). I can't tell if a double bass is vintage or new, German, Italian, or Japanese. When played solo though, I can sort of tell when it's got that Whoa factor though, and that helps (us musicians) play better somehow.

And that's what happened at that session: once everyone heard that Tetr4 truly analog synth bass sound, the level of excitement rose in the studio - and we all played better, like we believed. It's not unlike the difference between a $20 and a $2,000 bottle of wine. They might both get you drunk the same, but only one will transcend all your worries and troubles for that evening, and be a happy memory.

And that is the difference between a software and a hardware synth. Don't take my word for it: try it out for yourself, with musicians.

 

1. Hardware synth have latency too, do not believe anybody who says otherwise, hell, piano has latency, you have to press the key all the way down before you hear a sound

2. Get a good sound system with 8-10” speakers minimum. Once you play the synths through real 100-200 watts sound system all the hardware grifters can shut the f up. Most times ppl who diminish soft synths don’t play through proper sound system but computer speakers and they are surprised it does not sound that good

3. sound is just volume and pitch, sound waves in the air, everything can be recorded in 44k 16bit, no one can tell the difference, but there is a thing called nostalgia

4. Do not expect someone who invested 100,000 usd in gear tell you otherwise, everybody is trying to save face

You need a room and good sound system, if you try to play to computer speakers you will always be disappointed. End of story.

5. Use logic for f sake. Ppl in 2026 still grifting for hardware…it’s a joke

 

Makes perfect sense. Software can't skip the hardware part to be heard.

 

of course.

and if you hear some people saying that the earth is a flat, keep up that method and believe in yourself, in science, and in common sense.

 

I beg your pardon Sir (or Madam), but piano is a percussion instrument. Your logic is akin to saying drums have latency because it takes time for the hand or the stick to travel "all the way down before you hear a sound."

I know there are some among us who are younger than others, newer to the profession than others, even not professional at all (nothing wrong with being an amateur or hobbyist), but PLEASE, have some respect for our collective intellect before arguing "piano has latency."

 

Sounds like he's mad he cant afford it.. Plus, according to genius there, most of us here only listen to this shit on 'computer speakers'. God forbid any of us actually have years of listening/playing experience along with professional monitors in our studios to do exactly this..

 

computer speakers can also be great depends on what type of..