And this one for the YES list: (for the balance)
- If you want Avenel to come round to your house or studio one day to tell you you are a moron because you bought a hardware synth!

 

@SyphonX : Generally , i am covered and i mostly agree with your listing. So +1 to what you wrote mate. One question though so i may be the devil's advocate once more if you please How can "normal listeners that don't hear difference", fit the same "demographic" with "skilled and talented enough to make killer songs with only plugins" people ? Doesn't it sound contradictory ?
Obviously when a person comes to ask or think of getting themselves some kind of a real instrument, it means they 're having second thoughts about how they produce their tracks and their general workflow. Arguably they would not ask this simple question if they didn't have some money (or were ready to save some) to invest.
You cannot do away with your speakers or headphones hence your ears. They will always be the analog end of the chain, as our mind & spirit that draws inspiration will always be the analog start. Stripping yourself from the one world, when you have the means not to, is becoming a Cyclops at will. To me,in the end it is not about analog or digital, just so i am clear. It is about real instruments or not and all the psychological, artistic, even sociological "effects" they apply (or not) upon the art of creation.
I strongly advise my students to use whatever piece of gear they can get their hands on and see how it fits them. Life's too short after all man. At least have some fun if you can. And who knows, while you 're at it, you might write something memorable as well
Thank you for baring with my
Cheers

 

The dildo is for reaching the higher tones?

 

I think it's very well possible for a person who does not clearly hear the difference between a hardware and a software synth can be talented and skilled enough (both technically and musically) to make a professional (commercial) song release.

 

Some original cassettes sell for crazy money within a small but dedicated collectors' circle in Discogs. Much more than limited release cds man.Especially the ones who contain unreleased to other medium tracks of an artist.
And to me, if you haven't experienced the sound of a Nacamichi Dragon you are really missing out. In the digital world, only SACD beats it, but of course this is my preference, i cannot force you to agree

 

Last edited: Mar 8, 2017

@ SyphonX
Yes it is. Imho, it should then read "if you are a musician/songwriter who is skilled enough but hasn't any experience with synthesizers and has some computer understanding" . Because it can be misinterpreted just like i did lol.

 

this just occured to me, you have a really good point here and there is something to be said for it, the way to back up that analog is more the the secret sauce than digital is realizing the following: is there any analog/hybrid/digital synth out there that is trying to mimic the digital sound of a softsynth, or an effect for that matter, the answer is, you and i know this both, no. 75% of the plugins are modeled after analog gear, i wonder why...

you said it pefectly! i'm 10 years younger and come from a world that started to become more and more digital by the day, having played the trombone and making music on the c64 and both have their advantages so for fuck's sake WHY NOT BOTH?

 

There are amazing artists that make the most beautiful art with just driftwood collected from a windblown beach.. It doesn't matter what you use during your process, just use something, anything. You could utilize an old Casio keyboard that you discover in somebodies trash while out walking the dog, a soft synth you grabbed off some wares site or a 40 year old Farfisa organ that you found in your Aunt Edith's basement after she died last Spring.. It matters not one bit what you use, it just matters that you do it.

 

ah crap... no dog and no aunt edith who recently passed away

 

Evaluation list updated........

 

Glad to hear about Aunt Edith! Sorry about the dog though, it's always fantastic to have one around.

 

most of hits are made with vengeance presets and soundbanks, it works, but it sucks (and don't really respect the listeners)

 

well i have 3 cats so i'm good, i just have to pay more attention when one of them walks on a synth, they play great tunes every time

 

exactly.
but there's a catch : if you're so good you can make a hit song with some shit you find in the rubbbish why you should limit yourself using an old casio keyboard or a vintage analog instead of going full Digital ? just for fun and profit ? sure, ok, but .. it's still a clumsy workflow no matter how you slice it.

at the cost of sounding a digital freak i will remind you guys there;s people doing commercial tracks with a 300$ laptop and cubase SX or FL Studio and they do sell !
i've done many good tracks with just my laptop too and nobody complain.

as much as everybody here keep praising the unreachable quality and sound of the analogs where is the truth, where is the essence of this discussion ? it's been already proven in any musical genre that a 100% digital workflow can make great things, i dont think anyone is disputing that, so what are we talking about ? that there's a "secret sauce" in analogs ? ok let's discuss, but ..

 

yes and yes.
i know a few guys like that but they compensate with their talent in melody and arrangement.

 

it depends, as i wrote already Space is a big factor against analogs but if you're lucky to have a huge studio then i see nothing wrong if you fill it with a wall of analogs ! lucky you !

 

- using analogs doesn't mean you belong to the best, actually all the best are forced to use digital a lot more than they would like to, just a matter of time before they give up and go 100% in the box.

- if for audience we mean the average commoners then the problem is a lot worse than we discuss here, at this point in history we must accept there's a widespread "musical illiteracy", being able to spot an analog from a digital is the very last of their problems.

- nothing wrong in playing a gig with laptop and controllers, just dont expect to impress anybody.

- killer songs have been done with plugins since the 90s already, and even before plenty of hits have been done on awful keyboards and cheap synths, if your idea is great it will be great even on a toy piano, you dont need the best and latest.

- but ... if nobody can hear the difference between analog and digital, maybe it's time to accept the harsh reality, that digital is good enough to totally replace analogs ?

- wasting money is never a good think, a matter of principle, unless you're the kind of guy who likes being ripped off.

 

i'm just Avenel .. take my rants with a grain of salt

 

thank you !

 

you're correct on this.
but i mostly use warezed software and my setup is mid-end so the costs involved are still totally in favor of Digital in my case.

you will always need libraries unless you're stuck forever with the sounds of your master keyboard or if your songs are 100% synth based and using synth-drums, no big deal considering a 3TB hard disk is sold for 120 euro nowadays.

you can be correct about obsolescence, but i can't see how it is different using analogs, with vintage analogs actually you're certain to only make OLD sounds.