[LAU] Hardware synths

[Folderol]

On Sat, 1 Dec 2007 10:21:42 -0500
Rob <lau at kudla.org> wrote:

> On Saturday 01 December 2007 03:08, David Griffith wrote:
> > Another thing that hardware synths have over software is the user
> > interface.  You just can't get the kind of flexibility that you
> > have when you reach out and grab cables and frob knobs.
> 
> Well, there are controllers out there with a lot of knobs and sliders. 
> I have one myself. But I haven't had time to get my sliders working 
> with Bristol as drawbars, for example, or to get my knobs working 
> with Zyn, and that's something I do see as a drawback.... but the 
> lack of controller standardization is really the fault of the 
> hardware makers, not the Linux synth authors.
> 
> I've played and owned a lot of hardware synths over the years, but 
> ever since I realized 10 years ago that I could get a recording of a 
> software synth with no analog hiss, I haven't played hardware synths 
> at all.  Once I got my little Edirol controller, I put them all in 
> storage and will probably sell them someday if they still work, 
> though someone just gave me a CZ-101 and I may give in to nostalgia 
> for a while first.  I was tempted by that Korg vocoder one that came 
> out a couple years ago, but.... no SPDIF, no deal.
> 
> Maybe someday it'd be possible through the existence of LASH to create 
> a standard control set (I assume LASH sessions include things like 
> MIDI control mapping) and write "drivers" for all our controllers to 
> map the physical controls to that control set.  But I probably 
> wouldn't be able to contribute much to that aside from a 
> few "drivers", because LASH is magic to me.
> 
> Rob

I think you're also talking apples & oranges. I have two hardware
synths, which I mix with ZynAddSubFX. I've not used Csound, it's too
complicated for me :(

I would also think it depends on whether you are in a studio making a
recording or on a live gig. A hardware synth might be more convenient
played live (dunno, don't do live work myself) and would probably
impress the punters more than a tiny laptop. But I would think in a
studio setting a softsynth would win on performance every time.

-- 
Will J Godfrey
http://www.musically.me.uk