24 Aug
2012
24 Aug
'12
8:32 p.m.
On Thu, 2012-08-23 at 20:04 +0000, Fons Adriaensen wrote:
Sure. Naturally I only meant in user visible ways, of course I would
never do such a thing for the copyright stuff.
Another thought on the more artistic side of things that occurred to me
last night: isn't making the computer a cheap version of an analogue
synthesizer much the same as making a synthesizer a cheap version of
other instruments?
I think the most exciting thing about computers is the unique
possibilities they bring as an instrument unto themselves. Things like
plugins with pretty pixmap UIs designed to look exactly like some box
with knobs on it has always struck me as silly, and missing the point.
Emulation at the module level (not including UI) like in this case is
nice, because.. well, some modules (like Moog filters) have a particular
desirable sound, and the whole point of modular systems is you can hook
up whatever bits you like. However emulation at any 'higher level', to
me, is just forcing the computer to be a cheap version of physical
instruments. Futzing about with knobs and wires on a screen more than
you have to is just limiting. Maybe this will become less true as
touchscreens become more pervasive, but at least from a UI perspective,
a lot of this blind emulation of physical things on a screen is terribly
unusable with a mouse.
Sonically.. I'm not sure. I suppose anything FFT based is pretty
inherently a 'computer' sound... granular synthesis? Those perfectly
tuned "FM" (actually phase modulation) sounds more or less require
digital precision... Perhaps this is an idea that applies more to UI,
and the sequencing side of things, than sounds, since these machines can
create pretty much any sound imaginable anyway...
-dr
On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 03:57:50PM -0400, David
Robillard wrote:
Fair enough, done
Anyway, since I have failed to get an opinion out
of you one way or the
other, and you wish to end this thread, I will assume the thing to do is
just fork the plugins and change their interface appropriately to be
more sensible outside of AMS with no regard to backwards compatibility.
I think that is the best thing to do, and probably should have stated
that earlier. BTW, I didn't want to end the thread, but you
suggested
it was getting too long, so...
Nah, I just think it's kind of funny how much it snowballed from my
original intentions. Ah, mailing lists :)
They are
currently attributed entirely to you, and "fomp" is a cute
quasi-acronym for "Fons' Modular Plugins". I can change this if you do
not wish to be associated with them whatsoever.
They are GPL licensed IIRC, so as long as you follow the rules,
no objections !