Making music is a process

People seem to spend a lot of time making one synthesizer sound like another synthesizer. While I believe there is some value to be had from comparison videos such as these, I feel the conclusions that are implied overreach. You're supposed to come away thinking that if a virtual instrument can replicate the sound of an expensive vintage piece of gear, then that piece of gear is unnecessary.



It being 2011 and all, I'd kind of expect that we'd be able to emulate a fairly simple subtractive synthesis architecture with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In fact, given enough time and effort, a reasonable emulation of [x] using any number of modern tools could be achieved. That's the point of a dedicated emulation, to make your life easier, to save you time and effort.

While the success on sound accuracy is debatable (and a waste of effort, IMO), the argument places all its emphasis on the end point.

There are two debates conflated into one, and that is the problem. On the surface, they ask, can you hear the difference between a simulation and the actual. A valid question, but this is only one of many aspects of that tool in use, and doesn't tell the whole story of utility, yet many people believe it is the only one that matters.

Thankfully, the modular synth won't challenge/response my ass every time I want to move it to a new room ;)less than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet ReplyNickstutorials.com
AbletonTutor

What is your goal? If your goal is to closely replicate the sound of a Prophet-5 preset inexpensively, I'd imagine the Arturia Prophet V (or others like it) to be a useful product.

I suspect though, the real goal for many customers is music creation. There is a huge difference between recreating something that already exists and the process of original creation. I don't personally care how accurate a simulation is. The only thing I care about is if the tool is useful to me.

I'm looking at all these demos of the monome, but I'm yet to see it do something I can't already do. Why bother getting one? I don't get it.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyRosalind Chia
TheChiaChia

#conclusion You monome people are really weird.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyRosalind Chia
TheChiaChia

…and there is nothing that can be done with a sampler that can't be done by editing little bits of tape together.

Making music is a process. How well you relate to your tools has an enormous impact on the success of achieving your goals. If you look at the endpoint only and ignore the process, you're depriving yourself of an vital component of the act of creation.