How, though? All that's saying is that the idiosyncrasies mean that two apparently identical synths don't actually sound identical. It's not really saying anything about what either of those synths actually sounds like...
actually what i mean about idiosyncrasies is definitely about the sound of an individual synth. talking about analogs for a moment, the fact that 2 of the same model sound different proves that the idiosyncrasies exist. but the fact that the 2 are different is not why you should care, if you should at all. why it's interesting to me is that intangible fuzziness, for want of better word. when a software synth calculates a sound, it's pretty much linear. even when you add randomising algos in there. compared to a physical piece of machinery which is susceptible to the elements and often just how it's feeling that particular day. this doesn't make for better music or a better musician, it just feels different. have you ever played a hardware synth? there's something quite magic about tweaking a knob that says cutoff on it and feeling the sound precisely react to your movements. feeling = inspiration imo.
there's a disconnection when you are using a mouse to control a virtual knob on a screen. if you have a midi controller box then at least you're part way there. but still, you're missing the actual sound of real circuitry that feels juicier. i know this sounds like bollocks, but there is definitely a reason so many people still care about this shit. obviously it gets blown way out of proportion with the forums, ebay and general bullshitters. but there is something there for sure. i guess it's on a psychosubliminal level, but it's there. sorry i can't be more specific.
Yeah, again what's weird is that people talk about it as if oscillator detune coming from analogue drift gives the sound 'character' but just detuning your oscillators or using a bit of digital randomness doesn't...
well it's one thing to detune two oscillators intentionally and another to have an oscillator continuously changing of it's own accord on a minute level. as i've progressed in my patching, i've realised that movement is an extremely important part of keeping sounds compelling and non sterile sounding. you can achieve this with by adding modulation to filters and such. in a way this is where softsynths excel. there are so many more modulation possibilities with software than with 90% of hardware because of the base fact that the more complex a hardware synth becomes, the more parts required and the more expensive it is to produce. it basically just costs extra coding hours to implement a mod matrix that would put even most of the top end synths to shame.
anyway, i don't want to overstate the significance of drift because again, it's too subtle to make that much of a difference. but the drift and general chaos that within the boards of older synths make for some pretty cool movement within a sound. most of the time it is barely perceivable. some people call it fattness, some mojo. i dunno if it justifies 2k+ for a minimoog but its definitely funkier than sylenth or w/e.
It's kind of different in an experimental setting, I suppose, where you're really working with subtle variations in the sound of one synth over an extended period...
like with drones n stuff? yeah.
I'm really talking about the recent Dave Smith boxes and things like that rather than vintage stuff. Things that have a very limited number of knobs and a software patch editor. If I spent money on an analogue synth (often thought about it, never quite been able to justify) I'd really want to get away from the computer entirely....
yeah, away from the computer for sure. using ears over eyes n stuff. my aim at the moment is to get a full on hardware setup and move away from computer screens all together. my hardware synths are rack based with barely anything to tweak on them so i've got a nice midi controller with knobs n sliders on it to deal with those. i like rack stuff because it's more compact and easier to move about. one day if i ever have enough money and space i'll definitely get one crazy main synth full of knobs to twiddle. maybe a
JD800, to drive my
JD990 or i dunno, something big and tweakable.
Yeah, but a lot of people believe you can cure cancer with crystals.
This is kind of the interesting bit isn't it...
yeah, no amount of words can really explain it though, you really have to try patching a nice synth to get it.
Normally what you 'feel as much as hear' is the very bottom end, which is one of the things that's trivial to get in software (ie a low pitch sine wave).
i think there's a lot to be felt in all the frequencies. the low ones are where it's most obvious, but i don't think it takes anything special to create a rib cage rattling bass. the soundsystem has a lot to do with that anyway. the feel as much as hear thing is in the juice of the sound. ah fuck, i'm not even convincing myself with this shit. you'll have to try a proper synth out for yourself if you haven't already. preferably one with knobs on to start off with to get a feel for that analoggy reaction to your movements. if i get a chance i'll up something from the atc.
I dunno, maybe it's the mastering but I'd say that a lot of classic dubstep is all software and is fairly solid in the bass department...
yeah i have no idea about what goes on in the dubstep world with post production. obviously before putting anything on vinyl you really want to get mastered. not sure if that goes on much if everything is software? do dubstep records sound as well produced as dnb?
Yeah totally. In some cases even changing your whole approach to making sounds - losing the patch recall of software seems like it'd have a fairly fundamental impact on how you work...
i like patch recall. i like midi too for all it's inherent wackness. this is what's kept me from going completely vintage. all 3 of my synths can store patches. this makes things a hell of a lot easier. i don't like faffing around looking for the right sound or patching when i want to make a tune, it's distracting. right now i'm on this mad mission going through a ton of sysex banks to get a few core banks for each synth that will give me all the bread and butter sounds i need to build off of, maybe i'll tweak things here n there to get them to sit in the mix, but generally they'll be ready to go. that way i can dump all those into the internal memory and just hook up to my hardware sequencers and forget the computer screen all together.
P) because of the linearity of the randomiser which has been designed to be random, rather than something that is unintentionally chaotic because it's made out of funky bits of electronics. imo you can detect false randomness and it doesn't feel anywhere near as good.