Kontrol49 wrote:michelkeijzers wrote:Kontrol49 wrote:
+1
+1 ... although I think hardware synthesizers will always be behind computer specs (like memory, harddisk space etc) and pricing.
In terms of specs,yes we may well never find a hardware model as powerful....at any given moment that woudl compete
But how many softsynths are still gonna be compatible with the current operating platform in 10-15 years time,its a constant upgrade with software
There was another thread where someone said that Keyboard/synth players are kind of misled by manufacturers to keep upgrading to the next machine,but I think computer based musicians are blindly lead,I've got synths 10-15 years old plus,still working no need to update drivers or software to keep them running,and certainly only made obsolete by people being suckered into the newer technology selling them on,they are still as relevant and useful as the day they were made,how many software devices can claim the same.
if thats the sacrifice to be made of being behind the specs of computers then thats fine for me,long live the Hardware
Apart from pure analog synths (and I really don't understand, why some people still swear by this outdated and very restricted technology), synthesizers consists of algorithms running on hardware platforms. So synths are software and they always need a hardware platform to run and they will always need hardware controllers in order to make sense for the musician.
I have also an OpenLabs MiKo (which is of course nothing but a heavely modified and tuned Windows-PC, with a large touchscreen, a lot of controllers and a keyboard, in one single box) with plenty of the best today available software plugins.
I've just looked at the MiKo one day and thought: Isn't it a marvel, what I can do with this piece of hardware and why do I care if it's a PC or a DSP chip, or whatever running inside this box? I've just had enough of all the constant update/upgrade procedures and have decided to freeze my MiKo totally. So I will never ever update or install anything further on the MiKo and never enter the internet. I just look at it as closed sytem, like any other hardware synth/workstation, which does perfectly it's job. The only thing which could cause some problems in 10-15 years, if hardware components of the old PC will fail and need to be replaced.
I even freezed my Laptop (trimmed for music making) at some point and regard it now as a closed system, representing an outstanding synth/sound module and a portable recording studio, with stunning possibilities.
You don't need to constantly follow every update/upgrade. If your system works reliably and fullfills the task for you, then freeze it! Don't let you be fooled by the industry, who just wants your money...
There will always be the next leap of software synths, which will need more CPU power. Then you will have to buy the best currently available hardware in order to run them.
But after a while (which means after some software updates and hardware upgrades) you'll have to freeze it! So the argument that software synths are the much cheaper solution than hardware synths and the argument of endless system openness, is finally completely wrong in the long run.
Due to the fast technological progress, we will see more and more specialized hardware in the future, which has the same power as a PC would have. The PC will finally become extinct in some years and iPad alike hardware (with complementary hardware, like AKAI is already offering) and specialized hardware, like the OASYS/Kronos already represents, will dominate the future, not only regarding music production, but also regarding every other aspect of daily life.
Korg is really ahead of time in this regard. They just have to enhance the user structure, the GUI and hardware interface in order to compete with current synth plugins and DAWs on PC/Mac and current hardware synths, like the Jupiter-80, who really have a highly accessible user structure and interface.
If you say: "Long live the Hardware", you are right, because it's just a fact that it will...
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