TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Production Studio
-- Can soft synths ever sound as good as hardware? Post your opinion.
Pages (7): « 1 2 3 4 5 [6] 7 »

the best setup for the best possible music to be made is either:

a) hardware setup only
b) software setup only
c) hardware and software combination

i think thats more accurate

no quality wise for a skilled producer the best possible way is

1. spend >100K$
2. spend >50K$
3. spend >10K$
4. spend <10K$
5. spend nothing

Money does not buy you production skills or talent, but when you have both already: the more you spend, the better your productions will sound... (either with high end hardware or high end software, or both)

quote:

Originally posted by evo8 a) hardware setup only

i`d like to see anyone use this.

Arguing about what tools and sounds are best is like painters arguing about which colors and brushes are best. Completely pointless... Sound in itself is a personal subjective experience.

But I guess as long as there are ppl who aren't experienced with both software and hardware, there will always be topics like this emerging..
I've been a software only user from the start. The first VST's ever made. I still believe that ppl who know what they're doing can do it all "in the box". I've seen this first hand.

But I also know what it feels like to dish out 3000$ on a hardware synth and what that does. It doesn't give you much better sounds. What it does is make you want to use it more, learn it more, get more from it.. and the result? You actually get more from a hardware synth. It's more fun to use, and as we all know, the more fun you have, the better the results. There's no denying this.
It's no different from cars in a way: if you had a porsche and a fiat, what would you prefer to drive? they both do the exact same thing. But somehow most ppl prefer driving a porsche. Go figure..
Just another 2c to a pile of opinions.

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle i`d like to see anyone use this.

yeah me too, but at least they would be getting top quality music out, right??!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle i`d like to see anyone use this.

using an elektron machinedrum is possible.

or a MPC....

Are you going to be recording to tape? Can't use any DAW software, remember, otherwise you're no longer hardware-only.

Fuck yes! Nothing compares to the sound of an overdriven guitar hitting tape.

welcome minidisc again for recording.

It is not about what you use its about how you use it

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm So... Any empirical facts to back up all of this puffery and ignorance? It's hilarious that this is all coming from someone who's only synth is a Xiosynth. LOL. My advice: never join a debating team. No jokes, I'm serious.

I'm actually on a debate team, and this is not a debate fyi.
The only "empirical evidence" I need is a brain and ears.

What's a "good" sound is completely subjective unless everyone agrees on some measurable criteria for "goodness." Saying a synth is "the best" because "it makes 'fat' and 'warm' sounds!" is probably even less informative than telling someone you like your favorite wine because of its "fruity" character.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles What's a "good" sound is completely subjective

the question is "can soft synths ever sound as good as hardware". soft synths can sound identical to non-analog hardware and vice-versa, ergo... "yes". you cannot debate this, it is fact. a lot of people in the forum are trying though

however, vsts vs. analog, there's no point in even going there because no one can prove shit and its all just oppinion, like you said. personally, i've never heard an analog synth to sound significantly better than a typical VA.

Can NI FM8(software) sound Better then a Yamaha dx7(hardware)?

quote:

Originally posted by atxbigballer1 Can NI FM8(software) sound Better then a Yamaha dx7(hardware)?

yes, it does. fm7 vs. dx7 wasn't so much of a margin, but fm8 is way superior.

i owned a yamaha sy77 for about a year, which is actually better than the dx7, and it was really piss weak compared to fm8. i basically just ended up using the sy as a midi controller, until i gave it back to my aunty about 2 months ago

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm yes, it does. fm7 vs. dx7 wasn't so much of a margin, but fm8 is way superior. i owned a yamaha sy77 for about a year, which is actually better than the dx7, and it was really piss weak compared to fm8. i basically just ended up using the sy as a midi controller, until i gave it back to my aunty about 2 months ago

Well Im glad you think FM 8 sounds better then a dx 7! I have my eye on a good FM hardware synth but i think i will stick to FM 8 and Sytrus!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&Category=38071
The dx 200 dose sounds Awesome!
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]

quote:

Originally posted by atxbigballer1 Well Im glad you think FM 8 sounds better then a dx 7!

i'm not saying that you shouldn't buy a dx7 though! sorry lol, im just saying FM8 sounds better...

remember you basically have zero resale value on fm8, whereas the dx7 will probably stay the same or possibly go up in value.

Good Point! I guess its like when you buy a TB-303 OR JP8000 Your buying a piece of Roland history!
Well I have a hard on for the dx-200, it has the same engen as the DX7!

quote:

Originally posted by Raphie that's why EXCEPTIONS was in bold. Nothing wrong with VSTi's in their own right. but there are 2 big misconceptions: 1. VSTi's who emulate hardware come close....... 2. mixing ITB is easy....... i have to laugh when people say I've used that MOOG in my bassline... What MOOG? that preset121 in Pro53.... Though I've can get some very nice unique sounds out of Vstation and NEXUS is perfect for bread and butter instant Trance. However the filter and ADSR from a Minimoog is TOTALLY different than the filter section on NEXUS, Artuaria or Pro53 It's not trolling, it's experience. and I really don't understand how people who've never played beyond a few VSTi's can give an educated opinion while never have touched a piece of hardware, don't believe the marketing hype, use your own ears and listen.... That would be the same as 14 year olds without a driverslicense debating that a Porsche drives better than a Ferrari or the other way around.... Experience first than conclude... At the end of the day, whether you are using Magix Music Maker, Band in a Box, FLStudio, Cubase, Logic Ableton, and you are happy with your results then it's ok. THAT's what it's all about. If your not happy than you may ask yourself do I suck? or can't my software bring me what I want. If it's the first, don't even bother buying anything else if it's the latter, go listen en buy what suits you. Not because you HAVE to, but because you want to. But as said before clever programming and proper mixing can bring you a long way with software alone.

What a tool.

Its pretty clear to me that you get a much better variety of sounds in software, because you have physical modelling, FM, VA, HCM, Additive, Wavetable, Wavescanning, and any other type of synthesis you like. VSTs do NOT sound the same. Hardware does mostly sound the same. With Max/MSP or Reaktor, a talented programmer could passably emulate any analogue synth you like.

Also, Echo is completely right, a modern vst is completely superior to an old Novation nova or roland JP8080, the algorithms are better and they have faster hardware to work with.

Of course a Pro53 is not going to sound like a Moog, its going to sound like a pro 53. Thats the point. If it sounded like a moog, then it'd be a moog emulation. Arturia emulations do sound a fair bit like a moog. And they sound really awesome.

And NO, DA's do not EVER impart pleasant distortion, the most you can hope for is transparency.

Phew its been ages since i entered this forum! saw this thread and just had to comment!!
i'v had these arguments for years!

so yeah the codes are the same , indeed! software "can" sound like hardware! but it never will!
and you know what's the reason??? cuz anybody with enough skills to program something that will sound like a virus won't invest his time putting it on a AU/VST which will leak to the net in 2 days....end of the story!

other then that , no CPU can handle codes like the Virus TI or others in that style. your CPU would just collapse and die (as for now of course).

I had the very same argument on Reverbs. and boy plug in reverbs sounds like shit! if you compare it to any good hardware reverb (good lexicons , bricasti . EMT or even the Eventide).
so yeah you can tweak the hell out of this soft synths with tons of eq's and shit but getting a good sound starts from a good source!! and besides people who don't want to put any money on a synth probably won't invest in good Eq's , Compressors , Reverbs etc so the result can only sound like shit........a living proof is todays trance scene

ok there a few a few dumb things in this post Hydroid...

quote:

Originally posted by Hydroid cuz anybody with enough skills to program something that will sound like a virus won't invest his time putting it on a AU/VST which will leak to the net in 2 days....end of the story!

ok, so which company do you think turns more profit - nord or native instruments?

(it's not nord)

quote:

Originally posted by Hydroid other then that , no CPU can handle codes like the Virus TI or others in that style. your CPU would just collapse and die (as for now of course).

again, this is ABSOLUTE BS. the powercore card has enough grunt to run a number of instances of the virus b plugin... do you have any idea how little processing power a powercore card has?

people were saying this back when oxford plugins were only available on dsp cards... "you could never have an oxford plugin running native, cpus aren't fast enough"... then they released the native versions and they used about 2-5% cpu.

quote:

Originally posted by Hydroid Phew its been ages since i entered this forum! saw this thread and just had to comment!! i'v had these arguments for years! so yeah the codes are the same , indeed! software "can" sound like hardware! but it never will! and you know what's the reason??? cuz anybody with enough skills to program something that will sound like a virus won't invest his time putting it on a AU/VST which will leak to the net in 2 days....end of the story! other then that , no CPU can handle codes like the Virus TI or others in that style. your CPU would just collapse and die (as for now of course). I had the very same argument on Reverbs. and boy plug in reverbs sounds like shit! if you compare it to any good hardware reverb (good lexicons , bricasti . EMT or even the Eventide). so yeah you can tweak the hell out of this soft synths with tons of eq's and shit but getting a good sound starts from a good source!! and besides people who don't want to put any money on a synth probably won't invest in good Eq's , Compressors , Reverbs etc so the result can only sound like shit........a living proof is todays trance scene

Well, personally, I think that the Virus' oscillators and filters (for example) are very weak, and I think a lot of people agree. The virus has a huge advantage in that it gives you 80 or so reasonable sounding voices at no cost to your CPU. Thats it. Something like z3ta, Massive or Predator, even FM8 or absynth blows the virus away from what I've seen, in terms of both features and quality. I also hear that Gladiator and circlesynth are up there in that respect too.

And CPUs are immensely more powerful than DSP chips. So I disagree completely on that.

I think you might have a point about reverbs though, I'm still looking for a really good one in software.

quote:

Originally posted by kitphillips Well, personally, I think that the Virus' oscillators and filters (for example) are very weak, and I think a lot of people agree.

Take a single saw, decrease the filter and put a slight unison detune on it.
And it will already sound better than most softsynths, add some delay and you are a mile ahead.

OK, enough. http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...901#post9565901 go here, put your money where your mouth is.

Hydroid; I love your stuff dude, please don't take me and echo's comments as offensive, I know we come off a bit harsh, but we've been putting up with raphie's comments the whole thread

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.