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Originally posted by danieldavid Amen, that says it all right there, hardware to supplement software, or for the people who have been around a bit longer than us, software to supplement hardware. A good example is on J00F's website (www.john00fleming.com) in his diary he talks about the use of softsynths and what they are doing for music now. Also when you really get down to it, a softsynth is theoretically generating the same waveforms as a hardware synth with the same ammount of ocilators and effects, the reason you get differences has to do with imperfections i believe... anyone got more info on this?

The imperfections are only in analog hardware because that uses electrical impulses and in some cases tube amplifiers (which can change the sound depending on the temperature) to generate the waves. Digital hardware is just as perfect as software in terms of soundwave generation. There are certain VST's such as the Pro 53 which have imperfections programmed into them so they actually sound more analog than some JP 8080 sounds i've heard.

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Originally posted by State of Matter The imperfections are only in analog hardware because that uses electrical impulses and in some cases tube amplifiers (which can change the sound depending on the temperature) to generate the waves. Digital hardware is just as perfect as software in terms of soundwave generation. There are certain VST's such as the Pro 53 which have imperfections programmed into them so they actually sound more analog than some JP 8080 sounds i've heard.

Yeah those imprefections being programmed in are actually a very intersting part. Because back when synthesizers got started, engineers were trying to create instrument sounds, like a piano by using the mathmatical formulas for the frequency at which a string vibrates, and then just have the synth play at that frequency. What happened was they got the math right but they couldnt get any of the imperfections or character programmed along with it, so thats how we ended up with that 80's stereotypical synthesizer sound. I wish i could remember where i read this information, cuz it was kinda useful for people trying to figure out what synths actually do...

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These diferences comes from the physical world's limitations, that always gives some miliseconds delay when eletricity flows along the components, that gave the raw wav some scratches raised the harmonics ammount. In a digitally generated sound this diference is inexistent due to the speed of processing. But as mentioned above, some synths reproduces these imperfections pretty well and are optional.

I would say that u can produce wonderful tunes both with only hardware and only software, but will be having extra effort.
There are hardware that can make software user's life easier, and the oposite.

I think that a big advantage of software is that the limitation is your machine, and u can build it up for a better work, while hardware u must buy a entirely new one.
The infinity of presets u can get/save and the organization u can make is also a plus.