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I'm just a hobbyist but I play guitar and am getting more into production (drum machines, synths, sequencing multi-sampled instruments, etc.) Recording my guita

I'm just a hobbyist but I play guitar and am getting more into production (drum machines, synths, sequencing multi-sampled instruments, etc.) Recording my guitar gives me an appreciation for the fact that as great as virtual instruments are, there is still so much left on the table that a good instrumentalist (let alone a vocalist) is doing and often not even thinking about it. There's much more to it than playing the right notes at the right times if you want it to sound right, much less good. Stuff like the Linnstrument is taking it to higher levels, but I think the horizon for Faux-y Bonnamosa is a little further out than some in the tech crowds might imagine. The bar might seem a little lower for pure electronic genres but it'll still be some time before Steve Faoki is consistently better than the real deal.

djeiasbsbo 6y ago
Well, playing and recording a live instrument is much more expressive for many reasons. But the biggest thing are these little random bits and noises that can be present when recording with a microphone and inconsistencies such as pitch fluctuations. This can be emulated with soft synths and samplers but with many limitations. When I produce music digitally, I usually get the most interesting results by randomising devices. For example, in Ableton Live there is a device called "Device Randomiser" that can randomise other devices. A few of these in a chain can produce crazy sounds over time. Then these can be used together with more traditional soft synths, for example by using them as an external vocoder signal.