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> And if you look at what is happening on Bandcamp or Soundcloud or YouTube or wherever else young people are trying new things you see a tremendous heterogenei

> And if you look at what is happening on Bandcamp or Soundcloud or YouTube or wherever else young people are trying new things you see a tremendous heterogeneity of inspiration and not a lot of concern for where the sound fits in. One way I have heard to mentally categorize things: What is the stereotypical musical instrument of that generation/genre? For jazz and the silent generation it was the saxophone, maybe others though. For rock-n-roll it's the electric guitar, no question. The 80's was the electric keyboard and synths, kinda. Today? The laptop.

Kye 5y ago
The laptop is probably on the way out for a lot of electronic music. I just got a Launchpad X to see what all the hype was about, and it's a lot of fun. The fancier Pro MK3 model can hook right up to a synthesizer. You can already get a fully independent music-making tool in the higher-end Maschine+. I wouldn't be surprised if the inevitable Ableton Push 3 was standalone.
- mncharity 5y ago
  > The laptop is probably on the way out for a lot of electronic music. The VR "EXA: The Infinite Instrument"[1] seemed one intriguing window on the future. Development looks stalled. [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/606920/EXA_The_Infinite_Instrument/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/606920/EXA_The_Infinite_I...
  - Kye 5y ago
    There was a TV show a long time ago that was basically 3D demo reels. This reminded me of that. I can't remember the name. It might have been part of another show. edit: It was Eye Drops on TechTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlM2LFPjS5k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlM2LFPjS5k
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- goodbye_ruth 5y ago
  The OP-1 just hit 10 years – many have made albums on that little music box.
biztos 5y ago
The laptop? Or the DAW?
- Balgair 5y ago
  Good point. But I feel that a DAW is a bit higher up the professionalization chain for most of the kids out there. However, for the keyboard, mic, headphone, software, etc you're in the ~$500+ range. But, a Silvertone Stratotone in 1960 was ~$55. That's ~$500 today when adjusting for inflation, so right in the ballpark.
tnolet 5y ago
The DAW ushered in by Protools and its plugins.
rtisdale 5y ago
>Today? The laptop The laptop is really just a tool to host different virtual instruments. The "instrument" most easily associated with the past 15-20 years of electronic/pop music making have been Wave Table synthesizers like NI Massive and Serum. Remember Skrillex? Those screeching sounds and basses are using Wavetable synthesis (from NI Massive in particular). A big part of the reason it's harder to associate a particular instrument with newer electronic genres is because it's FAR easier (and more common) now to program your own patches (essentially a preset instrument) for your songs. The DX-80 mentioned in the next section was VERY difficult to create patches for (even for it's time) so when you hear it in a song, it's almost always the included stock patches. >The 80's was the electric keyboard and synths, kinda. You'd associate a few types of instruments (and synthesis types) with the 80s but the reigning one was FM Synthesis, in particular the Yamaha DX-80. Give a listen to some stick DX-80 patches and you'll immediately go "Yep, that's the 80's"

Kye 5y ago

The laptop is probably on the way out for a lot of electronic music. I just got a Launchpad X to see what all the hype was about, and it's a lot of fun. The fancier Pro MK3 model can hook right up to a synthesizer. You can already get a fully independent music-making tool in the higher-end Maschine+. I wouldn't be surprised if the inevitable Ableton Push 3 was standalone.

mncharity 5y ago
> The laptop is probably on the way out for a lot of electronic music. The VR "EXA: The Infinite Instrument"[1] seemed one intriguing window on the future. Development looks stalled. [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/606920/EXA_The_Infinite_Instrument/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/606920/EXA_The_Infinite_I...
- Kye 5y ago
  There was a TV show a long time ago that was basically 3D demo reels. This reminded me of that. I can't remember the name. It might have been part of another show. edit: It was Eye Drops on TechTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlM2LFPjS5k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlM2LFPjS5k
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
goodbye_ruth 5y ago
The OP-1 just hit 10 years – many have made albums on that little music box.

biztos 5y ago

The laptop? Or the DAW?

Balgair 5y ago
Good point. But I feel that a DAW is a bit higher up the professionalization chain for most of the kids out there. However, for the keyboard, mic, headphone, software, etc you're in the ~$500+ range. But, a Silvertone Stratotone in 1960 was ~$55. That's ~$500 today when adjusting for inflation, so right in the ballpark.

tnolet 5y ago

The DAW ushered in by Protools and its plugins.

rtisdale 5y ago

>Today? The laptop The laptop is really just a tool to host different virtual instruments. The "instrument" most easily associated with the past 15-20 years of electronic/pop music making have been Wave Table synthesizers like NI Massive and Serum. Remember Skrillex? Those screeching sounds and basses are using Wavetable synthesis (from NI Massive in particular). A big part of the reason it's harder to associate a particular instrument with newer electronic genres is because it's FAR easier (and more common) now to program your own patches (essentially a preset instrument) for your songs. The DX-80 mentioned in the next section was VERY difficult to create patches for (even for it's time) so when you hear it in a song, it's almost always the included stock patches. >The 80's was the electric keyboard and synths, kinda. You'd associate a few types of instruments (and synthesis types) with the 80s but the reigning one was FM Synthesis, in particular the Yamaha DX-80. Give a listen to some stick DX-80 patches and you'll immediately go "Yep, that's the 80's"