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You could create all kinds of new sounds and technologies and they would have no impact if audiences didn't connect with them. Some people have a certain fluen

You could create all kinds of new sounds and technologies and they would have no impact if audiences didn't connect with them. Some people have a certain fluency with sound and music. It's not about training, although training will bring it out if someone has it. But it seems pretty innate. And it cuts through in a way that the work of people without the fluency doesn't. Roland used to be masters of this. Their rhythm and bass boxes seemed like stupid failed toys, but they had a magic that wasn't obvious until they were handed to people who didn't try to use them in the "proper" way. That's fluency from two sources - something the original designers somehow had (until Roland stopped being that kind of company) mixed with the feel the pioneering users had. This story is another example of that. Compare with - say - Yamaha's attempts to sell physical modelling synthesis. There was much money spent, a good selection of instruments produced, but it failed to cut through. Possibly because it ended up being a system of presets and directed constraints that limited imagination instead of opening it up. (Or possibly not. It's a mysterious process.)

tweetle_beetle 5y ago
For those who don't know, the TB-303 is probably the most entertaining story of this kind. > ... the box was largely written off as a failure after just 18 months of production. It was released alongside the TR-606 drum machine as an accompaniment for guitarists, but with unrealistic sounds and a difficult interface the box got little traction upon release. [1] It became the source of a signature sound in dance music, which remains extensively used today and can be heard in tracks with mainstream chart success. It's terrible interface is somehow part of its charm and it has been cloned in many formats. This is probably the best way to experience it in a browser [2] [1] https://djtechtools.com/2015/12/02/history-tb-303-rolands-accidental-legend/ https://djtechtools.com/2015/12/02/history-tb-303-rolands-ac... [2] https://808303.studio/ https://808303.studio/
nyanpasu64 5y ago
From what I've heard, sample libraries of acoustic instruments are a system of presets and directed constraints (inability to replicate complex dynamics, articulation, and pitch bends). I haven't tried physical modeling, and don't know if it manages to escape this issue, or ends up too complex to learn/perform or stuck in an uncanny valley. (This is from the perspective of orchestral-inspired sound design rather than more synthetic compositions.)

tweetle_beetle 5y ago

For those who don't know, the TB-303 is probably the most entertaining story of this kind. > ... the box was largely written off as a failure after just 18 months of production. It was released alongside the TR-606 drum machine as an accompaniment for guitarists, but with unrealistic sounds and a difficult interface the box got little traction upon release. [1] It became the source of a signature sound in dance music, which remains extensively used today and can be heard in tracks with mainstream chart success. It's terrible interface is somehow part of its charm and it has been cloned in many formats. This is probably the best way to experience it in a browser [2] [1] https://djtechtools.com/2015/12/02/history-tb-303-rolands-accidental-legend/ https://djtechtools.com/2015/12/02/history-tb-303-rolands-ac... [2] https://808303.studio/ https://808303.studio/

nyanpasu64 5y ago

From what I've heard, sample libraries of acoustic instruments are a system of presets and directed constraints (inability to replicate complex dynamics, articulation, and pitch bends). I haven't tried physical modeling, and don't know if it manages to escape this issue, or ends up too complex to learn/perform or stuck in an uncanny valley. (This is from the perspective of orchestral-inspired sound design rather than more synthetic compositions.)