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its much more like classical guitarists arguing about classical guitars. a layperson could not tell the difference. but the guitarists have all sorts of opinion

by modzu 5y ago

its much more like classical guitarists arguing about classical guitars. a layperson could not tell the difference. but the guitarists have all sorts of opinions, and notably, not regarding one single quality: it might be sound, it might be feel, it might be the history of a guitar. similarly, the keyboard is your interface to the computer: i love my mechanical because it is a joy to bang on. it bounces around and is so tactile and satisfying to play with, i could code on it all day. there is no objective metric by which to measure this. like the guitars, any keyboard will do the job within the same order of magnitude (typing speed, response time, whatever), but the attachment between these special devices and their owners is legitimate

kstenerud 5y ago
As a classical guitarist, I do understand and can easily tell the quality difference in guitars (which is why I didn't use it as an analogy). As a professional software developer with decades of experience covering almost every keyboard type known to man, I can honestly say the characteristics of the various keyboard types aren't enough to matter, other than as a comfort or RSI or vanity thing. I've never found a $100 vs a $20 keyboard to affect my performance. I HAVE, however, found the difference between a $500 and $3000 guitar to be quite noticeable. It's hard to go back to a cheap guitar from a good one. It's not at all hard to go from a $300 keyboard to a $30 one. I used the footstool analogy because I could just as easily see people obsessing over it like with keyboards, fountain pens, and audio equipment (getting high precision angle and height control, presets for different musical styles, different grip surfaces and build material, etc).
- modzu 5y ago
  i think of jack white who sounds awesome playing on a plank of wood for a guitar. such a guitarist might say your $3000 instrument is a vanity thing as well. speaking from my own experience, a topre keyboard or a heavily damped backplated keyboard with red switches invites me to type all day. so its subjective. i guess here i see the analogy to the footstool but id argue its more like your chair (and man, just look at the chairs in the valley...). your chair wont make you an elite software developer. but elite software developers tend to notice their ass is seated in this thing all day every day and they take it seriously.
  - kstenerud 5y ago
    > such a guitarist might say your $3000 instrument is a vanity thing as well. No, they wouldn't. Playing well on a shit instrument is a way to demonstrate skill good enough to overcome shit, or part of your public persona. Or they have a good quality instrument that looks like shit because it hasn't been treated well in the past. All professional musicians know what to expect from a good quality instrument (up to a point of course - spending $15000 on a guitar puts you right back with the audiophiles).

by modzu 5y ago

kstenerud 5y ago

As a classical guitarist, I do understand and can easily tell the quality difference in guitars (which is why I didn't use it as an analogy). As a professional software developer with decades of experience covering almost every keyboard type known to man, I can honestly say the characteristics of the various keyboard types aren't enough to matter, other than as a comfort or RSI or vanity thing. I've never found a $100 vs a $20 keyboard to affect my performance. I HAVE, however, found the difference between a $500 and $3000 guitar to be quite noticeable. It's hard to go back to a cheap guitar from a good one. It's not at all hard to go from a $300 keyboard to a $30 one. I used the footstool analogy because I could just as easily see people obsessing over it like with keyboards, fountain pens, and audio equipment (getting high precision angle and height control, presets for different musical styles, different grip surfaces and build material, etc).

modzu 5y ago
i think of jack white who sounds awesome playing on a plank of wood for a guitar. such a guitarist might say your $3000 instrument is a vanity thing as well. speaking from my own experience, a topre keyboard or a heavily damped backplated keyboard with red switches invites me to type all day. so its subjective. i guess here i see the analogy to the footstool but id argue its more like your chair (and man, just look at the chairs in the valley...). your chair wont make you an elite software developer. but elite software developers tend to notice their ass is seated in this thing all day every day and they take it seriously.
- kstenerud 5y ago
  > such a guitarist might say your $3000 instrument is a vanity thing as well. No, they wouldn't. Playing well on a shit instrument is a way to demonstrate skill good enough to overcome shit, or part of your public persona. Or they have a good quality instrument that looks like shit because it hasn't been treated well in the past. All professional musicians know what to expect from a good quality instrument (up to a point of course - spending $15000 on a guitar puts you right back with the audiophiles).