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I've never owned an 808, but I've owned at least 18 hardware synths and samplers, as well as Live, Reason, Rebirth, and lots of softsynths on iOS. I hate softs

I've never owned an 808, but I've owned at least 18 hardware synths and samplers, as well as Live, Reason, Rebirth, and lots of softsynths on iOS. I hate softsynths on OS X because it's not stable enough. I have two synths that were made in the 1980s and they don't need any software updates to run. You just plug them in and turn them on. Hardware lasts for a very long time. Software, you don't really buy it, you rent it for the brief lifespan of your computer. Emulating analog gear is difficult for the same reason that writing software which simulates any real-world process is difficult. TLDR: everything louthy said. Even emulating digital gear, which logically should be much easier, is still a challenge. I have a Korg Wavestation and a Korg M1. Both are 100% digital. Both are well-emulated in Korg's popular and well-regarded Legacy Collection. But well-emulated isn't the same as exactly reproduced. And Korg supports the Legacy Collection now, but they won't forever. I can't even trust operating systems to work properly when I install them. I'm not risking my ability to make music on the incredibly widespread incompetence of programmers, even at the best companies on earth, when all I have to do is put down less than $200. Look at the bug trackers for any open source project from Apple or Google. Apple's still got WebKit bugs around arbitrary cookie resets from at least ten years ago. Or look at iTunes. The demand for programmers is so intense that you can be an utter incompetent and still have a terrific career. If the best companies on earth can't get their shit together, how on earth is some music company going to do it? Also, no two 808s ever sound exactly alike. The 808 is still unbeaten when it comes to claps and kicks. Emulations are getting better and better, but you're never going to get a picture of a sunset which is more beautiful than being there. The only truly, unequivocally successful emulation project ever is the x0xb0x, which "emulated" the Roland TB-303 by taking it apart. We have two--count 'em, two--analog electrical engineers with too much time on their hands working on this project. An original TB-303 was diassembled and reverse-engineered to verify the schematic. The original transistors were analysed using big expensive curve-tracers to determine their characteristics. We measured every waveform and counted every cycle to give you the best sound...its just like the original because it IS the original. http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/ http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/

coldtea 11y ago
>I hate softsynths on OS X because it's not stable enough. Not sure what you mean here. People have been using OS X to make music professionaly, including in huge $10.000/day studios, for a decade, with Pro Tools, Logic and Cubase. They also use it live, in 90% of electronic music lives you'll see one or more Mac laptops. Now, while a few plugins or some hosts might crash (they're software after all, and quality varies) now and then, with something like Reason that you mention there are hardly ANY crashes ever. And, since I've also used Windows for music for a long time (Cubase mostly) and my brother still uses it full-time as a pro, it's not like things are any more stable there. But still, stable enough to get thousands of professionals using Windows/PT/Cubase/etc too. And don't get me started on the BS idea that Linux based DAWs are "more stable" because of "Linux = rock solid" etc stuff. Linux DAWs are few, with few commiters, lacking in UI refinements, and more importantly lacking in basic functionality. They are also a pain to setup (unless you want to work with just simple audio and some of their native plugins, and no MIDI, VST etc), and crash all the time. Been there, done that. Now, of course a M1 or a modern synth will be "always there" and more stable that an computer plugin, but stuff like: >* I'm not risking my ability to make music on the incredibly widespread incompetence of programmers, even at the best companies on earth* puzzles me. It's not like the potential for instability of this "widespread incompetence of programmers" prevented all professional artists currently employed to produce records with DAWs and plugins.
- 1_player 11y ago
  > And don't get me started on the BS idea that Linux based DAWs are "more stable" because of "Linux = rock solid" etc stuff I recently learned from Rob Swire's AMA of Pendulum fame that were running Linux gear on stage: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2pi4ek/we_are_knife_party_aka_rob_swire_and_gareth/cmwynld http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2pi4ek/we_are_knife_pa... But yeah, Linux music production is a pain: lack of decent VSTs, Jack/Pulseaudio are suboptimal to say the least, even native DAWs like Renoise give headaches to run. I just reinstalled Windows because I missed Ableton and ASIO so much.

coldtea 11y ago

>I hate softsynths on OS X because it's not stable enough. Not sure what you mean here. People have been using OS X to make music professionaly, including in huge $10.000/day studios, for a decade, with Pro Tools, Logic and Cubase. They also use it live, in 90% of electronic music lives you'll see one or more Mac laptops. Now, while a few plugins or some hosts might crash (they're software after all, and quality varies) now and then, with something like Reason that you mention there are hardly ANY crashes ever. And, since I've also used Windows for music for a long time (Cubase mostly) and my brother still uses it full-time as a pro, it's not like things are any more stable there. But still, stable enough to get thousands of professionals using Windows/PT/Cubase/etc too. And don't get me started on the BS idea that Linux based DAWs are "more stable" because of "Linux = rock solid" etc stuff. Linux DAWs are few, with few commiters, lacking in UI refinements, and more importantly lacking in basic functionality. They are also a pain to setup (unless you want to work with just simple audio and some of their native plugins, and no MIDI, VST etc), and crash all the time. Been there, done that. Now, of course a M1 or a modern synth will be "always there" and more stable that an computer plugin, but stuff like: >* I'm not risking my ability to make music on the incredibly widespread incompetence of programmers, even at the best companies on earth* puzzles me. It's not like the potential for instability of this "widespread incompetence of programmers" prevented all professional artists currently employed to produce records with DAWs and plugins.

1_player 11y ago
> And don't get me started on the BS idea that Linux based DAWs are "more stable" because of "Linux = rock solid" etc stuff I recently learned from Rob Swire's AMA of Pendulum fame that were running Linux gear on stage: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2pi4ek/we_are_knife_party_aka_rob_swire_and_gareth/cmwynld http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2pi4ek/we_are_knife_pa... But yeah, Linux music production is a pain: lack of decent VSTs, Jack/Pulseaudio are suboptimal to say the least, even native DAWs like Renoise give headaches to run. I just reinstalled Windows because I missed Ableton and ASIO so much.