[sdiy] Another new hard to find part....

[harrybissell]

Got yer asbestos on ???

jbv wrote:

> remark 1 : <snip>

> Furthermore I don't think logic ICs had much influence on the analog sound...

EDP WASP ???     "logic" ICs such as the 4000 series have a wide variety of analog
uses...
Look for the 4007 in a LOT of Bob Moog designs (esp envelope generators).

Octave dividers ???  Sequencers ???

(of course you can do that with tubes, neon bulbs, unijunctions, transistors, or
pics... your
choice :^)

> remark 2 : in the late 60's & early 70's, when Bob Moog & friends used to cook
>
> their modulars, did they made efforts to use technology from 30 years ago ?
> Nope : they were just using parts of their time. And they managed to make
> wonders
> out of it.
> When compared to what was available back then, today's technology is pretty
> much
> likle a treasure island. So is there really any difficulty to design great
> stuff with today's
> technology ?

YES YES YES.   The "price to play" has risen enormously. Garage industries are at
a real
disadvantage... just making the PCBs to carry an FPGA etc are a real strain... and
the
specialized equipment you need to do it. Now if you REALLY want to talk about
being
"retro" then you have to make your own IR reflow out of a toaster oven.  That's
gonna
get even tougher lead free...

So you CAN design amazing shit with today's technology... but you need to invest
heavily
to do it. So there will be less overall inovation when everyone wants to make a

FUCKING CELL PHONE

and has no interest in smaller quantity items.   Major manufacturers have
abandoned a lot of
components because their MBAs can't see past the next 15 minutes. Everyone want
the

NEXT BIG THING

not some boutique synth stuff... so many of us are just buying EOL components in
quantities to
last till out own EOL... not wanting to completely retool for the incredible
shrinking footprints.

> Is nostalgia of analog sound really necessary ?

er... no   :^P

> Does digital really have to compete with analog ?

er... no

> Did analog have to compete with violins and drums ?

granted...but the newer technology has largely supplanted violins and drums. can
you say

TR-xxx ???

>
> Since I went back to synth diy circa 1996 (after 15 years), I've always
> suspected
> that the nostalgia for analog technology and sound had much to do with lack of
>
> inspiration (should I say "designers' lazyness" ?), rather than limited
> technology...
> I'm afraid that some of us complain about gone trannies, just like in the 70's
> some
> music fans used to lament about Hendrix' death, or later about Kurt Cobain's
> suicide...

Sad... and just a wimper for Jerry Garcia :^P

>
> I've the feeling it's just nostalgia for the pleasure of it... Nostalgia of
> the thrill and
> difficulty to find parts & schemos in the 70's, when today everything is only
> a
> mouseclick away on the net... and 5 to 10 times cheaper...

Part of the "thrill" is that many of the "state secrets" of the 70's are now
unclassified and
it is cool to see how it was done.  Some of the design ideas are incredibly
clever. I hate Bob
Moog designs (hah) because he uses so few components to such great advantage that
if I
hack ONE thing I screw up another at the same time (lol).

I don't get a thrill out of a 2SC1583... I just want a monolythic dual for cheap.
If no one will
make them new, I'll buy old.

Now one for you... by extension

"Is it OK to make music (or anything) and not base it on an FPGA or DSP ???

(imho .... hacking a DX-7 is not a lot of fun. If you can't break into the box
there is not much you
can do with it...)

H^) harry