WHY? (was Re: [sdiy] ... Simulating a Moog)

[Paul Maddox]

Rainer,

> People aren't even able to program their VCR, and that only means typing
> in that 6-10 digit showview number.

so is it purely a User Interface problem?
I don't think so, I think the problem runs deeper, it has to be a concept
people can 'grasp', many people were confused about the PPG wavetable
synthesis. once you explain it in simple terms (one oscillator, lots of
waveforms and you can change them in real time) people get a lot less
frightened.

> Where I fully understand your frustration about the "that was it? is there
> nothing new?" part, I can't really see any new synthesis method which
> would be as groundbreaking as e.g. the wavetable and FM machines were in
> the early 80s. They had a distinct sound which everyone would recognize.

Yep agreed, but you can't see it, either because you're not the one to make
the next 'BIG thing' or you haven't thought of it yet :-)

> But today? When was the last time you wanted to get a machine just because
> of its unique sound which you couldn't get with other machines?

The Neuron, and the VSynth, both stunning machines and both unqiue..

> What would
> be the dream machine *you* would buy which isn't on the market yet as some
> sort or other? (*)

If I knew that, it would be my next product and I wouldn't be saying
anything about it on here..

> Or let's take a synthesis method which I think I never saw on the
> commercial market: Karplus-Strong. Would you buy a synth which does nice
> string-alikes but only these?

not sure, I've not played with Karpluss-Strong so I can't comment.

> Especially when the VM synth can do even better / more realistic?

I'm not into synths because they can sound realistic, I like them because
they don't..

> To come up with another example: The FM-7 also came with the DX7-II
> factory sounds. I remember how thrilled we were of the DX7 sounds back in
> 1984.  But today? My instant reaction to them was "boy, they stink. How
> could we ever be so excited about this cheesy bass/brass/piano/epiano
> sound..."

The piano still sounds good, and the DX7 Bell is just stunning..
But how many people programmed it? and how many of those sounds slipped into
our ears without us knowing it was a DX7?

> (*) A couple of years ago Peter "Wizoo" Gorges started a
> competition in the German Keyboards magazine: "Here are 10 mini-songs
> realized with a single machine each. Tell me which machine I used for
> what song." ... IIRC the best result was 8/10. But the differences were
> often so subtle, you wouldn't even notice in a mix...

yep, I've seen this done once or twice (My Monowave was involved with one at
some point I seem to recall)..
But one of my main motives behind the Monowave was to make something
different, a monosynth that sounded 'different'.

> See, what *I* would like to see is some sort of software which takes a
> sample, analyzes it and spits out a "soundalike" for various synthesis
> models, e.g. 6-op FM. That might lead to interesting results. But when it
> comes to novel synthesis models, I have a feeling that there's not much to
> come -- especially nothing, which will survive on the market.

get yourself Kyma :-)

Paul