[sdiy] Modular - sound or song

[paul.maddox.mail-list at synth.net]

Sorry, but that's a very naieve statement.

  Look at the moog source, utterly un-inspiring, not flexible and yet  
100% analogue.

  Look beyond the word "analogue" or "digital", forget that, look at  
the user interface and experience.

  You want a digital modular? look at Kyma, or the Nord stuff, I could  
spend days with a nord modular playing, but the thing that detracts  
from it being truly awesome is the UI. The lack of a tactile surface  
(though the Modular G2 keyboards are a step in the right direction).

Paul


Quoting "David G. Dixon" <dixon at interchange.ubc.ca>:

>> I think the biggest distinction between digital and analogue, hardware and
>> software is in the playability.  A modular is slow to patch, hard to
>> expand, but once set up every parameter is available right there for
>> realtime tweaking.  On the other hand those tweaks can be difficult to
>> automate, so it has to be played by a human.
>>
>> Digital synths tend to be quicker to patch, but usually only a subset of
>> parameters can be tweaked in realtime as knobs tend to be overloaded with
>> multiple functions.  On the other hand the playing of the instrument and
>> the tweaking of the knobs can be recorded, played back and generally
>> automated as much as you like.
>>
>> This difference in how they are played is the crux for me rather than the
>> sound capabilities.
>
> I think you've nailed it!  Analogue is more spontaneous; fleeting, even, and
> thus lends itself to improvisation, while digital demands more planning, and
> thus lends itself to composition.  I think digital is more "professional" in
> the sense that it offers the busy musical professional (and all that
> connotes) the fastest and most efficient bang for his production buck.
> Analogue is more of a toy, in the best sense of something which invites and
> inspires play.
>
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