-----Original Message-----
From:
Synthworld@... [mailto:
Synthworld@...]
Sent: Saturday, April 01, 2000 5:20 AM
To:
analogue@...Subject: Re: [AH] MKS-80, Jupiter8, Virus: Are they apples and oranges?
In a message dated 3/31/00 5:44:19 PM US Mountain Standard Time,
peake@... writes:
<< All of the digitals I've heard, all
of them, lack the obvious depth of the large analogs (modular
Moog, Buchla, etc.) The digitals sound less full tonally and
have less dynamic range in their beating than the real thing.
They have less 'whoomf' in their filters in the bass region. >>
I am in complete and total agreement with Mike here.
One of the primary differences in sound between VAs and true analog is the
beating effect you get with two or more detuned oscillators. Mike hit the
nail on the head.
Slightly detune two oscillators on a VA and do the same on an analog synth.
The lovely, rolling effect produced by this (that we are all familiar with)
is so much more pronounced and apparent with true analog oscillators. So
much
so, that you are normally compelled to lower the relative volume of one of
your oscillators because this animation is so obvious -- it can be
distracting at times -- like amplitude modulation; especially if you've
detuned them for a chorusing effect, rather than just a slow animation.
Your meters are jumping up and down so much you can use them as a tuner.
On a VA you can hear the slow beating of two detuned oscillators, but -- in
direct comparison -- it simply sounds detuned rather than adding as much in
the way of an animated resultant waveform (or as much amplitude modulation
at
the beat frequency).
Now, why this difference occurs is something that the DSP programmers will
have to eventually figure out and compensate for if they want to come closer
to simulating not just how analog synthesizers sound, but how they behave.
Instrument behavior is just as important -- and married to -- the sound of a
given instrument such as the caffeinated glide of the Minimoog vs. the
elephant-turning portamento of the modular Moog 951 keyboard. Set up the
same
patch on both, but the behavior-while-playing end result is completely
different.
My personal appreciation for the new VAs lies in their ability to produce
stable, complex, theoretical patches and polyphony rather than in their
mimicry of the sound of previous synths.
New sounds, places our ears have never been before -- isn't that the whole
idea?
I'm gonna go get another beer now :-)
Zon