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Subject: Re: [motm] Re: FYI: new 5U / large format sub forum over at Muff's

From: "Kenneth Elhardt" <elhardt@...>
Date: 2008-09-03

Ivan writes:
>>That was some funny reading. To some of those people can I just say "GET
A LIFE!".<<

My thoughts exactly. I had to drop in a post to point out that so much of
the B.S. they're spouting has already to shown false by me in past
ridiculous threads like that. The problem is some people's brains don't
have the ability to aquire information and modify their thinking. Posting
on these forums is like talking to people with Alzheimer's disease. Since
the magical 901 oscillator was brought up in that thread, I of course had to
point out all the falsehoods that people keep bringing up. Facts: the moog
waveforms aren't different than everybody elses, the 901 doesn't sound
different than others, there is not more jitter in it, and drift can easily
be programmed in. They just can't seem to learn simple child-like concepts.

And then there is the big picture of too many people obscessing over such
details and yet they have nothing to show for it. A lot of it comes from
trying to compensate for lack of talent in the synthesis and music side. I
have to point out again that nobody has put out any quality synth album, and
maybe no synth album at all based on a Moog modular in close to 3 decades
now. So all that inane talk about how great their Moogs sound, when all
they're being used for is wall decorations collecting dust, is just a waste
of time. I've gotten by without owning a 901 oscillator, or authentic
Minimoog filter, and it hasn't hindered me.

John Mahoney writes:
>>What you say is true, but sometimes the old stuff has something magical
about it. An example that I like to mention is Tom Oberheim's comment on the
evolution from OB-X to OB-Xa to OB-8; each synth was cleaner and
theoretically "better" than the previous model, but in retrospect he decided
that the earlier ones have more character. (I think this story comes from
Mark Vail's book.) I suppose the 2/4/8-voice has the most character of
all.<<

Yes, that's from Mark Vail's book. But the problem is some people keep
making up baseless fantasies about individual components in the synth. The
Moog may sound different because a number of things ranging from it's
filter, exponential VCA, low voltage levels with slewing and distortion.
But saying things like the Moog has magical waveforms has already been shown
false. And of course there are years of history on these forums of people
failing blind listening tests, something else they can't seem to learn from.
So in the end it comes back to "get a life".

-Elhardt
"The current revival in analog synthesizers has spawned a lamentable
abundance of mechanically repetitive, amelodic, soulless, robo-porn tracks
that are banal at best and enervating at worst." - record reviewer