MOTM

I'm pretty sure that I'll regret posting this, but oh well- what the 
hell. Sometimes I just gotta.

<asbestos suit>

Just to get this out of the way, I don't endorse the previous 
post/troll about Paul's response to the competition. Name calling is 
just dumb.

Separately, I have to say that sometimes some of Paul's comments leave 
me scratching my head in confusion.

To my mind, saying that MOTM is "the best modular" is sort of like 
saying that a cello is "the best instrument", or that Kandinsky is "the 
best painter". It just seems non-sensical to me.

Don't get me wrong - Paul has every reason to be proud of his 
accomplishments. And MOTM is a great modular. I like mine a lot, and 
expect to continue adding to it.

However... right there next to my MOTM sits Wiard, and Doepfer and 
Blacet too. Each has its strong points, and its weaknesses. Doepfer is 
probably the most affordable. Wiard is probably the most 
multi-functional, and so on. That doesn't make any of them "the best 
modular". Likewise, the fact that Doepfer construction is obviously of 
a lower quality than that of MOTM (and most others) doesn't make 
Doepfer "the worst" modular, because depending on what you're doing 
with it, other factors may offset this downside. Every system is good 
in some sense, and not as good in another. In other words, they're all 
-DIFFERENT-.

There's no doubt in my mind that MOTM is "the best modular" for some 
people (and depending on the context, that sometimes includes me). But 
that's (importantly) different from saying that it's "the best modular".

I propose that we all (and this includes, ahem, the manufacturers) 
adopt a more ecumenical, inclusive approach to the discussion of 
synthesis and its instruments. Assuming that we generally consider a 
modular synthesizer to be a musical instrument, rather than simply the 
sum of its parts, claiming superiority in an arena where the final word 
is invariably subjective just doesn't make sense. It also doesn't 
advance the discussion, IMHO. In fact it really seems to have the 
opposite effect, often resulting in alienation and fodder for yet more 
flame wars.

</asbestos suit>