MOTM

Wow!  Elhardt, you took this way too seriously, not noticing the obvious
tongue in cheek especially with 11.  Needed more smiley faces I guess.  Some
responses are inline.

John Loffink
The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
http://www.microtonal-synthesis.com
The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site
http://www.wavemakers-synth.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: elhardt@att.net [mailto:elhardt@...]
> 
> Since this was a completely one sided and biased post, perhaps some
> balance needs to be added.
> 

Biased, hardly. I've used analog synths since 1980, computers since 1980 and
virtual synths since 1987.  I was a beta tester for Synthia Pro, Midicode,
BankStep and Reaktor 3.  I have written DSP audio code and designed the
hardware for a digital piano.  I've been an analog modular user (MOTM, Serge
and others) since 2000, not counting a borrowed Arp 2600 and a few DIY
modules in the early 1980s.

> 15.  Personalized service straight from the designer/integrator.
> 
> 15:  Either that, or you can write to them many times and never get a
> response, like Moog CE, CMS, and others.

Can't say that I considered them, but don't throw out the whole dozen
because of a few bad eggs.  Come to think of it, some of the smaller
Software developers do offer personalized responses, but this is not the
norm.  

> 12.  Real meaty sound without quantization or aliasing artifacts.
> 
> 12:  Only applicable to really high notes.  But at least they still stay
> in tune way up there unlike my analog modulars.

Simple solution, don't play any high notes for either.  ;-)

> 11.  Design quirks or inadequacies and component limitations or aging
> really can be features.
> 
> 11:  No!  Lack of consistancy, changing component tolerances, differences
> between like modules, and lack of neumeric accuracy is a detriment.
>

As noted, tongue was firmly planted in cheek for this one.  Let us not
revisit all the old precision/variability arguments.

> 10.  True plug and play.
> 
> 10:  Unless you need that extra +5v line, or you're trying to connect a
> +/-12v module, or the connectors are different, or the rack holes are in a
> different position, and so on.

This was pun of course, referring to patch cord connections as well as
Microsoft's "Plug and Play" feature.

> 9.  Boot time measured in microseconds.
> 
> 9:  But warm-up time measured in minutes.

Touche!

> 8.  No software crashes.
> 
> 8:  Let's wait and see if any of Paul's future digital based modules crash
> or not.  Just two days ago my Lexicon PCM41 digital delay crashed.  I had
> to turn it off and on again to get it working.  So much for avoiding
> computers.

This can be true of the few microprocessor based modules out there, but the
likelihood of bugs escaping rises exponentially with the complexity of the
system.

> 7.  No reboot necessary.
> 
> 7:  See #8.
> 
> 6.  No OS upgrades.
> 
> 6:  Just numerous PCB revisions, bug fixes, hardware mods, EPROM swaps,
> and calibratating to deal with.

The OS for my analog modular is the +/- 15V supply.  It has never needed
tweaking, not once.  :-)  As far as hardware mods vs. software mods, have
you ever tried getting source code to fix somebody's software bugs?

> 4.  No obsolete modules because they weren't updated to support new OSes.
> 
> 4:  What?  Generally new modules are introduced in software upgrades.
> 

You misunderstood the point.  90% of the virtual instruments and effects
will not be here 10 years from now.  Do you archive a version of the OS on a
boot partition for every one of these?  Do you stop upgrading your OS to
save your favorite plugin or modular programming interface?  Do you keep all
that old computer hardware which eventually becomes the only thing that will
run the old OSes that runs the old software?

> 
> 
> --------------------  Reasons to also own a virtual modular
> 

No arguments with any of these.  If these are important to you, then more
power to you and the virtual modulars.  But #6 is a good reason to design a
real modular instead of a virtual one.

> 1.  One single purchase and you have an entire synth.  No need to keep
> buying more modules for years to come.
> 
> 2.  Patch storage and recall.
> 
> 3.  Polyphony.
> 
> 4.  No scratchy pots, no bad jacks, no cable shortages.
> 
> 5.  Create patches that would be impossible, impractical, or cost
> prohibitive on an analog modular.
> 
> 6.  You can pirate software, you can't pirate hardware.  :-)
> 
> 7.  As computers get faster the maximum size of your virtual modular grows
> proportionately.
> 
> 8.  Can be used in conjunction with a real analog modular to add features
> that will never exist in your real analog modular.
> 
> 
> --Elhardt
>