I think you gave the topic a fair treatment. I am on the demanding hobbyist side of things, and do not have any requirements related to gigging or hauling gear around. I will point out a couple of additional points and clarifications worth considering: 1. Software is reasonable from a desktop or laptop perspective, but it's ridiculous specifically from the context of Apple iDevices. Apple goes to great lengths to force the upgrade, effectively obsoleting the device 5 years after it was introduced. While technically possible, it is very difficult to take these devices offline or firewall them to the degree necessary to continue using them past that date and not have them become a security hole in your network. 2. I am an IT professional, and already spent a good 8-10 hours per day interacting with the static ergonomic environment that is mouse, keyboard, and monitor. Interacting with hardware, be it vintage or recent, is a refreshing sensory change. 3. As you noted, the creative process is influenced by the tools. I don't think this can be overstated. I have written melodies and harmonies using MidiKeys and a soft synth that I would never have come up with tickling fake ivories, simply because I was influenced by the way a QWERTY keyboard maps to MidiKeys. From the other direction, the path I wander when using hardware is not something that would occur to me using software. There's a cascade of decisions one makes while creating, and that's directly tied to the possibilities presented by the tools. 4. Decision fatigue. I have always struggled with the technical aspects overwhelming the creative spark. Hardware tends to present a narrower range of possibilities, with each device having things it tends to do easily, and others it can't do at all. You touch on this with the Hammond organ example. "Set it and forget it" is a lot easier with hardware, though one can accomplish it with software and a bit more determination.
Good video and I agree with most of your comments! I too could not own vintage synths like an Arp 2600 or Moog Model D when I was in high school. I had a Yamaha YC -25d combo organ and an old amp. I now have the Arturia V Collection, Reason, Ableton Live, VCV Rack and many other plug-ins. I also have dozens of cool plug-ins on my iPad. They are all great and VCV Rack 2 gives me great access to the "sounds" of modular synths without having to spend the money or dedicate my garage to store everything. Bottom line- I enjoy the flexibility and ease of switching between sounds without having to plug in and out hardware cables. For song writing, having plug-ins makes it easier to be creative with different sounds without the setup hassle getting in the way of the creative flow. Plus they cost a fraction of the real hardware as you noted in the video. However, I also have Korg Volcas, Roland Piano, Korg Karma, MicroFreak, Circuit Tracks and other hardware (e.g., Line 6 and Fender Guitars) because at the end of the day I am still a tactile person. For example, I still like the feel of books rather than reading from a computer screen. While computer plugins (with appropriate sound cards) can now sound as good as a lot of hardware in my opinion, there is nothing quite like playing a real synth or vintage keyboard through quality amps. Moving real air and feeling the immediacy and feedback from playing a real instrument can be truly inspirational. Moreover, having the limitations of real hardware can help to break through the option anxiety you sometimes get with so many options on today's computer programs. If you really are just searching for a core melody, a simple piano or guitar may be the best place to start. If you want a rough idea of how a full tune with various instrumentation might sound, then plugins are so much faster and easier to deal with than hardware. And yes, old hardware has to be maintained and kept in tune which is another issue. As a hobbyist, I find plugins are generally the way to go given the relatively cheap computer power and memory available today.
Well said! I use MainStage live with two 88 key controllers at gigs and church. My goodness, it sounds amazing. I have my Rhodes or piano on the lower keyboard layered with “Oberheim” or “Prophet” pads brought in with my left foot volume pedal. On the other keyboard I split clav on the bottom with minimoog at the top end. Other patches have vintage B3 sounds with the Leslie controlled by a midi footswitch. I can change patches at the touch of a button, tuning is stable, easy setup (I put all cables in a bundle) I can carry it all by myself. People I play with love the sounds. I pinch myself when I remember the hardware I used to carry around. You are right on the money.
This was a timely post for me. I invested in V Collection 7 and Komplete Ultimate 13, but have 5 hardware synths + drum machine + analog mixer as well. I have been trying to decide between a bigger commitment to one side or the other. IF Arturia or Native Instruments ship their next controller with Poly AT that will probably swing me that way.
Thanks for the video. A canny selection of both is the best way for me. You don't have to spend a fortune on decent hardware synths these days, and if you catch a sale on Arturia's synth bundle (or any company), you're all set! You could spend considerably less than a grand to get sounds that would have cost hundreds of thousands to produce 25 years ago. Same goes for filmmaking equipment. Amazing times for many artists and their tools right now... provided the rest of the world can keep its shit together. Cheers. 🙂
Reliability of VSTs is on the same level as vintage gear. It's just time. My old VSTs from 2007 doesn't even work anymore (and that's my problem with software, it relies heavily on OS and developer support). If i wanted to have a live show with vintage plugin sound of 2007 i would have no idea how to do it. "Hey anyone do you have old Windows XP laptop?"... You know. But on the road you can always ask a local sound guy "do you have some Yamaha keys in the back?".
I love this take. I mean, I agree and disagree. Yes, I have a 2009 MacBook and it has Reason 5 on it, and it still runs. But no, I wouldn't want to take it on stage - I wouldn't trust my gig to an old computer. OTOH, I don't need old VSTs because there are modern replacements that are superior for the majority of cases. Also, not all old software becomes obsolete. I was using the sampled piano in Logic Pro back in 2005. Now it's almost 20 years later and I still have access to that same piano. But in general, you're right. My Cherry Audio keyboards won't run forever, because the company may eventually fold. But there will likely be better alternatives at that point. But that still proves your point. So yeah, cool take!
yeeeeeeah 100% agreed. I have some synths now, nothing top tier, but you are right. I love the knob fiddling but software is much easier to "maintain". also I still run rebirth on a clamshell iBook with OS9 :)
I am seriously jealous that you have a clamshell! My oldest Mac is a 2008 Core 2 Duo White MacBook. I don't own anything that can run OS 9 at this point, but I wish I did. Rebirth is cool!
Sometimes I'm not so mad at how the everything is tracking me constantly because this video is timely! I've been using GarageBand forever (and it's softsynths) but finally got an interface that transmits midi and I just found out GarageBand doesn't send midi clock out. Now I'm realizing i gotta learn to use reaper till I can afford logic and I'm gonna have to find my own free soft synths and drums and this seems like a helpful resource :)
I'm definitely planning videos on my favorite free or cheap plugins. I'm sure there are tons of other videos out there on the topic, but everyone's plugin collection is unique.
I think there is room for both but in some cases software can be better if not more practical than hardware, one example is that I personally use Halion 7 over a Yamaha Motif, Montage or MODX as many of Halion's instrument sounds are based on Motif samples and the other thing I like about software instruments/synths is being able to sequence everything in the box using headphones as there is nearly always audio latancy going through the computer's audio line in. Buying vintage analog hardware synths like a Moog modular, Roland Jupiter, Yamaha CS-80, Yamaha DX7... is definitely out of the question for me because I don't have anywhere to put them but Arturia make really good emulations of these analog classic synths and Dexed sounds really good and proves that even free software synths can sound really good ( do I even really to fritter my money on a Yamaha TX7? No ). I hate it when people act so purist over hardware because that can make me feel pressured into paying over the odds for hardware and also nobody should feel guilty for using freeware plugins or having a tight budget. If I was starting out today I would probably do everything with plugins.
Add Tony Banks to the list of people who use simulations of everything out on the road. No old Hammond Organs or Arp Pro Soloists or String Ensembles or Quadras on the most recent Genesis tour.
@@menacerisamir198 Except this is one major thing lacking. They didn't include a polyphonic ABACAB patch for it, the signature sound and best known sound of the Quadra. What was Cherry Audio thinking? The main thing people would want the VST for. Some people say the VST isn't up to that task. So I dunno about that one. They made some great VST's though.
Software synths can certainly sound good, I have most of them. If you are on a budget that is the thing to do If you can afford it, buy a few hardware synths. I only have about 20.
well in the world of edm the high ratio of the tracks are being made using soft synths and samples yes you will see some dance artist with hardware synths like deadmau5 but he uses soft synth for the most part
Plus, as things stand now - the odd Arturia plug emulation isn't as on-point as some of the others - but every couple of years the emulations get rewritten from the ground up and then the gap shrinks. Hardware sadly is just getting out of reach for many. This last week Korg has made a small digital synth with a 3 octave keyboard with no aftertouch, and it costs almost £1,000!! Seeing as most people use a DAW/computer - software emulations are a no brainer for those with so little space.
Yeah, it's why I bought a MX88 - there's nothing like a hardware keyboard. That said, the latency is getting less and less as computers get faster. On my M1 Mac Mini, at the lowest buffer setting, it's pretty good.
Here's the honest reason why I have the MX88. I wanted an 88 key keyboard with piano-like action and good piano and rhodes sounds. I was going to drop like $799 on a digital piano, but when I saw how much more the MX88 could do, I spent the extra money.
Check out the Ujiie video on the Matrix 12 vs the Arturia software version. There is no more difference. N'uf said. (and I used to own the M12 back in the early 90's and currently still owning 18 hardware synths)
Is that on the Arturia channel? I'll have to check it out. I'm thinking about buying the V collection at some point, but it's a little pricey. It's not pricey for what you get... I just don't have 500 bucks currently. But I will eventually!
Totally agree with your thoughts about VST. I kept all my old plugins on my old computer and have lots of fun playing them.
I think you gave the topic a fair treatment. I am on the demanding hobbyist side of things, and do not have any requirements related to gigging or hauling gear around. I will point out a couple of additional points and clarifications worth considering:
1. Software is reasonable from a desktop or laptop perspective, but it's ridiculous specifically from the context of Apple iDevices. Apple goes to great lengths to force the upgrade, effectively obsoleting the device 5 years after it was introduced. While technically possible, it is very difficult to take these devices offline or firewall them to the degree necessary to continue using them past that date and not have them become a security hole in your network.
2. I am an IT professional, and already spent a good 8-10 hours per day interacting with the static ergonomic environment that is mouse, keyboard, and monitor. Interacting with hardware, be it vintage or recent, is a refreshing sensory change.
3. As you noted, the creative process is influenced by the tools. I don't think this can be overstated. I have written melodies and harmonies using MidiKeys and a soft synth that I would never have come up with tickling fake ivories, simply because I was influenced by the way a QWERTY keyboard maps to MidiKeys. From the other direction, the path I wander when using hardware is not something that would occur to me using software. There's a cascade of decisions one makes while creating, and that's directly tied to the possibilities presented by the tools.
4. Decision fatigue. I have always struggled with the technical aspects overwhelming the creative spark. Hardware tends to present a narrower range of possibilities, with each device having things it tends to do easily, and others it can't do at all. You touch on this with the Hammond organ example. "Set it and forget it" is a lot easier with hardware, though one can accomplish it with software and a bit more determination.
Good video and I agree with most of your comments! I too could not own vintage synths like an Arp 2600 or Moog Model D when I was in high school. I had a Yamaha YC -25d combo organ and an old amp. I now have the Arturia V Collection, Reason, Ableton Live, VCV Rack and many other plug-ins. I also have dozens of cool plug-ins on my iPad. They are all great and VCV Rack 2 gives me great access to the "sounds" of modular synths without having to spend the money or dedicate my garage to store everything.
Bottom line- I enjoy the flexibility and ease of switching between sounds without having to plug in and out hardware cables. For song writing, having plug-ins makes it easier to be creative with different sounds without the setup hassle getting in the way of the creative flow. Plus they cost a fraction of the real hardware as you noted in the video. However, I also have Korg Volcas, Roland Piano, Korg Karma, MicroFreak, Circuit Tracks and other hardware (e.g., Line 6 and Fender Guitars) because at the end of the day I am still a tactile person. For example, I still like the feel of books rather than reading from a computer screen. While computer plugins (with appropriate sound cards) can now sound as good as a lot of hardware in my opinion, there is nothing quite like playing a real synth or vintage keyboard through quality amps. Moving real air and feeling the immediacy and feedback from playing a real instrument can be truly inspirational. Moreover, having the limitations of real hardware can help to break through the option anxiety you sometimes get with so many options on today's computer programs. If you really are just searching for a core melody, a simple piano or guitar may be the best place to start. If you want a rough idea of how a full tune with various instrumentation might sound, then plugins are so much faster and easier to deal with than hardware. And yes, old hardware has to be maintained and kept in tune which is another issue. As a hobbyist, I find plugins are generally the way to go given the relatively cheap computer power and memory available today.
After years of hardware and outboard gear, trouble shooting, I really appreciate this video
Well said! I use MainStage live with two 88 key controllers at gigs and church. My goodness, it sounds amazing. I have my Rhodes or piano on the lower keyboard layered with “Oberheim” or “Prophet” pads brought in with my left foot volume pedal. On the other keyboard I split clav on the bottom with minimoog at the top end. Other patches have vintage B3 sounds with the Leslie controlled by a midi footswitch. I can change patches at the touch of a button, tuning is stable, easy setup (I put all cables in a bundle) I can carry it all by myself. People I play with love the sounds. I pinch myself when I remember the hardware I used to carry around. You are right on the money.
This was a timely post for me. I invested in V Collection 7 and Komplete Ultimate 13, but have 5 hardware synths + drum machine + analog mixer as well. I have been trying to decide between a bigger commitment to one side or the other. IF Arturia or Native Instruments ship their next controller with Poly AT that will probably swing me that way.
I agree totally, never been able to own top end analog synths, I had to rent a p5 and a jup6 in the 80,s. Plug-ins get what I want sound wise.
Thanks for the video. A canny selection of both is the best way for me. You don't have to spend a fortune on decent hardware synths these days, and if you catch a sale on Arturia's synth bundle (or any company), you're all set! You could spend considerably less than a grand to get sounds that would have cost hundreds of thousands to produce 25 years ago. Same goes for filmmaking equipment. Amazing times for many artists and their tools right now... provided the rest of the world can keep its shit together. Cheers. 🙂
Reliability of VSTs is on the same level as vintage gear. It's just time. My old VSTs from 2007 doesn't even work anymore (and that's my problem with software, it relies heavily on OS and developer support). If i wanted to have a live show with vintage plugin sound of 2007 i would have no idea how to do it. "Hey anyone do you have old Windows XP laptop?"... You know. But on the road you can always ask a local sound guy "do you have some Yamaha keys in the back?".
I love this take. I mean, I agree and disagree. Yes, I have a 2009 MacBook and it has Reason 5 on it, and it still runs. But no, I wouldn't want to take it on stage - I wouldn't trust my gig to an old computer. OTOH, I don't need old VSTs because there are modern replacements that are superior for the majority of cases. Also, not all old software becomes obsolete. I was using the sampled piano in Logic Pro back in 2005. Now it's almost 20 years later and I still have access to that same piano. But in general, you're right. My Cherry Audio keyboards won't run forever, because the company may eventually fold. But there will likely be better alternatives at that point. But that still proves your point. So yeah, cool take!
@@budgetkeyboardist so true!
yeeeeeeah 100% agreed. I have some synths now, nothing top tier, but you are right. I love the knob fiddling but software is much easier to "maintain". also I still run rebirth on a clamshell iBook with OS9 :)
I am seriously jealous that you have a clamshell! My oldest Mac is a 2008 Core 2 Duo White MacBook. I don't own anything that can run OS 9 at this point, but I wish I did. Rebirth is cool!
Sometimes I'm not so mad at how the everything is tracking me constantly because this video is timely!
I've been using GarageBand forever (and it's softsynths) but finally got an interface that transmits midi and I just found out GarageBand doesn't send midi clock out. Now I'm realizing i gotta learn to use reaper till I can afford logic and I'm gonna have to find my own free soft synths and drums and this seems like a helpful resource :)
I'm definitely planning videos on my favorite free or cheap plugins. I'm sure there are tons of other videos out there on the topic, but everyone's plugin collection is unique.
I think there is room for both but in some cases software can be better if not more practical than hardware, one example is that I
personally use Halion 7 over a Yamaha Motif, Montage or MODX as many of Halion's instrument sounds are based on Motif samples
and the other thing I like about software instruments/synths is being able to sequence everything in the box using headphones as
there is nearly always audio latancy going through the computer's audio line in. Buying vintage analog hardware synths like a Moog
modular, Roland Jupiter, Yamaha CS-80, Yamaha DX7... is definitely out of the question for me because I don't have anywhere to
put them but Arturia make really good emulations of these analog classic synths and Dexed sounds really good and proves that
even free software synths can sound really good ( do I even really to fritter my money on a Yamaha TX7? No ). I hate it when people
act so purist over hardware because that can make me feel pressured into paying over the odds for hardware and also nobody
should feel guilty for using freeware plugins or having a tight budget. If I was starting out today I would probably do everything with plugins.
Add Tony Banks to the list of people who use simulations of everything out on the road. No old Hammond Organs or Arp Pro Soloists or String Ensembles or Quadras on the most recent Genesis tour.
i had always wanted an arp quadra , now i got the cherry audio vst and i am quite happy with it
Exactly.
@@menacerisamir198 Except this is one major thing lacking. They didn't include a polyphonic ABACAB patch for it, the signature sound and best known sound of the Quadra. What was Cherry Audio thinking? The main thing people would want the VST for. Some people say the VST isn't up to that task. So I dunno about that one. They made some great VST's though.
@@menacerisamir198 Me too! I bought it a few weeks ago. It's great.
Software synths can certainly sound good, I have most of them.
If you are on a budget that is the thing to do
If you can afford it, buy a few hardware synths. I only have about 20.
well in the world of edm the high ratio of the tracks are being made using soft synths and samples
yes you will see some dance artist with hardware synths like deadmau5 but he uses soft synth for the most part
Plus, as things stand now - the odd Arturia plug emulation isn't as on-point as some of the others - but every couple of years the emulations get rewritten from the ground up and then the gap shrinks.
Hardware sadly is just getting out of reach for many. This last week Korg has made a small digital synth with a 3 octave keyboard with no aftertouch, and it costs almost £1,000!! Seeing as most people use a DAW/computer - software emulations are a no brainer for those with so little space.
The latency will always have me choose hardware over software.
Yeah, it's why I bought a MX88 - there's nothing like a hardware keyboard. That said, the latency is getting less and less as computers get faster. On my M1 Mac Mini, at the lowest buffer setting, it's pretty good.
Big fan of synth1 that is free.
Okay good. But you have yamaha mx88... that is big. Ofcourse it is enough and you would prefer vsti
Here's the honest reason why I have the MX88. I wanted an 88 key keyboard with piano-like action and good piano and rhodes sounds. I was going to drop like $799 on a digital piano, but when I saw how much more the MX88 could do, I spent the extra money.
Check out the Ujiie video on the Matrix 12 vs the Arturia software version. There is no more difference. N'uf said. (and I used to own the M12 back in the early 90's and currently still owning 18 hardware synths)
Is that on the Arturia channel? I'll have to check it out. I'm thinking about buying the V collection at some point, but it's a little pricey. It's not pricey for what you get... I just don't have 500 bucks currently. But I will eventually!