Does Anyone Use Sound Modules Any More?

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Listening to the samples on a Roland MKS-70: http://www.synthmania.com/mks-70_super_jx.htm I'm trying to pinpoint what, exactly, makes this sound different from a soft-synth? Maybe you'll disagree, but to me, it's in the initial attack and swell... On a hardware module, a patch has more of a "virile urgency" than I seem to get on soft-synths. A real "immediacy" "confidence" and "fire", maybe? (pardon the poetic, non-electronic descriptions).

 

 

I have never heard an MKS-70 soft synth, so I can only answer your question generally.

- I like the MKS-70's sound, and use it largely for complex-sounding pads.

- I have the controller, so I can twist any knob in real-time, which is both fun and, in my opinion, better sounding than a soft synth imitating an analog synthesizer.

- My patches completely smoke the sounds on that website.

- In my monitors, when I compare the MKS-70 synth module to my Vacuum software synth (Pro Tools), it sounds more detailed and rich and...analog.

- I already own an MKS-70, so I'm sure not going not going to run out and purchase an analog soft synth to replace it or my Korg MS-20 patchbay analog synth or my Roland JX3-P analog synth. To purchase a soft synth that is imitating the real thing, sucks CPU processing, costs more money, and requires upgrading would be ludicrous for me.

[electrochrisso]

Listening to the samples on a Roland MKS-70: http://www.synthmania.com/mks-70_super_jx.htm I'm trying to pinpoint what, exactly, makes this sound different from a soft-synth? Maybe you'll disagree, but to me, it's in the initial attack and swell... On a hardware module, a patch has more of a "virile urgency" than I seem to get on soft-synths. A real "immediacy" "confidence" and "fire", maybe? (pardon the poetic, non-electronic descriptions).

 

It is in the make-up of the electronic components, resistors, capacitors, transistors, op-amps etc. that make up the VCA, VCO, VCF, and even the actual layout of the components in the circuit can be a factor, a simpler analogy would be like using real valves in amplifiers and effects units to create that particular analog type harmonic warmth, that transistors cant reproduce.

[A. Einstein]

I don't think the way that I have all bases covered. The world calls for new sounds every day. Today is today, and I have to use new and fresh sounds, or the clients would classify me as an oldie, even for reproducing an old cliche sound I use the latest software synths.

I also do not think that the sound of the old machines will be popular again. There are some moment I try to use this or that old synth, but always realize fast it doesn't work, their time is over. I use the latest stuff and update the synths regularly to the latest, if I wouldn't, then i can retire right now as sound designer and producer.

That's quite a collection you have there Einstein , you probably have all of the bases covered for any sound you need to create. The passiveness of the electronic components inside the synth is what makes the tonal quality of the sound, the only way a VSTi can get close is to sample the sounds, and because of practical restraints, can only reproduce a minimal set of the popular sounds. I also use VSTi too and love it, mixing VSTi with hardware gives me an endless variety of sounds to use for the production of unique music creations any time.

[cereal]

The remaining outboard in my setup is the Novation Bass Station rack. I wouldn't mind tracking down an old Korg X5. Everything else...My Alesis drums, Voce Hammond, Voce Electric Piano fall short of the software stuff. My early midi gismo was a Roland that ported in with a serial or parallel or something. That was back in my Cakewalk days.

[ggm1960]

I'm still a bit of a midi freak. My Roland Fantom XR gets regular use in my recording setup while my Korg TR88 and Roland XP-30 are midi'd in mostly for input. Other outboard gear like the Antares AVP-1, GSP1101 and Lexicon MX400 are also connected in the case that I want to send them midi control messages during recording. I connect all the stuff to the computer (using 2008 model MBP as main recording machine these days) with a MOTU Midi Timepiece AV. I have two of the MTP AV units as well as an older MTP II which I've often used for live performance as a "multi-channel" patch changer when I need to change patches on multiple keyboards/processors at once. It requires an old serial port Mac running OS9 to access the deep features of the MTP units but it's well worth the effort!

[D Charles]

I just use midi in mostly for key and drum pad controllers. I still have my old Dr. Synth I power up sometimes and I could midi out to my D-10, but it's mostly just my key bed.

 

Yes, to the OP I would prefer two midi ins, but I just use a dual male midi adapter and just plug whatever controller I intend to use into that.

[Beck]

 

I have a bunch of old synth/sound modules, including a Kurzweil Micropiano, an Emu Proteus III, and my favorite among the ones I have, a Roland MKS-70, which gets a lot of use still.

 

 

That

[A. Einstein]

producing pop is more and less all design, sound design, song form design, editing, manipulating, TouchOSC, Novation launchpads, the newest synths with the newest sounds... and for that the latest tools a just right.

The old production materials have time stamps on it you can't produce away, the old stuff/synths from 10 or more years ago are nothing to write home about.

[Anderton]

I've yet to audition a virtual synth that does justice to the hardware original it's supposed to emulate... not even close.

 

There are some VIs that emulate digital synths, like the Korg Wavestation emulation. In that particular case, they just ported the algorithms over and I sure can't tell the difference compared to the original. Well, except that the D/A converters in my interface are better than the ones in the original Wavestation...

[Anderton]

As to the MIDI ins thing...IIRC merging MIDI data streams is a relatively complex process, so the interface manufacturers probably didn't want to deal with that.

 

And I still have tone modules, but use them rarely. I use mostly keyboard controllers that have built-in sounds (e.g., M3 and Motif), and they have the sounds I need for now.

[Jerry_L]

I have a Kurzweil ME-1 and an Alesis QSR that I use for band rehearsals and jamming.

[Kendrix]

I still use a roland octapad for some perc sounds.

In my studio I use an Ensoniq KS32 weighted action keyboard as a midi-driven sound module.

Its also a very good keyboard/controller.

 

I still have but do not use an EMU hardware sampler from the mid-nineties.

A few years back I couldnt even trade it into GC. They werent interested.

 

Rarely i will use midi to scroll thru some presents on a HW effects unit during a mix.

Does that count?

[Zooey]

If you're going to have full sized 5 pin MIDI connectors on an interface at all, it makes sense to have more outputs than inputs. The outputs are used to control devices like synths, sound modules, and drum machines. Basically, old gear that you're willing to put up with because you like the way it sounds.

 

On the input side of things, all of my keyboard controllers, drum pads, control surfaces, and Ableton Live controllers have USB. MIDI controllers don't make sound, so why buy vintage? Buy new.

 

So if this is a poll, I would say 2 outputs/1 input is much more practical than the other way around.

[Huh?]

..... I have 340 synth and organs in the storage room........1 hour by car away

 

 

Wow!! Impressive! Next time you scoot down there, take along a camera or even just use your phone camera and take a pic for us would you? I would love to see 340 synths and organs sitting in storage.

[Beck]

There are some VIs that emulate digital synths, like the Korg Wavestation emulation. In that particular case, they just ported the algorithms over and I sure can't tell the difference compared to the original. Well, except that the D/A converters in my interface are better than the ones in the original Wavestation...

I'm sure there are some, especially when the sound is rather canned in the first place like many of the later cheaply made sound modules seemed to be. And I'm sure there are some good ones that come close to the better ones as well. It's just that in my experience with the ones I prefer I can't get the same results in the softsynth. I wish I could and that whole concept was exciting to me at one time. It would be cool if it worked as advertised in every case. So for now at least I hold on to the old boat anchors I've listed. But to be fair I didn't like some of the newer modules that replaced older products in many cases. I have "Legacy products" from companies that I felt were ruined with newer versions. Kurzweil, for example, lost a lot of fans for a time when some of the best programs from the K1000/K1200-series just went away with the introduction of the K2000.

With softsynths (that I've personally auditioned) there is just something that's not quite right and it's hard to put my finger on all that could be coming into play. With some there's perceptible delay that's just characteristic of PC based anything. I also feel many fail to capture nuances from the players perspective if he/she is familiar with the real thing. As has been mentioned... the hardware product in it's totality involves everything down to the component level. Often a characteristic grunge or artifact is missing in the more pristine softsynth version as programers try to "Fix" something perceived as a failure in the original instrument. But those failures or accidents are as important to the signature sound as the deliberate design considerations.

So when someone says I have the softsynth version of such and such, but it's even better, that's like saying it doesn't really sound like the original because better is different. A hardware synth is so much more than the right algorithms. I think that's the key. Jeez, I'm throwing unintentional puns out right and left here, ain't I?

[roomjello]

I just finshed a project where i had some midi key parts that needed to be hipped up.
I spent a bunch of time getting new sounds with all the latest soft synths. Blended layered etc. Then a few weeks later i aquired a Yamaha FS1R. I ended up replacing 80% of the soft synth sounds with it. The soft synths just don't touch the quality even of decades old hardware. Not saying the soft sounds aren't useful, but they don't touch the modules for quality of sound.

[A. Einstein]

Wow!! Impressive! Next time you scoot down there, take along a camera or even just use your phone camera and take a pic for us would you? I would love to see 340 synths and organs sitting in storage.

are you the typical bigger, further, more & higher American?

or more the Japanese typ CEO who behaves like a tourist in our studios and takes picture to show at home, instead of talking to us?

[Anderton]

I just finshed a project where i had some midi key parts that needed to be hipped up. I spent a bunch of time getting new sounds with all the latest soft synths. Blended layered etc. Then a few weeks later i aquired a Yamaha FS1R. I ended up replacing 80% of the soft synth sounds with it. The soft synths just don't touch the quality even of decades old hardware. Not saying the soft sounds aren't useful, but they don't touch the modules for quality of sound.

 

I think a lot of that depends on whether the vintage hardware is analog or digital. Older digital gear sometimes had 12-bit converters and major aliasing, which newer soft synths don't have (although some people liked the "digital grit"). But a really silky smooth analog synth has its own character. When I reviewed a Minimoog Voyager XL (and damnit, they remembered they sent it to me ) it just sounded sooooo good.

 

But then I have soft synths like Rapture (one of my faves) that does lots of things analog synths can't do, so it sounds great by definition because it's the only synth that sounds like that. I also think the Arturia soft synths have really evolved. Again, it's a right tool for the right job situation - which you obviously know, because you replaced 80% of your sounds, not 100%!

[A. Einstein]

Wow!! Impressive! Next time you scoot down there, take along a camera or even just use your phone camera and take a pic for us would you? I would love to see 340 synths and organs sitting in storage.

especially for you, all other not permittet to look at at.

[Anderton]

Are you Bruno Spoerri in disguise? His place sort of looked like that too. Maybe it's just a Swiss thing.

[Karma1]

I guess I'm hopelessly "old school" and still use sound modules a lot for my ambient electronic music. I've got a number of them including: Korg M3M, Wavestation SR, Trinity Rack, Roland JD-990, Kurzweil K2000R, Yamaha FS1R, and Kawai K5000R. As far as soft synths, I've got Rapture, but haven't done much with it yet. Perhaps after Craig's recommendation of it in this thread, I'll put some more time into exploring it. I'm thinking about getting Omnisphere as well, but can't imagine that I'd ever part with my hardware synth modules.

[UstadKhanAli]

A lot of it is when you purchased it. If I were to put together a studio today, it would most certainly look a lot different than one that's been slowly built since I was a kid. And so it is with sound modules. If they're still useful and you like their sound, it'd be madness to not continue using them.

[A. Einstein]

Are you Bruno Spoerri in disguise? His place sort of looked like that too. Maybe it's just a Swiss thing.

Bruno's mess is his studio. This is only a storage room. All that cheese is in Swaziland only for security reason.

[Huh?]

 

especially for you, all other not permittet to look at at.

 

Nice collection, I am impressed. And if these music that you produced does not turn out financially in way formerly expected.....and the St Pauli girl beckons for help to remove lederhosen, on every Sundays behind small church on outskirts of town, for a small fee.....you could easy put a price tag on every keyboard and turn this storage unit into pro vintage keyboard store. With all payments in Yen, cash only. Unless of course the spirit of Idi Amin reincarnates into body of Nicola Spirig. Then we are all {censored}ed!

[techristian]

My 6 foot tall rack used to be full of them. It was taking up space recently so I put SHELVES in it. Now after getting the mixer, I'm again using the rack. I sold my last module , a TG33 On Ebay a year ago. Each box has its own personality.

 

Dan