Thank God It's Friday...
Today, I fixed some links on the website. I expanded the Type section. I puttered about with a synthesizer a friend gave me. It's an EMU Audity 2000. A raver box if ever there was. It's OK, but not that impressive. I've tried to sell it, but so far no takers.
I've come to the conclusion that hardware synths are doomed. Especially after learning about Korg's UberSynth, the Oasys. Apparently the Oasys is going to cost around $8000. Which is about $6000 too much.
Basically, I have concluded that the Keyboard Manufacturers are truly doomed.
Strike that. They are totally SCREWED.
Why? Software.
Software synthesis already outstrips most anything you can do in a keyboard, and at a much lower cost.
Exhibit A:
REASON
I remember back in the ancient 1980s, when my cheezy ass sampler (by todays standards) cost $1750. It was a DSS-1. I still own it. In fact, I liked the DSS-1 so much, I actually bought another one. Now, in Reason, which costs less than $400, you can fill an entire virtual rack with samplers far in excess of what availed me then. I wanted 11 samplers stacked? Sure - in 1987, if I had $25,000 - no problem. In Reason, you simply open up a new blank Rack, and fill it with 11 samplers from the drop-down menu. And when you're done, you simply open up a new file. Back in the day, you'd have to sell all those samplers...
At a loss…
Reason comes with drum machines, samplers, processors, mixers, synthesizers of several different stripes, and on and on.
Second Exhibit: ABLETON LIVE
This, in combination with Reason, offers truly terrifying amounts of musical development and creativity. Recently, Live was upgraded to include MIDI, and a basic drum machine and a sampler, so now it is even more deadly as a combo with Reason. Live is a Loop based compositional system, but with its new MIDI capabilities, it is now a much more powerful beast. It costs about $350, IIRC.
Exhibit Three: Max/MSP
This, in combination with Live and Reason, makes ANYTHING coming out of Korg pretty much superfluous. With Live and Reason, you have composition systems and tonnes of "Gear". With Max/MSP you make your own gear, and it can be just as weird as you want it to be. Max/MSP isn't a synth, it's a software development environment that resembles an evil cross between Visual Basic and tinker-toys. It's available on Mac and (finally) Windows, and it totally freakin’ rocks. If you wondered how freeks like Autechre makes all that jiggety twitchy noise, look no further than: Max/MSP.
So, lets run some totals:
The Oasys is $8000.
I sometimes shop Musicians Friend so my prices are from about a month ago. They aren't the best, or the worst. It's just a data point.
Reason: on sale: $199
Ableton Live: $399
Max/MSP with Jitter (video libraries): $799
Edirol PCRA-30 keyboard with Audio In: $299
And a computer I found at PC MALL - an IBM Thinkpad:
Intel P4, 2.8GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 40GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD Combo drive,15" XGA Display, XP-Pro, etc.
Which has PLENTY of power for audio. And it's on sale for a lousy $1,198.
So, throw in another hundred bucks for a keyboard stand and trivial nonsense and the total is around:
$2900
Which is what? $5000 cheaper than the damned Oasys? Since Max/MSP is for Advanced User GEEKS, and Jitter is even geekier, cut the $799 out and you still have an entire electronic music studio that kicks serious butt for about $2200.
Of course, the Korg Fans will squawk about the DACs in a computer sucking badly. Fine. Procure a Firewire outboard audio DAC. $1000 will suffice, and you're still several thousand dollars ahead of the Oasys.
Now: will your computer system CRASH? Yes, eventually. Will the OASYS? Probably not. If you're worried about that, then get a Powerbook or a Linux Book or whatever-the-hell-book that flips your crank that isn't running Windows. They don't Blue Screen as much as Windows boxen, but there are other issues involved. All in all, unless you're planning to spend your life on stage, you're better off with the computer-based system. Playing computers on stage is an entirely different article, one I would like to write soon.
In a few years you will likely have run through most of what the OASYS does that you find interesting. In a few years... I *shudder* to think what Reason and Live will be like... And if you tire of Live and Reason, there's PLENTY of other software out there to SPARK you into a new creative jag.
Basically Hardware Synth manufactures are doomed. The only ones who will survive are the ones making the uber-geek analogue gear, and they will basically be little more than boutique operations for audio purists. A REASONable fate.
So, anyway - I'll be ultra-busy for the next few days. Look for another installment of SPARK sometime next Wednesday.
HW
I've come to the conclusion that hardware synths are doomed. Especially after learning about Korg's UberSynth, the Oasys. Apparently the Oasys is going to cost around $8000. Which is about $6000 too much.
Basically, I have concluded that the Keyboard Manufacturers are truly doomed.
Strike that. They are totally SCREWED.
Why? Software.
Software synthesis already outstrips most anything you can do in a keyboard, and at a much lower cost.
Exhibit A:
REASON
I remember back in the ancient 1980s, when my cheezy ass sampler (by todays standards) cost $1750. It was a DSS-1. I still own it. In fact, I liked the DSS-1 so much, I actually bought another one. Now, in Reason, which costs less than $400, you can fill an entire virtual rack with samplers far in excess of what availed me then. I wanted 11 samplers stacked? Sure - in 1987, if I had $25,000 - no problem. In Reason, you simply open up a new blank Rack, and fill it with 11 samplers from the drop-down menu. And when you're done, you simply open up a new file. Back in the day, you'd have to sell all those samplers...
At a loss…
Reason comes with drum machines, samplers, processors, mixers, synthesizers of several different stripes, and on and on.
Second Exhibit: ABLETON LIVE
This, in combination with Reason, offers truly terrifying amounts of musical development and creativity. Recently, Live was upgraded to include MIDI, and a basic drum machine and a sampler, so now it is even more deadly as a combo with Reason. Live is a Loop based compositional system, but with its new MIDI capabilities, it is now a much more powerful beast. It costs about $350, IIRC.
Exhibit Three: Max/MSP
This, in combination with Live and Reason, makes ANYTHING coming out of Korg pretty much superfluous. With Live and Reason, you have composition systems and tonnes of "Gear". With Max/MSP you make your own gear, and it can be just as weird as you want it to be. Max/MSP isn't a synth, it's a software development environment that resembles an evil cross between Visual Basic and tinker-toys. It's available on Mac and (finally) Windows, and it totally freakin’ rocks. If you wondered how freeks like Autechre makes all that jiggety twitchy noise, look no further than: Max/MSP.
So, lets run some totals:
The Oasys is $8000.
I sometimes shop Musicians Friend so my prices are from about a month ago. They aren't the best, or the worst. It's just a data point.
Reason: on sale: $199
Ableton Live: $399
Max/MSP with Jitter (video libraries): $799
Edirol PCRA-30 keyboard with Audio In: $299
And a computer I found at PC MALL - an IBM Thinkpad:
Intel P4, 2.8GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 40GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD Combo drive,15" XGA Display, XP-Pro, etc.
Which has PLENTY of power for audio. And it's on sale for a lousy $1,198.
So, throw in another hundred bucks for a keyboard stand and trivial nonsense and the total is around:
$2900
Which is what? $5000 cheaper than the damned Oasys? Since Max/MSP is for Advanced User GEEKS, and Jitter is even geekier, cut the $799 out and you still have an entire electronic music studio that kicks serious butt for about $2200.
Of course, the Korg Fans will squawk about the DACs in a computer sucking badly. Fine. Procure a Firewire outboard audio DAC. $1000 will suffice, and you're still several thousand dollars ahead of the Oasys.
Now: will your computer system CRASH? Yes, eventually. Will the OASYS? Probably not. If you're worried about that, then get a Powerbook or a Linux Book or whatever-the-hell-book that flips your crank that isn't running Windows. They don't Blue Screen as much as Windows boxen, but there are other issues involved. All in all, unless you're planning to spend your life on stage, you're better off with the computer-based system. Playing computers on stage is an entirely different article, one I would like to write soon.
In a few years you will likely have run through most of what the OASYS does that you find interesting. In a few years... I *shudder* to think what Reason and Live will be like... And if you tire of Live and Reason, there's PLENTY of other software out there to SPARK you into a new creative jag.
Basically Hardware Synth manufactures are doomed. The only ones who will survive are the ones making the uber-geek analogue gear, and they will basically be little more than boutique operations for audio purists. A REASONable fate.
So, anyway - I'll be ultra-busy for the next few days. Look for another installment of SPARK sometime next Wednesday.
HW
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