From Elhardt Sent Sat, Nov 21st 1998, 07:38
From Elhardt Sent Sat, Nov 21st 1998, 07:38
Everytime a comparison between systems and prices comes up, I always see so much bullsh*t flying I had to respond. One of the main reasons for buying a modular is to synthesize complex sounds. And to do that, you want a huge selection of modules. The problem with some of these new modulars like the Technosaurus or Wiard for that matter is they come onto the market and have something like six modules or so. The basic ones like oscillators, filters, envelopes, lfos. But they lack a lot of the other stuff you need like, voltage inverters, trigger delays, sequential switches, slew limiters, clock dividers, voltage controlled switches, etc., plus some of the more interesting sound altering devices like fixed filter banks, voltage controlled phasers, frequency shifters, etc. Doepfer has more modules than any other modular synthesizer, and for the price you can build up a much larger and capable system. Too many people these days judge a synth by the sound of its swept lowpass filter with resonance set way up. Even then, the differences between most synthesizers are subtle, and no one can agree on which sounds best anyway. As one member said here "I defy you to tell the difference in a recorded track." which is something I have said in the past. I could record snippets from many old synth records I have, and nobody would be able to tell me what synthesizer made what sound. And then there are those synthesists that use some of the same equipment and they sound so different, it is hard to believe they use the same equipment. It's how you patch it and use it that counts. My best sounding synth compared to my worse sounding synth is not a difference of 4 times. It's more like 20 percent. Another comment made about analog delays sounding better than digital is false. I don't think a sound degenerating into a muddy noisy mess sounds better than a digital delay. Also not mentioned, a big advantage of the Nord Modular over a real modular is polyphony. Besides, I think people should boycott any piece of music equipment that has ugly, annoying or distracting pictures/designs on them, until their manufacturer's correct their ways. That includes the Technosaurus, Wiard, some of the Focusrite Green series, MAM, FAT (Fluorescent pink and green paint splatters? Come on.) and others.