Re:The Roland TR-808: the drum machine that revolutionised m...
by coldtea on Wednesday May 13, 2015 @07:29AM
(#9538132)
>What I don't understand is why bother owning the hardware these days, other than personal taste? Surely the reproduction of an ancient hardware drum sequencer in today's software should be perfect.
1) For one, music is about inspiration, and the hardware can be more inspirational -- even if for pure psychological reasons.
2) The tactile feel of the hardware lets you explore it hands on, and is more immediate and rewarding than clicking on a screen (can still be better even from using a modern plasticky MIDI controller with pads, since those are multi-purpose not task specific). With hardware you approach and program stuff differently.
3) Each hardware unit (analog, that is) can have a slightly unique character, from both changes that happened to it over time, and also from slight variations in the production run and compenents (especially in those times). Plugins that try to emulate that that in full (e.g. from self-oscillation to tuning instability to zero-latency filters) exist, but are CPU monsters (e.g. Diva).
4) Hardware also has to be recorded in, which adds another element of coloring to the sound.
5) Beatboxes like this are also nice for live performances (including live programming).
6) Plug-ins are disposable. A hardware unit can go up in price as time goes by.
1) For one, music is about inspiration, and the hardware can be more inspirational -- even if for pure psychological reasons.
2) The tactile feel of the hardware lets you explore it hands on, and is more immediate and rewarding than clicking on a screen (can still be better even from using a modern plasticky MIDI controller with pads, since those are multi-purpose not task specific). With hardware you approach and program stuff differently.
3) Each hardware unit (analog, that is) can have a slightly unique character, from both changes that happened to it over time, and also from slight variations in the production run and compenents (especially in those times). Plugins that try to emulate that that in full (e.g. from self-oscillation to tuning instability to zero-latency filters) exist, but are CPU monsters (e.g. Diva).
4) Hardware also has to be recorded in, which adds another element of coloring to the sound.
5) Beatboxes like this are also nice for live performances (including live programming).
6) Plug-ins are disposable. A hardware unit can go up in price as time goes by.