Muff's Modules & More

[vozs]

I recall the god ol days in mid 1985-86 when people argued because American synths used fibreglass PCB they had a fatter sound then
Japanese who used pertinax PCB!

[Babaluma]

only thing i ever found that sounded BETTER than the 808 kick drum is the metalbox 8008 bass drum module. exact same sound generating circuitry as the 808 kick, but runs off 15v and outputs a huge, ridiculous, floor shaking, trouser flapping, modular level of bass kick. i used to worry that using mine in japan might trigger the next big one. i'd be scared to hear it through a large PA. which is why i've held on to mine.

but it won't do everything else the 808 does (other lovely drums sounds, sequencer etc.)

[Monobass]

[quote="nuketifromorbit"]

[richard]

[jonah]

[monstrinho]

[Flux Jetson]

I dunno .. I think crappy modern gear is a direct response to crappy modern demand. As was said a few times here, most people want it all, and want it now. Why oh why does ANYONE need a thousand presets? Emerson did the first five albums with SIX BASIC PATCHES. A few little tweaks per song .. 99% of what made it sound good was the way he flogged the holy shit out of the instrument he played, no matter the sound. And each show the sounds were never exactly the same ... most times they were a reflection of his mood or blood chemistry of the moment. Which is what made some shows good, and others less than good.

You go into McMusic Store and you see McKeyboardist sitting at the latest McSampler flipping through preset after preset until he's happy with with somthing from someone else's imagination. "ahh, there .. that will do nicely". Dare the fates he should actually spend the SAME TIME actually tweaking something on his own ... oh hell no ... that would require actual effort!

Modern people have dictated modern crappy gear. There is some EXCELLENT gear out there as well Many of you already own it ... the modular synths that brought this particular group of humans to this forum in the first place. Crappy gear exists because people tolerate it, and buy it. If we didn't buy it, it wouldn't exist. Manufacturers will ALWAYS take the path of least resistance. If something shitty sounding sells, what motivation do the factories have to improve on it? Why fix what ain't broke?

This sounds like ass ... but it's selling .. so why change it (board meeting ajourned). Manufacturers don't compete with each other, they compete with US. As long as we allow them to win, they'll win. Crap-ass gear is around because we don't offer any reason to improve on it. There is no honor in capaitalism, only prostitution. The few honorable manufacturers that build genuine gear are usually pretty small, and not very profitable. They continue to build great shit not because WE want it. but because THEY want to build it that way, regardless of what we say.

So don't blame the manufacturers for making shitty shit ... blame the dickheads that buy it. If you don't like the way your XYZ Zingerboard sounds .... WHY THE FUCK DID YOU BUY IT? All you've done is encourage the manufacturer to continue down the same path.



"I only produce porn because you want it." Larry Flynt.

[induktor]

[monstrinho]

[Guesswerk]

all good points, totally agree with nearly all of them. No need to be calling people assholes (shouldn't that be arseholes in the UK anyway?!) though. That's more gearslutz than this pathetic whingey whiney thread of mine which i apologise again for spawning!

I had a fairly large collection of vintage and modern gear until i got into modular and was delighted to offload most of it as the modular eclipsed them all and they immediately sounded really dull and limited. Given the DSI fanclub reaction to my not-100%-bumming Evolver comments i'm not even going to consider mentioning Tem haha

So thank funk for modular!

I think what made me start this dreadful thread was the frustration of still having to resort to old classics costing silly money when they are such a heavily trodden path and they should just relics by now. I actually feel like a loser giving in and spending all that on an 808 after years of resisting and caving in just as prices get REALLY REALLY stupid. Damn.

[sneak-thief]

[Babaluma]

ah, ok, sorry, was presuming it was 9v! anyway, 8008 output level is way higher than 808, have done the a/b at a friend's studio. it's actually the loudest module i've ever heard, and will overload most cheap desk mic pres at their minimum gain, and a/d converters, if not attenuated beforehand.

[Ray Diode]

[ryandfl]

The thing I'm finding most surprising about 'modern crap' is how little digital hardware synths have improved over the past 10+ years.

Lots of people feel that the Virus A and B sound better than the Ti. Nord is still selling the Lead 2x with the same engine they released in '97. The Blofeld is largely based on the Micro Q from 2001.

During the same time period software synths have gotten way better.

I don't get it?

[ignatius]

[James Mandible]

[quote="ignatius"]

[Knights Who Say Neve]

The Blofeld does sound better than the Micro-Q and has a more flexible engine and a better UI, but isn't rackmountable, have 6 audio outs or have a voice expander option.

And, to tie into this thread, I'll observe that the Blofeld is a good example of a reasonably priced modern digital synth that is built well, useful for a variety of tasks, and sounds good. Good keyboard action, even. I predict that it will be to the 2020's and 2030's what the ESQ-1 is now- a budget classic.

That said, what I see young musicians actually using, everywhere, are the sub $500 synths; microkorgs and such. Light, cheap and plastic; easy to throw on top of an amp or another keyboard for the occasional synth sound. Can't blame them for using what they have easy access to.

I think what we really need in the digital realm is a new additive synth. Kawai, are you listening? (Or Kurzweil?)

[jonah]

[quote="James Mandible"]

[ringstone]

[solitaryzen]