Message 11/48
Date: 16-Mar-01 @ 03:52 PM -
RE: Software VS Hardware
PC's are unreliable. Without question. Lug a pc to a gig? Fuck no. Garbage.
As far as sound goes, there are lots of emulators outthere. What do they emulate? The real thing. There is DEFINITELY a place for a PC in a studio, for both writing, as well as producing, but there are too many variables with a pc. S/w is not necessarily cheaper than h/w because people fail to take into account the cost of the computer. Plus, in order to run your new software programs, you'll consistantly need to upgrade your hardware. That means doing the footwork to make sure that all of your components will work together. That is time away from writing and/or producing music. It's an economic phenomenon called "opportunity cost".
I have found my hardware to be FAR more reliable than my computer. Computers crash, freeze, cease to operate on a regular basis. Getting all the components to work right together is time away from making music, and you need to do everytime you add or subtrack something from your setup. I have NEVER (knock on wood) lost music with hardware. I lost a year and halfs work on HD that died. (Yeah, my fault for not backing up, but again, more time and expense).
Software sequencing is great because the drag and drop is simple. I found that I got lazy with this, though. Because it was so easy, I found myself taking shortcuts, rather than challenging myself to do something new. I can't imagine trying to WRITE music on a computer, as there aren't any knobs to twist, no sliders to slide, and no wheels to bend. True, there are some new, cheaper alternatives (I think Event has the new EZ-bus that I think is not too expensive - around $500 US I think?), and more and more companies are trying to develop hands on interfaces to the computer to replace the mouse. Which is great news.
Another thing that is rarely mentioned, but I think is important is that the sound of your software synth is only as good as your audio card. With hardware, you know what sound you are going to get, from one unit to another. Manufacturers are aware of this. However, if you have a cheap noisy soundcard, with a small frequency response range, you're synths are going to sound different. Maybe it's negligable, and most people won't notice, but real affectionados certainly will.
I do use my PC, but mostly to arrange, and sample. Most of my writing takes place on my hardware, and then I do the arranging and production on the PC. There is a place for both, and there are disadvantages, as well as advantages to both.