Software vs hardware

Nickalexpoole · 2024-03-17T14:21:28+00:00

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Hi all. I'm new to the synth world. I have bought some NI and Arturia gear recently which all comes with software synths. They all sound pretty amazing to my untrained ear. I just wondered are these software synths good for professional recording and do people actually use them? Are there any famous hits that use them that I could listen to? Or would a professional listen to one of my tracks that uses software synths from arturia or NI and immediately tell I'm an amateur? I understand that the track actually has to be good in the first place but is there anything that software synths lack sonically compared to hardware ones? I might just be thinking into it too much. Just wanted to get some of you guys takes on the subject.

As a guitarist, I have some amp sims that sound great but just aren't quite there with dynamics yet and don't feel like a valve amp when playing through them, but listening back can sometimes be hard to tell the difference.

Any discussion on the matter would be appreciated.

Cheers

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PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/27815/software-vs-hardware

I am sure that there are many professional users using N.I. software and libraries. I know of one particular user here that very much dislikes using libraries while at the same time using N.I. synth software.

While I by no means are suggesting that all users posting in the Music made with NI thread are 'professionals' then it will give you an idea of that it can actually be used to make music. Also , who is to decide what is 'professional' and what is not ?

It's entirely possible that bands making millions wouldn't be caught dead having used N.I. software I wouldn't know but I do know that most people have started with humble beginnings and moved on from there.

Also , as for 'libraries' then the quality of one instrument or library does not set the quality of other products so you maybe also ought to judge the quality of the individual products rather than assuming that all products are equal in quality !

P.S.

I myself have major sound and music software suites from at least 4 makes and I think it all great though each have their own advantages in my opinion. And I sometimes wonder like you do what other people would say about the quality of it all, but I myself am very satisfied !

P.S. 2 :

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ozon

@Nickalexpoole asked

would a professional listen to one of my tracks that uses software synths from arturia or NI and immediately tell I'm an amateur?

Most probably. Not because of the software you used, but because of how you used it. With all the amazing and great sounding tools at your fingertips it’s easy to overdo everything and lose focus for the main expression of the track in the process.

It may be tempting to use many presets and „fix“ sounds and arrangements by stacking more sounds on top of each other. And while this might sound great to you, it could be what makes your tracks sounding less professional.

are these software synths good for professional recording and do people actually use them

There surely are lots of professional artists who use these VSTs (and even factory presets) successfully. But they either collaborate with phantastic sound designers and producers or have a great sense of designing and combining sounds themselves. And often, the synths are processed with various effects, compressors and equalizers during production to give the sounds the final touch.

My personal opinion and experience on sound design and using presets:

By creating your own sounds, crafting and adjusting them to fit the track, to fulfill a purpose in the track, you may achieve better results. Because all those decisions are driven by a certain intention. Therefore it pays off to learn synthesis.

Synthesis is a complex and deep topic, which you best learn starting out on a simple subtractive (virtual) analogue synthesizer, such as NI Monark, which is basically a Minimoog clone.

is there anything that software synths lack sonically compared to hardware ones

That is highly subjective. IMO, software synths (and effects) are as good as hardware, just different. And as soon as you run analogue gear through a A/D converter, it’s digital anyway… probably even with inferior quality, because you may not have the most high end converters at your disposal (another highly subjective topic).

However, if you are used to particular analogue hardware (synth, effect, console, amplifier), you will probably always be disappointed by a software emulation of the same unit because it’s not identical.

PK The DJ

There's only so far you can go with emulation. Part of the signature sound of hardware is because of the internal circuitry and the effect it has on the output.

A Roland TR808 sounds that way because of the components used in the circuitry. Using different components will likely result in a different sound - even if it is subtle.

Ditto with the original Moog synths, early samplers (8 bit or 12 bit vs todays 16 bit or better) etc.

Some people prefer the sound of the grittier old MPCs rather than the new ones (which have emulation of the old ones but it doesn't quite cut it).

There are endless plugin copies of classic rack mount studio effects, but nothing beats the real thing.

Cretin Dilettante

Make good music, and nobody will care. I once recorded a song with a Korg Electribe EA-1 (Virtual Analog) to cassette tape, and people were kissing my butt about that "rich analog bass". Nobody who claims to know the difference actually knows. It's like art professors w/ post-minimalism. They don't actually know what's good and sometimes they'll spend an hour analyzing objects that aren't even part of an art show because they legitimately can't tell the difference between garbage & good post-minimalist sculpture.

LostInFoundation

Quite a strange thread, in an era where so many “professional” songs are made using premade loops that anyone else can use…

And don’t ever think all “professionals” use hardware instruments…

Btw… a hardware synth is in the end a kind of computer inside a controller…so…why the need of all of this drama? People just want to sound like they are the real purists… this same diatribe was raised before between electronic music and “real” instruments (and had a little more sense, since a physical chord, or hammer, or metal tube, or anything else… played with fingers or breath IS in some way different…), but then they moved the same “this is the real thing and that is just inferior” argument between a series of electronic circuits inside a synth and a series of electronic circuits inside a computer... This should tell you a lot about how real all of this is…

The real question is: are things different? Yes. Does this make one indisputably better than the other? No

mykejb

In my opinion, once you've added effects, compression and everything else that comes with recording and mixing any difference between a good emulation and the hardware will get buried. Most comparisons that say "the emulation doesn't quite sound the same" and similar are done out of context of the music. What you have to think is "Am I trying to write and record a good song, or am I trying to impress 'professionals'"

I know what you mean about guitar sims. You can get really good emulations, but I can tell a difference playing though Guitar Rig/Helix/Boss and hooking up my JVM. Until you put it into a song, then it gets harder to spot the difference.

Ojustaboo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/141108#Comment_141108

I don’t personally disagree with you, to me hearing an h/w analog synth next to a software version, the analog version sounds nicer.

How much of that is psychological I don’t know.

That said, I suspect for most people, myself included, if we hear a finished track where a famous analog synth has been used on one or two of the tracks, it would be virtually impossible to say whether it’s hardware or software.

Hardware analog synths often had problems staying in tune.

‘No matter what midi controller you have, playing around with the knobs in real time on most hardware synths, is always going to be far far superior than using a controller

Software versions of old analog synths usually allow you to do things you could never do on the hardware versions.

If I won big on the lottery I would happily spend thousands and thousands setting up a studio with hardware versions of all my dream synths. Back in the real world, while I’d love a Jupiter 8, CS80, ARP 2600 etc, the only way I’m going to get them is by using software, and I’m very lucky that I live in a time where for not too much money, I can do so.

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