Because were crap with money.
If you use Ableton, try Operator. It’s a world-class synth, with lots of depth, but straightforward enough to get started. Look for tutorials from Francis Prève and Ned Rush to get the basics/inspiration
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I prefer using hardware, but I prefer software because you can save it in the project.
IPad synths are an odd case because they are so great to combine with other apps, but state saving isn’t all that. And while there’s zero muscle memory involved, they’re a lot more hands-on thanks to the touch screen.
I think Overbridge is a fantastic attempt at combining the two. I also can’t help but think that the concept would work better with simpler devices.
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Fors.fm
Doublet is Models:DigiTone with 16 macros in Abletonz and a halfway decent MIDI controller. And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.
(@Ess has entered the chat! Again!)
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For 99% of hardware you don’t need an internet connection and login to your user profile to use them?
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cuz synthesizers R deadly
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I have a Circuit Tracks and a Polyend Tracker and when I sit down with them at 8pm I suddenly realise it’s midnight and I’ve written two songs.
I also have a laptop with a bunch of DAWs and when I sit down with that at 8pm I realise it’s midnight and I’ve been checking emails and watching cat videos and done about 5 minutes audio work.
For live work. If you take the example of the Opsix it’s just a VST running on a Pi, but if I was gigging on keys I’d still rather take that over a laptop with a couple of dangling USB cables to controllers and interfaces that might come out or glitch or randomly break if I drop it.
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Absolutely agree here. I have been really embedding Overbridge into a hybrid workflow, and my main poly synth (Peak) doesn’t have anything like OB. I would absolutely replace it if another 8+ voice hybrid poly came out that had an integration like OB.
My more-on-topic reasoning for that is that there are some aspects of synthesis that are computationally expensive to model correctly that can add to latency or CPU load, such as filtering and saturation. Some plug-ins just choose to not handle them correctly and allow digital aliasing.
I imagine a digital modular synth that has an instance of FabFilter’s Saturn or Volcano at every connection point may get expensive. A real world example would be U-He’s Diva - amazing synth, but you’ll know you are running it.
all hardware doesn’t feel the same
all midi controllers don’t feel the same
so definitely midi controllers cannot account for hardware, they are just different, different hardware, and different degrees of separation
I do ITB DAW production, and swear by certain VST synth emulations. For instance, you’ll find The Legend (Moog emulation) all over my projects.
But I have no interest in taking a laptop and one or more controllers to a live gig, or maintaining those projects and the software ecosystem for live stuff.
For a certain kind of turn-it-on-and-play immediacy, with focused workflows intimately integrated with a piece of hardware’s sounds, sequencing and effects, an app, even with a controller, can’t be “just as good”.
Luckily we live in a world where both hardware and software are valid, sonically rich ways of making music, often in concert with one another (hey Overbridge. We see you.)
tl;dr - I like both.
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I don’t know what the secret dsp sauce is in the Moog Model D app but it is probably the best sounding synth I’ve literally ever heard in my life, I don’t even care if it sounds like the hardware, I just love it for what it is. Was hoping Cherry Audio’s new version would sound the same because I use Windows but f@ck me it’s just not the same. I wish Moog could work their software magic with Windows.
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My laptop is just too tied to work for me. I fully associate it with work, and work - even the work I like - on some level will always stress me out.
(And come to think of it, none of the work that I like is done on the computer)
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Have you tried The Legend from Synapse? I love this one.
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Never heard of it, actually. Thanks, I’ll check it out!
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It’s nice to have something like the Opsix as Vst too, thats a great thing.
Yes, you can map knobs and faders from midi controllers to whatever you want, but the layout from “the real” thing makes it an instrument that I can connect better.
Although the Opsix is a plastic bomber.
Other than the stayed obvious above but…
The feel of hardware. Not just knobs, etc… but the sum of the parts. You play the keyboard of an OP-1 differently than a sequential. The keys sometimes start at different positions. Giving you a different way to think about your jam.
Little things like that. Intangible tangibles so to speak. Filter knob is different per brand. Encoders vs potentiometers…
Setting up controllers can be a total pain. Often a unique pain per VST.
I am slowly appreciating VSTs more and more and totally get how powerful they are. Maybe I just haven’t found the right controller…
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No one cares if I have a phone full of synth apps but there’s at least a couple people that think the room full of wasted money I have is pretty neat.
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Hardware is more limited. Equals less frustrating and more creative.
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Apps/software can sound great, but most are boring as hell to actually use, but you can get non boring software and boring hardware.
The best gear is the gear you actually use, who cares about the technicalities if you don’t use it?
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For me - There’s something about the tactile nature of hardware.
There’s also the ‘GUI’ of hardware.
Especially when it’s knob-per-function or close to it, you look at the thing and can see almost everything it does or at least intuit it. This helps lower the “context switching” that can occur when you are having to jump between VST windows or from a MIDI keyboard to a piano roll etc.
Not having to hold multiple things in your head (eg what page is that thing on, what VST was making that sound) can help keep the focus on creativity, you dont need to hold a mental map of where the bass sound is coming from because it’s just the big phat ms20 sitting beside you 
But it can be a double sided blade - when it comes to actually RECORDING something, I find it more difficult with hardware because it feels harder to recreate so everything I do feel like it needs to be perfect as I can’t go back and tweak a knob movement the way I could an automation lane!
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