How Times Have Changed

When I first started working in studios, digital was a bit of a pipe dream. Most professional rooms were based around a console, a 2" 24 track, and a selection of outboard gear. Shortly thereafter, the ADAT burst onto the scene and began the whirlwind transition to digital. And why not? The ADAT sounded pretty good, the tape was cheap, and the price was amazing, especially after the price dropped after the initial run.

Of course, they weren't without drawbacks. I need not go into those here.

ADAT (and the other small digital tape multitracks) were a transitory technology. Random access systems quickly felled the beast and took over, causing a whole generation of studio rats and performers to have to become simultaneous left & right brain types as IT issues became constants in this new method of music making. Whether using dedicated hardware (i.e. RADAR) or off-the-shelf computer-based systems, dealing with the foibles of computer tech just became part of the equation.

I've been seeing some transitions of my own in recent days. Being from the days of tape, I'm also used to real instruments. Plug-in virtual instruments seem, well, disposable when compared to a physical keyboard. Yet I find myself using them more and more. I guess I've really had to sell myself on this because I've come up with a bit of a philosophy regarding real vs. plug-in instruments.

Plug-in instruments are time savers. They are great for quick sketches while composing. Plug-in samplers really cannot be beat in the real world. Yes, I have a bit of a soft spot for my Emu E5000 (upgraded and modded out the wazoo), but ESX24 in Logic, MOTU's Mach5, and NI's Kontakt are superior tools. Visual editing of samples, easy looping, access to huge libraries of sounds without paging through small windows, use of 24-bit samples... I could go on and on. For that matter, all of the digital synthesizers are really better in the software realm.

What physical keyboards am I finding myself using? The electro-mechanical ones, the Rhodes, Hammond organ and Clavinet. I have great software emulations of all of these. Why do I still use the real ones? They all have that near-imperceptible "something", perhaps it's the inherent flaws, the feel of the keyboard... I can't completely place it, other than they are comfortable for me to play, and I play differently on each of these keyboards than I would on my MIDI controller.

Analog synths, or digital ones with a lot of hardware control (sliders, knobs) are also seeing a lot of use. I have yet to match the "bigness" of a Moog sawtooth bass in software. I still hold onto keyboards with nostalgic value as well (my DX7) even though software emulations are definitely superior.

So I'm seeing a hybrid system evolving. Yes, life would be easier if I'd let myself go entirely into the computer, but I feel I'd be missing something. Maybe I'm a somewhat of a keyboard luddite, but it still feels right.