hardware vs software

do you guys think that software drum machines are taking over now?

Simply. Yes. But I think someone will make a new mpc. May not be called a mpc, or have that branded, but similar stature.

flame mccain wrote:do you guys think that software drum machines are taking over now?

All drum machines/samplers are controlled by software.

So the answer is yes, and no.

I do not think there is a take over. Take over means that another means will be what, dead?
Companies are still making hardware because there is a demand for it. I don't think the perfect amalgamation has been created yet. It is close but it is not here yet.

As Clint stated Romplers are software. Korg Volcas seem to be selling like hot bread. Akai is making a hardware drum machine. Roland still sells drum machines.

Users dig computer power but want tactile knobs and switches, and portability. Thus Roland is making that system 1 plug out- a hardware keyboard that you clone with different info as you like some buttons will be useful in some cases and others not depending on the software in it. That is the future!

Just wait until someone figures out the manufacturing side of this matrix. It is the manufacturing that is problem. Making a physical box is expensive. A fickle crowd can cause a company to lose money. Once the 3D printing drops the manufacturing costs, and you can simply purchase the computer brain to slip inside your unique controller box, you will see people run from laptops as they are now.

Peace
Ian

PS though in the future a laptop will probably be considered hardware because we will be playing music on light projected in front of us on walls or on a table top.

Hardware samplers are few and far between these days. I'll bet we'll see more eventually. Everything goes in cycles. The fun factor of old hardware always comes back in new forms. Software makes me feel too confined, staring into a monitor. It's not a problem for recording and mastering. But for working with synths, samples, and drum machines, I feel more connected to hardware. Most people who prefer hardware feel the same way. Less eye strain, less feeling boxed in, etc.
People who only work with software may feel differently. But on either side of the coin, there's always a demand. Both hardware and software will exist in many people's setups. So there's a balance between the two.

I have beat makers in my town telling me to sell my mpc and buy maschine. I won't sell my mpc even if I did have maschine. Plus why would I want maschine if I have an mpc? I still use logic sometimes to layer synths over what I make on the mpc. But then i run back through the mpc to round out my sound. It's seriously the mothership of my operation. Then i listen to their beats and i'm like... this shit sounds like it was made on a computer They act like a lil grit is bad for business.

That's the thing... people get spoiled by technology. Yeah it's cool that Maschine has more features that speed up the workflow. But it still requires a mouse and having to lock into a computer monitor at some point... and to me that kills the vibe. Another thing is that some DAWs require a lot of processing power. Having to upgrade a Mac gets expensive. I can't do PCs anymore. I'm tired of fixing the damn things all the time. I can list so many pros and cons with different DAWs. None of them are perfect, and none of them have me convinced to spend any more money on either.

I'm just a hardware guy that still likes to work with software once in a while. But with all the enhancements that software has to offer, I'm still more creative with older hardware that's far more limited. I also agree that hardware sounds better. It's not that software doesn't sound good. But like you said, the older MPCs have that sound that I like. DAWs sound too sterile. Sure I can make them sound less sterile. But they still don't sound as good as hardware. The same thing goes for analog synths and drum machines. The modeling technology has gotten better. But never quite as good as real analog, and no matter how cool all these emulations look on a screen, they're still stuck inside of a screen or a touchpad (iPhone, iPad).

Another thing that makes a difference is the learning curve. For software, I gotta sit there and read the manual on the computer and switch screens between that and the software constantly. That gets distracting after 2 minutes. Then my eyes become even more fatigued. With hardware, I just open the physical copy of the manual and get right to pressing a few buttons, instead of never letting go of the mouse and having to use it even more.

Software samplers and drum machines subjectively took over more than 10 years ago, with Gigasampler, Kontakt and Battery etc. The Ren and Maschine are just at the tail end of that curve where they give a faux hardware workflow, but there's no real substitute to having a standalone piece of gear.

Thankfully companies like Elektron are leading the way with feature-packed hardware that integrates with a computer in a way that doesn't kill the standalone ethos.

Thankfully companies like Elektron are leading the way with feature-packed hardware that integrates with a computer in a way that doesn't kill the standalone ethos.

That's the future right there!

I always think about this in a historical sense. Keep in mind that I'm in Nashville, but am not native. The "industry" gets shoved down my throat in ways that people truly don't understand (myself included).

I don't think it's a question of either/or, and thats as someone who has stuck with hardware until very, very recently. I realized a little while ago that most of the prosumer gear (ie "bedroom" musicians, which now, due to the proliferation of technology, include Grammy winners and multi-platinum artists) is honestly just built to compliment hardware to software and vice versa. I have a Roland Integra and a Korg Kronos sitting here. Both work in superbly clever ways within the software domain, yet are capable of standalone mode, in which not a single feature is left out. I have noticed this across all platforms and honestly now is one of the biggest influences of my position within the market (which is all this is...companies trying to read market trends). The Access Virus is a great example. Nothing extrodinarily new between say the C and the TI, outsie of true computer integration.


I think the future of hardware is it's ability to integrate with software, and the VSTi/AUX/RTAS formats are truly a smart idea. Future hardware purchases will be looked at in equal parts what sounds/programability do you get access to, same as hardware ever was, while mixing in "how will it integrat with my DAW of choice while also taking some of the processing load off of my CPU/soundcard".


I'm getting kind of old these days. I'm starting to truly appreciate obtuse OSs on synths and all that. I honestly don't know where I'd be without my MPC4k, but I can certainly tell you it wouldn't be making music. That said...as great as aksys is, I really wish it integrated better with software, because it's power/versatility is truly undeniable.

Once hardware manufacturers figure that out (and just look at the market, they are figuring that out), I think this hardware/software discussion will go away. Honestly, there is very little the dude I collab with the most is able to do in Logic I cant do with my 4k/Vs2480. I think the marketability of these maschines is to incorporate the workflow of hardware with the power of software. I guess that's where I think this industry is headed.

So glad to see someone has a VS2480!

It was the late 90s early 2000s that soft synths really started to point to a future where you could soon do everything 'in the box' and not have it sound too crappy. Probably ReBirth, which modelled the 303/909/808, was the first soft synth that really made people think, 'Okay, this modelling stuff, done well, really does measure up'.

As all-in-the-box took over people wanted all their switches and knobs back so everything became about control surfaces. However, while you can map any software parameter to a knob, you need different maps for every plug in and the layout of the plugin's never the same as your controller (unless it's some weird custom stuff that Touch Digital Controllers do or something like a Ren or Maschine).

So plenty of people don't like software as it's just not as immediate and fun as being hands on with 'real' devices. I sympathise with that - I love using the MPC 2500 as my springboard before tracking out into Logic to make a finished track. I use a few old cheap synths but also soft synths too - don't have the £££ or space to keep a synth lying around for that one sound it does well.

Where big names went from using there original wobbly MIDI rigs to all-in-the-box there was often a feeling that they'd gone crap. For example, the Prodigy's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned was done almost entirely in in Reason and sounded like garbage. I think it's easy to make production-line music in a DAW, the same bog standard techniques as everyone else, if it moves side-chain it, double track it, throw in a white noise sweep, have a breakdown after 16 bars. I think 90/80s stuff, from hip-hop to techno, was much less linear, less obvious and more varied in style.

Im using the old with the new. Stilll sequencing with the sp1200 or mpc60/4000
but have incorporated reason 7 now in my setup through midi. I love it. New technology justmakes us get even doper and faster at what we already do.

But now i am going to force myself learn to sequence in just the software for when im traveling. I really like reason 7

DJ Supreme wrote:Im using the old with the new. Stilll sequencing with the sp1200 or mpc60/4000
but have incorporated reason 7 now in my setup through midi. I love it. New technology justmakes us get even doper and faster at what we already do.

But now i am going to force myself learn to sequence in just the software for when im traveling. I really like reason 7

Reason 7.1 will be released soon. It's a free upgrade. Keep checking the site.