Re: thinking about moving from rack to laptop...advice please!

[Mark Sottilaro <zerocrossing@gmail.com>]

First of all, there is no god, let's get that out of the way. ;)

I notice no depreciation of overall "sound" compared to when I was
hardware bound.  Most hardware these days is software running on
dedicated hardware anyway.  Special dedicated hardware might do it
faster with less latency, but 1+1 is always 2.  This becomes a more
slippery slope when emulating pure analog hardware, but there have
been some amazing advancements over the last few years.   I've owned a
ton of guitar amps over the years (literally a ton) and I don't think
my guitar sound has ever been better than what I'm able to come up
with using various flavors of Amplitube. (note: this is an emulation
of stomp box effects, amps, and a mic'd cab and rack gear, so it's not
going to be the same as a real amp in a room)  As for synths?  I hear
a lot of people say analog hasn't and maybe will never be perfectly
emulated, but I say that's poppycock.  I spent a lot of time looking
for this "analog magic" and I found next to nothing.  Experts are
continuously baffled by blind comparisons.  Listen to some demos of
one of the more "vintagey" VAs I've found:

http://admiralquality.com/products/Poly-Ana/

Guitar players didn't fare really well in this showdown:

http://emusician.com/tutorials/showdown-clubhouse-amp-software/index.html

So, will your software rig sound the same as your current hardware
rig?  No.  It most definitely won't. Will it sound worse?  That's up
to you.   In many ways I think my setup sounds better than it ever
has.   Luckily, most software comes with a demo so you can try before
you buy.


On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 12:48 PM, Matt McCabe <lists@finleysound.com> 
wrote:
> Simeon,
>
> I would recommend against changing your rig if you are happy with the 
>way it
> sounds.  Yes, the weight factor is always an issue, but you aren't going 
>to
> care if your rig weighs 2 ounces if it sounds like crap!  Even with the 
>best
> software emulations it isn't going to sound like your current rig. 
> Similar?
>  Probably.  But, is similar good enough when you currently have the 
>"voice
> of god"?
>
> Just my two cents.
>
> Matt
>
> On May 27, 2009, at 6:57 AM, Simeon Harris wrote:
>
>> i'll keep researching....my rig sounds like the voice of god at the 
>moment
>> and there's a software update for the eclipse coming soon as well, so 
>it'll
>> take a fair amount of convincing to make me take the leap...but it's
>> inevitable....eventually...
>>
>> many thanks
>>
>> sim
>
>