To me, computers are good for two things: First of all, any track that uses FM synthesis, which means any track with a Yamaha DX-7 or related synths, uses a computer for some of the sound generation. A sampler is also a computer, and early house already used samples, though Detroit techno less so. So computers have always, in some way, been a part of house and techno.
However, the sounds were indeed all mixed down in the analog realm, and I agree that can create a different feel to the music; it takes a lot of work to mix down your stuff on computers and get a similar feeling. However, I do believe it can be done! I think computers in music are great for 3 things: 1. Besides FM synthesis and sampling, computers are necessary for newer synthesis and signal processing techniques, such as granular synthesis, which require digital processing, and can sound really good when done well. "Traditional" 313 techno does not use these techniques, since they weren't commonly available when the sound was first created, but there is no reason they can't be incorporated into a Detroit sound. Also, FM synthesis seems to be fairly common in Detroit techno. Although "mnml" has resulted in a lot of stupid stuff, I do think it is nice that newer synthesis and DSP techniques have been accepted into house and techno, although they aren't often used in a creative, not to mention "musical", manner. 2. Making electronic music when you are poor... the cost of making electronic music via hardware is prohibitively expensive unfortunately. I would love to use gear but some 3. Creating musical forms and processes that would be too labor intensive to create by hand, such as generative and probability based structures. There is also possibility working with things like artificial neural networks and programs trained to respond to user input in unpredictable ways. This clearly isn't part of traditional Detroit techno, but again, I'd argue that you could apply such techniques to the Detroit sound and get extremely interesting results. In fact, I'd argue that anybody who wants to make "futuristic" sounds should really focus on this area, especially because you could control analog gear with these techniques and so still produce a very warm classic sound while doing some cutting edge things with the structure and musical content Just don't forget to keep it soulful and funky! ;-] Most people use computers for convenience I'd say, and I think it's kind of funny that people would use plugins to do traditional synthesis when they could afford proper analog gear. If I could afford gear, I'd probably record MIDI performances into a computer and use them to trigger both analog and digital sources, then mix down on analog gear. I will say, I have grown very tired of the work flows created in current digital software, so even though I'm using all digital, I've started to record my keyboard performances on MIDI a lot more, which makes it much easier to get that funky feel which can be a pain to create by hand in a digital environment. It's amazing how good even a digital plugin can sound when you actually use a human performance as the basis of the part instead of just a grid! I also spend a lot of time playing piano; it's extremely helpful to turn off the computer and spend time making music with an actual instrument that becomes a part of your body... There is a spiritual aspect to music that you simply can't experience if you don't participate in some type of physical music making. ~David On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 12:38 PM, kent williams <[email protected]> wrote: > All hardware is The Detroit Way(tm), and one can't argue with results. > Virtually ('Virtually'?) every track that defines Detroit Techno and > House music was made with hardware synths and mixed down outside the > computer. As it happens, prior to roughly 1998, a computer was of > limited utility for anything other than MIDI sequencing. > > The sound of Detroit techno arose at least in part from the way > working with the hardware influences the aesthetic choices made. The > one measure drum loop is a limitation of Roland Drum Machines* so > Techno mostly involves one measure rhythm loops. Within that > limitation, producers soon used the tools available to them (volume > controls for individual sounds, sound parameters, write-mode real-time > step programming) to make something static come alive. > > I use a mix of hardware and software, and end up doing the mix in the > computer. That's just what I've evolved into using over the years. I > still have nearly every synth & drum machine I've ever bought, and got > my latest analog synth in 2008. > > That being said, I think it is very possible to make good music > without the hardware, and in fact many people who make tracks simply > can't afford a full-on hardware studio. Software synths are free to > cheap; a proper modern analog synth costs a minimum of $300-400, a > TR909 -- if you can find one -- is $1000 or more. A usable laptop is > $600, and sufficient software is free to cheap (or stolen). > > If you don't like how all-computer productions sound, you can spend > the multiple thousands of dollars to equip yourself with 'real' gear** > or you could learn to get the sound you want out of the computer. The > production techniques required for working in the computer are > different than working with outboard hardware. > > In the end it's always what your'e able to do with the gear more than > the gear itself. Whatever inspires you or feels comfortable should > your guide, not what anyone thinks that you 'should' be using. > > *You can use drum loops longer than one measure on Roland drum > machines, but it isn't the easiest or most natural way to work. > > **My rule of thumb about buying external gear -- if it's just a > computer on the inside, I'd rather save my money and use my computer. > A lot of external synths -- e.g. Nord, Elektron Machine Drum, Alesis > Micron -- are just computers in a fancy box. They may be useful for > many reasons, but they don't do anything your computer can't, at least > insofar as sound is concerned. > > On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 6:28 AM, Kevin Kennedy <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> As a side note, I have gone back to using hardware, and there will be >> results to post for everyone soon... >> >
