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Why do musicians choose synthesizers over real instruments?

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ironpony
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14 Sep 2020, 12:02 am

Oh okay thanks. But since the film project deals with a rape as the crime in the plot, I shouldn't be going for sexy of course then probably, right?



auntblabby
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14 Sep 2020, 12:07 am

ironpony wrote:
Oh okay thanks. But since the film project deals with a rape as the crime in the plot, I shouldn't be going for sexy of course then probably, right?

trumpet sounds "assaultive" compared to the other things.



ironpony
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14 Sep 2020, 5:14 pm

Yeah that's true, good point there.



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17 Sep 2020, 1:16 pm

Synthesizers are real instruments. :?


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auntblabby
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17 Sep 2020, 6:43 pm

what people mean by "real" instruments are ones that are not electronic. ones that you have to beat or blow or bow or tinkle the ivories of.



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18 Sep 2020, 12:34 am

auntblabby wrote:
what people mean by "real" instruments are ones that are not electronic. ones that you have to beat or blow or bow or tinkle the ivories of.


I understood what was meant, I'm critical of the ignorant attitude that it implies.


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auntblabby
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18 Sep 2020, 12:48 am

having heard the original moog instruments [and having owned one], i can tell you they have their place, but i haven't found anything that sounds as glorious as an old-fashioned wurlitzer unit orchestra. no substitute for all those chorusing organ pipes beating together.



funeralxempire
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18 Sep 2020, 12:52 am

auntblabby wrote:
having heard the original moog instruments [and having owned one], i can tell you they have their place, but i haven't found anything that sounds as glorious as an old-fashioned wurlitzer unit orchestra. no substitute for all those chorusing organ pipes beating together.


Sometimes an 808 or 909 kick is more appropriate, sometimes an acoustic bass drum kick is more appropriate. But they're both equally valid ways to make a percussion track. Jeez, considering that you can use MIDI pads to trigger a VST of a drum machine one can even physically play a kit that only makes drum machine noises.

Every tool is valid and has a potential purpose. Even programmed electric toothbrush motors. :mrgreen:


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20 Sep 2020, 1:42 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
Synthesizers are real instruments. :?


This is literally exactly what I was gonna reply with.
Synths take skill and knowledge to operate, let alone making them sound good.
It's a really complex instrument and I can't even wrap my head around it.


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20 Sep 2020, 2:50 pm

martianprincess wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
Synthesizers are real instruments. :?


This is literally exactly what I was gonna reply with.
Synths take skill and knowledge to operate, let alone making them sound good.
It's a really complex instrument and I can't even wrap my head around it.


They really are. That might be why I mostly stick to guitar and sampling. :mrgreen:


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auntblabby
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20 Sep 2020, 9:32 pm

if i was a better keyboardist i'd have kept my moog. i still have a gulbransen theatrum that i noodle around with.



usagibryan
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22 Sep 2020, 9:26 pm

I actually like the way synthesizers sound, could you do this or this with acoustic instruments?

I think maybe when the technology was new that's all composers had to work with, but now these are distinct sounds that are sometimes appropriate, especially for electronic or futuristic sounding music.



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22 Sep 2020, 9:39 pm

the newest synths with their sound fonts are today's mellotrons in digital form.



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23 Sep 2020, 7:13 am

Well as far as choosing synth over real instruments, here is another example from the movie United 93:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUYB2yV1me4

The movie is a based on a true story tragedy, so I am wondering for that type of movie and tone, why not go for real instruments, even if it's just pre-recorded samples? Because the majority of the soundtrack sounds more synth to me, but is there a reason why they chose to make it sound synth deliberately for that type of story?



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24 Sep 2020, 1:33 am

ironpony wrote:
Well as far as choosing synth over real instruments, here is another example from the movie United 93:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUYB2yV1me4

The movie is a based on a true story tragedy, so I am wondering for that type of movie and tone, why not go for real instruments, even if it's just pre-recorded samples? Because the majority of the soundtrack sounds more synth to me, but is there a reason why they chose to make it sound synth deliberately for that type of story?

i am not convinced sound quality per se is a main driver in this, it's just plain economics.



ironpony
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24 Sep 2020, 7:03 am

Oh okay, so they didn't have the budget for more acoustic sounding samples you mean?