Software Synthesizers (Excerpt): Top Music Technology Pages Return to MusicWords Home

[The material below is excerpted from Software Synthesizers, published in 2003 by Backbeat Books.]

Before we dive into our discussion of specific softsynths, you may be wondering -- are software instruments the wave of the future? Are hardware synthesizers destined to go the way of the dodo and the great auk? Or does hardware still have a valid place in the world of high-tech music?

I don't think this is an either-or question. The scene is dynamic, and will continue to evolve -- probably in ways we can't yet foresee. But I do think hardware instruments will continue to play a vital role -- and not just because there are some great-sounding ones out there. Hardware instruments offer several solid (so to speak) advantages, none of which is to be sniffed at:

Other things being equal, the software in a hardware synth will be more stable and reliable than its computer-based counterpart. This is because the manufacturer "owns" the operating system and the chips on which the instrument runs. The manufacturer doesn't have to write code that can survive in the often hostile environment of a multitasking computer OS.

With a hardware synth, you get a guaranteed voice count. Synths that can play 24, 32, 64, or even 128 notes at once are common and affordable. Most of the computer synths discussed in this book choke at a far fewer than 128 voices, even on a blazingly fast computer.

Hardware synths often have keyboards and/or front panels studded with knobs. In a single box you get both the tone-producing circuitry and a responsive and musical user interface. The mouse and the QWERTY keyboard just can't compete.

A hardware synth doesn't require a separate audio or MIDI interface, with all of the attendant installation hassles -- all that stuff is built in. The convenience factor is hard to knock.

Computers are not notoriously easy to take on a gig. Granted, a hardware synth is fragile, too. It's not something you want to see a drunken roadie toss into the back of a van at 2:00 in the morning. But by and large, hardware synths are built to survive the normal rigors of the road. Most computers aren't.

Having said all that, software synths have some advantages too:

Because the manufacturing and shipping costs are far lower, softsynth developers have more freedom to innovate. This translates into more great-sounding instruments.

Softsynths can be updated with new features and bugfixes somewhat more easily than their hardware counterparts. (This is less true than it used to be. OS updates for many hardware synths can be downloaded and transmitted to the synth via MIDI. But it's still a factor.)

You can use an effect plug-in from a different manufacturer pretty easily with a softsynth. I don't know of any current hardware synth that allows third-party effects to be installed.

Assuming you already have a fast computer equipped with a decent audio interface, a softsynth will be considerably cheaper than its hardware counterpart.

A hardware synth has a fixed amount of memory. You may be able to store 128 of your own sounds, or 512, but no more. The hard drive on a computer can store gazillions of synthesizer patches.

The big screen. Need I say more?