Hartmann Neuron

[Tony Hardie-Bick]

Hi Martin,

> Tony Hardie-Bick wrote:
>> I have a nagging suspicion that the whole synth industry is a rather beautiful 
>> smoke-and-mirrors, for algorithms that lag behind pure software to a rediculous 
>> degree.
> 
> I think pretty much any industry feels like smoke-and-mirrors once you 
> understand enough of how they work. That's the beauty and the curse of 
> being an engineer...
> 
> Having said that, I don't care much if something is "state of the art", 
> meaning it reflects the latest knowledge, or not. It has to be usable, 
> enjoyable. Just over a week ago I spent a good amount of cash on a Boss 
> GT-10b bass processor, totally knowing that I'd get very similar 
> features and a lot more amp models with NI Guitar Rig for just over half 
> the price. But guess what? The pure physicality and immediacy just feels 
> so much more inspiring that I couldn't care less about the rest. The 
> integrated looper, which is ten times less powerful than Ableton Live, 
> got my attention immediately because I could stamp on a switch and have 
> fun - I'm even tempted to spend the same amount of money again just for 
> a dedicated looper pedal. Heck, even the Zoom B2 I had before was more 
> fun than Guitar Rig (trust me, I know - I used the demo extensively 
> before I decided it sounded great but didn't inspire me).

Actually, I really do agree with this. Korg et al, really do produce products 
that are extremely well designed to give immediacy, and therefore great 
musicality - and this is what it's about.

I think the smaller companies are up against a huge economic challenge to 
produce viable product, so, perhaps there's a case to be made that innovation is 
difficult in this domain.

Something like the Eigenharp is really a very impressive example of innovation 
by a small company.

Tony (HB)