Hartmann Neuron

[Martin Naef]

Quoting Tony Hardie-Bick <tony at entity.net>:
> 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.

Immediacy is the key ingredient that is often forgotten in music  
technology discussions. We may frown upon the thought of a bucketload  
of presets, but while geeks are still digging inside the machine  
getting their very personal sound and squeezing another bit of  
quality, others already have the audience dancing...

That's not to say there isn't a space for the "geeky" approach, just a  
realisation of what the majority of people actually enjoy, but also  
the fact that it's usually not the most technically advanced artists  
that leave a lasting impression, but the ones that manage to touch us  
emotionally.

> 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.

I think true innovation is difficult - regardless of economic  
challenges and company size. A large company may have the advantage of  
a longer breath and larger resources to pour into research, but they  
also tend to have more people that need their salary paid at the end  
of the month. There's also more responsibility: A small company can  
make a bet on one single product, it's only a couple of engineers at  
risk (who will quickly find another job if things go pear-shaped).

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

Absolutely. It's the kind of "avant garde" from which other can take  
inspiration. Time will tell if it was just a fancy idea or indeed  
something that made a difference.

Bye
Martin