TAKING CONTROL

Connect your hardware and bring the outside world in

It’s the age-old argument that’s raged among music producers for the past few decades: hardware or software? As avid Computer Music enthusiasts, we’ve always flown the flag for the convenience, flexibility, and affordability of producing complete tracks on the humble personal computer. Many agree that hardware introduces so many complications to the creative process: it’s expensive to buy and maintain; and often lacks niceties like total recall, patch storage, and the ability to be easily automated…

Yet we’re the first to admit that hardware can have a certain sonic ‘mojo’ that can be tricky to emulate in the box. And sometimes, reaching for a dedicated physical instrument or outboard processor can help counteract a creative drought in the studio.

Anyway, as this much-discussed debate still rages on, we need to remember that we’ve reached somewhat of a golden age in music-making. Why choose one over the other? It’s easily possible to make the most of both worlds by thoroughly integrating the two; harnessing the power of the computer to take control over hardware (and vice versa), with both being super-charged in the process.

And it’s now easier than ever before to work with gear, thanks to advances in computer interfacing. We now have software that goes far beyond MIDI sequencing, allowing the modern studio pro to integrate non-MIDI hardware using standard instrument cables, USB… or even Wi-Fi!

So over the next few pages, we’ll give you everything you need to know to get your software and hardware talking to one another; de-mystifying MIDI, SysEx, and control voltages in the process. It’s time to hunt down those cables and get patching…