Value vs price…
Cost is perhaps the most compelling argument for concocting our own faux vintage sounds. The craze for all things analogue has driven the price of actual vintage synthesisers and effects through the roof – particularly if said hardware has a famous pedigree. For example, recent prices for a working Roland Jupiter-8 have catapulted to over £5,000, while a wellkept EMS VCS 3 could set you back £10k.
Yet these instruments are actually fairly simple in concept, if not execution. Certainly, part of the latter example’s allure lies in how unpredictable it is – due, ironically to having been built with the cheapest and most readily available components in the first place!
As a rule, collectors’ prices do not necessarily reflect the musical ability of these instruments, but rather their increasing scarcity and cache.
It’s that last bit that can cause some neophytes to place an inflated worth on
COMPUTER MUSIC
certain instruments. The fact that Pink Floyd used a VCS 3 on Dark Side of the Moon or that Richard James used... well, everything, doesn’t necessarily indicate something special about that piece of gear. An innovative and inspired musician can innovate and inspire with any synth, and may have used a given piece of gear simply because it was available to them at the time. Indeed, many of the musicians who contributed to the legend of instruments like the VCS 3, Moog Prodigy, or TB-303 only used them because they were once cheap!
This isn’t to say that many venerated instruments aren’t worthy of their reputations. The VCS 3 is indeed a wildly inspiring instrument with a unique sound. Similarly, one has only to play a Minimoog to understand why it’s so beloved – the sound, the immediacy, the simplicity and elegance all combine to provide a powerful user experience.
Nevertheless, much of what made those instruments so beloved is easily achievable in software, as we’re about to show you.