Funny how the midi was everyhwere in the 80's and by the late 80's people were sick of it. But them house came along and music reverted back to analogue.

Take my all time fav album "glenn medeiros" in 1990. Layer upon layer of overdubs, complex harmonies, rhythm arrangements, tons of shit going on like ur treble was being blown up through ur speakers.

Midi recreated real instruments like horns for example, thus u get tons of keyboard heavy shit like "get outta my dreams" by billy ocean.

Most here would say that it got out of hand and the song in general was lost under the arrangement. Take the difference between "thriller" and "bad". "bad" is all keyboards and synclaviers vs "thrillers" analogue style real instrumentation (minus a few primitive synclaviers). Point is, the "beat it" guitar solo still sounds street whilst the "dirty diana" one sounds like it came from a cheesy rock group,

Nowadays producers want to ignore anything midi related. We have the punk revival, the bebop revival, and retro jazz sounding stuff like neo soul. Nowadays producers dont wanna move forward I find. Plus they sample everything, but the trick is that the sample is so well hidden, that u dont even have to pay royalites as no one will spot it. ALL rnb is like this. Except maybe mint conditions new stuff.

Whatever u say about my love for synclaviers, middis and dmx programming, its is alot more tuneful then shit these days, which I guess is why Iam still stuck in the past, as producers just do not ever want to go back to my fav sounding sorta music.


Of course newjack would not have existed without midi or synths. I say THANK GOD NEWJACK HAS DATED.

So any lurkers please speak up and state what u think about the digital sound Vs analogue.
[Edited 5/19/05 9:44am]
[Edited 5/19/05 9:45am]

Wow, A serious thread from thesexofit.

Analogue rules, digital is good to as long as it sounds organic.

i just skimmed your post, but put me down for analog!

lilgish said:

I like analog instruments but recording to tape doesn't necessarily sound better.

I bet people listen to alot more "digital" music than they realize, especially within R&B. Not all digital synths sound harsh/cold/plastic.

Its funny as I bet Jacko wanted "bad" to sound like "control". U know street. But quincy made it more commerical and I think jacko got pissed off with that.

Anyway early analogue synth is a different matter (1980-1985 roughly). Like donna summers "i feel love". Live precussion used to fake a robotic sound.

I guess there are a group of people on here who love that sound the best. I like the most hated "all out synth everything" type stuff. Iam stuck in the past, but so are many on here too, except that fortunately, the analogue lovers only club among here have been lucky as music prior newjackswing, reverted back to a retro 70's feel. Alot of rnb and soul is analogue sounding and the new punk and early new wave revival we have had recently also is retro 70's. Iam saying, isn't it time for the 80's to get remodelled?
There are maybe a few on here who love it all. But I cannot really find any. It takes a hell of a big record collection, and an open mind, to dig both analogue and digital and and see both the positives and negatives of each product.

Problem today is that music should evolve by taken snippets of the past and boiling them into something new. When u leave out the midi, dmx, syncalvier etc.....u just leave a wound and that is very much why music, or at least rnb, has not evolved in the last 5 years or so. Why the fuck won't anyone risk even using a synclavier again? They are still instruments and u know someone can create something new and fresh with it. But I just don't see that ever happening.
[Edited 5/19/05 10:25am]

Crunk is digital as far as I'm concerned.




[Edited 5/19/05 10:43am]

CinisterCee said:

Doesn't sound it though. U know the deal with rnb these days. The sampling is pure digital, yet u cannot tell where they sampled it from. But the samples are of analogue shit. U just tell an engineer "i want a fat guy farting sound please" and he finds it for u from maybe some obscure 60's surpremes record or something? It could come from anywhere and u can get it straight away. Sometimes u can be creative with this process, but most the time, it is just laziness.
[Edited 5/19/05 10:43am]

thesexofit said:

Rick James ---> 17

THAT song is the main reason why I love the Yamaha DX7 (Digital Synth).

If you know anything about synth programming, then analog & digital synths are the best things to happen in music technology.

BTW, I have a copy of Native Instruments FM7, a software version of the Yamaha DX series. It's good for multilayer synth sounds. But again, you must have a passion for programming or you will hate it (like most FM synths). And for the record, the FM electric piano sound was overuse to death in the 80's (and all the blame goes to Quincy Jones, Michael McDonald, & Lionel Richie!!! ).

Another digital synth to consider: Roland D-50

THIS was the Teddy Riley synth use for most of his work with Guy, Blackstreet, Bobby Brown, and Michael Jackson (Dangerous album). The horns, organs, and synthstrings patches are classic. But again, if you don't have a passion for programming, you will hate this synth too.

And let us not forget about some earlier classic digital synths like the Waldorf PPG Wave or the Korg Wavestation. Very underrated!

Personally, if I like the sounds that are coming out of a synth, I will use THAT synth myself (no matter if it's analog or digital).


And One More Thing:

My favorite analog synths are Minimoog (Arturia Minimoog V), Prophet 5 (Native Instruments Pro-53), and Oberheim OB-8. Even major digital synth fans like myself can use a warm funky-ass bass line that only those three synths can make!

CinisterCee said:

Lil'Jon took a lot of ideas from house, techno, & trance and make it work for Atlanta/Mississippi Crunk.

At least I have some respect for him as a producer for being honest about his production secrets.

sinisterpentatonic said:

Digital has it's advantages, but analog is the shit.

BlaqueKnight said:

I've played one of these (my friend has one) - they're sweet, and yes that is Lil Jon's main gear to create crunk on.

BlaqueKnight said:

D-50 soundcards are on the market for this powerful synth.