We are in the future, and software is better than ever. There are more programming languages than ever before plus we have machine learning.
Hardware looks nice, feels great, and everyone is selling emulations of the hardware from years ago.
So which one is better?
What’s the Difference Between Hardware and Software?
Hardware is the physical device that you touch. When you think of hardware, think of your midi controller, a physical synth, or a piano (when it comes to music at least).
Examples of software would be your DAW, VSTs, and even Windows/ iOS itself is considered software.
Software goes on hardware/integrates with hardware via microchips.
Hardware is a physical thing that you use.
The major difference is that hardware can work without software but software cant work without hardware.
Made to Break!
There are a lot of shady business practices to get your money such as making things that are made to break so that you have to replace or buy the new one. This is called planned obsolescence.
This is done in hardware by creating parts that break easily or withhold better technology for a future generation of the product so that you have to buy the next one, etc.
Planned obsolescence in software is the same but a lot easier to manipulate. Products makers can intentionally not update the software so that when the next iOS or Windows comes out, you the consumer have to by the next “better version” just to have a working product.
I’ve seen this happen time and time again and in my opinion it’s getting a lot worst.
Emulations
Emulations are just that, fake copies of the real thing. There are some really great emulations out there and I use a lot of them so I’m not against emulations at all.
They have tons of music software that emulates the real thing. I know you probably heard of 808 by now. Some people think it’s a certain kind of sound but it’s actually a drum machine from back in the day that goes by the name “Roland TR-808”. Think of It as the Q-Tips of modern drum beats.
Even though you may hear a person’s name at the beginning of an 808 sound pack for sale, the sounds all come from the TR-808 if they are real 808 sounds and not just a boom sound.
Besides the drum samples themselves, there are whole pieces of software dedicated to recreating the sound of this legendary hardware some are cheap and some are expensive but none come close to the used prices of $5,000+. Like I said if you can get a good emulator get one.
With all this being said The TR-808 emulations are rampant in the industry of electronic music along with other legendary equipment that is being digitized.
If everyone is trying to copy the sound of the real thing then is there really a debate on what sounds better? If someone tried to emulate your style is it even possible that they can be a better you? I don’t think so but, they may be able to pull it off good enough to get the point across.
Expense Comparison
The best LA-1176LN and LA-2A compressor plugins are made by UAD at the moment in my opinion. The LA-2A bundle is going for $299.00 and the 1176 classic collection bundle is going for $299.00 as well.
Sweetwater is currently selling the LA-2A for $4,699.00 and the 1176LN is priced at $2,599.00
When you compare the price to the software you realize that a couple of hundred dollars is nothing compared to thousands.
Sound Comparison
There are many VSTs out there and they are getting increasingly better. The sounds are coming so close to the real thing but they aren’t there yet and may never be.
The things that we like to hear and see, the things in life that you can really feel from the inside out are all real. I personally have yet to see or hear anything digital that really gives me the feel of the real thing. This opinion spans to all digital appliances even outside of music.
A real instrument has strings that vibrate the air around you, drums that are made of real skin (leather), and real wood (not pressed recycled scrap wood). These are things real things that you experience with all of your real senses.
Real instruments and music hardware are, felt (emotionally), touched physically, seen in front of you with your own eyes. Nothing will ever come close to a big grand piano vibrating in a concert hall or the Atlanta Airport (last time I was there) while you wait for your plane.
A VST grand piano could sound great, especially when played by a pianist, but the pianist the listener won’t feel the music as they would with real hardware.
This doesn’t apply to only instruments either, but other hardware like reverbs and limiters, you name it.
A computer can only give you exacts, it strives for perfection. Basically, the computer is trying to output a 1 or a 0, not anything in between or outside of those boundaries.
The real world on the other hand is limitless, what a computer may see as a flaw or outside its scope, we as humans find to be perfect and our scope of possibilities limitless.
We might actually like the sound of an imperfect buzzing of a piece of hardware and no two pieces of hardware will ever be the same. The exact opposite goes for software.
Just Make Music…
All of this hardware talk is nice and fine if you have tons of money, room, the know-how to use it all but could be a waste of money if you don’t.
In all honesty, you should just make music and not get too technical until you reached a part in your career where it makes sense to get it.
Unless this is what you like to do for a hobby, and money isn’t that important to you, you can go down a rabbit hole of buying things that will never be used, so just make music and have fun.
Remember you can always re-record your music somewhere where they do have this expensive equipment without having the hassle of owning it.