In This Digital Age, Hold On To Your Analog Identity.

If things sound better out of tune, I bet this sounds beautiful.

            As we move further into the digital age we still grasp onto older analog concepts and procedures; maybe it is to make the transition easier for the older or original generation, or maybe its because they are sound theories and concepts to begin with. As the old saying goes, “If something isn’t broke, then don’t fix it”. That saying no longer applies; instead if something is working properly, we need to find a better way to make it work “more” properly. Along the way we have lost our soul.

            A perfect example of the old, irrelevant ideas incorporated in today’s digital world would be Control Voltages (CV) in software instruments. New software synthesizers, arpeggiators, and sequencers have no need for anything related to CV, but yet there it is on multiple new plug-ins. Why? Because the concept of CV is easily explainable, and it became universal language when synthesizers first became popular in the 1960’s.

            Simply stated, Control Voltages are varying voltages that can be used to control a range of parameters from pitch to modulation controls such as rate and depth and so forth. The concept behind an old synthesizer keyboard is that each octave is broken up into a voltage range. When a key is pressed, it triggers a voltage within that specific range telling the oscillator what the pitch, or frequency, is that was selected. Different synthesizer manufacturers broke the voltages up differently (Volts per Octave/ Hertz per Volt), but the idea was the same.

            I had the pleasure to repair some of these early synthesizers and see first hand how various keyboard Control Voltages were set up, giving me a better understanding. It truly is amazing to see how some of the early keyboards worked. It is even more amazing to see how their concepts can live on long after they are no longer relevant. Even the “Analog” feature on many software instruments is a testament to how popular and sought after those early sounds are.

            In the digital age where close to perfection can be achieved, by turning that “Analog” knob we slowly detune ourselves; a reference to how vintage synthesizers needed to be tuned, and when they weren’t, they would drift slightly, creating a more dynamic, rich sound. So, why in our quest for perfection do we use old, irrelevant concepts, or “Analog” functions? Because we are not perfect, and sometimes, being out of tune just sounds better.

Basic signal flow for subtractive synthesizer with a keyboard.

...My mistake in "Player Piano" was my failure as a futurist. I did not foresee transistors, and so imagined that super computers would have to be huge, with bulky vacuum tubes taking up a lot of space. -Kurt Vonnegut in "Letters"