Music Thing: Putting an analog synth in your computer

Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out, as well as noteworthy vintage equipment:

The Sknote Realthing is one of those products that you might invent yourself over a drink. "Wouldn't it be great," you might say, "if you could have some analog synth bits in a box -- oscillators, filters and stuff -- but you'd plug it into your computer and control the whole thing from a VST plugin?" And here it is -- a 1U rackmount box with fully analog oscillators and filters, which comes with a VST interface for control and routing audio in and out. Specs are still hazy, and there's no price yet, but apparently the Italian developers have 8 manufactured prototypes in hand. Disappointingly, the connections look a little bit clunky -- MIDI ins and outs and analog ins and outs for your soundcard. If the concept was tidied up so sound, control, and power went through USB, it could be a hit. The software seems to have been well thought out, though. You can connect the oscillators and filters together in many different ways, and the computer takes care of less critical tasks like routing, envelopes and modulation.

And a concept this obviously appealing isn't a completely new idea. The first ever 'Analog Plugin' was the Waldorf AFB16, a rackmount box with 16 analog filters and a USB cable. It was very expensive (£1,699) and Waldorf went bust pretty soon after it was announced.

If your tastes are more exotic, you might also want to try the HardSid, a $229 card which can host up to four Commodore 64 SID sound chips on a PCI card in your computer. There's no VST interface yet, though.

[Mike Cerm @ Feb 17th 2006 7:17PM]

"If the concept was tidied up so sound, control, and power went through USB, it could be a hit."
This product isn't intended to be a hit. Analog-anything appeals to people with tons of money to burn, vintage fan-boys, and professionals. In pro-studios you find analog audio interconnections (because there's lots of analog effects still in use, and A/D conversion is best left to specialized devices, often made by Apogee, etc), and MIDI automation control.
Anyone who would find use for USB on a box like this couldn't afford it/wouldn't buy it. A plug-in (there's lots of great VSTs out there) would cost thousands less. Native Instruments makes good stuff, and Reason comes with a few modules that would approximate the functionality of these boxes. Each will cost you less than $300, but if you're into music production at all you probably already have Reason and some NI-plugins. If you don't, you should.

[Cypheros @ Feb 17th 2006 7:27PM]

Interesting idea. Don't know if I would prefer the USB over analog (Generally, I prefer Cat6 for most things), but interesting idea none the less.

[JP @ Feb 17th 2006 9:23PM]

Now that would be nice. Wonder if it can be triggered from a non DAW sequencer like a keyboard.

For something that Pro, USB is not the standard to use, it should never have the popularity it does and is not up to Pro snuff in most cases. Good for MIDI but not so much for audio. Besides, this way you are not dependent on the A/D converters that come with the box and can use what you want to get it into the mix (and anything referred to as a "sound card" is probably not a good choice.) That setup is so the best way to go for it's target audience.

[Crack Monkey @ Feb 17th 2006 9:25PM]

OF COURSE there will be NO electrical noise problems! NONE WHATSOEVER!

[pat @ Feb 17th 2006 10:41PM]

I would use this as a usb controller for my VJ apps great fun moving the knobs :)

[Tom @ Feb 18th 2006 4:37AM]

"This product isn't intended to be a hit. Analog-anything appeals to people with tons of money to burn, vintage fan-boys, and professionals."

This isn't entirely true. There is plenty of low-end analog gear: The wonderful DSI Evolver is semi-analog, and costs around $500 new. A second-hand Waldorf Pulse is pure analog and I bought one last month for �120.
The developers of this box are looking to come with a price point well below the DSI Evolver (but still above the Pulse). Certainly they're saying the analog outputs are there for people with Apogee converters, but I can't help thinking a one-cable solution would be cool and much easier to use. Decent converters (like those in the EMU 1820m soundcards) aren't that expensive.

[soniCron @ Feb 18th 2006 5:44AM]

Now why would you want digital output on an analog synth?

And if Ryan thinks MIDI is *bad*, then he clearly has no capacity to be writing about music equipment, et al.

These are two *big* boo-boos -- what's up here?

[solid @ Feb 18th 2006 7:56AM]

Check out ACCESS VIRUS TI - they have already done all that.

I own a desktop version and I have all sound/midi routed via a USB 2.0 connection, VST controlling every bit of the synth, plenty of i/o and the phattest sound on earth.

Highly recommended!

www.acess-music.de

[Tom @ Feb 18th 2006 11:14AM]

Hi SoniCron:

So, this column isn't written by Ryan, it's posted by him. It's written by me, Tom from Music Thing. I wish they'd explain it in the copy somewhere.

"Now why would you want digital output on an analog synth?" Well, you might want to record the output digitally. In this case, the synth is meant to be integrated into a computer system as a harware/software VSTi plugin. The outputs of the oscillators are going to become digital somewhere along the line - why not build it into the unit, rather than taking up an input on your souncard?

Analog synths sound great because the sound is generated by analog circuits. Plenty of modern analog synths don't have all-analog signal paths (although the Moog Voyager does) It's quite possible to record analog-generated sounds digitally, without losing all the goodness. It's increasingly hard to distribute music through all-analog channels (i.e. vinyl).

"MIDI is *bad*" Midi certainly isn't bad, but there are neater ways to transmit it than through double DIN plugs. Midi data travels along USB cables all the time. i.e. The old Nord Modular needed two MIDI cables to communicate with a computer. The G2 connects with a single USB cable. Also, if this box is built to only be computer controlled, it might make sense to use higher resolution control paramters, which MIDI finds it harder to transmit.

[soniCron @ Feb 18th 2006 3:22PM]

Tom,

Thanks for clearing up the post. However, I'd like to point out that the beauty of this machine is that it doesn't require a computer in the audiopath to function. It is a far more valuable tool with this flexibility and I'd prefer to think of the VST control as an optional bonus to an already solid machine. You seem to find it more valuable in a recording setting, but it is also functional for performance, and many artists find that very attractive.

As far as a lack of an internal DAC, I prefer to have full control over my audiopath and I'd prefer to convert the signal on my own terms, and I'm not alone. Not all DAC's are created equal, and the analog enthusiasts can be very picky.

Thanks again for the helpful post! :)

[poophead @ Feb 19th 2006 7:44AM]

GO MONKEES

[Great Googly Moogly @ Feb 19th 2006 9:29PM]

As others have pointed out already, not having USB isn't "clunky"; in fact, USB is completely shitty for something like this. No one in their right mind would want to run this through a USB interface bound to the device's converters and the inherent latency, unless they absolutely have to (laptop).

Also, leaving out S/PDIF isn't a big deal because any decent studio would have their own, superior, ADC/DACs to hook it up to, if they really wanted/needed to digitize the signal somewhere.

The article writer was definitely out of his depth here.

[Nate MC @ Feb 20th 2006 3:20AM]

I have to say I prefer the option of MIDI and/or USB for control of a module, that way you have the choice and choice is good.

I'm increadingly becoming more of a fan of VST instruments, no worrying about ground loops or crap like that when trying to record the sound. Just render it.