Comparing Hardware vs. Software...

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FreeWilley

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I’m doing a paper on comparing and contrasting…I chose to do hardware vs. software in music production and was hoping for some good points for each side…I’m not looking for an opinion but instead why a feature may be better on one than another..also I know this has been brought up a lot, just with those it is more opinion based
 
If you use the search you'll find all the info you ever needed on this constant debate.
 
Well, I like to think of a producer as someone who runs a whole team of people to create a final piece. I think producer is just an easy title to define someone who makes beats. Beatmaker, producer, artist.. in broad terms they can all be synonyms.
 
I think more than 80% of all "hardware" have microchips in them. All of them need to be programmed anyhow. Therefore they need Software (which is programmed within EEPROMS or therelike).
To get any Sound out of your software for your computer, you also need a lot of hardware like soundcard or your computer itself.
An mpc e.g. is nothing more than a computer with a dedicated operating system for sampling/sequencing. Just like an access virus is programmed to sound analog...etc.

So the question is more like: What are the differences between digital & analog circuitry.

Google for it, or look for wikipedia articles. There should be plenty.
 
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Sqito said:


So the question is more like: What are the differences between digital & analog circuitry.
Click to expand...
y

Thats kind of confusing.. I dont think people are gonna be interested in that...
 
Also, Sqito placed it all on the line with he EPROM stuff, so I'm outta this one.
 
Josie said:

y

Thats kind of confusing.. I dont think people are gonna be interested in that...
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't they be? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what Sqito said, which in turn simply leads to redefining the question.

Another thing to consider would be "what difference does a dedicated D/A make?", since it's obviously an often neglected part of the "hardware punch".
 
Good point with the d/a stuff. Maybe some research on whether hardware manufacturers pick out specific d/a convertors or whether they use whatever is cheapest.

Just about the entire Roland JV line of sound modules used different convertors. And to me, the sound of the JV 1080 was better than that of the original Fantom (FA-76) unless you used the digital out on the FA-76. In that case, when bypassing the FA-76 converters then the sounds would end up pretty clean out of a MOTU 2408MKII.

I think the conversion in itself would be a good write-up when dealing with hardware that uses digital means to reproduce sound.

I'd say it gets a little bit on the tricky side when going in depth about something like an analog synth but VA synths and others are pretty deep but can be simplified with better ease.
 
Topic: Hardware vs Software
Viewpoint: Which evr YOU like better.
Thesis/Plan of Development: Ease of use, cost, quality.


Warning: Don't do A/B/A/B/ for this. Use AAA/BBB

First Body Paragragh: Ease of use.
Hardware:
Dedicated machines with dedicated OS
Hands on controllers.
Smaller screens or LCDs/LED's.
More menu jumping.
More hardware (mixers, preamps, ect.) and Cables
Manuals are harder to understand
Software:
Must buy hardware controllers.
Easier to use.
Larger information viewer with less menu hopping.
Less external hardware hardware.
Extensive CPU can strain computer.
Manuals and layout on screen easier to understand

Second Body Paragragh: Cost
Hardware:
More expensive
Requires more external hardware and cables which adds up.
Repair costs and loss of time if it breaks or something goes wrong internally.
Has better resale value
Software:
Is cheaper.
Required external controllers, but the price of midi controllers + synths is still cheaper than good hardware.
Computer upgrades can cost money as well but not as much as hardware cost
Less money spend on accessory items (cables, etc...)
Mostly worthless resale value

Third Body Paragragh: Quality
Hardware:
Usually much higher quality in design and construction than computers.
Slightly to even much, much better sound.
Less internal problems than with computers.
Software:
Physical Quality dependent on computer specs.
Sound quality dependent on CPU, source code of product, and Sound card.
Computers prone to internal problems.

Conclusion: _____________ is better because ______________________

I could write this in my sleep. There you go. If you want, paypal me $75.00 and I will write your essay for you. :D
 
Trusty said:
Topic: Hardware vs Software
Viewpoint: Which evr YOU like better.
Thesis/Plan of Development: Ease of use, cost, quality.


Warning: Don't do A/B/A/B/ for this. Use AAA/BBB

First Body Paragragh: Ease of use.
Hardware:
Dedicated machines with dedicated OS
Hands on controllers.
Smaller screens or LCDs/LED's.
More menu jumping.
More hardware (mixers, preamps, ect.) and Cables
Manuals are harder to understand
Software:
Must buy hardware controllers.
Easier to use.
Larger information viewer with less menu hopping.
Less external hardware hardware.
Extensive CPU can strain computer.
Manuals and layout on screen easier to understand

Second Body Paragragh: Cost
Hardware:
More expensive
Requires more external hardware and cables which adds up.
Repair costs and loss of time if it breaks or something goes wrong internally.
Has better resale value
Software:
Is cheaper.
Required external controllers, but the price of midi controllers + synths is still cheaper than good hardware.
Computer upgrades can cost money as well but not as much as hardware cost
Less money spend on accessory items (cables, etc...)
Mostly worthless resale value

Third Body Paragragh: Quality
Hardware:
Usually much higher quality in design and construction than computers.
Slightly to even much, much better sound.
Less internal problems than with computers.
Software:
Physical Quality dependent on computer specs.
Sound quality dependent on CPU, source code of product, and Sound card.
Computers prone to internal problems.

Conclusion: _____________ is better because ______________________

I could write this in my sleep. There you go. If you want, paypal me $75.00 and I will write your essay for you. :D
Click to expand...
This was wut i was looking for thanks a lot....didn't expect 1 person to come up with all that but wut ever thanks again
 
Most of the stuff Trusty wrote is actually more his own opinion than fact, but if it helped. (no offense intended, Trusty. :) )

[[edit:] after re-reading what you wrote, i should change the word "most" to "some" :) ]


I still recommend a Google (or Wikipedia) search for Analog & Digital gear.

To get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_sound_vs._digital_sound
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_vs._Digital
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_synthesizer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sound

and so on...
 
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Sqito said:
Most of the stuff Trusty wrote is actually more his own opinion than fact, but if it helped. (no offense intended, Trusty. :) )

[[edit:] after re-reading what you wrote, i should change the word "most" to "some" :) ]


I still recommend a Google (or Wikipedia) search for Analog & Digital gear.

To get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_sound_vs._digital_sound
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_vs._Digital
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_synthesizer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sound

and so on...
Click to expand...

Most of what I wrote was geared that way to make the paper have points that a general audience can understand and relate to, and not just electronic musicians. I have no preference myself, I like both hardware and software.

FreeWilley, you are welcome. Those guidelines should keep the paper interesting to the average person/instructor, and not bog it down with technical specifics that can make a paper boring. Good luck.
 
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