Dated synth? How come they are dated but not electric guitars?

It will for cheesy 80's-90's retropop 10 years from now.

 

The problem the DX7 had was that it was a nightmare to program, with a tiny little display and only a few buttons. The pre-programmed sounds were developed using an external computer which was never available outside Japan. So all most people ever heard were sounds developed for Japanese tastes, and hardly anyone ever created their own sounds for it.

 

Certain guitar styles, like Van Halen-type "shredding" sound extremely dated to me, and did almost from the outset.

 

It's only particular, briefly popular, synth sounds that seem dated. And there are many guitar tones that sound similarly dated (or "retro"). If you heard someone playing 12-string with a Roger McGuinn sound or some fuzz guitar like Blue Cheer -- sounds that were common enough in the era -- it would be an obvious signal that the band is going for a vintage sound.

 

Recapping...

Eno on his (sometime) favorite synth:
“I don’t have a lot of instruments. I have a DX7 which is my main instrument. I still keep discovering great new things about it. I’m not really interested in all the options that an instrument can give you, and I know now that they are pretty much infinite. What I’m interested in is the kind of rapport I have with an instrument, and that takes a long time to develop. You wouldn’t just pick up a guitar and expect to immediately understand the thing.

Well it’s like that with synthesizers. think. I’ve got two others as well — I’ve got a Prophet VS and an M1. I’m not really interested in them because I keep going back to the DX. It’s just like a guitar player who has a ‘57 Strat, it always thrills you.”

 

Didn't the TV show Humans let us know the dangers of dating Synths?

 

Is it just me or was season 2 weak compared to one?

 

Its become a tribute show since ..... left the cast.

 

I've only watched season 2 once, and plan to binge it before season 3. But I do find it interesting that none of the people involved in making Synths in that world ever read Asimov.

 

Synthesizers just take so much abuse from people and it's completely unfair

 

Guitar can sound terrible. Acoustic stuff generally no, but like a piano it's timeless. Whereas Tony Banks synths say, in 1978 sound good, in 1986 they sound dated. Or hell even guitar tones in the 80s got really ****ty. I don't think it's always specific to the decade however a lot of musicians lost their taste in the digital era, but then you have guys like R.E.M who toss that out the window.

 

For me it is a reciprocal arrangement.

 

I think saying something sounds "dated" is a cop out

 

Tony Banks.....

 

Dated synth?

Check this out!

 

I used to hate 80s synths but after hearing enough contemporary synth-pop I finally like them. Maybe it's the exposure effect - the more you hear something the more you like it. Or it's been out of style and gone for long enough that now it's cool again, like vintage clothing. Now I love 80s music. It does't sound dated to me so much as mannered or stylized in a certain way (or maybe that still means dated but it's not a bad thing).

My theory is that guitars sound less dated in general because they have been used for a longer period of time and consistently in rock and pop music, whereas new synth sounds were used and then replaced with newer models, so you can more easily pin down the sound to a date. Beyond that I think a good song is a good song, and if it's catchy enough and played regularly it can better withstand the test of time.

 

Chuck Berry's guitar is immediately identifiable as from the 50's.
Thus it is dated.
Is this a bad thing ?

 

Whahh??

With a hand-held synth, why not??

Nope. His teeth would get caught between the black and white keys.

If he had one, sure!

Yes.

Probably "cooler", though I don't like them as much.

Yes, and with equal or greater moisture!

Wirelessly, yes.

I don't see why not. It's about the notes as much about anything else.

With the miracle of batteries, yes.

With the miracle of batteries, yes.

Yes! Maybe $20.

Probably not. Take this response as a prime example.

 

Wow, Korg keeps pumping them out! A 16-voice, three oscillator per voice analog/FM/wavetable hybrid machine? Dang. Impressive.

It's the FM/wavetable part that has me interested. For basic, great analog polyphony I'm good (Juno 60), but I've been interested in getting into FM synthesis.

 

Synths are based on technology, with no organic pieces, therefore constantly updating and changing

Vibrating strings playable on a portable instrument are organic and you'll never replace organic strings vibrating

 

Some people do need serious guidance in matters involving dated synths.

 

When you don't like a certain sound, it's "dated".

When you like it, it's "classic" or whatever....just like everything else on here that gets argued about, like underrated/overrated, etc.

It's all personal opinion. Some of the posts here state, "this is dated, that is dated", as if it is some universally agreed upon truth.

 

Personally, the synth sounds that have aged the best are the ones that aren't trying to sound like acoustic instruments of any sort. In computer graphics, there is a concept called the "uncanny valley" - from Wikipedia: "The concept of the uncanny valley suggests that humanoid objects which appear almost, but not exactly, like real human beings elicit uncanny, or strangely familiar, feelings of eeriness and revulsion in observers." A synth patch that tries to emulate an oboe will not be able to do so perfectly, and the fact that is almost, but not quite, sound like an oboe will be annoying.

Wendy Carlos is an exception because she was trying to develop a better oboe, one with greater expressive possibilities.

 

Yup. In spite of all the whiz bang sampling technology, electronic music seems to have kind of stagnated. I'm surprised more stuff hasn't been done with complicated, computer modeled sounds. True synthetic instruments that sound like an acoustic instrument, but no acoustic instrument you could actually build.