It’s slowly fading away, right? This typical sound of 3 OSC detuned super saw through 24db Low pass filter and some filter EG is getting out of fashion. You can see by the gear released in the last 6-12 months we are slowly moving into the 90 territory with digital, samplers, and now this new Arturia synth comes to show this new trend is only beginning.
I don’t mean there’s anything wrong with analogue, but for sure it was quite hyped for the last several years - think about the amount of gear that got released just to satisfy this demand.
I kind of like that this happening right when Behringer is coming out with their knock-offs and suddenly everyone is after some new sounds (hopefully)
Is it going out of fashion? Or is it now so readily available that there is less need for a constant stream of new analogue products? If anything, I think it’s now so ensconced in our cultural conscious that it is simply here to stay and no longer subject to fashions or trends. It went out of fashion in 1982, but once the digital dust had settled, it slowly crept back in as a staple ingredient in music. I don’t think it’s going anywhere, I simply think it’s now so universally accepted that it no longer represents a badge to those who wish to be perceived as fashionable.
looking at the Eurorack market, I sort of disagree.
still plenty of newly released analogue oscillators, filters, etc.
now even Buchla is releasing their own (“Red Panel”) Eurorack modules… most of those probably going to be analogue.
BUT the thing is - there´s only so much innovation to be had in analogue synthesis…
so manufacturers turn to digital.
also, digital finally sounds “analogue” (=good) enough these days, so that´s less of a concern than it was in the 90s where you could basically hear the aliasing in anything.
Which means in a way that it’s going out of fashion:)
Well said though, have to say personally I’m a bit tired of the sound itself as well. This Moog type of sound speaks less and less to my ears. And now all those screaming demos of the Beringher synths come as tiresome.
Peak analog, more like. You can buy anything from a €200,- mono to an €8000,- poly in all colours, flavours, with or without keys, sequencers, you name it. At some point the market will be saturated.
i also think it depends…it’s going more towards hybrid solutions e.g. NOVATION PEAK.
what you’ve been describing is more oriented towards so called “east coast synthesis”(=subtractive synthesis), but i think that the “west-coast-synthesis”(=additive synthesis) & (finally!!!) other forms of synthesis, e.g. wavetable & physical modeling, are getting more and more attention nowadays, which feels absolutely right to me
Honestly, I’ve never really been too fussed about analog synths. Some of the sounds they can produce can sound good, but give me a stone cold $200 Blofeld over a $1699 Korg analog whatever any day of the week.
Yeah, the fact that it has been so readily available for so long has created something of a saturation level. This happens with any sound or technique that experiences a moment in the sun. It happened with the electric guitar, too. But analogue synths are merely tools, and quite flexible tools at that. They can make a wide range of sounds that aren’t done to death. The creative (unfashionable?) musician will go beyond the sounds that are heard to death (screaming Behringers, detuned unison saws) and find new sounds. There are plenty of analogue synths sounds we’ve never heard.
I’m not trying to play the analogue apologist here… I love any kind of instrument from which I can create new sounds and interesting music. Digital, analogue, sampling - it’s all just grist for the mill.
