The End of Timeless Instruments? (Craig Anderton editorial)

[Travis Hartnett <travishartnett@gmail.com>]

In light of the recent discussion regarding software instruments and
the viability of laptop-based music tools, I thought this might be of
interest.  It spawned a long thread on the Harmony-Central discussion
boards 
(http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1024883).

TravisH

************


The End of Timeless Instruments?

I'm nervous. I have some software synths and plug-ins that make some
great sounds, and they've become a staple of what I do. But they're
probably doomed…and I don't like that one bit.

I have a 1966 Telecaster that still sounds great. A friend of mine
regularly restores pianos from the 1800s. The Stradivarius is
considered the ultimate violin. And my vintage Minimoog, thanks to a
little TLC, is still producing those wonderful thunderous bass lines.
But fast forward to 2035. Do you think any of today's plug-ins will
still run on anything?

Problem #1: Copy protection. If your software depends on authorization
from a web site and a company goes out of business, you're probably
hosed. (Furthermore, many software companies depend on the genius of
one or two individuals; if they go, so does the company.) At some
point, you might not be able to unlock a legitimate copy so that it
runs. But that probably won't matter anyway, because of…

Problem #2: Shifting operating systems. Every time Apple or Microsoft
revs their operating system, some of my programs won't work anymore.
We're not just talking seismic shifts, like going from OS 9 to OS X; a
lot of programs need patches to make the jump from OX S 10.3 to 10.4.
And while Microsoft deserves a pat on the back for their attention to
backward compatibility, at some point older programs are going to
break when you try to run them on a more modern operating system. I
suspect that when Windows Vista arrives, some older programs will not
work with it, and the companies won't update them – either because
they consider it not economically feasible, or because the company no
longer exists.

What kind of a world have we created where instruments are inherently
disposable? Of course, this is through no fault of the designers; I'm
sure they'd love to have their products work forever. But the fact
remains that so much of what makes an instrument desirable is
developing a relationship with it. Sometimes the little quirks and
special features are what you exploit to create a signature sound. And
after you spend years mastering a particular plug-in, then what? Are
you just supposed to forget it and move on? Look how wrenching it has
been for some people to have to abandon Vision on the Mac, or Logic on
Windows. That is just a foreshadowing of what will surely be a massive
wave of obsolescence in the future.

Or maybe instruments should be disposable. Pop music is disposable;
fashion is disposable. Dinosaurs ruled the earth, and then they died
out. Maybe living in the here and now is a Good Thing, forcing us not
to get attached to what we know, but to constantly confront the new –
even if it's reluctantly.

Still, part of me wants at least some software to have the same
staying power as a beautiful guitar. Unfortunately. I suspect that the
future will be unforgiving to today's generation of virtual
instruments. –Craig Anderton