steve1977 19 hours ago

One could make an argument that companies like Behringer, by „selling the dream“ - even if they sell it cheaper than others - are part of what makes musicians poor ;)

Cannot afford a real Jupiter-8? Now you can! And finally you will have success!

(Narrator: They did not succeed)

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abuani 19 hours ago | parent [-]

... That makes no sense. The value of an instrument isn't what makes a successful musician successful. The best musicians can make the cheapest sounding instrument sound amazing. What cheaper instruments offers is the opportunity for someone to even have a chance.

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bluGill 18 hours ago | parent | next [-]

that is the point. It is easy to buy another 'toy'. It is tedious to practice using what you have. Thus many buy instrunents persuing sucess.

you need something to work with and despite great musicians sounding good on junk quality does sometimes sound better in ways you cannot compensate for. Also even if you can make cheap sound good it may be ergonomically harmful, or otherwise be a struggle. Thus it is sometimes justified to spend money on better.

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steve1977 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

But Behringer is mostly selling clones of famous (and expensive) synths.

You don’t need these expensive synths.

But md point is that you wouldn’t even need the clones of Behringer.

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mrob 18 hours ago | parent [-]

Those synths are famous and expensive because they're an important part of musical culture. E.g. if you want to make dance music it's likely you want 808- or 909-style drums. You could use samples or software simulations, but I think the hardware UI makes a difference. It's easier to follow the idioms of a genre when you're working in a similar way to the originators of the genre.

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steve1977 14 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> It's easier to follow the idioms of a genre when you're working in a similar way to the originators of the genre.

This is essentially what I was after. Behringer (and others) are selling you the dream of reaching the echelons of those genre-defining originators.

But you won't. Having a Jupiter-8 clone or even an original will not make you another Giorgio Moroder or Nick Rhodes and having a Linn clone won't make you another Prince. Those synths and drum machines became famous because they existed at the right time in the right place (and under the fingers of the right people).

Behringer is selling nostalgia. Sure, you don't have to shell out the equivalent of a small car, but looking at what people are producing with these devices, for 99% of the customers, it will not bring them any nearer to their dreams.

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CaptainOfCoit 17 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Those synths are famous and expensive because they're an important part of musical culture

Not only that, many synths are expensive at launch because of R&D and production costs (considering the small amount they produce), and impossible they're already part of "musical culture" as they just launched. TE and Elektron stuff is expensive at launch as just one counter-example.

	▲	steve1977 14 hours ago \| parent [-]
		But Teenage Engineering or Elektron are putting out original creative stuff. Even if it is built around vintage components like the SidStation (which is still one of the devices I really regret having sold)