What did people use to make electronic music with in 1990?

[Sam_Zen]

Please warn me, if there will be any shootout here.. I will duck away for a while.

I suspect that no professional musician in the 90s used FT2

Sorry Louigi, count me out here. I used FT2 then on my first DOS-machines, and I consider myself of being a professional composer at that time.
When switching from analog to PC's, I chose to skip the MIDI-way, and concentrate on the tracker modules.
To me, MIDI was too much expensive hardware, for which I had no budget, and tracking gave me free control on my instruments.
Instead of being dependent on the soundbank of a particular soundcard (using the SB pro at the time).

The quality of a composition is not directly related to the sound quality of the outcome, imo of course..
But in the beginning of tracking, the main bulk of net-publications were quite crappy, or klones from Bond-movies.

It's good that the TR-909 and TB-303 are mentioned here. Very good basic (drum-)sequencers.
Another hardware coming up then : one of the first digital synths, the DX-7 by Yamaha.

[g]

I wasn't saying scooter used FT2 or that software was great at sampling at the time, but software sequencers from the late 80's and early 90's (such as Cubase, KCS, Creator and later on Logic and Pro-Tools) had no problem handling MIDI synths such as the ones listed on the Scooter fan site.

[Saga Musix]

Scooter? Yeah well. They used bog-standard synthesizers. 303s with a step sequencer, 909s... Everything chained together in a hardware or software sequencer. And I even know someone who had a synthesizer that he bought from the Scooter producer. So yes, they did use hardware.

[g]

So yes, they did use hardware.

I don't think there's any doubt about that, what we're discussing is whether they used software in addition to the hardware (at least that's what I've been discussing )

[uncloned]

and I've been discussing if computers were involved - which by hook or crook they were.

the last true analog synths (non retro) in the music shops in the US were mini sized with mini keys around 1984 or so.

they were nice for what they were but I wanted polyphonic playing ability.
thus my CZ-101

[Louigi Verona]

I wonder how a modern studio looks today and whether lots of hardware is involved today anyway.

What I like about hardware is that you get an instrument with which you can build a musical relationship, like with an acoustic instrument. I find this aspect of a musician's life very important. Software can also be in such a relationship, but a hardware synth is more tactile, more "real".

[uncloned]

I certainly agree with your view on hardware.

My friend Mike just had his album mastered in a studio.

It was all ProTools - software AND hardware.

[Sam_Zen]

I still use both soft- and hardware in my studio and I don't see much difference. Sound-tools whatever.
I've build a close relationship with my synth along the years, but also with OMPT and CEP.
Although with the synth somewhat closer, because of the more unique properties.

[psishock]

Really? Wow, can you post examples? I am very-very interested to hear.

ah sorry, late answer to that question, example this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPWIRDhHEBw
but hearing it again, it is more like a latency delay between hardware and/or VST instruments, than a BPM unsync question. You can pick the "issue" easy amongst layers in this one. I'm sure we can find other songs, mayb even with not accurately synced BPM (don't have to b Scooter), just need to listen to them more carefully.

[Sam_Zen]

Nice, heard scooter for the first time in this tube, indeed sometimes latency delay plays a role here and there.
The music doesn't excite me much. Quite average use of the tools of that moment.

[Louigi Verona]

Maybe it's due to the fact that I know this tune from a very young age, but to be honest I hear no delays there...

[g]

I don't really hear any sync problems or delay issues either...

[psishock]

that is ok, just need to oil your ears more
oh wait... you won't hear anything if you do that =(

those latency errors are perhaps not audible for every "naked" listener's ear, and that is totally fine, it's a very small latency difference after all. But i'm usually able to hear even few tenth of millisecond slides, even i'm kinda picky on those errors, so i love to make everything accurate as it can possibly be. Scooter did their best from what they had in that time, i'm very sure of that. I respect them anyway.

[Sam_Zen]

Thanks Psi. I was starting to doubt my ears. One could be over-concentrated on this, because it was mentioned.
And imagine things that aren't there. But it happens somewhere just past the middle.
Not very heavy issue though.

[Louigi Verona]

Well, the drums sort of do start with a delay. To be honest I always liked this effect. But in other tunes from the album I do not believe I hear same delays.