MAMEWorld Forums - EmuChat - Re: i agree. 909 has NO soul [nt]

> Soul? To cite Icon of Coil: 'The soul is in the software'.

I think you should get your hands on the equipment and play with it. The 808 and the 909 are worlds apart.

There is no "software" on the 808, it's like an analog synthesizer but with less knobs on it. And like older synths (and arcade games with discrete sound such as Asteroids) the sounds it generates are affected by temperature, humidity and component age.

The 909 is purely digital and has MIDI. You can place it outside in a snow storm and it will continue to sound exactly the same as it always does. It's a robot.

Almost every sound the 808 can produce has a separate control voltage output on the back, when connected to the trigger input on another analog synth you can use this to make the hi-hat of the 808 play chords on the synth, for example. Or you could plug it in to a vocoder and make the hi-hat "sing"!

I used to hook it up to a Korg Polysix, then put it on 'hold' and use the arpeggiator to play a few selected low notes but in random order. Those would then be triggered by the 808's bass drum output so that a bass note always would play when the bass drum played.

When you connect old analog equipment like this, there is a slight lag on the triggered sounds that causes a certain swing or groove that you don't get with digital equipment. Then add and tweak some delay effects and the most incredible grooves grow out of it like some kind of grotesque funk plant.

It's very cool and fun to play with. unlike the 909, this type of gear has a "living and breathing" quality to it. That's what I mean when I say that it has soul.

S