After focusing on digital synthesisers within Ableton and Logic and looking at the real world synthesisers they were based on, you come to find that the original synthesisers are worth thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of pounds and the manufactures are still making reproductions of these classic synthesisers today. This begs the question, if your computer can hold and run hundreds of digital synthesisers that are just as powerful, why do so many people still insist on using analogue equipment?  

This is a debate that is held throughout all areas of music and audio production, but is especially prominent in field of synthesis. There are a few key factors to consider first. No matter how much they try, the developers of digital audio software will never completely replicate analogue equipment. Older synthesisers are huge bulky machines in comparison to newer technology, the reason for this is because of what they’re made from. Analogue synthesiser generate sound using electrical signals that are processed through components such as transistors. Due to the nature of working with this kind of technology there is a physical limit on how big the synthesiser must be, as it has to contain far more components than a digital keyboard and certainly a modern computer, that is powered through circuit boards and processing chips. The reason for mentioning this is because it demonstrates the main difference between a synthesier in a DAW and a physical analogue synthesiser you’d find in a studio. Synthesiser VSTs have been developed by computer programmers to emulate their physical counterparts, they do this by coding and running near perfect computer algorithms. However, the reason analogue gear is still so loved and valued today is because of its imperfect nature. When analogue enthusiasts go on about the ‘warmth’ or ‘tone’ that you can only get with analogue, they are technically right. The nature of electronic components found in analogue gear means they can be affected by a range of external factors, most commonly heat. Some analogue synths even need to warm up before they’re playable, like a tube guitar amp, and once they’ve been on for a while heat up (again, like a tube guitar amp) the tone of synthesiser can change, resulting in a different and often unique tone favoured by many.  

So in conclusion, there is a difference between analogue and synthesiser VSTs in terms of tonality. The verdict of which is better is a matter of personal taste, some people can’t bare not having the exact sound they want from a desired synth and opt to acquire the real thing, and others don’t mind the almost too perfect nature of VSTs. Also, something I briefly mentioned earlier, analogue synthesisers are hugely expensive considering that a decent DAW containing hundreds of synthesisers costs anywhere from 200-500 pounds, and a singular analogue synthesiser costing at least that on its own, it makes sense why so many people have made the switch to VSTs for their synth needs.