Advantages of a Real Organ vs. a Virtual One

Advantages of a Real Product vs. a Virtual One

 

The term "virtual" is touted by some companies today as if it is "virtuous".

Even though these two words sound similar, there's a big difference in their

meaning. A recent Music Trades interview with Dave Smith provides

perspective.

 

Dave Smith is considered a guru of the synthesizer industry. His former

company, Sequential Circuits, was responsible for many innovations including

the Prophet-5, the first musical instrument to incorporate a microprocessor. In

1983, Dave was influential in developing the MIDI standard. He also

developed the first entirely software-based synthesizer. Dave recently made

the following comment to Music Trades magazine:

 

"You can't develop a relationship with a microprocessor; it's always

changing, you always have to update and any software-synth you buy now

will not work in ten years."

 

Virtual instruments are software synths. When the PC operating systems for

which they are designed become outdated or are no longer supported, the

virtual software also becomes an "orphan". And, if the PC on which the

software resides needs to be replaced, the virtual software may not be

compatible with the replacement PC's new operating system. There's nothing

virtuous about that.

 

Allen Organ Company solves the hardware/software compatibility issue by

designing and manufacturing both aspects of the instrument, and with a

commitment to long-term service support and parts availability. Allen organs

are real instruments, designed to provide long-term musical satisfaction.