marino Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, in this case robotic work is welcome... it's nothing to do with machines writing the music, etc. Btw that price reduction seems to be already active here in Europe - or maybe, some retailers want to stay one step ahead, I don't know... fact is, I have ordered a Behringer model D - before they all disappear from the shelves. They used to be priced *much* higher in Europe than in the U.S.: 350-375 Euros, depending on where you buy it... the equivalent of about $400. Suddendly, it's now 300 Euros, including Express shipping! In any case, it should be here tomorrow. A have a vintage model D at home at the moment, so it's going to be an interesting weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Automation is definitely here to stay. We won't be able to get around robots and self-checkout taking jobs. In a broader sense, this concern has been around for centuries. Some of the earliest thoughts on this were from Aristotle in the 4th century BC. He basically said that that if machines could become sufficiently advanced, there would be no more need for human labor. Aristotle was half wrong. Robots may replace human labor, but robots will never replace the intelligence of philosophers like Socrates and Plato, the great playwrights like Shakespeare, nor will they be problem solvers like the great mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 ... I have ordered a Behringer model D - ..., it should be here tomorrow. A have a vintage model D at home at the moment, so it's going to be an interesting weekend! Can´t wait for your evaluation. I still have a vintage Minimoog D which get´s Lintronics LMC-2 soon. Nonetheless I think about buying a B. Model D. A.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 A few semi-connected thoughts: 1) People think the Industrial Revolution ended years ago. Not true. This is simply a continuation, using electronic instead of mechanical technology. It will be as unsettling as the mechanical version was to our forefathers. My father lost his job in the late '60s when the company he worked for bought a computer to replace his entire division of slide rule pushers. He was not a happy camper. That was fifty years ago. Things have only gained momentum since then. 2) A bunch of bureaucrats came in where I used to work and declared loudly that they were going to drag the place, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century. Ten years on, they have only succeeded in enriching themselves and the vendors of the products they keep buying. The "modernization" has yet to complete successfully, though they've set yet another target date for the end of this year. I retired, not because my job disappeared (they had assured us that all our jobs would be gone), but because I grew weary of the vain, inane, insane bureaucrats. 3) I assume that at least the Model D is already automated, but I could be wrong. Perhaps some products are and some aren't. I was taken by surprise when the Deepmind's price dropped, so at least some products are getting cheaper. 4) Consider this: Some of the big name products are made by robots. Given their retail prices, their profit margins must be quite extravagant if Behringer can retail at their price points and still (presumably) make a profit. 5) If Behringer continues to pressure the big names, they will have to reduce prices to compete. Behringer is racing to corner the market. Who will/can rise to compete with Behringer? I remember when the list of upcoming Behringer synths was leaked "accidentally." I opined then, and still feel, that Behringer was staging a preemptive strike, staking out territory so that other companies would think twice about issuing reissues of their own gear, knowing that Behringer would soon be doing so at devastatingly low prices. 6) Companies like Moog will have a hard time of it. I'm all for Moog's continued existence, but can see that market forces could easily force them to make hard choices down the road. 7) As for Berhinger creating an entirely original synth, I would not be at all surprised to learn that they already have a project in motion to do exactly that. Consider the Model D, et. al. as advertising to build brand awareness. (If/)When the Behringer Mega-Maxi-Mondo Synth hits, everyone will already be at a fever pitch, ready to buy. The price will be higher, proportionately, than the reproduction units and will be more profitable for them. Clever marketing strategy, assuming that I'm right. 8) And, yes, I'm still waiting for the ARP 2600 clone that's been mentioned, assuming that the price is justifiable for me...and it probably will be, given the way things are going. There has been no mention--that I'm aware of--of even a rough estimate for a release date. A hypothetical Mega-Maxi-Mondo? We'll see. The Deepmind is somewhat interesting to me--enough so that I might buy one once the recent price reduction works its way down through the used market. Given my space limitations, I might need to look at rack mounting the desktop version, though. 9) And speaking of the used market, used Voyagers prices are getting shaky, trying to find a new norm after the announcement of the One. I confess to having an irrational thought now and then about buying a second RME for poly-chaining. Best not to think that way. Bad me. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfort Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 I agree I haven't seen it 'across the board' either. Certainly not in their digital mixers. It looks like the price has dropped to $365 ($400 shipped) for the XR18 at Thomann. Hope those price cuts come to the US soon. If not, does anyone know what has to be replaced if one orders from Europe? I'm guessing you just need a plug adapter for the wall socket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 From my layman's perspective here in the pre-future (meaning, it'll never turn out exactly as we think!), seems like that between automation, 3D printing and AI an awful lot of us are going to be out of jobs. I'm a software engineer and we can see it coming...heck, fruit picking is becoming automated! Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but if we cling to the idea that without working yourself to death you are worthless to society, it's going to get quite rough indeed. Better get used to leisure time a la Brave New World...if we don't send ourselves back to the pre-industrial age first by making the world a very hostile place for humanity.... For musicians, who knows what AI and automation will bring. I already lament the trend of audiences not giving a crap whether the music is live or not (DJs, tracks everywhere). People don't care whether something is live or genuine anymore (some do, but the bulk of the public do not). Milli Vanilli would be doing just fine today. As far as Behringer goes--let's have a $499 clonewheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveCoscia Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Automation technology advances quickly. In 1984, when I started at Ensoniq, people manually inserted PCB components. In 1988. components were automatically inserted. In 1992, surface mount components were utilized. In the span of a few years, it was a whole new world. Steve Coscia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.