In the future, Zildjian is extinct...
Posted: 2002-12-31 10:21am
I think this perfectly sums up the Federations overuse of high tech devices when low tech if not only just as good, but better. I was watching Nemesis again last night (It wasn't my fault! My girlfriend wanted to see it!) and the wedding scene happened. I noticed this before, but now that I look at it, most of the instruments being used in the wedding scene were hightech synthetic versions, most notably the drum set, which even sported bright green plastic cymbals. When struck, it made a cymbal noise like you'd normally expect.
Tell me which is better, a high tech synthetic neon cymbal or one made of bronze? If you know how to use your sticks, you can get every bit as good a sound out of a metal cymbal as a computer can generate. And you need no computer, no pick-ups, no power supply, no speakers. Just a wooden stick and the cymbal. Considering the space they were playing in, a drum set is loud enough to be completely unmicced, in fact, if the drummer wailed on it, too loud.
And if you want a different sound for your cymbal, there are all sorts of different shapes and sizes and consistancies. Hell, this is StarTrek, they can replicate proper cymbals depending on what they need.
In my mind, it's like using a laser to cut your vegetables. I mean, really... you don't need synthetic instruments to play East Berlin or any of the classical music they dig in the future. You use synthetic instruments and synthesizers for special effects and sounds that you can't get with an acoustic instrument. If you want an acoustic sound, which they did, use a freaking acoustic instrument. This is actually a step-back from TNG, where instruments shown were actual instruments, not synthetic knock-offs (I suppose that it's because it's cheaper to buy the instruments than to make futuristic props and then pull some audio wizardry to make them sound normal).
I suppose I'm just nitpicking, but hey... I can't imagine a world where acoustic musical instruments will ever go away, even if they have computerized versions they can replicate their sound.
Tell me which is better, a high tech synthetic neon cymbal or one made of bronze? If you know how to use your sticks, you can get every bit as good a sound out of a metal cymbal as a computer can generate. And you need no computer, no pick-ups, no power supply, no speakers. Just a wooden stick and the cymbal. Considering the space they were playing in, a drum set is loud enough to be completely unmicced, in fact, if the drummer wailed on it, too loud.
And if you want a different sound for your cymbal, there are all sorts of different shapes and sizes and consistancies. Hell, this is StarTrek, they can replicate proper cymbals depending on what they need.
In my mind, it's like using a laser to cut your vegetables. I mean, really... you don't need synthetic instruments to play East Berlin or any of the classical music they dig in the future. You use synthetic instruments and synthesizers for special effects and sounds that you can't get with an acoustic instrument. If you want an acoustic sound, which they did, use a freaking acoustic instrument. This is actually a step-back from TNG, where instruments shown were actual instruments, not synthetic knock-offs (I suppose that it's because it's cheaper to buy the instruments than to make futuristic props and then pull some audio wizardry to make them sound normal).
I suppose I'm just nitpicking, but hey... I can't imagine a world where acoustic musical instruments will ever go away, even if they have computerized versions they can replicate their sound.
