except: we’re talking about creative tools, and another whole pile of factors pop up here, which I could summarize as “taste”, “aesthetics”, and “feel”.
Feel, I suppose, is interface; you can take two different takes on a DUSG slope generator (for instance), that have the same back-of-box features, present them with different interfaces, and people respond to them very differently. Or: some people prioritise HP above all else and buy those bizarre micro-versions of open source modules; some people are more HP-rich, and prefer UI designed for fingers, rather than… tweezers. (See, my own bias is showing.) Or: I happen to greatly like jacks-by-what-they-do where possible, rather than just big patchbays, and so the Mother32 makes little intuitive sense to me in the way the 0-Coast makes its modularity very evident. But some people find the latter too… up-front about its difference from norms they know.
The most extreme version of this is “why not just use a laptop”, and I come back to my usual point: you have different ideas with different interfaces. I do things with patch cables I wouldn’t think to do with a mouse. And some people don’t, they are better at abstracting their intent from their hand, so they are totally comfortable - and creative - working in Reaktor.
Aesthetics: I guess I’m talking about sound rather than look, and again, this is super-subjective. Some people will buy the same circuit from a specific manufacturer or era simply because they think it sounds better. The FX pedal market is largely full of people making supposedly “irrational” decisions that are completely valid. If it sounds better, go for it! And if you think the same circuit sounds better in a different box, who am I to judge?
“Taste” is related to the last one. Just because two things do the same back-of-the-box thing doesn’t mean people will buy them. All the above rolls into it: do you like how it presents its metaphors? Do you care for the sound? Do you find the way it’s described infuriating, or mind-expanding? These are also important.
So: I find the 0-Coast compelling not just because it’s a bargain compared to the same features in Euro, but because it makes sense to me and excites me as an instrument. It’s consistent, encouraging, and playable; and it will take someone with knowledge only of subtractive Moog-style architecture on a fun journey into weirdness, starting from a place of safety. If you don’t go further than that, it’s a great thing on its own. But similarly, if you are already attracted to modular, and the flexible architecture, perhaps you’d rather invest in a longer journey. Assuming you can afford it, there are reasons to enjoy and prefer an entirely unfixed-architecture, beyond price.
This is a hugely long-winded way of saying that people are irrational, especially when it comes to creative endeavours. I have probably written these words elsewhere on Lines before.
(Also: when I have only gone on back-of-the-box checklists, and bought the thing that “does the same but is cheaper”, I’ve usually been disappointed.)
