Bob, in general, I think if you created a GM synth that somehow replicated the best players on each instrument in the world, but told the listener ahead of time it was just a GM synth, they would say it sounded cheesy. (And especially if all you played was a basic chord progression using the original ZZJAZZ style). I also bet if you actually recorded a session of live talented players, but then told someone it was a cheap GM synth, they would say, "yep, it sounds like a cheesy synth".

I'm not saying everyone here, because lots of folks have great ears. But for the vast majority of listeners, it's all in perception.

I know I fooled my church choir director with a MIDI rendition of a flute solo I wrote. He only heard the recording in the context of the entire song mix and complimented the sound and asked me who recorded the solo. He is no slouch; he teaches music history at the local college, teaches woodwinds to students, and plays clarinet and flute with two local symphony orchestras. I'm pretty sure he knows what a real flute sounds like.

And in general, my observation has been that folks diss the sound when it doesn't sound like how they would play it. On the forum here over the years, I've seen guitar player post where the guitar sounds awful, but the sax solo was nice. Or sax players saying the tenor sounds terrible, but piano was great. Or piano players saying the piano sounds like a kid's toy piano, but the acoustic bass rocked. Et cetera, et cetera.

I'm not saying there aren't awful synths and sounds (although sometimes they have their place), but as you said, how you play it has more to do with it than just the tone.

John

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