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this is very true:

whenever i think about this issue, i often think about virtualization and the idea of "movable retro".

as far as virtualization goes, we've already seen rapidly growing development of virtual versions of dedicated hardware/software (nes emulators, nitrotracker for nds, universal audio plugins, arturia software synthesizers). as computing power increases and multitouch, gesture-based, and haptic interfaces continue to gain traction in the electronic music community, i can only see this trend continuing.

"movable retro" is a phrase i just made up because i can't think of anything catchier right now. even gear that i think of as recent is starting to gain a fine retro crust. isn't it hard to believe that the microKORG has been around for a decade? the same goes for "non-musical" gear as well (aughties flip-phones, the aforementioned playstation, etc).

what's really more important, though, is the general mindset that retro gear puts you in. the idea of having no more than five channels to work with can be really inspiring for us, so continued development of flexible, minimalist synthesis technology will be crucial. i'm thinking specifically along the lines of barebones computing projects like the raspberry pi or diy digital synths like the meeblip or shruthi. even analog desktop synths have been surprisingly stripped-down lately: the dsi tetra and moog slim phatty both present a healthy ratio of possibility/constraint for my taste.