Seriously though, my only gripe is using ROMplers as a bad type of synthesizer. I completely disagree - granted the UI for most were far from perfect - they're still very powerful synthesizers that went underused. I know some types of synthesis fairly well, and I own several modular systems, but I'm still taken aback by the vast options in a mere XV2020 that would be deemed obsolete by most people.
Maybe the'll make a resurgence when people figure out how powerful they are?
They need to...as long as they're the sort of ROMplers that do have that programming depth you'd find in the Roland XVs, late-period E-Mu, etc. But when they first hit...ohmyghodwhatuglycrap!!! I actually still have my Proteus1, bought new in early 1990. And I remember it being more annoying to program than a DX-7, not because the interface was so obtuse (which the DX-7 was/is) but because you couldn't get at all of the architecture so that, when a sound popped into your head, you only had a certain percentage of possibility of being able to make the changes to your existing patch to get you there. Frustrating!
But a decade-ish passes, and we get things like the Proteus 2500...same basic idea as the original, but NOW it would be possible to get your hands on nearly all of the sonic capabilities. And that thing is a killer ROMpler...but it (and others) were victimized by those initial "not ready for primetime" ROMplers and the rep those brought. So, no...it's not all ROMplers that are bad, but you have to know which are the GOOD ones. Definitely not an easy category of synth to navigate, although the hardware is quite plentiful.