Jack of Alderaan
New member
Hi guys,
When i started music, or to be more precise, when i started recording my music in the mid-00s (sometimes all by myself, sometimes helped by friends and their gear, a few times going into semi-pro studios) i remember that digital was generally throwned upon, and emulation plug-ins was considered gimmicks, cheap toys...back then i would record on tape when i could (rarely), on tascam cassettes recorders -4 & 8 track- (including an album and EP
), and the rest of the time wth my old laptop with a very basic, cheap setup.
now it's 2022 and i get the feeling that the digital world has made some progress over the past years...i just bought an macbook air M1, a SSL2 audio interface, a pre73jr and a couple of mics. A few days ago i bought two plugins from Waves, the J37 studer tape Emulator and their fairchild comp Emulator (discount prices!) Sounds good to me but maybe it's psychological
? So here's my question:
What is your opinion on modern audio plug-ins? especially those whose purpose is to add warmth, that "analog"-like saturated magic touch...do you feel today's software are as good or close to the original stuff? Or are they still gimmicks and a waste of money? And if you think current's technology makes digital possibly sound just like analog then when do you think this "better quality" happened, what years?
ps : obviously i'm not looking to record with a "pristine" render and i'm deliberately looking for an analog-type kind of sound. the question is can it be achieved nowadays through plugins or...nothing beats good ol' hardware?
What's the consensus? I don't want to revive the analog vs digital war, just wanna know if emulation plugins are worth it, or just useless marketing/hype...
When i started music, or to be more precise, when i started recording my music in the mid-00s (sometimes all by myself, sometimes helped by friends and their gear, a few times going into semi-pro studios) i remember that digital was generally throwned upon, and emulation plug-ins was considered gimmicks, cheap toys...back then i would record on tape when i could (rarely), on tascam cassettes recorders -4 & 8 track- (including an album and EP
![rock.gif](https://static.gearspace.com/board/images/smilies/rock.gif)
now it's 2022 and i get the feeling that the digital world has made some progress over the past years...i just bought an macbook air M1, a SSL2 audio interface, a pre73jr and a couple of mics. A few days ago i bought two plugins from Waves, the J37 studer tape Emulator and their fairchild comp Emulator (discount prices!) Sounds good to me but maybe it's psychological
![freak3.gif](https://static.gearspace.com/board/images/smilies/freak3.gif)
What is your opinion on modern audio plug-ins? especially those whose purpose is to add warmth, that "analog"-like saturated magic touch...do you feel today's software are as good or close to the original stuff? Or are they still gimmicks and a waste of money? And if you think current's technology makes digital possibly sound just like analog then when do you think this "better quality" happened, what years?
ps : obviously i'm not looking to record with a "pristine" render and i'm deliberately looking for an analog-type kind of sound. the question is can it be achieved nowadays through plugins or...nothing beats good ol' hardware?
![smile.gif](https://static.gearspace.com/board/images/smilies/smile.gif)