Cold Digital Recordings

S

Stinky

New member
A buddy of mine has a Roland 8-track hard disk recorder and has been getting VERY cold mixes. I've heard a lot of good things about the Roland units and know of the "coldness" of digital, but wanted to know what my options are when I go digital in the next year or so.

I know using as much tube gear (preamps, compressors, amps, mics, etc.) will help, but I also understand tubes are not a replacement for the warmth of tape. Are there currently any filters or plug-ins which specifically address this digital coldness? How well do they work? Anything that can be downloaded specifically for the Roland?

Or should I just resign myself to purchasing a half-inch eight track along with any hard-disk recording gear I buy?

I would appreciate any info.


Thanks,


Stinky
 
I'm really no expert here, but there are many DirectX and VST plugins out there for computer sequncers that attempt to emulate analogue gear. Steinberg's Magneto plug-in simulates the 'warm' distortion of fast moving tape and, to my ears at least, makes my computer recordings really come to life.

There are many others - TC plugins have a poprietary 'SoftSat' setting which is supposed to make the sound richer. There are also mastering progs such as T-Racks and Prosoniq Dynasone (actually this one's a plugin) which I reckon are bang on if you can't afford professional mastering.

You can bet your ass any pro engineer will tell you these 'remedies' aren't a patch on racks of vintage valve gear and tape, and you can bet they're right. But they ARE a massive improvement over naked digital. As far as Roland VS boxes go, I have no idea about cross compatibility with Direct X plugins - better check with Roland.

Klytus
 
A tip a friend of mine shared, which I haven't tried yet, is to take his final mix (from the computer) and record it onto a hi-fi vhs tape. Then he plays it back and records it back into the computer. His mixes are really good, so that might be something to toy with.
 
Preach Brothers and Sisters!!!!

I'm sure anybody who knows extensively about this stuff is tired of talking about it to newbies like myself, but I really appreciate it. I've looked for some info. on plug-ins and tricks/techniques, but I haven't seen anything too extensive. Cold/warmth as myth? Alright, set me straight.

Thanks again guys and ROCK OUT!!!!,

Stinky
 
When it comes to "warmth" you will have no probs with digital, just follow these guidelines when using digital stuff

1. If U use a crappy digital recorder(bad bitrate, sample rate, whatever)U will get cold, crappy results

2. if U use the mic pre's that come with the unit, these mic pre's almost always suck, buy a mixer, or a standalone pre, or don't expect a great sound

3. And using cold crappy mics, mics can give U a cold and/or harsh sound, the mic has a huge infulence on the warmness of the recording

4. And U can't get a good sound without a good sounding instrument =)

IMHO..... theres nothing wrong with digital, U just have to have the right equipment, bad equipment = bad results(for the most part).... Hope that helped

Sabith

[Edited by Sabith on 01-14-2001 at 21:32]
 
And to adress to other things that have been said,

KaBudokan:
" A tip a friend of mine shared, which I haven't tried yet, is to take his final mix (from the computer)
and record it onto a hi-fi vhs tape. Then he plays it back and records it back into the computer. His mixes are really good, so that might be something to toy with."

I don't know why U would ever want to do that, unless you wanted to add some hiss to your recording, other than that, I don't see the point.

And

klytus:

"You can bet your ass any pro engineer will tell you these 'remedies' aren't a patch on racks of vintage valve gear and tape, and you can bet they're right."

I can agree with the vintage gear, but tape isn't god like everyone tends to think it is...... I had this discussion with a pro engineer and he likes tape(and has worked with it for many years) but he likes digital a lot more now that it has finally become high enough quality to use(ie, couldn't get very good quality from a 486 PC), but now that we can record with 24 bits and 96khz, digital can compete with tape.

Sabith
 
Sabith,

Fair point.

However the fact remains that my digital recordings simply sound much better when passed through Magneto, which emulates tape compression. If this mere EMULATION of fast moving tape can add so much 'warmth' (there really is no other word for it, myth or no myth) , then I have to conclude that the real thing would yield still better results.

Of course digital can 'compete' with tape, but the question here is surely 'feel' rather than 'fidelity'.

regards
Klytus
 
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