analog to digital

S

socojoe

New member
i prefer the sound of analog recordings, especially since my band plays almost exclusively acoustically. now my questions are as follows? how would i go about going from analog (tascam 424 is what i have) to digital (cd)? will this process completely void the fact that i recorded analog in the first place i.e. will this process make everything sound completely digital? to rephrase this, is it worth recording analog in the first place if it's going to end up on a digital format anyway? (i saw somewhere on this very bbs that weezer's first album was recorded analog mixed analog and then put on to cd/digital and that it sounded much more warm/"analog" than those that were digital throughout the process, but i'd like more feedback. thx all
 
Hey socojoe,
You only need an RCA to 1/8 in. stereo "Y" cable to get you into the line in of your soundcard. You can record to your windows wave recorder or demo versions of n-track or cool edit. Same situation as if you are taping a CD to cassette or mixing down. I've never burned a CD, so from there I guess just do what your CD burner software tells you. Usually when people say they prefer the "warmth" of analog, they're talking about 2in tape running at min. 15 ips.

I have a 424, so believe me when I say that you will not be sacrificing warmth going from 4 tr. cassette to 16/44.1 digital, truth is you'll likely improve the sound quality immensely. I also want to put it to you nicely before one of the nastier guys rips you a new asshole for opening the whole "analog warmth" can o' worms while talking about a portastudio.

My cheapskate temporary solution is to use my 424 as a mixer/preamp and record to direct to n-track. You can even use your 4 tr. tapes as a start and overdubb once your in digital. I'm having fun with it and I haven't even registered n-track yet!-lzb
 
I won't rip anyone a new asshole but I still for the life of me can't see the "warmth" everyone talks about. Maybe my ears or brain are burnt but I just can't hear it.

Lazyboy has got the right idea as far as the Y cable, they're great for everything (make it work baby)!!!!!
 
Steve,

You get analog 'warmth' by getting 3000' of 2" tape, wrapping your entire body in it, and lying in the sun. Cos it's black, it absorbs the heat brilliantly :D

- gaffa
 
Yeah, Steve, if you have your wife wrappd up as well, it's kind of like a stereo recording .... :D

- gaffa
 
I don't buy into this analog is better than digital rage either. However, some of the cheap digital equipment sounds harsh, and is unforgiving. You can hit tape hard and it sounds better. Go into the red on a digital recorder and you get a trashy sound.

So it is a combination of lack of knowledge and lack of finances that make analog recordings sound "warm" compared to some digital recordings. You would have to spend thousands on A/D converters to get full frequency response...

Dom Franco

[This message has been edited by Dom Franco (edited 04-07-2000).]
 
Dom

You are right about red lining with digital, it is absolutely nasty sounding. I've done it
by accident and digital isn't forgiving when comes to that.

Gaffa I'll give it a try!!!
 
I agree with Dom. Digital is great if used correctly. I just switched from 4-track cassette to 4-track digital and I am awestruck. Yeah there are some cool tricks you can do "easily" on tape, but with the proper equipment, you can do many of those tricks (and more)with digital. and good tube compression and/or parametric EQ will give you all the warmth you need in most cases. But hey, this is just the start of a long, lengthy argument. So let the debate begin. Digital-vs-analog?
 
I also mis the warm sound of analog when I record digital.
A professional told me that the soundcard is the problem. Or rather the A/D converters on the cheaper soundcards.
A good (expensive) soundcard with 24 bit converters is the solution.
 
No doubt about it... for home recording, digital units far surpass the cassette-based analog recorders. You can't beat digital "for the money".
But, overall, recording on 2 inch tape in a professional studio with all the proper equipment is as good as it gets. It's just too expensive for us "po' folks".
 
Dom: dbx has solved the "can't hit it hard with digital" problem with their line of tube preamps with digital output. You'll have to get Ed to explain what they're doing with their Type IV conversion system.
I've just got the entry level model, the 386 and it's damn hard to clip this baby.
Best of both worlds.
 
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