Blessings of the digital era; what's yours?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Halion
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Halion

Halion

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We all know the mojo (be it true or not) happens in analogue gear and that the coming of digital gear has introduced some coldness as some might say. However, I still read alot of questions on these boards that seem to be extremely easy to fix in the digital domain, or not even present at all.

So tell us, what do you concider the biggest blessing of the digital audio era? The ease and size of storage? The low upkeep? The compactness?

Here are mine:
- No phase problems ever, no matter how many mics you throw at something, because any DAW allows you to line up the waveforms to get rid of the phase cancelation.
- Automation. I can't even imagin how many people it would take to turn all the knobs at the same time at a sertain break in one of my songs.
- Handling speed. Get your key commands together and cut and paste like a mad man.
 
those three points all point to one thing, lazyness :D
 
Halion said:
- Automation. I can't even imagin how many people it would take to turn all the knobs at the same time at a sertain break in one of my songs.
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well, automation is done on the analog boards as well.

for me it's just the precise editing. zooming in and taking out a pop or weird sound, removing breaths, duplicating parts, or taming plosives.
 
Undo

I can also download freeware plugs instead of having to buy a couple of thousand dollars worth on effects.:D
 
another vote for non-destructive editing (the sexier way of saying undo)
freeware plugins and synths...
non-linear editing, being able to move stuff around and do precise waveform edits, so nice for punchs, and getting rid of little mix issues.

oh and also, working with computers in general, which are just totally reliable all the time, especially at crucial times, mid take/performance. .. like omg, me and my pc are totally BFF.
 
Carpal Tunnel Sydrome. There is nothing like having a "death grip" over a mouse for long periods of time!

Recording in analog ruined what musical skills I had. I got in the habit of recording with myself rather than playing with others. Digital put the final nail in the coffin. Now I record in short spurts, laying down individual tracks or pieces. I can even record without playing using samples and loops. Even singing is reduced to short takes which are often combined in a composite to select the best portions. Don't get me wrong, I love to record and I love the ease of digital recording. But, thinking retrospectively, the digital world has shaped how I play and even how long I play. All my end products are complete songs and yet I'm not sure if I could play a complete song-- nevermind singing a playing at the same time. As I said, some of this is inherent to the recording process itself--not just digital recording. In some ways it's fun; in others, it's depressing. And now I wonder if I am becoming alienated in the Marxian sense--if my labor is increasingly separated from the end product of my labor.
 
dwillis45 said:
Even singing is reduced to short takes which are often combined in a composite to select the best portions.
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Comping is a standard for the big boys. What's wrong with us homewreckers doin' it? Some of my favorite classic guitar solos are comped.

As far as how it affects your performance, that's another thread.
 
Cost, mostly. I moved from 4 track analog to 16 track digital with compression and EQ on every channel and two effects processors when I went to my first DAW in 2000. I still don't think I could afford that in the analog world.
 
MadAudio said:
Comping is a standard for the big boys. What's wrong with us homewreckers doin' it? Some of my favorite classic guitar solos are comped.
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Nothing really. I just starting thinking about the long term impact of recording (digitally or otherwise) on musicianship. I started with comping by recording multiple takes and picking and choosing parts. Now, I record vocals one verse at a time until I get a decent take. So, rather than performing/singing an entire song, I sing short segments and then go through multiple playback and record cycles. The same applies to other instruments except bass and rythm guitar which tend to be full length performances. Again, this is just esoteric crap, but it has changed me as a musician. In fact, I don't really think of myself as a guitar player and my engineering skills are not sufficient enough to take on the label "engineer." I could call myself a songwriter but that's hard given all the time I waste thinking about recording issues and equipment. So, in the end, I am some type of horrid, hybrid beast who can only be called a "home recordist."
 
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