M
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
What's the fifth o p t i o n ?
diggy_dude
Now 169% diggier!
M
moresound
Loud Sun Studios
It's the unwritten law ..... *Go Digital*
M
moresound
Loud Sun Studios
I can see that. You managed to go all day without bumping your thread about it!
Just trying to talk myself into the purchase - I guess.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
diggy_dude
Now 169% diggier!
Just trying to talk myself into the purchase - I guess.
Go for it, mosh hound! I need a review from someone trustworthy so I can talk myself into getting one.
M
moresound
Loud Sun Studios
Soon. Oh yes, soon.
B
beek
New member
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Was still working in analogue when digital came out. I found digital the most liberating experience ever and grabbed it with both hands to run with it. In the professional world, moving to digital probably let me do two or three times as much mixing every day with a lovely clean sound and a lot fewer delays waiting for things to spool from one end to the other and so on.
See. Everyone is different.
See. Everyone is different.
R
Redlad_
New member
Honestly its a personal choice. Do you have the budget for analog gear? Do you like having the physical object there, calibrating it? What kind of music do you deal with/write?
For myself I write electronic music and also play Blues guitar and bass.
For Electronic music I just use Ableton Live so I can chop samples up and arrange them anyway without much difficulty. That sort of editing would be impossible splicing tape. But recording an analog synth in as HQ samples and then playing around with it sounds great due to the lfos not being exactly in sync.
For blues, I use Protools 10 with the Avid Eleven rack. I also have a few valve overdrive and wah foot pedals for the guitar. For Bass though I just always use a Line6 digital fx box. Either way it always goes to digital as I prefer the work flow and can spend more time on the sound than hooking things up, but I understand that some people prefer the physical controls. Me I prefer the mouse and keyboard for everything. I have a couple of midi controllers too for hands on feel and live performance.
In the end though its what you want. Digital is way more portable though. I have my laptop with nothing else at the moment with me in china and can still write music at 48k, 24bit with enough channels so. If I want things to be warmer I can run some tracks tthrough a tape machine. I prefer the sound of analog synths though for sure. Althouggh the new waves element synth have a really analog sound and feel. and then you have NI Massive for serious variety in digi synthesis.
Thats my opinion
For myself I write electronic music and also play Blues guitar and bass.
For Electronic music I just use Ableton Live so I can chop samples up and arrange them anyway without much difficulty. That sort of editing would be impossible splicing tape. But recording an analog synth in as HQ samples and then playing around with it sounds great due to the lfos not being exactly in sync.
For blues, I use Protools 10 with the Avid Eleven rack. I also have a few valve overdrive and wah foot pedals for the guitar. For Bass though I just always use a Line6 digital fx box. Either way it always goes to digital as I prefer the work flow and can spend more time on the sound than hooking things up, but I understand that some people prefer the physical controls. Me I prefer the mouse and keyboard for everything. I have a couple of midi controllers too for hands on feel and live performance.
In the end though its what you want. Digital is way more portable though. I have my laptop with nothing else at the moment with me in china and can still write music at 48k, 24bit with enough channels so. If I want things to be warmer I can run some tracks tthrough a tape machine. I prefer the sound of analog synths though for sure. Althouggh the new waves element synth have a really analog sound and feel. and then you have NI Massive for serious variety in digi synthesis.
Thats my opinion
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
Exactly
The workflow is important for me. I want to spend my time making music, not fighting with technology. Messing around with tape, maintaining the mechanicals, and going to complicated lengths to (a) reduce noise, and (b) manipulate recorded audio is not my cup of tea. But, like you, I understand how some people enjoy this aspect of the analog world.
Yep. It certainly keeps moving parts to a minimum.
Armistice
Son of Yoda
So this is what people are talking about when they say "analogue to digital conversion" then? I always wondered....
C
Chilljam
transitional phase
This is the main reason why I removed all digital equipment out of my studio and sold it. Scrolling through endless sub-menu's trying to find out why your click track isn't outputting to your headphones is a total buzz kill.
Also, I've had more problems with sound cards and hard drives crashing, superseded software/plugins and software updates during sessions then I have with tape or tape machines breaking down and I've been recording to tape longer than using DAWs.
As someone has said though it does depend a lot on what you are recording like for example, the work-flow for digital recording is much preferred for electronic music production. However, a 6 piece band in a room with all instruments set up ready to play.... can be a lot less hassle for the musicians and sound brilliant recorded to tape (see Arcade Fire - Funeral, Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights or RHCP - Stadium Arcadium for some examples).
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
So this is what people are talking about when they say "analogue to digital conversion" then? I always wondered....
Just call me Mr. Interface!
Seriously, just to show how ancient I am...
My first job involved a small selection of mics and a mono quarter inch tape deck...and that was it.
My second job (well, third but number 2 was like number 1) installed a really nice mixer (Ward Beck), a 2 inch 16 track recorder and gear to synchronise this all with video.
Later on (well much later) the analogue was replace by a device known as a DAR SOUNDSTATION. All digital, all non linear--for me it was love at first sight, er, mix, and I never wanted to go back to analogue tape again.
Finally, not too much later, the DAR hardware solution was made fairly obsolete by computer based working--then computer based working became cheap enough that I had a studio a home that did many times as much as the hardware I started with in the 1970s.
Brento
New member
Agreed Miroslav.
I track, edit and mix in digital (sometimes in the box - sometimes with a summing amp), and depending on the application/situation I might mix to analog and return to digital for mastering.
I love tracking to analog, but I just can't keep up with tape costs and regularly sourcing good tape stock. I don't think this is a problem unique to the antipodes. Also, it is hard to find a studio these days with a good MCI or Studer (or whatever) that does not require constant maintenance. I know a few places around here that are constantly pulling cards from these machines and coaxing them into working one more time. There's one bloke I know of who has a fantastic Studer 2" 16 track machine that is unfortunately down to 13 tracks at last count due to parts beyond repair, and replacements either impossible to find or prohibitively expensive. Also, calibration - you have to do this constantly.
Like so many questions here, the answers are subjective and anchored to personal taste. Analog ain't cheap, and it will keep you busy, but if you like it I say go for it. Just try and avoid crying in front of clients, or drowning in a bottle of your grog of choice...
Brento
B
Beck
Guest
But analog is the less expensive option in the long run. Think about it! And if you still come up blank we can discuss the true costs of each technology. Most people are surprised.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
What happens to the cost of analogue if you factor in an hourly rate for the time you spend online searching for discontinued parts plus the time spent on maintenance. An analogy I've used before is that using analogue these days is similar to classic car restoration--it has to be a labour of love!
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
My approach with tape decks has been to buy ahead of time all the parts that may(?) go unexpectedly.
With the MX-80 I picked up last year, I already have just about everything double except for the heads and a few odds and ends.
With the G-16 I've had for over 20 years now, it's actually never broken down (knock on wood), but I had spare parts and not too long ago picked up a second G-16 cheap, just in case I needed a motor or a spare card...etc.
In the typical home/project studio...if you start off with a healthy machine, and some basic spare parts, and maintain it...odds are it will run for a very long time before it kicks. Now, there are some great old tape decks that simply had issues from almost the beginning, with relays and things that would break down all the time...but that's a different thing.
I was assisting at a studio back in the mid-late '90's, where they had a sweet old Neve console and an MCI 2"....and that tape deck was blowing something regularly as the machine got hot (I forget what part it was)....that they emptied out all the local Radio Shacks of their parts....but the session didn't stop any longer than to pop in another spare, while the artist stepped out for another smoke.
Now, you want talk about near-death moments...imagine your DAW completely shits the bed during a session and/or you get some meaningless file errors. Unless you've been doing religious backups....Radio Shack will NOT have any parts that will help you dig out of that hole.
I use my tape decks and my DAW side-by side....but honestly (and this has nothing to do with analog VS digital stuff)...when I'm just tracking to tape and the DAW is silent and powered down, I rarely have any "SHIT!" moments...though working in the DAW there always something that needs a kick in the ass. Usually it's nothing terminal...but computers have a way of occasionally "making a decision" for you, or "fighting" you on your decision.
With the MX-80 I picked up last year, I already have just about everything double except for the heads and a few odds and ends.
With the G-16 I've had for over 20 years now, it's actually never broken down (knock on wood), but I had spare parts and not too long ago picked up a second G-16 cheap, just in case I needed a motor or a spare card...etc.
In the typical home/project studio...if you start off with a healthy machine, and some basic spare parts, and maintain it...odds are it will run for a very long time before it kicks. Now, there are some great old tape decks that simply had issues from almost the beginning, with relays and things that would break down all the time...but that's a different thing.
I was assisting at a studio back in the mid-late '90's, where they had a sweet old Neve console and an MCI 2"....and that tape deck was blowing something regularly as the machine got hot (I forget what part it was)....that they emptied out all the local Radio Shacks of their parts....but the session didn't stop any longer than to pop in another spare, while the artist stepped out for another smoke.
Now, you want talk about near-death moments...imagine your DAW completely shits the bed during a session and/or you get some meaningless file errors. Unless you've been doing religious backups....Radio Shack will NOT have any parts that will help you dig out of that hole.
I use my tape decks and my DAW side-by side....but honestly (and this has nothing to do with analog VS digital stuff)...when I'm just tracking to tape and the DAW is silent and powered down, I rarely have any "SHIT!" moments...though working in the DAW there always something that needs a kick in the ass. Usually it's nothing terminal...but computers have a way of occasionally "making a decision" for you, or "fighting" you on your decision.
B
Beck
Guest
The same thing that happens when when you factor in the time it takes to keep your PC DAW-based system current and compatible... plus the time spent on hardware and software bugs and fixes, crashes, reinstalls, bad ram, another failing hard drive that must be backed up before it fails and then replaced, another power supply goes south, another monitor goes bad, etc, etc, etc. I worked in recording studios in the 80's and 90's and now in work in IT... that's why I can compare the true costs of ownership, and analog is the winner for cost-effectiveness in the long run.
A certain breed of hobbyists might look at it that way, but they are collectors of gear and not primarily musicians, recording engineers, producers, etc. Those like me who started out as musicians and gradually moved into recording will always be artists and engineers first. That's why we are here doing this stuff and choosing the best tools for the job as we see it.