Digital vs Analog

R

ryanlikestorock

New member
Now, I don't mean to open up this can of worms again as I know we've all been through this a million times before. However, before this week, I was talking out of my ass. Let me explain.

I've been doing "home mastering" services for indie bands from an ever-growing home studio for the past couple years. I started with nothing and eventually put together quite a functional little studio with some WAVES plugs, the UAD-1 collection, a decent monitoring setup and a pretty good understanding of sound. I thought I was doing okay, which I guess I still am.

However, I just started a job as a mastering engineer at a world-class mastering facility here in Toronto where they use the best hardware available. Manley, Tube-Tech, GML EQ, Weiss De-ess, etc etc. The difference (even after only a few hours in the studio) is amazing. The difference is in an undescribeable magic that I can only relate to a thin layer of film that has now been removed.

Sure, 1db of gain is 1db of gain no matter what you use... but, the subtle qualities of the high end analog gear will probably never be replicated in the digital world.

So, this is my tip of the hat to all the purests. There is something worth fighting/paying for.
 
ryanlikestorock said:
the subtle qualities of the high end analog gear will probably never be replicated in the digital world.
Click to expand...

Never say never, but there is a reason why 1 unit that you can only use one instance at a time costs 10 times more then a plug that you can use as many times as your computer can handle.

I'm hearing great stuff about the URS stuff and the massenburg EQ though right now those 2 are only PT, but vst is coming for the URS eq's can't wait! :D
 
Preach on, brother. I've been trying to explain this to people for years... As great as the plugs are getting (I absolutely love my UAD stuff), there is NO SUBSTITUTE for a set of nice hot tubes or some Class A discrete circuitry.

God knows if I could've saved (tens of thousands of dollars) by using a set of plugs, I would've.

As soon as they can plug audio directly into your brain, someone's going to design a "speaker simulator" plug for your cranium.

Or, you could just run it through some analog speakers... :eek:
 
i avoid doing my own mastering when ever possible, and have two guys that i love working.

I have never had a mastering job done without outboard processing that I have liked. I did one album with a very famous mastering guy that used all digital processing and based on the results I have never worked with him again.

For mastering, good analog gear just bulldozes digital for helping give a track life and bigness and depth. The weiss EQ is the only digital EQ that I have ever really cared much for, but only for cutting.
 
Some day I'm going to design digital speakers! They'll sound terrible, but be really cool!

What if I have an array of speakers, and a system that converts damnit, nevermind, that would only work for simple waveform signals, nevermind.
 
I think it has to be considered from the root of things.


Instead of analog versus digital....how about...

Analog and Digital.
 
I think that, more than anything else, I just really hear a difference with real outboard compressors. The EQ isn't so critical -- I do think there are software EQ's that can do the job. In fact, in certain ways, I think software EQ's have an advantage. Particularly when you're talking about very surgical cuts and boosts . . . not to mention the phase linear ones out there can be really transparent.

But compression is just a whole different thing.

There's just something to a good, well-designed outboard compressor that helps bring things to life. Whether you're talking about individual tracks or an entire mix bus.
 
ryanlikestorock said:
I agree. My bad. :)
Click to expand...

Also agreed. There are things that you can do with digital that aren't possible with analog (and vice versa). Also you have to consider the quality of the unit not necessarily simply analog vs digital. You can't compare plugins that emulate the analog hardware as a base comparison.

My basic philosophy is analog for character, digital for sterile precision (though these lines are being crossed with tape emulation software etc.). 9 times out of 10 I'll choose a Weiss DS1 (digital) for compression over my Crane Song STC8 (analog). Both are great high end units, but with look-ahead in the Weiss along with multiple release controls I have yet to find an analog compressor that can give me transparent compression and gain makeup that is even close. Also the L2 is a must.

Use the best tool for the job and function.
 
Yeah, there is a reason a GML mastering EQ costs $10,000. It is all about getting rid of high end distortion, except that the high end distortion they are worrying about with that stuff is in the range of 150k. And though you can't "hear" 150k, you can percive distortion up there.

The GML 8200 (which is only $5000 for two channels) is my absolute favorite piece of gear, ever. Truely the greatest tracking and mixing eq ever made. I miss using them. A lot.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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