Digital vs. Analog

[grewalparm]

Hey guys, this is my first thread, and I'm excited to make many others, as well as post on many others. I have always loved playing music, and have made plenty of songs, but as soon as I record them....they're butchered So I decided to join this forum to help teach myself how to use all of my equipment.

First question:

What is the difference between analog and digital?

I kind of know the answer to the question already because I have a modular synth and have looked into the physics behind one, however, when I play my guitar through an amp that's analog right? What happens if I record that on to my computer using a microphone into an audio interface? What if I plug a guitar directly into my audio interface, is that recorded and turned into digital sound?

Second question:

Is there a difference to the ear for analog vs. digital? What is it, and why does it happen?

Thanks guys!

 

[Greg_L]

Lol oh no you didn't

 

[ecc83]

ALL "sound" is analogue!

Dave.

 

[dainbramage]

 

[YanKleber]

Lol oh no you didn't

This is THAT guy, right?

 

[YanKleber]

Hey guys, this is my first thread, and I'm excited to make many others, as well as post on many others. I have always loved playing music, and have made plenty of songs, but as soon as I record them....they're butchered So I decided to join this forum to help teach myself how to use all of my equipment.

First question:

What is the difference between analog and digital?

I kind of know the answer to the question already because I have a modular synth and have looked into the physics behind one, however, when I play my guitar through an amp that's analog right? What happens if I record that on to my computer using a microphone into an audio interface? What if I plug a guitar directly into my audio interface, is that recorded and turned into digital sound?

Second question:

Is there a difference to the ear for analog vs. digital? What is it, and why does it happen?

Thanks guys!

C'mon... please mark one of the options below:

1) You are kidding
2) You have 3 years old
3) You are mental
4) You are trolling the forum
5) One or more of options above combined

 

[kidkage]

C'mon... please mark one of the options below:

1) You are kidding
2) You have 3 years old
3) You are mental
4) You are trolling the forum
5) One or more of options above combined

Yikes.
I see you're kind of new here, and it has been a really long time since I've been a regular here, so maybe things have changed; but usually if an OP of a thread in the newbies section is new they don't have to worry about being attacked here. We've all not understood things that seem simple to us now.

Hey guys, this is my first thread, and I'm excited to make many others, as well as post on many others. I have always loved playing music, and have made plenty of songs, but as soon as I record them....they're butchered So I decided to join this forum to help teach myself how to use all of my equipment.

First question:

What is the difference between analog and digital?

I kind of know the answer to the question already because I have a modular synth and have looked into the physics behind one, however, when I play my guitar through an amp that's analog right? What happens if I record that on to my computer using a microphone into an audio interface? What if I plug a guitar directly into my audio interface, is that recorded and turned into digital sound?

Second question:

Is there a difference to the ear for analog vs. digital? What is it, and why does it happen?

Thanks guys!

I'm not really sure how to answer this, but I'll try.

If you've got a modular synth, you probably know a bit about synthesis and have encountered the analog vs. digital debate in that field too. Even if you don't, you pretty much know the answer to the question - when a computer is involved in the creation or capture of sound - it's digital.

If you were to record guitar from the mic into your interface it would still be digital. The only difference with going direct from the guitar into the computer would be that your amplification would be digital too. So, with that said, it is possible that the amp you plug into is digital too if you've got one of those Peavey Vypyr or Line 6 things...

Some people say that there can be a difference. Some prefer the alleged "analog warmth". Some people (myself included) prefer digital. It's weird for me to try and explain because I don't care enough to know enough about it

So I'll just refer you to Google: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=analog+vs+digital+audio

 

[grewalparm]

Thanks for all of your help guys....you really answered my question.

Yes, I am THAT guy. The idiot who goes to the section labeled "Newbies" to ask a "Newb" question. You know this is my first thread as I previously mentioned, so thanks for the warm welcome. I read under the newbies link: "Just starting? Afraid to ask a question? Don't worry, here nobody will laugh. But if it's on a topic in another forum, best to post it there." I think the website should change it to "Be afraid to ask any questions, as our asshole members will make fun of you for it." Like c'mon guys, I'm a fellow musician who hasn't gotten the recording and technical part down, and I came here looking for help. All I got was discouragement....I hope you're ashamed, you should never EVER EVER EVER step on someone's dreams. Yeah...I've never even heard anyone say "Analog" I've only read it in places that expected me to already know what it was.

If you have good music taste and listen to everything, you've probably heard the song by Frank Sinatra called "That's Life" and it he says "some people get their kicks from steppin' on a dream" and you all are THOSE guys.

I'm THAT guy, who engaged in a human being's strongest ability: to question and to learn.

To be frank, I'm astonished that those were the replies I got from this post. IS THERE ANYONE IN THIS FORUM WHO CAN EXPLAIN THIS QUESTION TO A NEWBIE, AND NOT PRETEND LIKE A PERSON POSTING IN THE NEWBIE SECTION KNOWS EVERYTHING? Do you guys know what newbie means?

Thanks Dave, you're the only person that helped me out with my confusion, everyone else....grow up, and become less ignorant. Once again, sorry I don't know the answer to a question that I just posted....BECAUSE I POSTED A QUESTION....A QUESTION IS SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED THE ANSWER TO, I SHOULD NOT BE MADE FUN OF FOR IT.

If there are actual nice people on this forum, please let me know, or else I'm out....I came here to learn about music, not to be made fun of by a bunch of dicks.





And after all that, I'm sorry for saying anything mean, such as "dicks" or "assholes" but your guys' responses were not exactly friendly, and it honestly sort of hurt my feelings.....like what you did, is equivalent to making fun of someone for not being able to speak English, when they speak spanish....I can't even believe that those are the responses I got still....

 

[grewalparm]

KIDKAGE^^^

Thanks a lot. That EXACTLY answered my question. I'll be sure to pass it on to anyone who is confused in the same area. I just didn't understand the difference between a DCO (digitally controlled oscillator) and a VCO (voltage controlled). Don't get me wrong I've done a lot of reading, but everything seems vague to me, and there are a lot of loopholes in the reading.

And I don't feel attacked, I just feel bad for the people that lacked the empathy required to understand my situation....I would hate to leave any negative impact in the world at all, and feel bad for anyone who does.

Thanks kidkage, I was going to drop this forum and never look back, but I see there are some people worth my time here. Thanks for helping, I REALLY appreciate it. Looking forward to being a kind, humble member of the community.

 

[RAMI]

Yes, I am THAT guy. The idiot who goes to the section labeled "Newbies" to ask a "Newb" question. You know this is my first thread as I previously mentioned, so thanks for the warm welcome.

I think an explanation is in order here:

There was a mis-understanding here. I don't blame you for your reaction, but there's more to the story than people just attacking you for no reason.

Without going into detail, there's a back story here and some people thought you were someone else posting under a different name. That's why someone said "is this THAT guy?"....They didn't mean it as the generic "THAT" guy....They meant it as a specific "THAT" guy....As in "Not HIM again".

I don't blame you for your reaction, but I also don't blame them for their responses since they thought you were a different person. Hopefully, you can forgive them, they didn't mean to randomly attack a Newbie in the Newbie section.


(If you are "THAT" guy, then I guess the joke's on me. But I'm pretty sure you're not)

 

[grewalparm]

RAMI, of course I forgive them....I didn't realize there was a back story. I was really pissed that there are people that exist that would give so many bad responses lmao. Yeah sorry, guys. For future reference, I'm not "THAT" guy.

I'm the guy who has been playing music for the last 10 years collecting all the equipment I can because I unexplainably love music incredibly, as I'm sure many on the forum do....I have excellent playing ability on my electric bass, drumset, guitar, and synths, and more. I however CANNOT use any of my recording equipment properly, and I have a lot of it for a newbie. Equipment list:

1. Saffire Pro 40 Audio Interface
2. Neumann TLM 103 mic
3. SM57 (of course)
4. Oktava MK-319

My music equipment list of stuff I can actually use is too long to type.

So yeah, I have all that recording stuff above, without a single clue of how to use it properly...I've recorded, but idk how to mix and master, or even record at proper volumes. I really want to learn how to use it all.

If Tame Impala recorded "Innerspeaker" in Kevin Parker's house, I should be able to record my own music with equal, if not better quality. So that's my goal. Nice to meet everyone.

 

[kidkage]

Don't mention it

Also, I don't think the other guys meant anything personal by it. Sometimes it gets tiring to answer the same question(s). We used to get a lot of "analog vs. digital" threads around here that always seemed to end with someone either getting banned, or leaving the site lol. It's also one of the most obvious troll questions that trolls ask to get fed. And YanKleber might just think you're an alias of someone else. (EDIT: Just saw RAMI's post and he said the same thing).

Anyway - glad I could help.

It's not such a black and white thing anymore. It used to be that everything not involving a computer was analog, and anything with a computer was digital. But now it's not really about Analog vs. Digital as much as it is Hardware vs. Virtual. Which a lot of people confusingly debate as Analog vs. Digital.

Let's use the DCO/VCO thing as an example:
A voltage controlled oscillator (in line with the completely analog circuitry of analog synths) is the result of whatever waveform (sine, square, saw, etc.) being generator just by good, old-fashioned electric voltage. A DCO is the result of some sort of digitized/computer thingy playing a part in the construction.

So, lets assume that John Smith has made an all digital modular synth with like an Intellijel Shapeshifter, Modcan's digital step sequence, and like modules... And let's assume that Jane Doe is using Native Instrument's Massive. They're both using digital synths, but most people would see John's modular and assume that he's using an analog synth. When technically, he's using a digital synth just like Jane Doe is. The only difference is that people see that hardware and that makes them assume it's somehow better.

 

[grewalparm]

Thanks a lot, you have no idea how much this cleared up for me.

Also, I have a Juno 106, and I would definitely say it's better than massive, I think hardware is better...that's currently my opinion based on my personal experience. Care to shed any insight to help me develop my opinion in the hardware vs. software argument? So far, VSTs have just been annoying to me....I guess in the end it's just personal preference right? Or is there objective evidence that would, in the end, result in one being better than the other?

 

[YanKleber]

I think an explanation is in order here:

There was a mis-understanding here. I don't blame you for your reaction, but there's more to the story than people just attacking you for no reason.

Without going into detail, there's a back story here and some people thought you were someone else posting under a different name. That's why someone said "is this THAT guy?"....They didn't mean it as the generic "THAT" guy....They meant it as a specific "THAT" guy....As in "Not HIM again".

I don't blame you for your reaction, but I also don't blame them for their responses since they thought you were a different person. Hopefully, you can forgive them, they didn't mean to randomly attack a Newbie in the Newbie section.


(If you are "THAT" guy, then I guess the joke's on me. But I'm pretty sure you're not)

Yah, it was exactly it. A very first post of a new member asking about the difference of analog and digital when the person says that has akeyboard and such really sounded to me as a troll trying to joke with the comunity.

My apologee to the OP for the rudeness. Carry on!

 

[Greg_L]

I'm not ashamed of my response at all. It wasn't an attack. Titling a thread "Analog vs Digital" is like lighting a fuse.

 

[gecko zzed]

Care to shed any insight to help me develop my opinion in the hardware vs. software argument? So far, VSTs have just been annoying to me....I guess in the end it's just personal preference right? Or is there objective evidence that would, in the end, result in one being better than the other?

I think the hardware vs software debate is far too clouded to be able to be able to establish anything like 'objective evidence'.

I suspect, though, that analog vs digital or hardware vs software are issues that are more academic than practical in your case. There are circumstances under which one will be superior than the other, but you should be able to get reasonable results whatever you use.

If you are not getting reasonable results, the problems are more likely to stem from technique, room acoustics and listening skills rather than the equipment you have.

 

[RAMI]

I'm not ashamed of my response at all. It wasn't an attack. Titling a thread "Analog vs Digital" is like lighting a fuse.

Nobody should be ashamed of their responses. When I read your post, I knew you were talking about the "Digital/Analog" thing....But later in the thread it seemed that people were really hard on the guy for what I thought might be the wrong reasons.

 

[Greg_L]

Nobody should be ashamed of their responses. When I read your post, I knew you were talking about the "Digital/Analog" thing....But later in the thread it seemed that people were really hard on the guy for what I thought might be the wrong reasons.

Yeah, but there is obviously a glaring problem at this site. Long time members that actually contribute to the place will get infractions and bans, but the same one or two trolls are allowed to run wild because they generate posts. Posts are more important than content at this site now.

 

[kidkage]

I have a Juno 106, and I would definitely say it's better than massive, I think hardware is better...that's currently my opinion based on my personal experience. Care to shed any insight to help me develop my opinion in the hardware vs. software argument? So far, VSTs have just been annoying to me....I guess in the end it's just personal preference right? Or is there objective evidence that would, in the end, result in one being better than the other?

I think the hardware vs software debate is far too clouded to be able to be able to establish anything like 'objective evidence'.

I suspect, though, that analog vs digital or hardware vs software are issues that are more academic than practical in your case. There are circumstances under which one will be superior than the other, but you should be able to get reasonable results whatever you use.

If you are not getting reasonable results, the problems are more likely to stem from technique, room acoustics and listening skills rather than the equipment you have.

Yeah, I don't think that there can be any objective evidence that hardware or software is better than the other.

I've heard the phrase "Gear is like religion" before and that's true. In the same way that I wouldn't argue religion with anyone because it's a personal thing, I also wouldn't argue gear. People are going to use what they want to use and I wouldn't try to talk someone out of it.

I mean, I don't think that anyone will deny software is more convenient for sure. The biggest case to be made for virtual instruments is that most of them don't have the limitations that hardware synths do (the physical size, certain number of voices, etc.). And they're portable AND you don't have to buy more than one to use more than one instance at the same time. But when it comes to sound it's subjective.

The Juno 106 is a monster synth for sure and I know that if I had one I'd use it more than Massive , but that doesn't equate to hardware>software for me. It all depends on the quality of a given piece. Just because I'd prefer a Juno 106 over Massive, doesn't mean that I'd prefer a Novation Bass Station over A D16 LuSH-101; Just because I'd prefer a hardware Universal Audio compressor over a Waves plug-in counterpart doesn't mean that I'd prefer an ART compressor over a Native Instruments plug-in.

There are tons of junky plug-ins out there, but there's a ton of junky hardware out there too.

 

[grimtraveller]

Is there a difference to the ear for analog vs. digital? What is it and why does it happen ?

That's very subjective because some swear they can hear a difference, others say there's no difference, others still will say there's a difference but it's irrelevant either way. And as so much, possibly most, home recorded music is made in the digital realm but so much is made with analog equipment, that confuses the issue further. Not to mention much of the stuff we listen to music on being digital.

So your question is both wide and deep and if you do a search on this site, you'll find that it's generally a horse that has been flogged numerous times but still never won a race.

As for rudeness among members here, unfortunately, there is plenty of that. Also, some people assume that almost anyone with a simplistic question must be a troll rather than someone with a question looking for answers. I've been recording for years but I noticed over the years here that different people use the word "dynamics" in somewhat different ways so I posed the question "What are 'dynamics' ?" because I was curious to see how it would be answered. Some got rather hostile because it seems like such a stupid question. But I learned many moons ago that things are not always as they seem and I prefer not to assume in the absence of evidence. I may speculate in the face of scant information but assumptions that become conclusions are often a one way ticket to misunderstanding and rancour.

I also learned many moons ago that you can't hurt a masochist. Use the site to further your knowledge and skills. Most if not all of us will at some point say something that someone else will misconstrue. It's surprising when it happens, especially if you never meant anything by it but we're human and we don't have the benefit of being in the same room, making eye contact, absorbed in body language and frankly, some people just don't want that anyway. Others do. Eventually, you kind of work out your level ~ if you stick around, that is.

One interesting place to start in trying to get your answer looked at in a little more depth would be the analog only forum, not because they have superior knowledge there, but because by encountering opposition to digital recording, you may get to understand the differences better. Who better to outline the differences than those who have an axe to grind ?