Come and gone for who? Come and gone for you – yes. Live with your decision without expecting everyone to agree. It is a great feeling of freedom to be able to make choices based on real preference without social pressure. I highly recommend it. As much as I have due respect for the greats in the recording industry who still use analog they could dump it tomorrow, but unless digital changes for the better my studio will remain as it is.
Digital is an immature technology that has failed to deliver. Why exchange something that already is for something that may one day be? There are people that dumped analog for digital 10-15 years ago that are still waiting. What sense does that make if you can use analog while you wait? When digital finally arrives I’ll be the first one in line.
"Having been an audio lemming myself, who discarded an analogue multitrack for a digital version, I have in some respects come to see the error of my ways, and on cold, lonely nights in the chill digital air-conditioning of my studio I dream of basking in the glow of a warm analog fire. Perhaps the greatest advantage of analogue recording is its wonderfully 'warm' sound quality."
-DAVID MELLOR
Sound On Sound - May 1997
They are in the best studios around the globe. They are in countless lesser-known studios around the globe. Again this is a shock to noobs . Why are you asking questions that have already been answered in this thread with verifiable statistics?
“For many, analog tape is still the preferred way to record music. How long that lasts is uncertain. One thing, however, is sure: A quick survey of major studios and mastering rooms will show a clear preponderance of “Ferraris” (read Studer, Ampex ATR, etc) parked in the control rooms.”
-Jeff Gilman- Chief Alchemist - Precision Motor Works
Mix Magazine - Oct. 2003
As for manufacturers, we are living in a new economy where traditional indicators no longer give the whole picture. Welcome to the 21st Century. Analog machines of every variety are a hot commodity on eBay and other Internet outlets, as well as showroom floors in large metropolitan areas. It is a huge refurb market. In that sense they are still being made or remade, if you will.
“Analog machines will continue to be serviceable—now, after 20, 30 or 40 years and in the future—because they mostly consist of hardware that any skilled machinist can re-create. (No digital format will be as easy to support after manufacturers throw in the towel.)”
-Eddie Cilleti
Mix Magazine Aug. 2000
http://www.atrservice.com
http://www.jrfmagnetics.com/
http://www.athan.com/cgi-local/store.cgi?cat1=1003&s=1
http://www.precisionmotorworks.com/
http://iemmag.com/audio.html
http://www.sprague-magnetics.com/audio.htm#asales
I hope that is not the only argument because it is a very bad one. I describe this age we are living as one of incompetence and minimal standards. It is hardly reasonable to suggest that the masses in this particular time and space have made a choice based on quality. Even many of those that believe they are choosing quality are doing so based on digital mythology. I’ve said this before and it’s worth remembering:
“You will find that people in the analog camp are generally more informed and aware of the strengths and weaknesses of both formats. Ours is a truly informed choice based on experience – mostly bad experience with digital.
Rather than blindly go with the marketing flow, those who have chosen analog, for the most part, are those who have made a real choice.”
-Beck
As a life lesson I recommend everyone watch the movie, “Zulu” 1964. It is based on a true story of the battle of Rorke's Drift outpost, South Africa in 1879 when 150 British soldiers held off 4,000 Zulu warriors. The lesson? Superior numbers does not equal superior. I would rather be a part of the elite.
No, but if grape jelly is what you want I’m sure most would prefer real grapes in it, not just artificial flavor.
-Tim
