I agree, I think mixing down to a 2-track analog mastering deck is the best way to go if you're really wanting to keep as much as possible in the 'analog' world.
However, in the end, you unfortunately still have to get that 'final, final-mix' onto a CD (or god-forbid, the dreadful Mp3
) and finish-up in the digital domain at
some point.
- So you
do kind of have to ask yourself, "how 'truly important' is that final product really worth to you?"
If you're mainly just recording 'demos', low-fi mixes, or just basic recordings of
yourself to listen to - I would say to just either use a decent CD mastering unit (such as an Alesis Masterlink) to dump the 2-track analog mix onto & be done with it -or- if you're using a computer to burn the CD onto, try at least running the 2-track analog mix into an 'easy-to-use' mastering program (such as 'T-racks') before burning it onto the CD. (you're usually going to be 'forced' into dumping the final 'analog-mix' onto some type of computer-program
anyway, in order to get it burned onto a CD - might as well use a 'mastering software' program just to make sure your levels & EQ come out sounding the way you like or intended it to be.)
But If you're
really serious about wanting to get the most 'analog' sound
possible to put on a final CD (and you have the extra money for it) - you may want to consider sending the actual 2-track reel of your final mix to a professional analog 'mastering house' somewhere. From what I've been told and heard by others that have done so, they usually use
all outboard analog gear (pultec EQ's, compressors, vintage limiters, etc) to do all of the final processing with, and try to make the 'final path' to CD (or better yet, 'Vinyl') with the least amount of 'digital' as possible.
I
have listened to a recent mix lately, that was done
completely in the analog world - all the way from the first tracking, then finally down to actual 'Vinyl' (no digital-processing
anywhere in the signal-chain) - and I must say, probably one of the best, if not
'the best' recordings I've heard in many, many years.
- God, how great would
that be if that 'trend' were to actually take-off again, and Mp3's were to become 'a horrible thing of the past'?
(hey, a boy can dream can't he?)