The case for Analog

[mstcraig]

Hi out there. I have given much thought to recording lately, specifically archiving. I wonder how all those that have gone over to the digital 'dark side' (most people) will be able to play their recordings in the coming years? Lets look at this tale. First, Sony made the PCM-F1 so you could use your Beta VCR and record digitally. Know anybody that still has a Beta VCR to, play these back? Then Sony, Mitsubishi, 3M and Denon made Open Reel digital machines. How many of these beasts are still around? And the condition of those said tapes is... Then came ADAT, DAT, etc. Can YOU find any of these that still work, and reliably to play your recordings? What will happen in 5, 10, 20 years when you want to listen to all the stuff you did in Pro Tools? Will Pro Tools still exist, and will the new systems be backward compatible with it to allow this? My point is very simple. Analog recording has existed for 60+ years now. 50 years from now, I WILL be able to play my 2-track tapes back. PERIOD!!! I use a ReVox B-77 every week to record big band jazz here in New York. I have many many tapes. Aside from possbly having to bake them, I will never have a problem playing these. THIS CANNOT BE SAID OF ANY OTHER RECORDING MEDIUM, ESPECIALLY IF IT IS DIGITALLY BASED!! To use another analogy, know anyone still using DOS or Windows 3.1? People have lots of old software that's perfectly usable. The problem? The hardware grew at one rate while the software did not. Speaking for myself, I am, and always will be, in the Analog domain. I've made my choice based on wisdom for the future. And I feel very comforatble with it. Comments?

 

[zacanger]

My comment: you double posted. Lock one of them so it disappears.

 

[FALKEN]

I've noticed that the only way to avoid confrontational argument on the subject is to say that your choice is a personal one. When you start saying that your choice is "right" and someone else's is "wrong"...well, that's how religious wars get started. but between you and me, yeah, you're right.

 

[Beck]

Let me think about it for a minute...

 

[mrT]

how long has the PCM waveform been around? I don't think there is much chance that the files will be unplayable. I think CDs and CD players will still be widely available in the future. If it doesn't all go mediumless

 

[Dr ZEE]

I've made my choice based on wisdom for the future. And I feel very comforatble with it.

I've made my choice based on the fact that my past is exponentially exceeding my future. Not to say that I feel comfortable with all that. But, I suppose, that's just the way it is. So it's now or never.
**********
Tim! Get a better gun, please.

 

[Beck]

Tim! Get a better gun, please.

How 'bout these?

 

[Dr ZEE]

Perfect!

 

[The Ghost of FM]

While it's true that many digital audio mediums have come and gone, it's also true that open reel analog can only continue to exist if parts remain available to fix them and that technicians continue to be gainfully employed by repairing them because the manufacturing industry has definitely given up on supplying us cheapskates with fresh new gear that we've refused to keep buying because of all the used, 10 cents on the dollar bargains in the second hand market.

While there's a handful of competent DIY'ers on these discussion boards, the majority of us analog enthusiasts are woefully unskilled at doing this technical work on our own and also seem financially unprepared to pay what's left of an aging technician pool of souls who are.

We had a recent scare when the tape manufacturers were about to pack it up because everyone was more interested in buying old, used tape instead of buying fresh new ones. How long will it be until the remaining experienced technicians close their doors and leave us all in the cold for good?

While analog has the potential to out-live many other formats, our cheapness may be all that's left standing when the dust settles.

Cheers!

 

[jpmorris]

While there's a handful of competent DIY'ers on these discussion boards, the majority of us analog enthusiasts are woefully unskilled at doing this technical work on our own and also seem financially unprepared to pay what's left of an aging technician pool of souls who are.

Indeed. My knowledge of electronics is something I would like to improve for this reason. On the other hand this same shortage is going to impact the digital systems a few years down the line as well. But the advantage of analogue is it has is that the design itself is simpler. Once everything has been moved to an encrypted, digital-rights-management encumbered format and raw PCM has been outlawed, audio and video preservation is going to be quite an interesting task, especially when the underlying mechanism and data formats are kept secret.

I read somewhere the other day (possibly here) that the US' sound archive is still using analogue for archiving because it is a known quantity. I have no idea what the current archival strategy is for the UK's National Sound Archive, though. Even if the NSA is transitioning to digital, they're going to need the machines for the foreseeable future. What the case will be 50 years from now, none can say.

 

[hungovermorning]

The relatively high barrier to entry, however, does privelege analog users. regardless of what software bundle they come up with, it's not going to sound like tape (and, slightly off topic, in a potentially media-less sound reproduction state, I, Criswell, predict the return of vinyl where analog recording really excels. If that dies, I understand going straight to a computer just to mix to *shudders* mp3s for laptop speakers).
If you stick with analog recording, you stand out. Every shmuck in the world has a computer and I don't care how many neat programs you have for it, it's still a computer. Anything used for forums, porno, ebay and email at your home (I'd like to think this is what goes on in the back of people's minds) cannot be taken as seriously as a legitimate professional sounding option only because of its relatively high "I've got one of those and can do it at home" factor. Open reel still has a large amount of cultural currency as the way all the great songs have been recorded as referenced in film, photographs and interviews. For somebody noodling around at home trying to get a couple songs up on their myspace page, yeah, computers are a godsend, but I personally could never endorse it as a way I'd want my music to be captured. But what do I know, I still listen to cassettes.

 

[mstcraig]

Thanks for all the responses. Just to be clear (for some of you), I DID say near the end of the piece that this was a personal choice on my part. As for machines themselves and fixing them, there are tons of them around and available for purchase. If you have a machine that goes belly up, another can be found to replace it with little effort (eBay). Also, having a SERVICE MANUAL means any competent tech can fix it if you cannot, now or any time in the future. Parts is another story. I don't have all the answers, but the main point is being able to play them back at all. I cannot put confidence in anything digital for the here and now. If those of you out there can, God Bless you. Analog has a long proven track record and does not need anything elaborate to play back, like converters and such. It is inheritantly simple. Over time, simple always wins, hands down. Yes, CD's will be with us for some time. BUT, 16/44.1 CD is sonically inferior to the (usually) analog source from which it is derived. This is my main point. I am talking about masters, and needing the best possible starting point from which to work. The best systems available in the future cannot replace missing information from an inferior source. And again, in my experience, analog stands alone in this regard.

 

[cjacek]

I'm affraid to answer the original poster's question for fear of being lynched by a group of people who shall remain nameless .....

 

[ofajen]

Hi out there. I have given much thought to recording lately, specifically archiving. I wonder how all those that have gone over to the digital 'dark side' (most people) will be able to play their recordings in the coming years?

A few thoughts:

1) We've had some good discussion on the AMPEX list recently about the effects of time, humidity and heat on magnetic tape. Some of those folks use to make tape for 3M (Bill Lund) or Ampex and some of the others can quote you AES journal references on the studies characterizing the effects of time, humidity and heat on magnetic tape. But from the discussion it wasn't clear to me whether the breakdown of the polymer chains is reversible. Some folks think water (binder hyrodolysis) breaks down the chains. Many folks believe the chains break down and then the tape becomes more hygroscopic. If the latter is true, you can make the tape less sticky by drying it, but you can't repair the binder damage. The old non-back-coated tapes seem to be the least affected by the passage of time, but of course they don't allow higher signal levels and generally suffer higher print through.

2) Even if the tapes are still playable, it's going to eventually become hard for me to keep using the 3M decks. The Achilles' heel is the rubber pinch rollers. They're complex and no one seems able or willing to make them. For example, Terry (of Terry's Rubber Pinch Rollers and Wheels) refers to them as the "pinch rollers from hell" and won't even bother trying any more. George Athan makes (at least as of a year or two ago) pinch rollers for 2" 3M decks, but that's it, I couldn't persuade him to make 1" rollers (understandable!) and the small format machines are out of luck, too. It's basically a matter of using what I have and grabbing spare transports when I can, just for the tape path parts.

3) Don't kid yourself that it's going to be hard to play back digital audio files in currently used formats and current media at some time in the future. Digital is fast becoming a mature audio technology, interoperability of interconnection is becoming the norm (think FireWire, USB and ISO 9660 CD formats as examples) and digital file storage in CD and current hard drive formats are likely to be transferrable into the future indefinitely. The biggest problem would likely be the hassle of having to transfer as storage formats evolve, if you have a lot of stuff. I expect backward compatibility with Red Book audio CDs will be the norm for optical drives for many years.

Just my two cents,

Otto

 

[ofajen]

We had a recent scare when the tape manufacturers were about to pack it up because everyone was more interested in buying old, used tape instead of buying fresh new ones. How long will it be until the remaining experienced technicians close their doors and leave us all in the cold for good?

Another thing I worry about is the health of some of those repair techs. I mean, the ones I know, they're generally cooped up in a repair shop or studio 18-20 hours a day, no family or social life, no exercise, overweight, probably smoke, may drink a bit and eat a lot of fast food. All the classic risk factors for heart attack, lung cancer or adult onset diabetes and a generally shorter life expectancy. Not good.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[ofajen]

If you stick with analog recording, you stand out. Every shmuck in the world has a computer and I don't care how many neat programs you have for it, it's still a computer. Anything used for forums, porno, ebay and email at your home (I'd like to think this is what goes on in the back of people's minds) cannot be taken as seriously as a legitimate professional sounding option only because of its relatively high "I've got one of those and can do it at home" factor. Open reel still has a large amount of cultural currency as the way all the great songs have been recorded as referenced in film, photographs and interviews. For somebody noodling around at home trying to get a couple songs up on their myspace page, yeah, computers are a godsend, but I personally could never endorse it as a way I'd want my music to be captured. But what do I know, I still listen to cassettes.

Actually, IMO, the three things that really distinguish high quality studios from lesser ones these days are:

1) the staff's experience, understanding and mastery of recording craft;

2) the sonic quality of the recording space; and

3) the sonic accuracy of the monitoring space and equipment.

Audio differences between recording systems are relatively minor compared to these things!

Cheers,

Otto

 

[Beck]

Another thing I worry about is the health of some of those repair techs. I mean, the ones I know, they're generally cooped up in a repair shop or studio 18-20 hours a day, no family or social life, no exercise, overweight, probably smoke, may drink a bit and eat a lot of fast food. All the classic risk factors for heart attack, lung cancer or adult onset diabetes and a generally shorter life expectancy. Not good.

Cheers,

Otto

Ha ha... that describes about every computer tech I know!

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Actually, IMO, the three things that really distinguish high quality studios from lesser ones these days are:

1) the staff's experience, understanding and mastery of recording craft;

2) the sonic quality of the recording space; and

3) the sonic accuracy of the monitoring space and equipment.

Audio differences between recording systems are relatively minor compared to these things!

Cheers,

Otto

Those are all very valid points.

The romance of the open reel analog format is probably most lusted after by the people who frequent this and similar forums.

If I was an up and coming artist seeking out a professional studio to record my next hit record, I'd be far more interested in the staff's abilities and studio's facilities in terms of comfort level and amenities so long as my label was footing the bill.

Then again, the professional studio itself is a bit of a dieing breed of business because of the proliferation of personal and project studios which cater to an artist's ongoing needs to have their own private and available space and catering to only the very occasional outside client who sees the traditional pro studios as out of reach.

If you are going to build your own studio that is built primarily for your own needs, put the gear in there that you feel most comfortable working with and if that includes some nice open reel decks, good for you but don't buy them just because you think it will be your ticket to friends, fame and fortune. There's more to that formula then just that.

Cheers!

 

[Dr ZEE]

Actually, IMO, the three things that really distinguish high quality studios from lesser ones these days are:

1) the staff's experience, understanding and mastery of recording craft;

2) the sonic quality of the recording space; and

3) the sonic accuracy of the monitoring space and equipment.

Audio differences between recording systems are relatively minor compared to these things!

Cheers,

Otto

may I add two more 'points' to the list ?

4) True experience, understanding and mastery of recording craft eliminates the producer's dependency on "accuracy" and "quality" of recording and/or monitoring space(s) (and, - on "accuracy" and "quality" of things that fill those spaces). Experience, understanding and mastery replaces such dependency with confidence in preference.

5) Differences between recording systems vary from non to universe-like huge, depending not only on recording systems themself, but also on identification (or say, selection) of a characteristic to be evaluated and methods of evaluation, which in the area of music production are far from objective matters.


/respects

 

[Beck]

A few thoughts:

1)We've had some good discussion on the AMPEX list recently about the effects of time, humidity and heat on magnetic tape…

Yes, we are well acquainted here with the sticky-shed syndrome affecting certain backcoated tapes. There is probably more information regarding the problem on this forum than any other, including the AMPEX group. For newer members, a search of this forum will provide more info on the subject than I’ve seen in any one place.

Baking tapes in a dehydrator or special convection oven suited to the purpose completely restores the tape. It will stay that way for months or years if stored properly. The tape can be baked again in the future with no ill effects. This method of restoration has been used for many years now. This is a non-issue for archivists, as the cause and cure are known.

http://www.tangible-technology.com/tape/baking1.html

Additionally, the old binder was replaced with a new type in the early 90’s. AMPEX began using the new binder on 456 in late 1994. All AMPEX tape from 1995 and later has the new binder, as does all Quantegy branded tape. 3M/Scotch also changed the binder. Tapes like 966/986, which replaced 226, do not suffer from binder breakdown.

Other tapes never have. German made BASF/EMTEC SM911 and SM468 have no binder problems. Nor does Japanese made XL/XL1 35-90/35-180.

We currently have two tape companies churning out high-quality tape: Quantegy with the AMPEX/3M formulations and RMGI with the AGFA/BASF/EMTEC formulations.

2)Even if the tapes are still playable, it's going to eventually become hard for me to keep using the 3M decks. The Achilles' heel is the rubber pinch rollers. They're complex and no one seems able or willing to make them…

I hope you find a source for the pinch roller. There is another fellow besides Terry. As soon as I find the link I'll post it.

Some machines will be more difficult than others to maintain. For many machines spare parts are plentiful now and in the foreseeable future. There are in fact an abundance of parts from many sources. The way things looked in 1992; I could never have imagined how easy it would be to get parts and spares in 2006. The fact that analog proponents are in the minority means we’re not fighting over scraps either. We’re literally dancing through toyland, taking what we want at a fraction of the cost. It’s a dream come true, really.

3) Don't kid yourself that it's going to be hard to play back digital audio files in currently used formats and current media at some time in the future. Digital is fast becoming a mature audio technology, interoperability of interconnection is becoming the norm (think FireWire, USB and ISO 9660 CD formats as examples) and digital file storage in CD and current hard drive formats are likely to be transferrable into the future indefinitely. The biggest problem would likely be the hassle of having to transfer as storage formats evolve, if you have a lot of stuff. I expect backward compatibility with Red Book audio CDs will be the norm for optical drives for many years.

It already is impossible to recover digitized material from defective media (disintegrated DAT, damaged or deteriorated CD, crashed hard drives, etc). Not to mention, the myth of 1-to-1 digital copying dies hard. D/D conversion between digital formats is the single most destructive process in digital recording. There are currently no digital standards that you can hang your hat on as you can analog. This is one reason you’ll find a lot of angst among archivists and preservationists.

Gerry Gibson addressed the issue in 1996, and many archivists at the Library or Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration still have the same concerns 10 years later.

“...our experience is the current digital media and systems are not appropriate for long term storage or preservation.

For preservation the Library of Congress, the largest information collector in the world, depends on half-track, quarter-inch analog audio tape for backing up its over three million sound recordings.

Further, we are very leery of any compression schemes for the long term storage of preservation masters because of fear compression means loss of information regardless of how good the algorithm is. I have reservations, as an archivist and a historian, that I can really rely upon that machine to make the decision as to what's not useful data."

Gerry Gibson, Electronic Media Preservation Specialist
Library of Congress
MIX Magazine, August 1996

Digital may be maturing, but all bets are off as to where it will end up. The conflicting standards are ever changing like shifting sand. Analog, on the other hand, is where it is… frozen in time. We can invest in it with confidence.

Analog tape is really the only format that has thus far managed to stick a finger in the eye of planned obsolescence. No one has said it better than Eddie Ciletti a few years ago”

“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 Ciletti
Mix Magazine Aug. 2000

In addition to looking 20, 30, 50 or 100 years down the road, the question for those of us using analog tape as musicians, producers, etc is “What can tape do for us now?” We know the answer to that, and like what we hear.

Tim