will plug-in's make rack gear obsolete?

  • Thread starter Thread starter maskedman72
  • Start date Start date
charger said:
50 years ago, people said the same things about "tubes" that we are now saying about "hardware," when the solid state revolution happened. I think hardware is here to stay.
Click to expand...

good point...
 
tjohnston said:
Some people just ignore computer technology. For instance, I have no idea what a plug in is. I dont know what a sound card is or a daw or a cakewalk or a sonar is! I literally have no idea.
Click to expand...

i'd luv a room full of flashing pretty colored hardware lights to but my pockets will never be that deep, humm, maybe an 8 rack case or so but not the upper end home studios i see nowadays...
 
Yes computers will take over everything. It's only a matter of time. The argument about which sounds better,...analog or digital..., is quickly becoming irrelevant. You will be able to (and already can) produce sounds on a computer that could not possibly be done any other way. The old fogies will try to hang on to the old technology, as they always do, until it all fades away. You will be assimilated.
 
I wish the world would hurry up and realize that software processing is the only way to go. Then everyone will dump their obsolete outboard gear onto ebay.



And then I'll snap that shit up so fast, for pennies on the original dollar. And everyone will ask how my recordings sound so much better than theirs. Can you say analog tape, baby?!:D
 
In my opinion I think that analog sounds better, but digital is easier to use. I have a daw and have never recorded onto tap, but that's what I heard said, and I must say I do believe it.
 
djc said:
Yes computers will take over everything. It's only a matter of time. The argument about which sounds better,...analog or digital..., is quickly becoming irrelevant. You will be able to (and already can) produce sounds on a computer that could not possibly be done any other way. The old fogies will try to hang on to the old technology, as they always do, until it all fades away. You will be assimilated.
Click to expand...

techs that have big bucks wrapped up in stand alone hardware studios will argue your point till the cows come home, me, i beleive your right in your assumption, it will take a few years but look where we are at this point in time already...

i rest my case....

i was assimilated from analog, i am real, my name is chuck, i don't give a fuk ;)
 
Dethska said:
Can you say analog tape, baby?!:D
Click to expand...
Can you say "In 20 years no one will be able to identify an analog tape deck, let alone get the parts to repair one?"
 
Maybe in 50 but not in 20. That's what they said about analog 20 years ago and vinyl too. But vinyl is the only music medium to show increased sales the last three years. It'll die eventually.....but it'll be a while.
 
Even though computer hardware is getting faster and cheaper so are the digital effects processors.

The real question is can a completely integrated DAW system ever compete with discreet components for performance and quality? That has never proven to be true yet. Even when computers are 1000x faster then today there could be hardware processors with 24 CH of digital I/O and processing.

Any professional system relies on redundancy and control interfaces and you just can't get that in an all in one system.
 
cominginsecond said:
Can you say "In 20 years no one will be able to identify an analog tape deck, let alone get the parts to repair one?"
Click to expand...

Can you say, in 20 years, the vintage tape machines will still be in use? And every single DAW and plug-in in use today will be gone.

I can't imagine someone saying that they like the sound of a vintage Cubase setup. Of course, I could be wrong. The crystal ball is a little fuzzy today. :cool:
 
Dethska said:
I can't imagine someone saying that they like the sound of a vintage Cubase setup.
Click to expand...
Of course they wouldn't. They'd say, "I like the transparency, ease of editing, and relative affordability of digital recording."

Decent analog machines are expensive to maintain, hard to edit with, are in risk of being obsoleted by the companies that make them, are in risk of having the media obsoleted, and they require the use of rack after rack of outboard gear. IMHO, it's just not a viable format for most home recordists.
 
Dethska said:
Can you say, in 20 years, the vintage tape machines will still be in use?

Maybe in very, very limited use, and only by people that live in NYC, LA, and Nashville (since those will be the only places with people that can repair the damn things).

And every single DAW and plug-in in use today will be gone.

Yes, but they can easily and inexpensively upgraded or replaced, unlike analog tape machines.
Click to expand...
 
TexRoadkill said:
Even though computer hardware is getting faster and cheaper so are the digital effects processors.

The real question is can a completely integrated DAW system ever compete with discreet components for performance and quality? That has never proven to be true yet. Even when computers are 1000x faster then today there could be hardware processors with 24 CH of digital I/O and processing.
Click to expand...
Good point. I still feel that the advantages of having your processing integrated in the DAW will outweigh the advantages of using outboard gear, even if outboard gear has a slight performance advantage.
 
cominginsecond said:
Of course they wouldn't. They'd say, "I like the transparency, ease of editing, and relative affordability of digital recording."

Decent analog machines are expensive to maintain, hard to edit with, are in risk of being obsoleted by the companies that make them, are in risk of having the media obsoleted, and they require the use of rack after rack of outboard gear. IMHO, it's just not a viable format for most home recordists.
Click to expand...

You make good points. But I still think it's a viable format for home recordists. Tape machines are fairly cheap on ebay. They are a lot easier to use from what I've seen. As far as maintenence. Sure, you have to take care of them. But, nobody can tell me computers are error free and require no maintenence. Expensive to maintain? If you don't buy a new computer every five years, you have no access to any new software. Your system is too slow.

I don't want to start yet another analog vs digital argument. I will agree that you make very good points. But I think there will always be a market for people that want to put their hands on real dedicated knobs and switches. Besides, a rack full of blinking lights is real pretty. :D
 
I am thinking about this a lot lately. I have been impressed with the speed and ease of Protools, but I still like the rack processors. What I do think is that the rack gear will be more integrated with the DAW.

I think that the outboard gear of the future will integrate with a DAW and the function will be just like using a plug-in. There may also be some type of cooperative processing between the PC and the outboard gear. This would take some of the load off the CPU for processing effects.

Just my 2 cents.
 
cominginsecond said:
Can you say "In 20 years no one will be able to identify an analog tape deck, let alone get the parts to repair one?"
Click to expand...

i'm sure hardware will survive and most likely flursh in 20 years, as to finding old parts, sure, they'll most likely cost around three times what the original units price was, but that's why stand alone studio owners are so smart and can belittle us comp/soft user... heh, pun...just punning...

with the advances in soft fx and tape design, rec heads, etc, i doubt any general audio listener/user can tell the difference, much less give a shit, as i do...

imho, digital is easier to compile and config than editing tape at this point in time, given i'm not useing any cutting edge anolog tape equip either, they'll most likely merg the two formats into one unit if they haven't done so already... i don't frequent audio hardware sites or catologs much nowadays, still a ripoff market, imho... not that software isn't and most everything is targeted, ahem...

the future of audio looks dim, imho, with all the copyright, greed, BS crap going around, no one will be able to buy, own, or listen to anything without jumping through hoops or paying out the ass for it... don't forget, radio is dead, indeed...

excuse the OT last rant...

peace...
 
Dethska said:
nobody can tell me computers are error free and require no maintenence. Expensive to maintain? If you don't buy a new computer every five years, you have no access to any new software. Your system is too slow.

Click to expand...

no, but xp is extremely stable, and of course any sane tech backs his data up weekly or daily if he's into a job or just dicking around making samples and such...

hardware is dirt cheap now, your grabbing at straws ;)

heh, damn comp waits on me way more than i on it, then again, i'm running over 500mhz :)

sheesh, cubase sx, nuendo, logic, cakewalk... they can only make soft less bloated user friendly down the road, along with OS, imho...

there's been a huge push in audio applications the past year, programmer have been very busy, besides, it ain't all that, most techs would like customers to think otherwise though...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top