Analogue or Digital - An OLD Question or have things changed a bit?
An OLD Question - Or is the Music Recording Medium Changing???
Some people ask me... Which is better, analogue or digital?
Digital or Analogue, that is the question. Or is it? In the light of what’s happening in digital technology these days, the only way I can answer such a question is: “Times are really changing!”
Looking back now, it seems to me that as soon as the newness of digital recording had worn off, we found that sound quality is still a very key issue. The quality of the sound of digital recording was, and still is, measured by how close it sounds to analog recording.
Here are some comparisons I have heard, made by professionals, in the studio:
A - “It sounds great. It has that wonderful Analog distortion!”
B- “It has that analog warmth to the sound!”
C- “You know... it sounds very close to analog!”
What would you say?
Five years ago I would have said, “Digital recording is sharp and clear, but by itself, as the primary recording medium, it’s a bit harsh to my ear. At that point in time, digital recording sounded to me as if part of the sound was missing. Low volume level dynamics were shapeless and fuzzy. Those criticisms are now a thing of the past, at least for me. However, there are a few sonic issues when recording music 100 percent in the digital domain, that bother me.
A couple of years ago I would have answered the “Is Digital music recording superior or is it Analogue superior ” question with, “I don’t think either is better, merely different”.
Well, digital sound, as it applies to music recording, has made tremendous progress in the past year or two. For instance, with the introduction of high-resolution digital recording at 96 khz - 24 bit, or Sony/Philips’ DSD technology, the sound of digital recording has improved drastically.
Today I would have to say that I am using the Digital Recording Medium as a primary recording medium “almost all the time”, now. Please notice that I said, “almost all the time”. I do occasionally find a song that likes to be recorded or mixed to analogue better than digital. What I am saying is that there are songs that actually prefer to be recorded in a specific medium. I found out long ago that, as an engineer, producer or artist, you cannot impose your intent over the sonic personality of a piece of music. You cannot record or mix a song to digital, or analogue either, for that matter, just because you want to! The music always wins out! Let the music tell us what it wants!
I must say that what the digital recording medium does well, it does dramatically well. For instance, digital recording is very robust. Digital recording is very consistent. Every time you play a digital recording it sounds the same. This is not necessarily true with analogue recording.
The bottom line in any music recording or mixing situation is to listen to the sound of the music with your ears first, but then ask your heart, “Is this the way I want my music to sound?” or better yet ask your heart, “Is there any way I can make it sound better?”
What do you think????
Bruce Swedien
Reply With Quote
