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"Analog v. Digital"
By Derrick Warren
dwarren@excapethematrix.com
It’s almost hard to believe that the history of recorded music is only around a century old. We’ve come quite a ways since the first pressed vinyl record to streaming data from mp3 files through our iPods to our ears. Nowadays, studios are art laboratories in their own rights. Mixing boards can automatically readjust the knobs to a previous song’s specifications. Computers allow quick copy and paste jobs over botched takes. Even symphonies can be mimicked in today’s studio.
With so much now at your fingertips when recording, this doesn’t make
the task of creating a piece any less difficult. One thing I will say is
that contrary to popular belief, state of the art technology can’t do it
all for you. Sure we have pop singers using pitch shifting software to
get their voices in the correct register and even key. There’s a decline
in authentic one-take performances on the actually LP itself (even on
stage).
"To be honest, despite my own prejudice on the subject, that’s where
it should be. I admire the methods and finished product of old school
recordings, but simply as an art form, music must move forward."
The simpler times of recording before digital equipment was available weren’t a cakewalk. Analog tape recording equipment could be temperamental. One take perfection was mandatory. There wasn’t, "That sounded good, let’s drag that into this bar." If you missed a queue or hit a sour note, you were playing the song over, no matter where you were in the arrangement.
Analog equipment demanded perfection from not only the producer behind the boards, but from the singers, the bass players, the drummers, the trianglist, or what have you. Members of the "Funk Brothers," the sound behind every Motown hit up until 1975, boasted and lamented on their recording practices. Songs were often arranged on the spot and were played until recorded; then they went to the next one.
As times progressed, producers and musicians alike began pushing recording equipment and techniques to their boundaries. A lesser known producer by most musicians named Joe Meek created a "reverb room." Reverb being an effect that would give the applied instrument the sound of being either enclosed in a box or concert hall. By placing instruments and mics at different points in the room, he was able to have a different reverb effect in each of them.
Jimi Hendrix, as well as Jimmy Page pushed to see how many guitars and other instruments could be squeezed into a single song. Phil Spector (you know him now as "The Defendant") was also known by creating this HUGE wall of sound with the equipment of the day.
Of course as time goes on, more and more resources became available. The music industry would land into the digital era rather quickly. Understand that music and recording breakthroughs happen almost one right behind the other. While there were people embracing the new technology, there were those who believed that the old way was the way to go. Along with the new capabilities of the digital recording equipment, there was something else. The sound itself also changed. Some would simply say that the quality of the recording is better. Others say that it’s sterile.
Digital equipment is not only behind the boards, they are now
integrating in the world of musical instruments. For guitarists who wish
to have versatility in their tone, there are amps that digitally mimic
or "model" other amps. This rings true for other instruments such as
bass and drums as well. You can even now buy guitars that can sound like
other guitars. Acoustic instruments can also include digital components.
"One thing I will say is that contrary to popular belief, state of
the art technology can’t do it all for you."
How relevant is this issue in today’s music world? Depends on where the noise is coming from. Record companies of course are providing their artists with top of the line equipment. It is safe to say that most of today’s popular music rests in the realm of digital.
To be honest, despite my own prejudice on the subject, that’s where it should be.
I admire the methods and finished product of old school recordings, but simply as an art form, music must move forward. I, myself, have used digital equipment as well as recording in a computerized studio. What can I say, the equipment was cheaper. As the war rages on between the followers of both analog and digital, the rest of us will be waiting to see what new techniques and equipment will become available to us. And trust me, it will be used both above and under the crust.