Unlearning digital audio

[ryst]

over the past few years, I have lived out of a suitcase, and lived in various cities and always moved around. This type of lifestyle made my gear choices more limited because I didn't want to haul around gear all the time. So the perfect solution for me at the time was a line6 pod. I made two records with the Pod and was always satisfied with the sound. But lately after a lot of research on digital recording and analog recording I realized I was going ASS backwards. I thought that I would be able to make awesome records with an all digital setup. Digital recording and editing, digital, amp simulations, digital reverb simulations, digital mixing, digital samples of real instruments. bla Blah Blah. But recently, after a few encounters with some real amps, and quite an extensive reading about digital vs analog recording and mixing, I started to really hear things differently. I have always been a fan of different types of music through different time periods and it's to the point now where I can almost tell like I know if something was "pro tooled" or not. Maybe I can't tell, maybe the engineering just sucks but I don't like what I am hearing in "today's music". Not all of it, of course, but a lot of it does souund "digital". This is all new to me. Last night my drummer brought his Mesa Trem verb for me to play on during practice. I usually use a Marshal combo with a pod (eww). Well, at the beginning the Mesa already sounded awesome but after an hour, it sounded incredible when the tubes started warming up. I was a changed man. Basically i just wanted to let all the analog lovers know that I am slowly beginning to understand why and I agree with you. Digital doesn't suck but I like analog more.

[DC]

Those modelers are okay for practice, but I'd never gig or record without one of my Boogs or black faced Fender amps 99% of the time.

[philbo_Tangent]

It's really hard to pinpoint whats *wrong* about digital - - it's more similar to a sort of listening fatigue than anything else I can think of... But I hear it too.

[KenElevenShadows]

I like the modelers. They have their uses. I am actually using a Vox ToneLab through a Carr Rambler for gigs now (instead of my pedalboard). And for some really sparse guitar passages, I've even

 

But there's absolutely no substitute for the depth and nuance and physicality that a real amp through a microphone imparts. This isn't a "fussy" sort of audiophile thing or something subtle. It's something that every band that records here comments on when recording in my studio.

[ryst]

I'm not just talking about guitar amps and simulations. I'm talking about everything digital. For me their was more of an emphasize on digital audio because I didn't have a lot of money and the word "Pro Tools" was/is more popular than Quantegy. But as I improved my ear, started reading a lot more about the differences between the two, and applying that to everyday music listening, I started realizing that my recordings were missing something HUGE. For example, last night I felt like I wanted to play my guitar. I could feel everything. It's not very inspiring anymore to listen to my podxt because I am not really a part of the process. I don't feel like I am doing my part to get a killer tone. With the Mesa, I felt like I was there interacting with the amp, my guitar, and the music in a much more intimate way. I know that might sound gay but that's how it felt to me. And the same thing goes with recording and mixing too. I want to start mixing OTB with real hardware because I feel like I am the one who is responsible for making the music sound great. That's the feeling I was missing for so long and it's starting to come back.

[ryst]

[KenElevenShadows]

Loss of depth and less sense of physicality. It keeps sounding better and better, though, but it still has a ways to go.