Recording Studio Myths Part 1: Analog is Better than Digital

I thought I would kick off the year with a series of posts about recording studio myths. I plan to keep these posts as simple as possible so that it is easy to understand for the new and aspiring musicians.

The first myth I plan to address is the idea that analog is better than digital.

You will hear many people claim that analog sounds better than digital. I am always amazed when I hear this, because it is an idea born out of ignorance.

So what are the differences are between analog and digital?

Analog sounds different to digital due to the frequencies you hear. Digital delivers a wider range of frequencies, in particular at the higher end. This 'higher fidelity', means that it provides a more accurate representation of the recording and the higher frequencies digital recordings are able to access provide a "brighter" and clearer sound. Analog however delivers a more limited range of frequencies, the frequencies that you can hear with analog recordings are more noticeable at the lower end. It is these lower frequencies that give analog recordings their "warmer" sound.

Analog recording, and analog technology in general, has been around a lot longer than digital technology. This means that many people are more used to hearing music with the smaller range of frequencies and as a result often feel that digital recordings just don't sound right.

Guitarists complain about this a lot. This is because the early digital effects processors and/or pedals did not effectively replicate the more traditional analog sounding tones of the older amps. However technology has come leaps and bounds since the early days and now many guitarists, including multi-million dollar artists, use computer plugins (something I will look at in a later Recording Studio Myths post) both live and in the studio to get their sound.

If you think about it logically, if you have a wider range of frequencies to work with you should be able to create better sounding recordings. Of course if you still want to create that "warmer" sound you can mix your music and apply the EQ to favor those lower frequencies, no problem. Purists will argue with this statement, but I could play you a good digital recording with the mix emphasized to sound more analog and if I told you it was recorded using analog gear you would never know it was digital.

Think about it this way:

Would you keep and use your old CRT analog television because the picture is "warmer" or would you rather use a HD LCD digital television with a brighter and clearer picture and get to see everything you have missed out on over the past 60 years?

If you prefer to watch the HD LCD, then why would you want to limit your music experience?

Purists can spout all the technical jargon they like, but the argument is essentially the same.

So does analog 'sound' better than digital? I guess that depends on the frequencies you prefer to hear.

Is analog 'better' than digital? Quite simply, no it is not.

Blog Site Facelift

I finally got around to giving the blog site a facelift. I still have to iron out a few bugs but it is 95% done.

Soon I will turn my attention to the main site as it is a couple of years out of date.

Mobile Studio Equipment

I have recently finished building a mobile recording rig.

Having found myself in the position a couple of times where it has been more efficient to go to the artist, rather than have them come to me I have just finished building a mobile rig called "Studio B". This has many advantages, I can take my equipment and capture a band in their own environment (this has been the case where bands have wanted a "live" feel). Whilst I can easily replicate that feel in the studio, some bands have specifically wanted to record in a particular room/hall. Also it allows me to take my equipment anywhere so if I get the urge to record something it is fairly easy to do.

Which Amp to Use?

The endless search for "that" guitar tone can drive most guitarists crazy.

I have tried many different amps in this eternal search and what I have discovered is that the best amp is one that has a great clean tone. Why? Because if you have a great clean tone you can put any other effect through it and it will sound good. What a lot of people do not really know is that most major artists/bands do not rely on their amps alone to get their tone. Rather they use pedals, multi-effects and plugins through an amp on the clean channel.

For example Joe Satriani used a Boss DS1 through the clean channel of a Marshall amp for Flying in a Blue Dream. Brian May famously uses Vox AC30s yet his tone comes from a 1 watt transister amp built by Queen's bassist John Deacon lined into the Vox. Recently Def Leppard's Phil Collen stated that all of his guitar effects in the studio are now done through the computer.

With that said, I like to use Fender and Vox amps when playing live. In the studio I don't use any amps, I line in to the desk through a Line 6 Podxt Pro.

Les Paul Upgrade

I have recently upgraded one of my Les Pauls.

I recently swapped out the stock pickups in one of my Les Pauls for Alnico Pro II pickups. The change in sound is great, the Alnicos give my guitar more of a vintage sound that is classic Les Paul rock!