Jose O. Perez Jeffery Benedict January 23, 2015

Analog Vs. Digital
In Recorded Music
When I began my studies at Cal State La I came into the program as a drum set performance major and wasn’t too knowledgeable about how the music recording process works. So when I decided to switch my major to the technology studies track I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of knowledge that I did not have. Not that I’m the best drummer in the world, but I was feeling like I needed a change in course and it seems that learning about something that I didn’t know much about was a really good use of my time. I’ve been using Logic to make recordings at home and once I began to understand what I was doing mixing and composing quickly became an obsession of mine which I am pursuing daily. From the very beginning of this journey I’ve taken to watching as many tutorials on youtube as I possibly can and am bombarded with knowledge, opinions, and a fare amount of useless crap. It’s interesting to see the very different approaches that people have to doing the same thing; and they all think their way is the best. What’s more is that there is this belief that the music business is suffering gravely from this supposed injustice that the digital age has inflicted upon those that are “old school”. So what I’m noticing is this large divide amongst people that use analog gear and those that use digital gear. The analog devotees are absolutely convinced that you can NEVER get the rich, warm, juicy and whatever adjective that makes you wanna have sex with it, kind of sound from a digital format. I think that there’s a lot of nostalgia if you’ve come from doing things this way. Music is such a powerful force in our lives that everything that reminds us of it can take on personality traits in the mind of the artist using them. Other people are just stubborn old curmudgeons that refuse to change and accept that fact that change is happening all around them.

ANALOG VS. DIGITAL

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The digital way of recording offers an entirely different way to be creative and what makes this method so inviting to so many musicians is that you can set up a studio at your house and start making music for a fraction of the cost of getting going on analog gear. For me, this has been the best part of this entire learning process; that I can start to utilize techniques and tools in the virtual world that will help me to record and mix like a professional. With that said, and the music business supposedly being in the shitter, why wouldn’t a person choose this route!?!? Moreover, some of the best engineers in the world such as Chris Lord Alge, Andrew Schepps and many, many others have switched from analog to digital because it’s so much easier, faster, cheaper, and sounds just as good, or better, than the old way they used to do it. I’m still learning but I definitely think there is validity to each side’s argument. I think that it’s important to note that this question I proposed can really only be answered with an opinion because, if you like something, who’s to say to you that it isn’t “good”, or the “right way”.

ANALOG VS. DIGITAL

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