I saw lots of people looking for analog plugin emulations so my questions are: Is analog better than digital mix?, why most people prefer that?, can you give examples of each one?. Thanks for any information

 

Many analog hardware equalizers and compressors have been recreated using the latest computer technology, Digtal. Digital plugins are more accurate and have no fluctuations, are cheaper and maintenance-free. The analog becomes digital, this is called the digital age.

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its something i cant explain , record a take of yours on an analogue tape cassete or dat thru an analogue mixer or compressor or any input-output , you can hear the fluctuation of electricity , the singing of the vast the unexpected , the warmth , the ocasional buzz ,its a big deal , but with a couple of drugz or alcoohol all that counts is the beat the rythm some cool female vocals speakin bout love, hope, dreams that never became true for the final take , the one thats gonna keep a 5k crowd dancing during some festival or whatnot,rave , if you can afford get yourself a used TB303 for lead and a used TB909 , electricity singing,it is the synth the piano as much an instrument as a peoples voice ,a guitar , as a guitar a string as a konga or a bongo , digital nowadays , the fact remains , it is a sound

 

in lesser words , dont worry bout it , juzz keep up the musicmaking !!! nuthing more beautiful in this world

 

Analog sometimes sounds fun.
Both software and hardware are designed for better sound, and some hardware sounds good.
Furthermore, some software developers believe that reproducing the sound of these hardware in the digital domain is promising and challenging.
In the software field, some products are not always so good, which makes many people lose confidence...about them.

Let's get back to the topic, is analog mixing sometimes better than digital mixing?
The answer is yes, and the reverse is also true.

Some hardware can significantly affect harmonic distortion and frequency, making them sound "impact" or "warm" and so on.

In addition, not everyone can touch high-end analog signal processing equipment, so they are yearning for it, and firmly believe that good results can be obtained, they will put this point of view to others - analog sounds better.

In fact, I don’t think that analog and digital will make your mix sound like day and night. I don’t deny that they can make a huge difference in sound.
It depends on how you use the tool.


Finally, I think this is a trolling post.

 

The obvious, but still not the main reason: signals can theoretically be processed in an analog way with infinite accuracy. In Contrast to that, a digitally processed signal is always only an approximation.

But the main reason is that analog hardware usually brings its own characteristic, which is also mostly warm. But most people are reminded of old music, because in the past the hardware was used and feel that this sounds better.

 

If you ask ANY top artist/producer/engineer (like really megastars), they will tell you they don't prefer any. They use what gets the job done. The amount of music made entirely "in the box" from start to finish (including mastering, including movies soundtrack music) is enormous. "Analog" is for the "gearslutz" to lust about or is used as an excuse "I don't have gear worth of $100K so that's why Im unsuccessful". But these people don't make music or make a living out of it, they just collect gear. Be very mindful to whom you consider "most people" because you risk lowering yourself to them. Just make music with what you have, soon you'll get so better that you'd be able to make good music with stock plugins.

Edit: The Weeknd records with a completely vanilla and affordable Shure microphone and whatever not-at-all fancy amp for it. And the rest of the vocal processing is completely in the box. And he's megastar. That's all you need to know.

 

@Voekit @keyone1a @jon.dough.1991 what is that "warmth" you mention (I heard that many times too)

 

Absolutely no

 

Because it's more expensive, and in this world, money = quality, therefore analog > digital.

 

It is not easy to explain what warmth is. Try to record the same melody via analog synth or some VST. After hours of tweaking your VST melody, you will understand.: it is easier to mix the same melody recorded by analog synth, you need less EQ, and so on. Another point: habit. People used to hear analog synths, because (for example Korg M1 was sold in thousands, so they used to hear Korg M1 organ piano preset on their lovely tracks).

 

it doesnt matter analog or digital its all about how much thought and work are put into it , analog gear were masterfully crafted the barrier of entry was too high and the capable few spent alot of time and work to perfect every aspect of it , early waves stuff and sonnox oxford plugins were too masterfully crafted thats why engineers still use them , its all about quality and as long as fabfilter/u-he/TDR are still working in original not emulated stuff I am optimistic we will grow pout of this emulation phase

 

I think if you go strickly by the numbers, most people prefer digital (ITB) mixing (and producing) because it's a hell of a lot cheaper, needs no maintenance, no space, is way more versatile and has total recall (ask Junkie XL).

When you compare analogue hardware to their digital emus, the hardware has more depth and sounds more pleasant - even in lossy compressed YT vids. I've heard one or two exceptions but these were ads and I don't trust ads.
But I doubt that most people will hear the difference (when it comes to FX , mainly, not instruments) when they just listen to a track and can't compare it.

 

When you say analog FX, are you talking about things like compressors and EQs, or more sound mangling toys like phasers and delays, or both?

 

Good analog equipment makes things sound better (primarily thickness/warmth, depth, high end sheen, reduction of harsh tones), bad analog equipment is even worse than a plugin. My ITB guitar emulation sounds better than my cheap hardware distortion pedal.

 

Absolutely. But not when a sudden slider pop damages a midrange speaker (that happened to me).

Not even an high-end digital for that, they're still expensive.

You forgot to add the noise family of buzz, hiss, crackle.

M1 is basically a digital ROM based synth.

Well, there is no metrological unit for this enough subjective and vague term.

Basically it's just marketing, I don't trust a tech judgement based on feeling terms.
Tell me how many times, when you look from the cheap earbuds to the most expensive headphones (or any audio gear in general) you'll see the word "warm" in tech specs, only in ads.
Of course, if you like what you hear, that's good, but still subjectively.

This is not the first thread on analog/digital "war", use the search box to discover the Pandora's box.

Have a look to this page:
Comparison of analog and digital recording

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2021

also the more expensive your outboard gear, the less you have to worry about sounding good in the source, studies have shown.

No, they are just different, that's why most people use a mix of both. One thing you should always keep in mind though, is that there's a lot of marketing and nostalgia going on around this subject, so while analog gear can give you something special, there's also a lot of BS out there and people who believe that BS. So in short, test the stuff yourself, see if you can hear any difference worth your time and ALWAYS stay critical. Otherwise you'll end up buying useless things or joining the sister site cult and accumulating plugins you'll never use like the rest of us.

-Hail R2R, provider of goodies.

 

Mainly analog saturation/distortion.

Tube equipment and tape have a very pleasant distortion (as well as transformers, diodes, op-amps etc.) that is hard to accurately reproduce in the digital domain.

There are so many variables to account for when a signal is passed through just one analog pre-amp/compressor/tape machine that it takes immense computational power to reproduce to a point where it is indistinguishable, but you don't really need to make the emulations that exact for them to sound great though.

There will probably always be a big differences between the real deal and their digital counterparts. Digital DSP has a big advantage over analog in that it can be used for very surgical tasks, so the best way of working would be a hybrid setup where you use analog stuff for their great character and digital for their surgical precision.

 

It's basically useless to argue for analog to sound better because it has 'warmth', if it's
not possible to explain what warmth is.
Anyway, for my understanding warmth can mean harmonic distortion, or the analog gear giving
a pleasant eq response when you process your audio through it.
Distortion can add more harmonics to the sound, making it fuller and by that giving the listener a sense
that it sounds 'better'.

 

If you, have used various analog outboard gear, mixers, etc.., then you, already possess a base of comparison relating to ITB plugins.
On the other hand. If this experience does not exist for you, it must be gained.

Some examples:
playing an instrument, driving, riding a bike, etc...
discerning the quality differences between instruments, tools, food, air, water, etc...

Personally I look for analog like qualities (modeling), rather than analog emulation.