Analog is BETTER than digital
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2021
- I mansplain why you are wasting your money on plugins, why analog recording equipment and musical instruments are quality investments, why digital media is fragile and expensive, and why Analog is better than digital. A rant.
If you spend money on software, you are throwing your money down the toilet. And it doesn't end up in the landfill with all your other endless e-waste. It ends up in Bill Gates' pockets. (Yes, I grew up in the 90s).
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Make sure to tell me in the comments how efficient your workflow is, how you never have to calibrate your virtual tape machine, and what a hypocrite I am for making this video with 100% digital equipment.
More Reasons:
1. With zero physical moving parts, there is no good reason why software should antiquate.
2. The earth is going to end because your obsolete computers and iPhones are piling up in the rainforest. That hardware is still functional.
3. Violins are among the most stable hard investments, often increasing in value when the market crashes.
4. I've lost all the movies (files) I've ever bought online. On the other hand I still have VHS’s from when I was ten.
5. Computers are a fad. They won't last.
6. Food pellets will be traded for cassettes in the dystopian future.
Yes, getting fox news with my rusty tinfoil antenna was the highlight of my childhood.
I am saving the planet by stealing VCRs from elderly people, because they will replace gold and then bitcoin. What are YOU doing to make society better?
#analog #digital #homestudio #dawless #recording
Studio Guitarist & Virtual Guitar Teacher
www.TravisRaab.com
/ travisraabguitarlessons
The Best 4 Track Cassette Recorder Ever: ua-cam.com/video/O98hypdSJpM/v-deo.html
Analog stuff is so much more fun to work with and the limitations force you to be more creative. Nice typewriter!
Totally agree Doctor! thanks man this thing is pretty fun to use. i've never used one before it's crazy. it was just laying around.
What’s funny is I started 100% analog, then jumped on the digital movement in the early 2000s, and now only use my DAW like a tape machine and about 100k of outboard analog gear.
I have old digidesign expansion bays and converters that I can’t use now. In fact, every digital thing I’ve used 8 years ago is obsolete.
100k of outboard? holy moly.
I hear you regarding the digidesign stuff. I have like 4 adapters to get an old interface to work still. I had a crazy idea where I would use a mac pro (they seem to last a long time) and just a bunch of stable software and just be like Amish, stay offline, never update, pretend like it's 20120, and see how long I can keep that time capsule going.
@@travisraab lol I love the idea. I really hate the rat race of digital. 2 years your phone, computer and software are all out of date. What you paid 3k for is valued at a fraction of that cost 2 years down the road.
I have (2) 1176AE that have increased in value almost by double in just 5 years.
@@MAGS-hu1wx I know it's crazy. your 1176 doubled? holy crap. yeah the phone upgrade thing is insane. my phone just broke and i'm using my last phone that's 5 years old. it's totally fine.
Though I agree with you that there is value in analog gear, I used to work in a studio with full analog geat (Mixing desk, preamps, recording straight to tape etc) but slowly we moved away from it for 2 reasons : Practicality and customers ears. 99% of people will never know you are working with plugins or real analog gear (No preamps but just in the box effects) We live in a society today where we need to constantly churn out content, songs, trends, videos or we fall behind. Working with analog does not allow this. If you want to make music in your basement for you and a nieche of fans who care about "analog because analog" that's great. I'm a realistic producer who needs to work fast for clients, otherwise it's hard to keep up. I bought plugins from approx 10 years ago, they still work great and most of them came with a free upgrade.
I have a Roland Alpha Juno. It's great, sounds lovely and can probably make a nice profit if I sell. But what happens when it breaks? I'm no engineer so I'll take to someone who can repair it for me. Uh oh, you ard paying 600e in repairs for a 40 year old instrument that 99% of people can't tell if it's real or not in the recording. Not worth it!
The digital world is getting better and better every single year. DAWs are getting so good. Analog is great for a couple of things : Mastering, preamps, and possibly summing. That's it.
Still love your videos and workflow, but had to disagree with you here..
thanks for sharing your thoughts Cameron!
I would agree that most people can’t tell the difference in the sound. I would also argue there is value in keeping these old technologies around. I think that Travis is looking at it from a home producer or small producer angle. If I buy an actual echoplex tape delay, it’ll set me back $1000. Not to mention tape and maintenance. The $99 plug-in version probably sounds better and it hundreds cheaper. But you basically threw your $99 away. If you bought a VST version of the plug-in and then your DAW decides to no longer support VST, you buy it again. If you buy the physical object, you can use it for your entire career and possibly even sell it for more than you bought it for. You’ll never sell a plug-in. So from that standpoint I can see where Travis is coming from. And he’s trying to assemble a working small scale studio from found and low cost gear. So analog gear fits with the spirit of what he’s trying to do. I’m a sign maker. I would never try to switch my current business to hand lettered signs with paint and a brush. I live or die by my large format printer. But my business doesn’t take the amount of skill it did when my dad started his shop in the mid 70’s. Also, it would be a complete shame if hand lettering became lost. So from that perspective there is value in both forms of sign making. In fact there are small shops in California that are almost exclusively hand lettering and they get top dollar for their work.
That to me speaks more of a societal aspect than the equipment.
Same as the argument that lossy has no difference, because no one will be able to hear it anyway.
Goes on the opposite road to things like crisp high resolution and image fidelity. Quite the weird contradiction isn't it.
Also the end user buying 4k to watch cable in 720p on it.
This whole "getting behind" thing is really a downer. It´s really a question of your philosophy and point in life but some people still believe in a different kind of doing art than always run behind the hottest shit on the block. As you mentioned is it for yourself and you have the money and freedom or do you want to get liked and get payed. Differnt things.
I am returning to flamenco guitar now after playing 30 years and give a fuck about client and left this service shit behind long ago. Never looking back.
One thing I love about recording on old analogue equipment is how the process affects the music. A plugin might come close sonically, but it’s worlds apart from actually recording on a porta. (Or in my case a Teac A-3440.) “Fix it in post” can creatively kill a project..
When you're right you're right
You're making some valid points! I partially agree....but the guy wanting to trade his tape recorder for a UAD product might've been an industry professional, though. Where speed and convenience trump vintage gear or their resale value.
Another thing I think worth pointing out is that not all equipment is created equal, not analog nor digital. Just because UAD is sh*te doesn't mean that RME is too, or Motu.
I'm an electronic music composer and there are a bunch of tools, especially geared towards creativity and sequencing that just don't have an analog counterpart. It's deplorable how we're expected by several companies to buy in to their "ecosystem" and how they lock us in but I am of the opinion that the best results are usually reached through the best of both (all) worlds. Ideally, in my case, that'd be all open source digital and awesome vintage equipment but I'm not there yet. Until then - if it works, it works!
Looking forward to seeing your next video filmed on that Handycam ;)
Great points! And well articulated. They make that stuff so convenient there's no choice but to buy in. Evil devils. Thanks for commenting :)
yes!! the music community doesn't shine enough light on open source tools or even better, the free software movement. the tools are already out there, ardour daw and linux jack drivers do pretty much that.
i completely agree with this video. however, with the recent vacuum tube shortage/stoppage, the future is really uncertain for tube amps. but the alternative is digital modeling amps like kemper and fender tone master. what do u think is the way forward here?
we need to invade russia and harvest their tubes.
The reason a lot of analog gear is so valuable at the moment, is because not that long ago analog second hand stuff used to be way cheaper most of the time. The old tape-machines, analog synths or vintage guitar pedals were getting rusty in thrift shops or basements. Since this stuff was basically free, people used it to make music and demonstrate that music is not dependent on spendy/fancy stuff. This whole Lo-Fi DIY studio aesthetic grew out of this. I feel like now were in the aftermath of this trend, analog stuff is waaaaaaay to overpriced at the moment because this trend has peaked and judging on past trends this style is gonna fade also (I feel like it already is). Digital production with a DAW is the new affordable way to make music. Take an old laptop crack a few plugins buy a second hand audio interface and your ready to go. And I feel that's how the majority of young people are expressive themselves. In the end the tools don't really matter that much, musical ideas are way more important. The whole "randomness" thing in analog gear and "perfection" in digital gear is not true at all btw, there is plenty of digital ways to generate true randomness and simulate all kinds of phenomena happening on analog gear.
interesting points!
Just discovered your channel, have been binge watching all day! I've started moving more and more away from digital to analog. With digital, it felt like it was starting to consume me and having too much choice I was getting nothing finished. Analog is totally the other way around, less choice equals more productivity and recording/mixing down to tape means making final decisions. Keep the great content coming dude \m/
That's really cool thanks so much for the comment. I totally hear what you're saying! Computer is bad for adhd 😆
@@travisraab No worries at all. The work you did on Olivia’s track too, was top quality. 👍🏻
Oh man, I just discovered your channel and it’s a treasure. Your points here resonate, and remind me of something Steve Albini has talked about on several occasions: the longevity of analog tape, as a storage medium, as compared to [Insert Name of Every Hot New Format He’s Seen Over 40-ish Years]. The digital world puts innovation and speed above all else, meaning longevity isn’t even an afterthought: it’s the enemy. The current tech is supposed to be left behind.
It’s a philosophy that’s great for an industry and terrible for consumer wallets.
Ok, rant over 😂 Thanks again for making this amazing channel!
Thanks for sharing Steve's points and I'm glad you are enjoying the channel, Jordan!
This is amazing! Absolutely my motto!
Thank you for this great video Travis!
Hell yeah Mister Noble!
I have exactly the same super8 camera…It doesn’t work. Looks cool on my window sill though! If you do refurbish it please film the process and upload it?
that is a really wild coincidence. have you tried to fix yours yet? I wonder if mine stopped working because the battery exploded inside it. I haven't even started diagnosing. you are an expert so it's really exciting that you have the same machine!
Hi, this is a point that I reiterate to all my subs. Not to show off at all, but I have 10k of vinyl that I have collected through my life since the 70’s. I can listen to vinyl that I bought in 1979 and I can listen to albums inherited from my parents that they bought in the 50’s.
I have no hard drive or computer or software working now that I have purchased in the 90’s.
Synths, tone generators, compressors, and all my studio instrument work perfectly even my Ms20 that I have bought in 1986 for no more than 200gbp
siamo d'accordo! é come il vapore. You hit the nail on the head. physical things that are fixable have a lot of upside! That's very cool that you can still play your parents albums wow. grazie per il tuo commento
This is some high level GAS validation. Well done! I have landed on a hybrid workflow for now, always fine-tuning the "best of both worlds" approach. I'll start a UA-cam channel about it and we can be buds, whaddya say?
You caught me Robin 😅
@@travisraab hah! Your enthusiasm is infectious. Keep it up and Ill will keep watching
Awesome Video! And I agree with you 100%, on so many aspects of this. I was thinking the other day, that I should have kept my Tascam 424 mk2, and kept using my project studio analog environment, instead of buying new interfaces and computers every few years. I feel that working with all this "new" stuff, which is supposed to be easier, is actually harder to use and work with, and I actually get less done, because I feel like I'm always fiddling with something rather than working. Granted, sometimes the analog can be more limiting, but that can also be fun and help with the creativity. I also agree about the cameras, and games, etc. Same here, I have an older camera and video camera, and it still works perfectly, but yet I probably have 6 either dead, or out of date phones just sitting here that I cant do anything with. Physical gear will always have value, but outdated electronics and software will always be worth pennies, if anything at all. Awesome video once again!
thanks JJ! yeah the interface, computer, and iphone thing is crazy to me. nobody even bats an eye as if it's supposed to be this way to constantly have to upgrade. I recently got my 20 year old powerbook pro to turn on. It is fast. the experience if using it is very fast and comfortable. Files open at the same rate. it's not even flash and i was surprised how snappy it is. It looks and feels a lot like a newer macbook pro. I don't get it.
I'm 52.. just bought a 388 (again) had one new in the 80s and recorded tons of stuff. It went away when digital hit and now that I have it back, I'm listening to those 30+ year old recordings. Never do that with a 30 year old laptop!
that's pretty cool! a couple of us have noted that we've lost movie files over the years on our computers, or they went down with the computers or something. but tapes seem to keep on tickin' somehow. man you were way ahead with that 388!
Really keen on using analog stuff since the last few years. I only own a Peavey mark IV 16 CH console and a TASCAM 414. Pretty Nice distortion :)
The search of that stuff took me almost a year but it took less money ( than digital) and those gears, they came up with "kind of history" behind wich made the deal even better.
The thing is strugling with the search of proper tape cassettes, they not appear easily... At least here in Argentina.
Really cool stuff on this yt channel. I wonder what happened with the ghost round the house story. You never finished, did You? ,X)
sounds like you got some cool stuff caleb! i could continue to tell the story about the ghost of john if enough people are interested!
This video was an eye opener. Thanks man. You inspired me to buy 244. You gained long time subscriber.
Wow that's so cool to hear! Thanks keatsu
Not completely "analog vs digital" story, but adds points to "artefacts zone", that was mentioned. My professor (quite senior guy) of acoustics told us that back in a day they put an experiment for hi freq response microphones: the live performance was recorded in some club or restaurant hall (without any guests, room only) with multiple mics, both standard 20-20kHz and some much higher kHz stuff. Then they put a blind test. No one from committee noticed any difference (obvious, the freq range was the only different parameter). But there was an artist among them, he got a little drunk on "afterparty" and said: "Well, I don't know...but it seems that one sample you, guys, have recorded in a room full of women an wine...". I do believe personally, that there is muuuuch more information encoded in between those 1 and 0...))
Cool story Vladimir! Thanks for sharing 👍
Great video, love the energy. I just sold a digital Yamaha DX7 synth for 3 times what I paid for. I guess what I am trying to say is that some good old hardware (but still digital) gear may actually hold its value really well, or even increase it over time. I agree with you though, these DX7s are just an example of an exception to the rule. I am also a big fan of analog gear, from reel to reels to tape recorders and synths.... but not for the economics of it, I have a total different reason: I work on a computer about nine hours every day, so needless to say, I run away from screens as much as I can, specially when making music. One thing you forgot to mention is that while analog gear is great, you may also need some skill (e.g. soldering) and spend a bit of money and time fixing it, like cassette players, analog mixers, you get the point.
i had a dx7 it drove me crazy. shoulda kept it though!
@@travisraab dx7s are the children of the devil. Seriously.
Compared to other industries / sciences, recording is still quite new. I opt for my Tascam 464 on my own projects, so I'm more inclined to be biased towards your points, but it's important to note that we've only just gotten over the hump of high fidelity digital audio. I'm sure studio owners in the late 60s were quite bothered at the constant need to upgrade as we are now with digital; we're looking at a format retrospectively, and so of course it will have succeeded where digital is still failing. I'm interested to see how the next 20-50 years treats digital audio. Will we end up with a rock-solid, top-of-the-line, recognizable unit like a Studer 24 track by the time digital audio fully matures? It's still too early to tell in my opinion.
good points Kaszimir!
I totally prefer analog and see your point but i wonder if it's really better to pay 180€ euros for a 4 track tascam porta 02 or just get a 80€ 8 track digital fostex mr-8. Cassette multitrack recorders are very hyped, at least here in Barcelona, and you can actually find digital gear that have more features for less money.
Why not just use your computer instead of the mr8?
I understand what you are saying and you are correct in that analog equipment will last longer. That's just because digital equipment is cutting edge tech and is actually better until we've found an even better way to reproduce sound. This is like comparing a horse and carriage to a Ferrari. Yes, the horse doesn't need gas, and will probably last longer but nothing it does can be compared to the Ferrari.
I think I understand your points, and I appreciate your comment! Computers and code have been around since the 60s. There's nothing cutting edge about it. These products fail because they are designed to fail, and so we are forced to continually buy more - not because they are cutting edge. We as consumers never agreed to an endless subscription model for everything we buy. Putting software into my watch, speakers, blender only makes these items prone to failure, not some cutting edge miracle in timetelling, sound, or blending.
I'm not seeing the Horse and carriage to Ferrari Analogy. The horse will eventually die and can't be resold for more in the future. Instruments and analog equipment have historically increased in value thus far, and don't need to be fed hay. Also I can understand if the horse, the car, even the analog equipment fails... it's made out of physical moving parts. Why should software fail when there are no moving parts and it can be repaired? Because otherwise the people selling it would not keep making money off the working man. On top of it I don't understand arguing FOR businesses that directly hurt our interests and rights as consumers. The horse gets me from A to B without costing 100k and making me look like a douche as the Ferrari will. lol Jk. I never argued you should (or even can) replace your ferrari with a horse, or your computer with a cassette deck. I said that for myself, I bought a used 2005 Honda accord (not a ferrari) because it's a cheap, relatively reliable option for a product that won't last forever, the car. That was the whole point.
I'm with you and I hope things change for the better!
@@travisraab I just think you are looking at it in a way that is very black and white and refuse to see the gray. Yes there's planned obsolescence and I agree that should stop. But there's no denying that tech has moved on since the 60's and made life much better. There are still companies that want to innovate and have their products last a long time as well. My speakers are active with digital crossovers and room correction. They are MUCH better than a analog box with drivers. If your fight is against consumerism you are definitely on the right crusade. But don't state that analog audio is better.
@@PKAWA We agree. Innovation can be made without exploitative business practices. Those are all good points and I want to thank you for sharing your opinion! I certainly wouldn't choose to have surgery in 1961 over 2021.
totally agree! Thats why I'm printing all my digital photos because good old printed pictures last hundreds of years and digital files get corrupted and hard drives break if you shake them a bit, and the pictures disappear forever. How many files have I lost over the years! Yup, definitely Analog.
Agreed, Vanessa. That's why I live in a bunker with incendiary and edible food brickettes and bee gees on vinyl.
We can not say it too often :D Great video. I would come around and chime in! The older I become the less interested I am in the platic fantastic domain. But in the end I never was hehe! But to use the computer with a stripped down daw like reaper or a linux solution with any dependancies is also not a crime. When i want to lay down are larger project we all don´t want to miss digital cause on some days the song is king, right?
My dad found a tape recorder in a dumpster when I was young, I loved messing around with that machine and it still works perfect today. That thing is probably about 30 - 40 years old
that's beautiful! i wonder if the next generation will be able to say anything like that
This is the Best Video 👍 i try to get a roland juno 106 now for one year and i hope to have the money in 2 month and this keeps me motivatad
Thanks ☺
Wow I would love to have one of those one day. what an epic piece of gear
I get where you are getting from, and I agree in a lot of aspects. But at the same time, as an illustrator, I rock myself between both traditional and digital artwork, and I must say that time is the number one reason to solve things digitally. Some pieces I produces digitally would take 3x or more in paint, and clients don't understand it.
You can't argue with the time aspect. I agree. All I'm saying is that a consumer I never agreed to this new arrangement where everything is rented and not purchased. (If I were to distill my point I mean). It's the business model I have the problem with. But hey that just goes to show how revolutionary making art in a computer is. Everyone is willing to rent their gear. Thanks for your comment Marcel!
@@travisraab Thank you. I have a blast watching your channel and learning. Very inspiring content. Keep up and don't stop, please!
@@MarcelTrindade wow thanks Marcel !
On point! I recently gave my software collection to a friend because I didn't want to throw it in the bin. It cost quite a bit of money a few years ago, now it's basically worthless. Most of it doesn't even run anymore and I have no interest in recording on the computer anyway.
Crazy! Man what a drag
I have a love/hate relationship with digital music production. On one hand it simplifies things for me and makes recording and mixing a ton of tracks possible on a super low budget. On the other hand, I have about 3 grand worth of outdated plugins that may or may not work if I update my DAW.
I'm in the same boat. I'm terrified of upgrading. It's gonna mess up so many sessions. I've been moving towards using only Logic's built in plugins. I'm too lazy to print my tracks
MEh, i like my cassette, but I’m not replacing my computer any time soon. You make valid point about planed obsolescence, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Also I do not buy that analogue stuff is more durable, they break ALL the damn time
Digital stuff should be permanent and durable. It could be. It is intentionally engineered not to be. That was my point.
You're right! I've been away from my digital friends for 2 years now, and I've had enough of a life to support my family as well as a growing music production thanks to analog devices in Vietnam! they are very cheap and durable warm! some I have are: tascam 246, 488, 464, yamaha dx7, space echo roland! they were bought for less than 100usd in Vietnam a few years ago!
That's awesome. I visited Vietnam and I loved it! I should go back and pick up some analog gear
I love this. I'm a plugin junkie and I'd love to go back to analog gear but I'm dumb as shit and I don't know what to do when things break down
nah im dumb too. not all analog stuff will break. some will. i fixed this with zero experience: ua-cam.com/video/O98hypdSJpM/v-deo.html
I agree 100%! It`s not even the question what sounds better. It`s a certain phylosophie on life itself. Yes, it`s that deep....
I agree with your philosophy and have loved Jack White for years for his similar takes on this. A lot of people just think it's pretention or something that doesn't matter but an element you touch on is the longevity of this type of equipment on top of a more true quality of sound production.
Though of course I love all forms of modern music and production and don't begrudge anybody for doing it their way. And obviously all I'm working with at the moment is my laptop lol.
Fasho!
I get your point, and I agree with you 99%. I find analog gear and the tactile feel of faders moving and physical knobs turning MUCH more inspiring than the click of a mouse, *eugh*! But my personal issue with *analog* (read: old) gear, is TIME. Personally I'm not that interested in a good "$$investment$$" in the long run per se. I just want the stuff to work, and if it doesn't - somebody better fix it for me, because I paid for it from new for a reason! With a full time job, a child and a house I. do. not. have the time anymore to pick stuff apart and learn a new trade from scratch like blacksmithing or whatever dark sorcery you are using, haha. But honestly, I LOVE your content - insane quality, but Im also thinking - jesus christ on crutches you must spend so effing much time on both your gear when its not working and editing your videos. Like literally daaaaays.
Kudos. - That is time, I do not have at the moment.
I have a glorious Sansui WS-X1 6-track cassette multitrack recorder which I love to death - but when it dies, I'm FUCKED. No way in hell Im gonna be able to repair it myself. And getting some in the business to do it for me will cost a lot of $$ and take time. Honestly Im a little nervous every time I turn it on that it has broken. :(( I dont have that anxiety with my DAW.
Much love.
cato all I can say is that you're a cool guy and I like having you around these parts. I'll get off my high horse now. you rock.
All I use is my Tascam 488MK1 portastudio and it still sounds fantastic. Great video my friend. Kind regards. Paul.
that machines a holy grail for me. it's got that combo of features and looks that i dig! congrats and thanks for the comment paul :)
Hey Travis yeah! I can make great records with my tascam 488mk1 8 track cassette recorder. And it's real fun to work with. Here is a demo I made of one of my own songs on my 488.
ua-cam.com/video/llg-lEypBH4/v-deo.html
Criminally underrated channel i agree with this video i like physical copies of things....music...video games....movies whatever media if i like it i will buy it physical always for as long as i can
i hear you. digital stuff is vapor. and thanks for the kind words !
@@travisraab and censorship is evil lol
Great video! I'm totally in agreement, but I do believe there is a place for both. I love plug-ins not because I think they're better sounding or sound exactly like the real thing. It gives average artists an wanna be producers the opportunity to learn about gear and use gear they would never be able to afford. I still have analog gear I will never let go!
I'm glad we agree r7!
Thank you for this!
you're welcome Stephon!
This rant is justified although it's preaching to the converted. The pattern exists that those who are lazy enough to buy things because they're marketed well rarely do thorough research. Planned obsolescence is prevalent while ignorance in regard to it is a choice. Google what you will and you can find an argument from a so-called reputable source that supports that perspective..... so in essence if you know you know.
I'm early in my G.A.S. syndrome with a few of gear working in the box but this definitely sold me on leaning toward more analog components. I could ramble for time but thanks for the no frills posts as very few channels seem to be focused on much other than monetization.
Keep making cool sounds. Peace
Thanks 🙏 glad to have you :)
Dude, I'm so on board. I found this channel because I wanted to know how difficult it was to get a hold of some of this stuff in working order for practically the very same reasons you addressed. Something about working on computer just sucks the life. For delays and reverbs digital is fine. Bitcrushers just are digital along with say the, Digitech Wammy pedal so, I'm not some purist by any stretch. All the amps I'm looking at are analog solid state amps because I think tube heads are overrated which you demonstrated very well with the use of that, Gorilla practice amp! 🖤
Glad to have you Michael! Come to the live stream tomorrow
I used to think that this practice of adopting new ways that happen to be worse was something new. I realize that it is not the case.
We had cameras that used film. We then jumped to digital cameras, that in retrospect had much worse quality than the analog cameras we used to have.
They didn't require any hassle either. Like smartphones you'd pick a moment and take a picture.
Sure it couldn't take photos in the dark; that however is a weird thing to ask. We should rather ponder why only now this is a need. Are lights becoming darker or something?
great points
You're mentioning music. Another example is film.
Older movies made in film can be restored/digitized and the quality is usually 4k or more, for something we have had for 120 years!
Digital is set. If you record it at 720p it will forever be 720p. Only way to improve it is by upscalling it, again simulating it.
Really good points
These are facts. I went digital in 2001 (Digi001), and I've been spending thousands every 2-3 years to keep up/maintain. I've "invested" more than $45k since then and have to do it all again this year with updates. I sold a reel to reel multi tracker and analog board and outboard gear to buy that first digital gear. Sold it then for around $8k to finance my upgrade. Today that stuff is worth nearly $35k. Big mistake, but everyone was doing it back then.
That's how they getcha! I hear you
I’ll send you my tascam 464 if you can show me how to use it the right way lol. I know it may sound silly but I’m serious and I also would like to make a “el Michels affair” style jam. You down?
whoa never heard of these guys and checking them out now! very cool stuff
@@travisraab Leon Michels is very much like you and records in a barn in upstate New York and uses analog gear to process his stuff. I just bought a 244 to get the sweet pre amps. If you’re interested in the 464 let me know. I don’t need it. I’d rather see you jam on it than like sell it to someone that won’t dive into it.
@@bobbylowry2822 ive never heard of him either. that's pretty cool. wait you just wanna donate your 464 to the cause? is there a catch ? lol
I prefer analog gear too, but the problem is that in another countries, like here in Brazil, the price is so high it is nearly impossible to buy good analog gear. A 400 dolars equipament costs about 4500 reais + shipping, because the currency conversion and taxes... and here the basic salary is 1200 reais. Here a simple Fender or a Marshall amp costs more than a car.
I of course understand this, and my video is more based on my perspective. I have been able to find lots of analog gear at the town dump for free, or on craigslist for next to nothing. I do not think it makes sense to spend a lot of money on analog gear, or to make it your main vehicle for investment, and in the US we are lucky and spend a lot of time making stupid videos about luxuries. A decent mic, any interface, and a computer is all you need.
@@travisraab here we have access to guitars, pedals and amps made here in Brazil, the price is lower than imported gear but the quality is too, and there is not a lot of used studio gear to buy... Than plugins seams to solve the problem very well, however as you said, its quality is lower and you cannot sell it later.
@@DanielTartarottiSobrosa i hear ya
Nicely said brother, totally agree!!
That's great to hear!
I just got a Tascam Model 24 about two three weeks ago. Sold my Apollo today and my iMac is unplugged sitting under a table. Computers are ruining our lives old stuff was better. Great video and great channel.
Jonny i totally agree with you. Thanks so much 👍
I like analog stuff but depending were you live there's not too much options for buying it ='( (or people charge the price of a new computer for it)
yeah that's great point. certain pieces of analog gear are just outrageous. there is actually a good point to be made about buying older digital devices that still run fine and work great. older cameras like the gh3 are diehard and produce an awesome image. no idea how they will last but we will see.
I completely agree. Analog is the way to go and the much better investment.
Hey Travis, you’re a much better man than I if you can use that typewriter without a few bottles of liquid white-out on stand-by … and you’ll get no argument out of me re: analog vs digital. Often times I feel that in the wrong hands the digital environment encourage some over-production; which can suck the passion out of the original song.
i'm going to produce my next mix tape using only this typewriter!
I hear ya man. the digital environment can mess with all the good creativity
I’m down with the argument that analog and actual tangible “stuff” is better than digital. I’d be hard pressed to hear the difference though. What I like about analog is you’re actually interacting with something in reality. Turning knobs and sliders with your mouse or finger on a screen just isn’t the same and using an actual device. What I think digital has done is make certain things more accessible. Imagine it’s 1989 and you want to take wedding or senior photos for a living. You would need either a 35 mm camera, or medium format camera. The medium format being the more expensive of the two. Probably some minimal lighting gear, then, you have to carry of brick of film around. You had probably 24 frames per roll, so you carried two cameras, so your assistant (or yourself) could load that camera while you were still shooting. Then, after the event, like a wedding, you took your film to a processor to find out if you even had any decent images or not. And if your customer wanted copies, you needed to make prints. So digital, you buy one camera, not even a high end one, and shoot thousands of images in one day and you can show photos from the ceremony at the reception on a laptop. Now…that said. In the first scenario, you have to have a ton more technical skill. You need to know your f stops, your depth of field, what speed and color temperature of film stock to use. With digital you can just focus on the act of taking photos. Your pay attention to the lighting and composition and, if you mess up, you can fix it in post. But another thing to remember is your parents probably have a wedding album with photos of their parents wedding in it. So unless you have physical prints made on archival paper, your wedding photos may not be accessible to your grandkids. You make a great point about analog and accessibility. People have wax cylinders from the dawn of recording that can still be played today, 200 or so years later. If I record a song in ProTools today, 200 years from now chances are that song will be lost to time. I also hate the “upgrade treadmill”. I wanted to get Logic Pro recently. But I have used Windows computers since the late 90’s and didn’t want to spend the thousands of dollars for a MacBook Pro. So I bought a Mac from 2015 and a copy (on DVD) of Logic 9 and it all works! But now most software comes online. You have to download it. So when computers upgrade they just remove the old versions of the software from the online repositories and if you don’t have a computer that will support the software, you’re screwed. But when you buy software that comes on a disc, you own it. I’ve bought plugins that have a limit to the number of times you can install them. So upgrade your hard drive, change from a laptop to a desktop, want to wipe your drive and start over, you have to basically register the software again. So you are correct in so many ways. This is why I absolutely refuse to buy any household appliances that have internet access built into them. The last thing I want is to update the “firmware” on my refrigerator. I have a stand up freezer in my garage from the early 60’s and works perfect. Great video. This is a subject people should really think more about.
thanks, Jayce!
Absolutely goated channel I love u man
Thank you Oakley!
I partially agree with you, analog gear in my opinion sounds best, no doubt. But a Fender Rhodes for example today costs a huge amount of money (I live in Germany and here you get it for roundabout 6.000€ ). I just can’t afford such an instrument in addition to my lovely guitars, so i‘m more likely to spend 200$ on a plugin, which surely does‘nt sound as good of lasts as Long as the original one but otherwhise i would have to sell my Organs for it.
Great Video!
Obviously some pieces are cost prohibitive, but that's exactly how they sell these plugins. (Which will never appreciate while that Rhodes will only go up in value). I'm not gonna buy a 6k Rhodes either to be honest. Thanks for your feedback!
7 dislikes: Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Android, UA Apollo, Kemper Amps....Awesome presentation Travis - thanks
The evil empire! 😆
Thanks so much Bigg Matt!
I just found the best channel on this website
Wow, thanks Tiago!
Thank you for saying what nobody seems to get.
This obviously exists on a spectrum. There are incredible advantages to digital. There are things digital can do that analog would never dream of. But I appreciate many of the points you’re making. Knowing it’s the real thing often makes it better.
Excellent points!
thanks parachuteman :)
I'm sure the comments on this video will be perfectly reasonable and levelheaded.
i think most people are scared to write what they really think so far. i was expecting more drama
@@travisraab hahaha yes I've read some of the comments and I'll be damned, they were actually reasonable and levelheaded
@@HenryJonesVictor what the hell is wrong with these people where are the trolls 😂
Amen brotha!
👍✌️🙌 mh333!
this is the best take when it comes to analog vs digital.
i have an easier time accessing all of my grandpa's old media (tapes, reels of music, 35mm slides, vinyl records etc) than my dad's (old Apple II data, digital cameras from the 90s, his old outdated PC games and music software) because analog = physical media of some kind. i know that hard drives and SD cards and stuff are considered "physical media" too, but if I have to have software and drivers and a functional, deprecated OS and hardware to access it... is it really?
there's an entire generation of stuff that is a pain to get into and honestly isn't really worth the hassle, ESPECIALLY if it's broken. PCBs and SOCs are way more difficult to repair than discrete caps, pots, and transistors. it's also why remasters of records from the 70s are possible, because the tape's still around and in decent enough shape to access.
this isn't even taking "quality" or "warmth" or whatever into account - which i also happen to like - but even if analog stuff sounded just as dry and unprocessed as digital, there's still a strong argument to sticking with the physical media imo. i totally understand using digital stuff to improve workflow and convenience, but i always master to tape because i know that the tape will still be useable after i'm dead, literally. i can't even get into stuff i made on my PC i had when i was 13, less than 20 years ago.
as another little anecdote, there's a studio in town that i used to freelance for that has some insanely cool gear, tons of outboard, neve pre's, yadda yadda, but they have mastered onto hard drives instead of tape for like 20 years now. i was talking to the staff engineer recently and he told me that he can't even access the data on some of the drives that have been sitting around for 10+ years because they experience something called "bit rot". they've been on pro tools 7 or whatever for years to make sure that all their digital masters are retrievable, limiting themselves to an old DAW with a ton of QOL features missing, and it wasn't even worth it. i asked about the 2" multitrack masters - he said he's had zero problems, outside of baking a tape here and there.
i dunno, there's a lot of limitations with tape and it's certainly cost prohibitive, but in my opinion the investment is worth it to ensure that it's retrievable. music and video and photography is all about recording some moment in time, so why invest in something that doesn't guarantee that you can re-visit those moments?
man i couldn't have said it better myself chase. you are right. i recently saw someone mention how it's even getting worse within the digital realm. they use to be able to at least attempt to recover media on spinning hard drives, but ssds make it impossible for some reason. crazy to think about. thanks for the anecdote i appreciate your comment.
@@travisraab hey thanks for your response.
p.s. i love the channel so far, your content is interesting and inspiring! based on our back & forth, you might really like this talk by steve albini where he covers analog vs. digital.
ua-cam.com/video/sKEzHie9tAI/v-deo.html
@@chase2337 awesome I'll checkit out chase! Thx
Thank you.
You're welcome Tommy!
Man, I gotta be honest with you. I'm not seeing it how you are and you certainly didn't convince me hahaha. I am a professional engineer. I started my career 100% analog and worked that way for almost 10 years before switching to digital. That being said, the advantages of digital over analog are NUMEROUS! If they weren't the industry as a whole would not have made the switch. It just kind of sounds like you have something against plugins for some weird reason hahaha. Especially the Slate mic. I don't know why you think they would be conning you but I can assure you that TONS of amazing technology and development went into those mics. Also, the mic still works just fine without the software so it's not like you need the plugins to make it work. Look to each their own but I just found many of the points didn't stand up and had many obvious issues/flaws. YOu did make a few good points and the video was informational nonetheless so thanks for that! :-D
Matthew I hear you man. You have a lot of experience so I really appreciate you chiming in! No one can argue the convenience of digital. I'm glad to hear the slate mic works without the software so I can still record my bon Iver style solo album after the nuclear holocaust. That's funny we have had opposite journeys! I started on digital and have gone the opposite way. Not out of convenience, but because my plugins were breaking and they sounded awful. Anyhow in the future please write a more angry one sided comment so that a fight can start in the comments section. Thank you for your patronage.
@@travisraab hahaha not my style! Thanks for the reply, I can't articulate it NEARLY as well as Audio Masterclass can. Many of my peers feel the same way that I do, he goes into depth and really breaks it down if you are interested here is part 1 of why we shouldn't bring back analog equipment. :-D ua-cam.com/video/obymcNXa4T8/v-deo.html
100% agree about some plugins sounding like crap. That is true and much of it is just marketing hype but there are some amazing digital tools and honestly, if you know how to use the right pieces in the right places, you can get a very similar vibe to analog equipment. Not the same sound, close, but for sure a similar vibe. You have be able to see through the hype tho hahaha.
I'm with ya man. even tho I invested in my Apollo ha
fo sho!
Nice video 👌👌
thank you ashish!
Your welcome brother...
Yeah Trav, you have definitely reached the upper levels of sonic enlightenment. So many things you touched on, many will dispute. But, I feel the same way. Side note: Lord forbid you ever get curious to send your audio to vhs or Hi8 tapes. The rabbit hole will expand. Keep em coming. 👍🏾✌🏾
😂 i'm really up on my high horse here.
that sounds like a crazy rabbit hole. I was thinking I should rip youtube videos and stick them on VHS. That crazy idea still makes sense to me...
thanks!
@@travisraab This rabbit hole involved sending your audio to one of those formats. As there has been many arguments made to the fidelity of VHS tapes compared to other tape formats. Basically saying that a HiFi VCRs can provide as good as CD quality to audio. In your case, I'd be perfectly happy with the 388's final results. But, it does make for interesting observations.
@@Netm8kr yeah i've got a few VCRS. isn't VCR audio like digital basically? That's super crazy. I need to look into that further. gotta stock up my bunker with those.
some truth here, mate!
greetings from Chile
Wow so cool to reach you all the way down there Marcos!
@@travisraab love for analog junk is universal, haha
keep rockin' bro
@@markitux 🙏👍
No catch. I have a couple 4 tracks now. The 464 is super rad I just couldn’t find the sweet spot. Mainly because I started messing with my 244. In my opinions, more people need to see how creative someone can really get on these machines
I guess the catch would be if You could make a vintagy soul doo woppy tune with it. But idk if that’s a catch lol
awesome that's very generous of you!
No prob bro!! Really like the videos. So the more the better! Let me know how I can send. I’d be more than happy to
@@bobbylowry2822 thats really nice of you there's a contact form here : www.travisraab.com/contact.html
Awesome! I’ll try and get this sent out today.
Here's my take on DAWs and plugins:
Get a PC of some sort. Get a DAW you like. Get the free plugins that are good.
Then keep it off the internet and just use what you have indefinitely. My reverbs are all rack gear, instead of recreations of that same rack gear. That's the effect that eats your CPU. EQ and bread and butter effects are mostly free plugins or whatever came with the DAW. I have a compressor to goose certain signals on the way in.
That's it. That's the setup. It doesn't need to be upgraded, ever, unless the whole thing goes down and I feel like the newest version of Studio One is gonna give me something that 2.6 doesn't and I can't live without it. And that's just for mixing, because recording into a DAW sucks and I'll take an 8 track recorder of any description over it any day.
I love it
@@travisraab It just works. Old software runs just fine on old machines and sounds as good today as it did 4 years ago. Free plugin developers update their stuff to run better instead of bloating it to make people upgrade. Everyone's mad at waves, making videos about it sitting in front of their M1 Macs like Apple didn't just change system architecture on everyone AGAIN. All of it is a giant scam.
I just bought a lexicon unit for less than a hundred bucks about an hour ago, and to your point about appreciating in value, once people really start catching on to the plugin swindle, there won't be any cheap Lexicon units anymore.
@@MaggieKeizai it's like you are reading my mind. someone just gave me an 'old' mac pro with a huge screen. this would have cost like 6k when it came out. sounds were just as good 9 years ago as they are now. there arent new special sounds. even my current laptop is stuck in 2019 i havent updated anything
@@travisraab Yep, that's the way to do things, all right. The neighborhood auto mechanics use an ancient mac SE to run their business on. It's awesome.
It's gonna be a long time before my setup "isn't good enough anymore". I mean, I'll build some CAPI pres at some point, and won't have to think about preamps ever again. I don't need a lot. Just make music.
Waiting for the NFT crowd to show up with virtual pitchforks.
I will trade you all my analog gear for 1 BTC
you are so right! analog is fun
👍👍🙌✌️👍 fickbasterd
I think that each has its place. 🤔
You're totally right!
I would like to make a few criticisms regarding your points. First off you are comparing different product categories to each other because they have an overlap in task or purpose. A typewriter is just used to type text, meanwhile a mac has a writing processor, you can erase, move, format everything after the fact and then send it off for printing, if need be, and that is just the start of it’s abilities, it can do mathematical calculations, databases, games, so comparing one to the other is not quite realistic. Same goes for a video camera vs. an iPhone, a camera can record videos (and perhaps take pictures), an iPhone on the other hand can do that and a myriad of other things (including send and receive calls and messages, let’s not forget), if a camera can do better, it’s because that is it’s purpose, it is purpose built do videos.
As for the part of the fragility of digital media and “antenna wiggle room”, don’t mean to sound rude, but that stems from your lack of knowledge about digital media. All digital media comes with error correction built into the standard. CDs, USB sticks, TV signal, all of it. Take your TV example, digital TV doesn’t care about signal to noise ratio, it can correct any errors using it’s internal circuitry, strip away all the noise and present you with a clean signal. When you would get Fox but it’s fuzzy, digital would get you fox but clear, despite the same signal strength. When the CD standard was being put together Phillips and Sony sacrificed some of the capacity for error correction ending up with a gap of 2,4mm in length on the CD not affecting the quality and up to 8,5mm of scratches being somewhat compensated for.
If you compare a micro SD card to a VHS cassette, the SD card is much easier to keep safe from damage, takes up less space and if there is some data corruption the error correction code can often keep it safe. Scratch a CD and there’s a chance it won’t degrade the recording while a scratch on a record will result in cracks, pops or even the needle skidding.
As for the audio quality of digital that was long put to rest as digital audio can reproduce the sound perfectly provided the sampling rate is high enouh (44kHz sampling is enough to reproduce frequencies up to 20 kHz, the range of human hearing).
I appreciate your comment. Regarding your example about CD, Scratch a CD and it won't degrade? I can't follow that. The whole thesis is that predictable Degradation in analog is welcome. Complete non function/unretrievable destruction that is so prevalent in digital is not welcome. That's the point. As I mentioned, there was zero fox after digital. That is the point. Fox never came in again. So all the talk about my lack of understanding and the saving graces of digital media correction - it all sounds lovely. The real world examples are few and the net result is a bunch of stuff that used to work fine, now it stops working.
@@travisraab Complete non functionality/unretrivable destruction in digital formats is really a bit misleading. CDs getting a small scratch will not degrade it at all since the CIRC error correction enables the player to retrieve the missing data from non damaged sectors (the data is in fact "jumbled" around for the purposes of protecting it), scratch it further and the player will "fudge" the audio by using an algortihm to "smooth" out the gap. Scratch it even furthern and then you get audio degradation. So complete destruction does not happen. Sure Track 7 will have a bit of a gap or an artefact around the two minutes, fourteen seconds mark, but you still have all the other tracks playing just fine. And if you take care of your CDs they will not degrade even after a billion plays.
Great videos by Technology Connections:
ua-cam.com/video/sAbhPeTp51s/v-deo.html (about compact discs and their features)
ua-cam.com/video/pWjdWCePgvA/v-deo.html (about the mathematical theory behind digital audio and why it can perfectly reproduce recorded sounds)
As for the rest, SD cards even SSDs are much hardier than any analog storage medium. Sure, you can destroy an SD card and an SSD but they are much less sensitive and any damage that stops them from chugging along will be in fact much larger than the one that stopped some other form of medium. And even then there are data recovery services that will extract any salvagable data from what you consider to be unretrivable damaged devices. ua-cam.com/video/zcUv6bpc4NU/v-deo.html Here is an example by Louis Rossman where he fixed a thumb drive. There are examples of devices being immersed in water (even data getting extracted from a murder victim's phone that had damage from the actual blood), getting run over by a car, being stepped on and all kinds of things yet they can still be recovered. Sure not by a layman but it can be done. Do the same damage do a casette or vinyl and you will shatter the record or mangle the tape beyond salvage.
As to the fox point, I have anecdotal evidence of my own, we'd always get choppy reception from a TV from a neighbouring country (BHTV), if you stand up and move a bit it would just go out. After the stations switched to digital not only was it coming in perfectly well, we also got a bunch of channels we couldn't even hope to get before. Just appeared overnight. It's the same thing with cables, You can have a thin, barely shielded HDMI 30 meters long and have it transfer audio without fault while doing the same with an ordinary RCA cable would be unimaginable.
I am not saying that analogue does not have it's place, especially in the music industry, however stating flat out that analog is better is objectively not true. In terms of practicality, fidelity, price and durability digital comes out on top, and these were the reasons the whole world switched over.
Dangit! Now I have to start collecting analog gear. Sorry honey! Travis told me so!
lol exactly
Hey Travis! Send me a DM. I want to mail you a copy of our album if you collect vinyl? I'll never stop recording analog! Your content is fantastic by the way
wow i would love to hear it! thanks so much you can email me travisraab@gmail.com
100% agree
whoooo hella ya
Yes to all of this. Especially during Mercury retrograde..
yeah con don! 😂😂
I'm with ya!!
I've had to re-buy logic pro like 3 times in the last 18 years, and countless numbers of audio interfaces just to stand still.
oh man the interface thing. it doesn't make sense cause at least over the past decade or so, all interfaces sound the same to me. i can't hear any difference. what is the need?
@@travisraab yes they all sound pretty similar to me. I hate updating software as you’re never sure what will stop working next….
yesss
🙌🙌🙌
Word on this mate!
thanks Andy 👍🙌
@@travisraab really feel everything you're saying here big time! It's great to hear other people have this mindset
@@andypickeringmusic i'm galdto hear thatandy
It has gone so far that even lot of hardwares like headphones or speakers need software upgrades or they stop working properly after a while.
it's insane! they can brick your hardware. it's gone too far.
imagine if my guitar stopped working cause it didn't get a software update? that's exactly what is happening.
@@travisraab Yes, and the question is would you buy another guitar from that company?
yes every 3 years forever
Por qué no los dos
there can only be one william
i would take Analog to over the Box there trying so hard to make Analog plugins and they will never get that
You are right G. !
100% agree! I’ve always preferred analog over digital
nice carlson!
I was with you until you pulled out the hi8 camera. Hi8 is a digital format 😂
no, it isn't.
WORDS!
bird up
ya that's why i pirate all my plug ins...☠
good point! lol
Devils advocate (and an analog user)..they say a good woman is hard to find and so is good tape, similarly they are both expensive. There are only two companies currently producing new tape ATR and RMGI/Pyral, if those dry up the best you can hope for is used/old stock and pray for no sticky shed. A very cool thing about your 388 is that 1/4" tape isn't that expensive (relatively). A pancake for my 1/2" machine is $100. I am not saying digital by any means, but am implying that all us tape users rely on reliable media to record on and parts for our machines. So support people like Terry's rollers, Vintage Electronics..etc..
the only choice is for each man to fashion his own analog tape
i fully agree
nice sam! where are all the haters? I thought there would more??
@@travisraab ahah my dad is a hater. somehow he thinks digital is better but hes from the 80's!!
@@SydBarretts2ndChance your dad is cool
Heck yeah - a bunch of ppl junk their typewriters just because they don’t know to flip their ink ribbon, and you can find great machines cheap at Goodwill. A typewriter is cordless, never defunct, never needs a software update, and it is its own printer. 💣
Also, I lost hecka movies I made in the early 2000s because I didn’t upgrade my programs on an old laptop and now they’re stuck on a laptop that doesn’t work, in a formats that’s worthless... and yet I still have e footage on the old tape from the old video camera in my desk drawer.
mm mm mm. preach. you said it. do you take your typewriter to starbucks on your unicycle?
yeah all those movies from college. lost forever.
@@travisraab I just wrap that typewriter right up there onto my hobo bindlestick, then hop on the back of a farm hand's jalopy and ride that thing right into the big city so's I can sip my latte while typing ma thoughts aaaaalllll slooooowwwwww-laaaaahhhhk.
@@brooke9297 you funny as ever 🤣😂
That super 8 tho!
i know right. definitely not a budget friendly format anymore. i heard they were gonna bring it back but for like 6k$$
@@travisraab jesus!
@@Pedro-mb1ey yup.
@@travisraab I mean analog is dope af but my god haha
Why didn't you record this on an analog camera and pass it out as VHS tapes?
i don't know why more people don't make this very obvious point. lol. and another thing - i always tell people to do exactly that. record their album on cassette, and just mail out the cassettes. don't ever let it become digital!
@@travisraab clearly both digital and analog are terrible
RME supports their interfaces from decades ago
Oh cool I did not know that. What if it's like FireWire or pre FireWire?
@@travisraab Yep. The 9632 PCI card came out in 2003 and is Windows 10 compatible. The Fireface 800 debuted in 2004 and is supported for the new Apple M1s as of last November -- even though M1s don't have Firewire ports (but can be plugged in with Thunderbolt adapters).
@@snippletrap that's rad. Now we just need every other company to adopt that
the aim in analog days was to have equipment that would sound as natural as possible; you wanted decks to have flat freq. response, dynamic range 72db or more and no noise; for video hi resolution for both luma and chroma channels or small grain for film and fathful color reproduction; analog if made properly was GOOD - but it was expensive and difficult to achieve; we do not want to remember poor cassette players eating tapes for breakfast, dinner and lunch (don't tell me you had Real to Real, most of you didn't as these were BIG, EXPENSIVE and cumbersome), scratched LPs or ghostly TV (unless you had a nice outdoor aerial; ok, nice outdoor aerial was a standard) or VCR recordings ...
As for archival processes ... perhaps original [analog] medium can live longer than a digital one (degrading in time... check your for any POLAROD picture made in the late 90s and you will see that there is already a color shift, fading etc), but more over: your analog copy of your [already degraded] original medium will always be worse than the original, with each generation being even worse... With digital medium the copy can be as good as original. You can store those copies in multiple locations or on multiple services (I always do) so even loosing your data in one place should not mean the end of life for your picture or audio file. Archives keep the original analog media, but for everyday access they transfer them all to digital. [And that's what you should do with your 35 mm film. You do not want to expose it to dust, scratches, fingerprints and so on each time you want to see it. You rescan /reprocess it only if you need to do it and you can do it better than it was done in the first time.]
I still DO like analog devices and I still DO use some of them.
Often the digital devices I have resemble in look or effect the analog ones:
I am used to aesthetic of KODAK film, luminophore, neutral sound and so on.
In the old days to have just OK picure or sound I had to spend huge money for the right audio decs, S-VHS decs, 100Hz tv (HYBRID !) and more. It was expensive, and still not really that good.
Today with the right choices (and occasionally mixing together the old- and new- ) I can have much better picture and video than ever before. That is true also for my photos:
even my phone gives better pictures than 35mm film camera (not true in every respect, but color, resolution and sensitivity are better).
thanks for sharing!
I understand your point and all, and there is some legitimacy to it (too bad you barely talk about the actual quality of the recordings, the only thing that actually matters tbh)… but i have an iPhone 4S and it still works like a charm - I don’t know why you pretend like there’s any difference between simply taking care of your stuff and it being “analogue”. If you take care of your stuff, it’s gonna work.
Btw, it would be nice to see you run paint 98 on that typing machine 👍🏼 - I’m sure it could spend 10000+ years on a grave and work afterwards, but that thing ain’t ever running a program so pretending they are the same is about as disingenuous as saying plugins are equal to analog gear (no offense, but you really do seem to make that point and I don’t believe it stands as well you insinuate - I have tons of digital stuff working years after it being abandoned on my garage / room / etc).
The differences exist (here I agree), are they relevant, worthy, or actually better in terms of pricing and maintainability? Not really (at least it ain’t a clear case, and if anything it depends on a case per case basis) unless you’re lucky and take care of your stuff (and if that is the case you can probably also have some digital hygiene - I know I’ve always found it easier to keep THAT part of my life organized - at least i don’t have to move around all day to “classify stuff” and keep it in check).
The iPhone 4s no longer works on any carrier as 3g is no longer supported. That's my point.
@@travisraab ye there is some truth to it (what you say) for sure - but ultimately aren’t we talking Music? Cause like, I don’t use the iPhone 4S for calls - I couldn’t care less if it isn’t “a phone” anymore; but I run AUM on it, and have tons of plug-ins… etc.
Whilst it might not last forever it does just fine as a backup audio processor.
Analog is great for sure, but at this point in time with the technology we have, it mostly comes down to taste (since they do have different “flavors”) IMO, I don’t really see a point in saying one is better than the other when really it all depends on the results you’re looking for.
Anyway, sorry if I came out a bit harsh, I was just trying to state my point perhaps with a bit of sarcasm - probably unnecessary.
Anyways, it’s nice hearing different opinion thanks for the video! 🤙🏼
Our lives need more than emulations and digital fantasies. Ultimately, we are physical beings, not AI characters.
yes sir Rook Master!
and ALL this is all your opinion . i have mine and mine is this - analog and digital go hand to hand , i use and embrace both . i am not going to say one is better than the other becuase this is how it starts ... pretty soon after the the torches get lit and the ropes are hoisted ,....yes of course they both have pros and cons , there is no shame in using one or the other and its no one buisness what i use . its not my place to concern myself with others gear (but isnt this kinda what we do now ? ) , or prefrences . it does not make me a better artist becuase i all analog tube everything . the only people who care about this sort of thing are people who are hung up on the gear themselves - thats not me by the way , but i will try and make people think twice about being judgemental and casting shade on other musicians because the whole dick measuring part of this is not what i signed up for and it makes me see red . a normal average consumer of music does not care , it never croses their mind. of course one can make a huge deal out of it and fetishize gear , there will always be a market for stuff like audiphile bs - 9000 dollar power cable or the whole mindless analog / tube thing which a lot of these people never even saw a tube but its wierd they act like they own this gear to try to fit in i think ? its when we start putting ourselves above the next guy and being judgemental , glenn fricker is a good example , constantly rolling his eyes and going after bass players and using his funny voice to PUT other people DOWN - thats mega uncool . that what i take issue with . you use tape and tubes good for you ... did you ever consider that some of us cant afoard it and arent going to think " well gee i am not going to bother recording because i will be judged for doing it digitally . or one day i will try making music , when i have my 2 inch machine and my neve . its just not an option for most real people , especially if you do not OWN a home. so this is where it gets me extra spicy . you are judging me on my class . not on my art . i sold my tascam 1/2 inch tape machines (8 channel) with dbx , two of them . i didnt blow the money , i purchased componants and learned to build guitar effects and class d amps, and i still have a massive stock of parts here and would do it again . it was the smart thing to do for myself , i truened that money into an impressive collection thats worth a lot . i have been doing that electronics side gig since i hurt my back and i was no longer using those machines becuase i could not afoard to buy tape vs record digitally because at that time you couldnt record more than 2 digital tracks - times change .... since then i continue to make DENSE music using digital. i dont spend much money , if i do its low budget silly stuff like a used midi controller at goodwill or some used monitor speakers last year online auction- 8 hundred dollar event monitors for 50 dollars used but the work fine. listen to my mix and tell me how awful it is. i updated the interface which also was maybe 40 dollars for a maudio 610 . yeah you certainly can judge me for my harsh digital sounding music and laugh at me behind my back because of your mac and your tape and tubes are so much better , but are they ? does your music sound that much better than mine, even though i am missing two fingers on my fret hand and you are perfectly healthy with four ? or is it really awful becuase of my pc and digital and your analog is so much better. ua-cam.com/video/_Ik1wKwQ1DM/v-deo.html - analog IS better than digital - for YOU pal , for me i use both , and i dont choose one over the other because that is getting a little to close to a place i dont want to go.
I hear you man!
I'm sure you know this statistic, but for those who don't, in 100 years 98% of all digital data that exists now will not exist. But a similar percentage of analogue data will still exist in that time.
Hi isaac. no i don't know this fact. i dont' think i understand it. what is the source and can you explain it to me? sorry i'm dumb lol
@@travisraab I'm just reinforcing your point really! Because of how volatile digital data is, in 100 years most digital data will be lost or destroyed, whereas physical media such as tape or film that exist now will most likely survive the next 100 years :)
@@isaacheeks6264 ahhh yeah it took me a second to understand it. so you're saying 98% of digital data will be destroyed, and 98% of analog data will still be here. wow. I believe it. but will keith richards still be here?