Digital VS. Analog Mixing

[mactools]

well. after mixing bands live and really studying this stuff for almost 30 years.. I think its all BS. I grew up listening to records and totally HATED everything about them. The scratches etc.. it was such a stupid platform. When digital CDs got here it was amazing... everything i hated about vinyl was gone.. i read all the forums about analog this analog that.. Well if you are in your 40s you probably grew up with the stupidity of records.. "Granted i love holding a record and owning something physical, not to mention reading all the inserts stuff" i truly hated them..

So what I'm getting at is this. Screw all the stupid digital vs analog crap.. IMHO.. its a bunch of companies fighting for market dominance. They are trying to sell us on crap we don't need. They are trying to confuse us so we spend more money.

Screw all that.. STFU.. grab a pen and put music on paper thats what its all about. Analog/digital its all a sales scam.. If you don't believe me then ask your self why is justin beiber is famous? the general listener doesn't care.. They could give 2 craps about this stuff.

I think the younger generation has strayed away from learning how to make damn good music. They have forsaken that for STUPID technology sales marketing BS. Study the greats and REFUSE THE TECHNOLOGY MARKETING TEAMS

[albee1952]

Interesting viewpoints here. My 2 cents; a decent recording of a great song/performance trumps a perfect recording of crap, every time

[Tom Graham]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Interesting viewpoints here. My 2 cents; a decent recording of a great song/performance trumps a perfect recording of crap, every time

For sure I would agree with that sentiment. I think the larger meaning for me starting this original thread and the discussions I have with people is centered around it are focused around a few thoughts:

1. Pro Tools 'In The Box' mixing can compete head to head with the best that analog mixing can offer.
2. The workflow of PT Mixing is far superior to the old school 'pro' analog mixing.
3. PT Mixing with Plug-Ins and things like HEAT offer a colored sound if you want it - it's your choice. Analog record/mix doesn't offer the same flexibility.
4. People can also choose a hybrid workflow with great results.
5. Top pro's who came from that world chose a PT based workflow for sound quality as well as workflow benefits.

Agreeing with you again… I've also always believed that you could put a great engineer/producer/artist in front of nearly anything and get an inspiring recording. That old adage - 'it's not about the gear' is pretty true, but having a great mic/mic pre/compressor/converter and Pro Tools HD family product goes a long way to ensuring the best sound quality and mix possible.

[albee1952]

Absolutely! I just sent a mix to a new client in LA and he called to ask what console I mixed thru. He was stunned when I told him I worked all in the box

[knothardly]

i agree low rez is plain jane sonically... but great substance. would love to hear the hi-rez stuff.

don't know about the higher bit stuff... but what i just listened to seems REAL focused on center or mid. there ain't a lot of spread. but that is just me... also one has to wonder if that was the sound he was looking for. we ALL have our tastes.

kinda a shame we have two ears and hear in stereo since the world is bound and determined to go back to mono! lol (the cell phone madness) :) but it is all about the money for most... so i can see why they do it.

[Tom Graham]

Originally Posted by Tom Graham

For sure I would agree with that sentiment. I think the larger meaning for me starting this original thread and the discussions I have with people is centered around it are focused around a few thoughts:

1. Pro Tools 'In The Box' mixing can compete head to head with the best that analog mixing can offer.
2. The workflow of PT Mixing is far superior to the old school 'pro' analog mixing.
3. PT Mixing with Plug-Ins and things like HEAT offer a colored sound if you want it - it's your choice. Analog record/mix doesn't offer the same flexibility.
4. People can also choose a hybrid workflow with great results.
5. Top pro's who came from that world chose a PT based workflow for sound quality as well as workflow benefits.

Agreeing with you again… I've also always believed that you could put a great engineer/producer/artist in front of nearly anything and get an inspiring recording. That old adage - 'it's not about the gear' is pretty true, but having a great mic/mic pre/compressor/converter and Pro Tools HD family product goes a long way to ensuring the best sound quality and mix possible.

Another data point: Mixer Craig Bauer on HDX, S6 and Analog Summing:
http://www.avidblogs.com/my-music-mi...ion-with-avid/

[Drew Mazurek]

I just did a bunch of summing tests this week with the Burl Vancouver B32 summing unit and Apogee Symphony I/O interface. The differences were VERY subtle but there, so I decided to buy both units as well as a Cranesong HEDD to capture the return. I hope to have everything fully integrated into the studio by the end of the month.

I was drawn to the Burl because it allows everything (besides summing) to still happen in the DAW where it belongs IMO. It has no pans, levels,etc.

[Tom Graham]

Some other recent great sounding mixes that are all Pro Tools HDX 'in the box' from Mick Guzauski:

Snoop Dogg: California Roll, So Many Pros
Pharrell: Marilyn Monroe, Gust of Wind (from Girl)

Hope you can join the webinar June 4th to get some insight from Mick on how he works. I know working on this webcast with him has really helped my mixes!

http://connect.avid.com/ProMixing_Mick.html

"With Pro Tools HDX and HD Native – when Avid went to 32-bit floating point architecture throughout the system is when I started mixing in Pro Tools all the time.
Previously with (HD) there was a 24 fixed point limitation in the plug-in chain – it was very easy to clip internally and you had to be very careful. Now with HDX it's nearly impossible to clip internally…
And personally I just think the whole thing sounds better too."
Mick Guzauski

[Raoul23]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting people were always telling me it was very hard to clip HD before HDX, now I hear this that its easy to clip HD I'm confused

[Tom Graham]

Originally Posted by Raoul23

Thanks for sharing. Interesting people were always telling me it was very hard to clip HD before HDX, now I hear this that its easy to clip HD I'm confused

Yes, it was hard to clip the mix bus (48 bit fixed 288 db head room). It was easy to clip plug-ins 24 bit fixed. The new 32 bit float through and through is over 1,500 db of headroom. Hope that explains it better.

Thanks,
T