RE: Loopers-Delight-d Digest V98 #138

[Jon Grant <tianmus@aracnet.net>]

        Some people complain about the actual "sound" of digital 
recordings.  They feel there isn't the warmth of the analog sound.  This 
is true (although not necessarily bad).  This "warmth" of tone/sound comes 
from the inherent signal and harmonic distortion that occurs throughout 
the analog recording process.  Also, low-end digital recorders don't have 
the dynamic or harmonic range of analog equipment.  Whenever I record 
something to a digital source from a microphone, I almost always use an 
analog tube preamp.  There are many of these around of varying quality.  
These add the distortion/warmth of the analog sound to the digital domain. 
 There are also a few software plug ins that emulate tube preamps that 
sound very nice.  There are, however, many occasions where I choose NOT to 
add this warmth to the instrument.  I just record straight to digital, 
reducing the distortion to almost nil.  As an artist, to have this choice 
of digital/analog tones increases yet again the ways in which I can 
express the music.  Also, the obvious "cut and paste" abilities of the 
computer-resident recording/editing format are impossible for any 
tape-based equipment.  If one can use this kind of digital editing and 
manipulation sensitively and in service to the music, then it becomes a 
valuable tool.  Unfortunately, it also helps us "cheat" when time is 
running out of performances that day in the studio aren't up to standard.  
Recently, I recorded three songs performed by a person who was, shall we 
say, less than gifted vocally.  I gave up trying to ask her to redo the 
tracks, hoping she would fix her mistakes.  Finally, I sent her home, 
pitch shifted, cut and pasted, copied, deleted, and otherwise utterly 
fritched her performance into something that was at least close to being 
on pitch and in rhythm.  However, it still resulted in a very unmusical 
track, not following the natural paths a song goes through in a one-take 
performance.  The results when one cuts and pastes even the most musical 
of performances can be just as unsatisfying.  It all depends on whether 
you can use the equipment to serve your musical vision or whether the 
equipment controls your music vision.  By limiting yourself to simple cut 
and paste techniques, the DAW user is cheating themself out of a huge 
range of creative possibilities.

        'Struth, I do babble once I get going, don't I?

                Cheers,

                        Jon Grant
                        Tian Music
                        www.aracnet.net/~tianmus