Post
by amcnally336 » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:38 pm
Nebulae,
Glad you decided to go the hardware way! It always puzzles me that people will throw more money around looking for software that sounds, basically, more analogue. I mean, that's really what you were asking wasn't it? Terms like warmth. organic, etc. are all really trying to capture the essence of the experience of analog gear. True, it is hard to put in words, but almost everyone knows it when they hear it, so why don't we just be open and honest about it. I love both digital AND analog gear, but it is just painfully obvious what the differences are between the two. I have guitar rig 3 and Amplitube Jimi Hendrix...I have a very nice (fireface) Hi-Z input and compressor to feed these programs a very good signal, but NEVER in a bazillion years could I not INSTANTLY tell the difference between that and my guitar going through my lovely Fulltone Germanium pedal and Moog phaser into a very sweet tube amp. It's just not even close. I really have to seriously disagree with Robert if what he is trying to say is that you can recreate that sound in software. I have tried just about every software distortion unit around and I really like some of them (Izotope trash in particular), but they are NOT the kind of sound that comes out of my $150 germanium fuzzz. They simply can't touch that kind of sound! And even if you could...why bother? Why try to recreate or capture something that you could just HAVE if you started out with the proper tool. The fact that Robert is able to qualify certain aspects of this sound, and even the fact that he says he is sure 100% that software can capture this shows that he IS aware of the difference...even if he does not just come out and say it. What is with the attachment to doing it all"in the box"???I know I will probably catch flak for this, but I just wanted to point this out. Yes, you can get warmth and such, but are you honestly trying to tell me that software is on equal footing with analog gear in regards to this spectrum or quality of sound? I have Zebra, minimoog, and imposcar, and I really wanted to like them for their "analog" sound, but they do not even come CLOSE to my Andromeda A6 or Prophet 08 or MS-20...not even close!! I like these software synths for other reasons, but for warm, organic goodness...analog ALL the way! I love the Waves Rennaissance collection, but it simply does not sound the same as an LA2A! They are good for their own reasons. If I am looking for that (warm, organic) particular sound in my music, it doesn't make sense to use software and then agonize over how I am going to warm up the sound when I can just start with that sound in the first place. That is the beauty of the technological world we live in! We have acccess to ALL of it. The whole analog vs digital debate is just kind of pointless to me. That is like arguing whether an acoustic guitar is better than an electric guitar. They both have their own unique sound, and they are obviously each better equipped to capture a certain essence or sound. Use whichever tool is most appropriate. If you are looking for the sound of an acoustic guitar would you record an electric and then use all sorts of plug-ins and processing to make it sound more like an acoustic, or would you just use an acoustic? Why anyone would limit themselves to ONLY digital gear or ONLY analog gear eludes me...but, of course, I want it all!
