ArkadiyB
Joined: 16 Aug 2013
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 Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:24 pm Post subject: Demand for analogue is growing |
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Demand for analogue is growing
Even so, the increasing demand for analogue processing in professional recording is clearly being taken seriously.
"Many recording studios and artists are now using at least some analogue technology in their music production," Wilson asserts. "This is not restricted to electronic music. Many
acoustic recording artists and even orchestral music producers are introducing analogue elements to their recording process.
"What is likely to emerge is an increasing number of hybrid solutions that permit certain analogue processing elements to be inserted directly into the digital path, potentially in more interactive and integrated ways than we have seen of late. For example, analogue and even tube gear may be combined with built in codecs and digital front panel control.
"There is now much R&D going into the deep emulation of various tube and analogue processing elements in software and dsp and maybe one day these might displace the use of analogue electronics in modern recordings entirely – but not for now."
Another company reentering the analogue world is Novation, part of Focusrite Audio Engineering, which made the Bass Station; a famous synthesiser in the 1990s. To celebrate its 21st birthday, it has developed the Bass Station II – an analogue synth made for bass, but also suitable for leads.
"Bass Station II has been completely reworked for the 21st Century, with two filters, two oscillators plus a sub oscillator, patch save and a fully analogue effects section," says Novation's Simon Halstead. "Plus there's a step sequencer, arpeggiator, a two octave (25 note) velocity sensitive keyboard with full sized keys and a powerful modulation section. There's also MIDI I/O and USB connectivity."
Halstead attributes much of analogue's difference from digital to voltage controlled sound generators, processors and modulators, which sound less precise and clinical than virtual analogues/software plug ins and, consequently, more interesting as pleasant imperfections affect the signal.
"That said, modern digital synths are very good at emulating the imperfections that make analogue synths sound good. Some of Novation's VA synths include features such as 'VCO drift', which simulates tuning inconsistencies that emerge as voltage controlled oscillators warm up."
Another way of combining digital elements with analogue is illustrated by Dave Smith Instruments of San Francisco, which produces the Mopho, a desktop synthesiser module with a 100% analogue signal path but which is controllable via MIDI. It also has a free editor for use with pcs.
No 'Swiss Army knife' solutions
Andrew McGowan, an engineer at Dave Smith, sees analogue retaining its niche, despite continuing enhancements to digital synths.
"Digital is still getting cheaper and will continue to improve sonically. It also allows for a degree of flexibility that is not really possible in the analogue realm or, at the very least, would not be cost effective. Digital makes it possible to design 'Swiss Army knife' instruments like many of today's keyboards that do analogue synth emulations, drawbar organ emulations, sample playback, effects processing and whatever else can be crammed into them.
The downside of that approach is there's a homogeneity to the sound and the instruments can be viewed more as playback devices than as musical instruments with a character of their own.
"If consistency and repeatability is the goal, then digital is probably the best way to go. But if character is important, then analogue is hard to beat."
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