Danny Ziemann

1/24/12
Lister Chapter 1

One aspect of the reading that I really connected to was the

explanation of Analogue vs. Digital. What I appreciated most
importantly was that the author accurately addressed the differences,
while not favoring one medium over the other. Digital media obviously
plays a huge role in todays technological world, but analogue media is
just as important (and sometimes favored more in different situations).
All throughout my teens, I built and worked at a recording studio in
Buffalo NY. I started doing basic tech work like wrapping cables, and
progressed to being a head-mixing engineer towards the last year of
my employment. One argument that will never cease in the recording
world is whether Analog (reel to reel) or Digital recording sounds
better. Up until the mid 90s, everything was recorded to tapethis
includes all the famous Beatles, Zeppelin, Stones, and Pink Floyd
albums that people love. With the introduction of Digital recording (via
computers and HD interfaces), the way that albums were produced
changed dramatically. No more splicing of tape, and everything was
direct to a hard drive. The sound was supposed to be improved tenfold.
However, that wasnt necessarily the case. Recording plugins (effects
like equalization, compressing, reverb etc) were being modeled after
famous analog machines of the earlier days. Some studios still record
directly to tape, and most recording engineers strive for that old
school sound that is only possible through analog mediums.
This is just one relevant example of analog vs digital. Digital is
supposed to an advancement of analog mediums, but in this case
people are actually taking a step back. Why? In my opinion, its part
nostalgia. I believe that people miss the way music was created in the
past. With the introduction of Digital media comes the introduction of
auto tune and other tools that can mask a lack of musical talent quite
well. Ultimately, it comes down to these two questions: Does digital
function better than analog, and does analog really sound better than
digital? The answer to both is yes and no, which means that the
debate will never quite end.