I could be even snobbier than I am now
For about 2 weeks, I considered starting a vinyl collection.
I decided against it because I have reason to believe that 1-bit digital recording technology has the potential to finally live up to the "digital promise" we've been hearing for the last twenty years. (That promise being that digital can offer the undeniable warmth of analog while not being limited by the unavoidable mechanical degradation of analog.)
I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of the sonic fidelity of my music getting slightly cruddier with each playback, although I suppose there's a morbidly romantic aspect about that process that some would find pleasant. Hmm.
As far as recording goes, I'm seriously trying to figure out a way to record to 2-inch tape. Either that, or track to 1-bit and mix-down into something else just so I could archive the 1-bit stuff. I bet printing out to 2-inch for the mix with a final output to LP would sound like butter. (I think the 16-bit recordings we worked with for Fall Back sound like complete butthole, which wasn't helped by our crappy mics/pre's and lackluster performances.)
Digital sound is not all it's cracked up to be, despite the fact that it's convenient as heck with its non-destructibility and budget friendliness. Unfortunately, good music is really about good sound - as opposed to good pricing - and I think that people react on an emotional level to good sound. This reaction may not even take place in the conscious mind, but it could be the difference between liking something and just tolerating it. I know 99.9% of the people who would ever hear the music I make would hear the 16-bit version of it instead of a higher-res digital version (like 24-bit SACD) or LP, but...it'd be nice to know it's out there for the folks who appreciate that sort of thing - folks like me.
*sigh* And for the record, sometimes I hate myself.
The next post will be huge.
I decided against it because I have reason to believe that 1-bit digital recording technology has the potential to finally live up to the "digital promise" we've been hearing for the last twenty years. (That promise being that digital can offer the undeniable warmth of analog while not being limited by the unavoidable mechanical degradation of analog.)
I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of the sonic fidelity of my music getting slightly cruddier with each playback, although I suppose there's a morbidly romantic aspect about that process that some would find pleasant. Hmm.
As far as recording goes, I'm seriously trying to figure out a way to record to 2-inch tape. Either that, or track to 1-bit and mix-down into something else just so I could archive the 1-bit stuff. I bet printing out to 2-inch for the mix with a final output to LP would sound like butter. (I think the 16-bit recordings we worked with for Fall Back sound like complete butthole, which wasn't helped by our crappy mics/pre's and lackluster performances.)
Digital sound is not all it's cracked up to be, despite the fact that it's convenient as heck with its non-destructibility and budget friendliness. Unfortunately, good music is really about good sound - as opposed to good pricing - and I think that people react on an emotional level to good sound. This reaction may not even take place in the conscious mind, but it could be the difference between liking something and just tolerating it. I know 99.9% of the people who would ever hear the music I make would hear the 16-bit version of it instead of a higher-res digital version (like 24-bit SACD) or LP, but...it'd be nice to know it's out there for the folks who appreciate that sort of thing - folks like me.
*sigh* And for the record, sometimes I hate myself.
The next post will be huge.
posted by b at
5:07 PM
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