3 reasons I like analog emulation plug-ins (better than whatever the other kinds are called)6/22/2017 I started recording during a time when the Alesis ADAT was the standard in the studio. It was digital, but it wasn't a computer. Pro Tools was around but it was pretty new and few studios in my area used it much. EQs, compressors, delay, reverb - it was all hardware. So maybe that's one of the reasons I prefer analog emulation plug-ins over the more modern-looking, non-analog emulation ones. But besides just being old fashioned, here are three more reasons: 1. Listen with your ears, not your eyes! Have you ever noticed that closing your eyes while listening to something helps you listen better? A non-analog emulation EQ with a spectral analyzer, or a compressor with a graph showing you the input/output curve might be cool - even handy - but it's probably making you focus on what you're seeing more than what you're hearing. And no matter how cool it looks, no one will see any of this when they listen to your song. It matters what they hear, and that’s what you should be focused on. 2. Limited options get quicker results I have one of those modern-looking EQs with eight fully selectable bands and literally 20,000 possible frequencies to boost or cut. Sure, sometimes it's useful to notch out 987Hz when I need to do some surgical editing, but generally speaking, 1k is going to do the trick. So the first two EQ plugins I tend to reach for are the Waves API 550 and the Black Rooster Audio VEQ-5 because the hardware they're modeled after have a limited selection of the tried and true frequencies that have been getting the pros results for decades. That way, I can choose from a limited amount of options and get something that sounds good, fast. 3. Analog adds "sum" character All the music most of us grew up listening to was recording with analog gear. And every step of the process in those recordings - the microphone pre, mix console, effects, compressors, the tape it was recorded on - literally everything, added a little bit of unique character. All of that unique character added together created something that, when removed, made the music seem sterile or a little lifeless. Like it's missing a little bit of that sound we're all used to hearing. It's called analog summing. Most plug-ins modeled after analog gear attempt to add some of the unique harmonic distortion the original gear added to the music and put back some of that character that's missing in digital. In fact, there are even plug-ins designed to do nothing but that, like Waves Non-Linear Summer. It's a plug in that adds the unique analog sound of three legendary mixing consoles. So the next time you need an EQ, compressor, or anything, try an analog emulation and see what you think. Tell me how it goes!
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Jeff ThomasThis is the story of an average Joe learning to record like a pro. Archives
July 2017
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