USING ANALOG TAPE TO WARM UP DIGITAL RECORDINGS

Lately it's become fashionable to "fatten" or "warm up" digital recordings by transferring them to analog tape.

This is certainly a logical way to get that "analog" sound!

However, I believe (for what it's worth) that judicious use of high quality compressors and equalizers is a better way to get the same result.

Here's why:

Good compressors and equalizers can be precisely and reproducibly adjusted, their settings can be quickly changed, and comparisons between setting can be made instantly. They're also extremely quiet.

This is not so with analog recorders, which apply an inter-related mix of compression and EQ that depends in a complicated way on the music, the transfer level, the particular recorder being used, the brand of tape, and on the condition, alignment and calibration of the recorder. They can also add noise (usually "hiss.")

With analog transfer you can't easily "take a little off the highs," or "add a tad more compression during that chorus." You can't "try a different box;" since few studios have a selection of analog recorders!

With analog transfer, back and forth comparisons with the original digital recording are more difficult and time-consuming than with compressors and EQs, which can be put in or taken out of the loop with the flick of a switch.

At Melville Park Studio, I use a variety of compressors and equalizers, both tube and solid state, analog and digital. They can make the sound fat and warm, bright and crisp, or anything in between.

If you're still sold on analog transfer, be careful to observe the following guidelines:

1. Transfer each song individually, and compare the result with the original digital recording. The results may vary from cut to cut, depending on the relative amounts of high and low frequency energy.
2. Try transferring at different volume levels. In general, higher levels will produce more bass, more compression, and less noise.
3. Be careful not to confuse fatness with boominess, warmth with loss of highs or muddiness, smoothness with over-compression. And watch out for noise buildup and distortion.

Done carefully and critically, on a properly calibrated and aligned recorder in good condition, analog transfer can produce excellent results. But done with nothing more than an ideological belief in the process, it's at best a waste of time and money, and at worst, the resulting noise and distortion will remind you of why digital was invented in the first place!