Comment Responses

In response to comments on 'Analog vs. Digital,' I'll briefly attempt to answer your questions.

Insignificant Wrangler said...

I have found, using Pro Tools, that digital music has a terrible time
translating distortion. When I needed to record distortion, I would always start
by getting it on analogue and then transferring the analogue to digital--but
then this caused trouble. Perhaps the software and technology is getting better,
its been a few years since I played with this stuff.

Using digital editing software like ProTools, distortion is much easier to create than it is to capture. Due to the randomness of the soundwaves of distortion, it is difficult to digitally compress the waves in a manner that retains the true sound. Editing suites like ProTools are extremely powerful however, and instruments like these are able to craft wonderful digital sound. But it is offered in tiers with great differences in features. With ProTools you can get an M-Powered, LE, or HD system. M-Powered being the cheapest with the least features and HD being the most expensive with the most features. The more advanced the features, the better quality sound produced.

Musing Azrael said...

This was very interesting to me. I know that some music sounds better than
others, and depending on the source, it may seem richer with no real
explanation, be it the radio, my car stereo, my PC speakers. Is that these
effects, or is it due to the quality of the speakers and reproduction system
perhaps?

The differences in the sonic quality of the music you listen to on a daily basis are due to many things. Most of the differences in the listening situations you mentioned are likely due to the speakers the music is playing through. Also, all mentioned normally offer the user an ability alter the sound further with an equalizer, or EQ. Most of these situations usually have either a CD or MP3 used as the audio source. Radio uses CDs as a source in most cases and the sound is first compressed before being broadcasted. Of course, you also have HD and Satellite radio which offer even more differences. In most cases, the differences you hear are due to the reproduction quality of the sound (speakers and receiver) and the differing characteristics of CD quality and MP3 quality audio. In some cases, you may even be hearing the differences between different bit rates of MP3s.

Belsarius said...

This is something that has always bothered me but I didn't know there was an
actual known reason for it. It seams that whenever I play on my acoustic guitar
the sound has more warmth and tonality than when I play back a recording of
myself playing on the same instrument. I wonder how this effects the way an
electric guitar works. Are the infinite little tones lost when the sound is
amplified or are they still there?

The recording doesn't sound as good because not all of the same frequencies/sound waves are being reproduced. Some of the harmonic frequencies are lost when recorded, that's what adds the 'warmth' to the sound. The loss of quality could also be due whether your acoustic guitar was mic'd to record it or had a direct feed. Electric guitars are different because they use the pickup to'pickup' the sound instead of it reverberating inside the shell of an acoustic guitar. As far as amplification goes, it simply makes the height, or volume, of the wave greater. Only when the wave is amplified to the point where the signal becomes distorted is the quality of sound loss.

vintage rust said...

So, what do you recommend for an incredible listening experience?

No matter what the format, analog or digital, the quality of the listening experience depends upon the quality of the components involved in reproducing the sound for your listening pleasure. In most cases, better quality reproduction means more money, but there are products that reproduce quality sound for less coin. In analog, the components could involve a turntable, tape machine, stylus (needle), and cartridge (needle shell) just to name a few. I'm sure you're probably familiar with the common digital components; CD players, media players on computers, MP3 players, etc. Involved with both are then speakers, or headphones, and amplification. I'm probably just confusing things, but there are so many avenues anyone can take for a great listening experience. My optimal experience would be a well-kept record treated with anti-static on a reasonable turntable using a fairly new stylus heard through some studio quality headphones.