Digital Vs Analog (Debunking The Myth)

There’s a huge misconception that beginners always have about home studio recording so it’s really important for us to clear up and give you the facts on this subject. Ever since home studio recording became the new standard for most people to record, the idea (or myth as I like to call it) that you can’t get the same quality recordings as commercial studios has plagued their minds and continues to do so to this day. Even with all of the evidence that it proves that it just isn’t true whatsoever. But on the flip side, I completely understand why people new to recording have this belief. It’s extremely difficult to understand logically how you can get the same results from a simple home studio setup as you could with a commercial studio worth hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. How does this make any sense? Well the answer is actually quite simple and I always get excited when I get any chance to debunk this myth for people. 

In this post we will look at 3 points of discussion that prove this horrendous myth to be untrue…

1. The 5 key factors that make up great music and great songs

The truth of the matter is that these 5 factors that determine great songs have very little to do with the actual studio space or the gear that is being used. The great sounding records that come out of those beautiful commercial studios are a combination of talent, great performances, great songwriting, great production and years of experience in making music. And if you put all of that talent and experience in a home studio with inexpensive gear, I guarantee that the results would be no different than what you would be able to achieve in a commercial studio. So conversely, if people were to be put in the commercial studio without the talent, skills and experience, their results would remain the same as what they achieved in a home studio. You see where I’m going with this? 

So for example, if you were to put me (or someone equivalent to my experience) in a space with $1000 dollars worth of gear and an acoustically treated recording space, I will get much better results than putting someone with half my experience in a million dollar studio. And please don’t take this the wrong way because this has absolutely nothing to do with bragging but just with emphasizing a point. So don’t think for a second that you can’t make great sounding professional music in a “low budget” home studio. The reality is that it’s being done everyday by people just like you! 

For years I believed that we couldn’t achieve professional recordings from our “cheap” home studio. But once we began to get more experienced, I soon realized how wrong I was. It was in the mastering of the craft and having experienced mixers work on our tracks that yielded professional results, not spending more money on gear or having to go to a commercial studio. We soon found that as long as the recording was clean, the performances were on point and the mix was done well, anything we made would sound professional. And of course all this has to be blacked up with talent. All of the experience in the world isn’t even a remedy for lack of talent. Talent and well made music is always the foundation of a great song regardless where it may have been recorded. 

So if expensive gear isn't the answer to great recordings then the question is…

2. How much of a role does expensive gear and professionally built recording spaces make?

It’s important that I don’t come across like nice gear doesn’t play any role in making your recordings and music sound better because it definitely can and will help. And hey, I can admit to being a bit of a gear junkie myself but what engineer isn’t. I like nice new gear just as much as the next person but I also understand that the new gear I purchase is not the difference maker in how my music will ultimately sound. My experience and skills are my biggest asset and contributing factors to achieving the results I get.

This is something very important to touch on. How you’re recording your songs plays a massive role in the potential of your music. For example, if you’re recording in a space that’s not acoustically treated, your recordings can really suffer the consequences. You're shooting yourself in the foot before you even start the race. And don’t think that you need a professionally made soundproof recording booth to get great results. You just have to use something effective enough to tighten up the sound. So if you don’t have an acoustically treated recording space, closets and blankets can work wonders and are things that most people have access to, so there’s really no excuse. To help put this in perspective, a $2000 mic recorded in a poorly treated space will not get you the results that a $200 mic recorded in a well treated space or booth. It’s really that important. 

So yes, your recording space plays a major factor in quality but it definitely doesn’t have to be pretty or professionally built. And nice gear and plugins play a role in great sound, but this is probably the aspect of recording that you should be the least concerned with in the beginning. 

3. Do plugins & software stack up to analog gear?

Now this is definitely a subject that will require the attention of a full post all on its own but for now, I will keep it fairly brief and to the point. Covering this topic in particular is so important to the debate of digital vs analog and needs to come from a place of non bias to really get to the truth of it. I’m as neutral as they come when it comes to this topic because I have absolutely nothing to gain or lose from it except my credibility. So being honest with you always comes first before any form of bias or sales tactic.

I’ve noticed that over the last 10 years or so that most of the engineers that came up in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s have pretty much conceded to the fact that the technology used to emulate analog gear is now on par with the actual gear itself. And even if they feel there are subtle variations in the sound, it’s just not worth the money to make up for the minor, and in many cases, insignificant differences that any given plugin emulation may have. 

This really all comes down to value at the end of the day. It’s very hard to justify spending $4000 for a piece of gear when you can get the plugin for $200 or less. Even if you have the money, it still just isn’t the most logical decision.

These days you’ll find that most people who still hold the opinion that plugins will never be able to produce the same result as the hardware, are people who have had studios for a long time and have spent a small to large fortune on gear before plugins could really compete sonically. And even though this never happened to me on a large scale, I still get it to a degree. I understand why people want to hold on to that belief after decades of investment and much more stressful work recording and doing everything through hardware. It’s so much easier being an engineer now than it was even 20 years ago but that's a topic for another day.

Technology has drastically changed the landscape of many industries and has made so much previous technology and expensive gear obsolete. That’s just how it will always be with technology. But that’s not quite the case with recording just yet. Analog gear is still far from obsolete, it’s just not a necessity to get high level sound quality anymore. You’re DAW and plugins from your little home studio will do just fine!

Conclusion

I can confidently say that between me running my own tests and hearing the a/b tests people have run online, most analog gear has met their match with today’s plugin software technology. It took a bit of time but it’s there now. The point is that the average person can now afford to have access to all the tools million dollar studios have right in their own daw to achieve the same sound quality. How powerful is that! These are truly incredible times we live in as music creators to have access to all of these tools right in our computers. The good news is that it’s the furthest thing from the truth that in the age of modern music production you need expensive studios for great results. But the bad news is that you can’t use this as an excuse any more as to why you may or may not be getting the results that the pros do.

Advice for you moving forward…

The best advice I can give you is to learn to maximize the gear you have and spend your time educating yourself and studying the fundamentals of recording and mixing. Focus on writing great songs and getting great performances. Try to get it out of your head that you can’t achieve professional results from your home studio with the gear and tools you have. The myth is just not true! So don’t keep using it as an excuse as to why you may not be getting the results you're after. 

Like always, I hope this information was helpful and insightful. Please leave your comments and thoughts.

And remember, learn with confidence!

Ja Mixdowns