the analog warmth myth

[mark77]

Recently i've had a chance to try out a lot of plugins ranging from 'vintage' tape machine
emulations to vintage compressors, mastering suites and so forth. There is so much hype
around this form of plugin technology that its very tempting to want to get our hands on
every single one, because every one of them claims to be the best. After trying so many of
them, and being able to compare them i have mixed feelings.
In most cases all i noticed was only minor changes in the sound. Now what i find
interesting/anoying is that these changes are so subtle you can pretty much do without
them. But a more interesting thing i found was that even the most expensive 'analog
warmth' plugins can be easily mimicked by a lot cheaper/free plugins.
For example, i tried one of the most expensive ones out there... listened to it, then i
tried to recreate the same sound with free plugins, and the funny thing is that it's not
only easy, but u can pretty much get an identical if not BETTER sound.
now i realise some plugins are expensive because of all the time and money thats involved
in making them.. but at the end of the day... what really counts is the sound. So.. whats
sounds better? an emulation of something thats 20+ years old, or something that you can
make yourself? I think people need to realise that these analog plugins, even though they
promise the world, should be just the icing on the cake. They should be left to the
purists, not the average user.

When you think about how many other things have to be right with your song befor its finished, such as levels, sounds, arrangement, melody, catchiness,
relevancy, and everything else in between, adding analog and tape emulation will not solve
anything. If your song sucks before hand, even though a compressor claims to make it
sound'fuller, fatter, more analog, vintage an all that, your song will still suck.
So anyways my main observations were that most of these analog plugins, all they do is
CHANGE THE EQ and nothing more. So i put them on bypass, opened up my freeware eq and
tried to tweak it to sound the same.. and voila! i could get it to the same sound. Which
leads me to the question.. is that all there is to
it? all analog sound does is change the
eq levels and takes out some of the treble. Well yes.

Now i'm not saying that the expensive ones are useles.. all i'm saying is that if you think
it's worth paying hundreds of dollars for something that is gonna reduce some treble in
your song.. then you should think again.. because chances are that for whatever you want to
achieve, you already have the resources at your fingertips.

So here comes my challenge... i challenge any analog warmth purists out there to post some
audio samples of before/after their analog warmth adding plugins. So.. for example.. send
me 5 seconds of your song with your warmth adding plugin, and 5 seconds without the plugin.

And the challenge is.. that the readers on this forum have to be able to hear how the
plugin makes your song A BETTER song. Oh, and if your response to this is "yeah but people
wont be able to tell the subtle differences in sound' well.. then you've proven me right.

All of these plugins are unnecesary. Simply because if the end user doesnt notice a
difference/improvement, then it's all in your head. And trust me.. the end user/listener
really does not give a shit about what synths or plugins u used, they care about the song
and nothing else.

Think back to the time BEFORE you started making music, and think of your favourite songs
at the time. You liked those songs because they were good songs, and NOT because you
thought "oh god, i just love that analog warmth on that kick, oh and i love the tape
saturation on that guitar lead.. it's just so warm and fat...!"
So, here's my advice... concentrate on making good songs.. that's 99% percent of the work..
and the remaining 1% ... well i guess u could say u might as well do without it coz nobody
will ever notice... (unless u tell them, and then the placebo effect kicks in and then
they'll go 'oh yeah i can hear it......now that you told me")

[D-Fusion]

I suggest that you demo the Native instruments Reaktor5, and try out the junatik synth (that synth has warm kicks and is one of the most analog sounding synth i have tried)

[mark77]

that's nice d-fusion, but i'll stand by my point until someone proves me wrong

[The Chase]

for the record, I will never own an analog synth unless it's either a free one that somebody wants to give me or a modular.

[droolmaster0]

for the record, I will never own an analog synth unless it's either a free one that somebody wants to give me or a modular.

And this is based on your view of vst analog emulation plug ins?!

[Joxer the Mighty]

'Analog warmth purists' do not use emulation plugins, they use the real deal. I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make.

[ddummer]

I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make.

Isn´t the point: What is the point?

I agree... First you think all these plugs as
"magic" tools to enhance your sound.

Then you try and conclude that they will only
introduce distortion and cut hi end.

I´d like to hear some before/after examples of
"better sounding after" demos too....

//Daniel

[jmh]

And the challenge is.. that the readers on this forum have to be able to hear how the
plugin makes your song A BETTER song.

Starting from the flawed idea, it's pretty clear you are missing something important.

Oh, and if your response to this is "yeah but people wont be able to tell the subtle differences in sound' well.. then you've proven me right.

Rrright. Definitely missing something indeed.

All of these plugins are unnecesary. Simply because if the end user doesnt notice a difference/improvement, then it's all in your head. And trust me.. the end user/listener really does not give a shit about what synths or plugins u used, they care about the song and nothing else.

Huh... what a marvellous logic. Really proves you are missing - a lot, not just a thing or two.

Regards,

JMH

[OMU]

He's just trying to seem interesting

[Jaeson Merrill]

actually, i think it would be nice if all of these audiophiles would put there money where their mouths are and post up some hiqual mp3 or 16/44 wav examples of before and after sounds...

...

[Jaeson Merrill]

then again, there is some inhibition to "proving" things at kvr.. it doesnt seem to happen often. opinions fly, buzz words encircle, but nothing is ever proven...

[sluggo]

I dunno, I think what Mark77 is saying is that once the plugin is used in song that people won't hear the difference between "expensive analog emulation plugin A" and "free plugin B". Too be honest, although I've seen a lot of plugin A vs. plugin B audio demos here, it's rare (I've never seen one) that you come across song demos that use and compare two plugins. There's no need to slag Mark77, he is asking a valid question and he has a point (certainly it is possible to be disproved, but it is a point regardless).

s.

[The Chase]

for the record, I will never own an analog synth unless it's either a free one that somebody wants to give me or a modular.

And this is based on your view of vst analog emulation plug ins?!

All my favorite emulations out perform their hardware predocessors.

[droolmaster0]

for the record, I will never own an analog synth unless it's either a free one that somebody wants to give me or a modular.

And this is based on your view of vst analog emulation plug ins?!

All my favorite emulations out perform their hardware predocessors.

Shit, my software emulation of you outperforms its hardware 'predocessor' also.

[AndrewSimon]

So, here's my advice... concentrate on making good songs.. that's 99% percent of the work..
and the remaining 1% ... well i guess u could say u might as well do without it coz nobody
will ever notice...

Good advice.
Now take it .... and stop writting such long posts about "analog warmth"