Can you ever "warm" something up with digital?

[SoftSynthLover99]

wait, whut? porn is like soft synths?
why isn't my missus interested in soft synths then?

Maybe you don’t have the right missus!
I kid I kid.

Porn is actually a lot like soft synths, easily accessible, takes up no physical space, but doesn’t have the warmth of analog (real human connection to keep the analogy going).

Imagine someone asking for relationship/sex advice, and everyone just says “go watch porn it’s good enough!”. That’s how I view this digital vs analog thing. Digital is so convenient that often times we dismiss analog as not being worth it. Which couldn’t be further from the truth!

I love analogies lol

[SamDi]

We should start talking about Shannon Nyquist Sampling Theorem now.

Yes, and also about the true fact, that it makes no sense to talk about a single analog gear, when you have a digital component later in the production or reproduction chain.

Because you might know - when you have a digital compenent, it destroys inrecoverable all the analog warmth in the signal chain, but that is normally swept under the carpet from the digital lobby, trying to flood us with cheap digital components from Asia.

it's becoming increasingly hard to discern between satire and serious posts here

Poe's Law.

It's not fair, that you discredit my post as satire, but in the meanwhile, I changed my mind, because incidentally I found this Youtube video


(don't believe the idiot in the video with his conclusion - it's really a game changer)

I tried it out and it works perfect. So this is the good news: you CAN ever warm something up with digital as long as you shave the CD afterwards.

[zerocrossing]

It’s kind of like porn, sure you can have an endless amount of beautiful women (or men if that’s your thing) at your fingertips, but it doesn’t come close to the real thing.

Horrible analogy. Sex can produce a baby. Mastrubation can’t. An analog compressor compresses the dynamic range of an audio signal and a digital compressor does the same exact thing.

I have no doubt that you can achieve better results with great pro-grade analog gear in a recording studio, but spending $2.5k on a compressor to run your ITB mixes through… that’s a poor use of one’s money.

[SoftSynthLover99]

It’s kind of like porn, sure you can have an endless amount of beautiful women (or men if that’s your thing) at your fingertips, but it doesn’t come close to the real thing.

Horrible analogy. Sex can produce a baby. Mastrubation can’t. An analog compressor compresses the dynamic range of an audio signal and a digital compressor does the same exact thing.

I have no doubt that you can achieve better results with great pro-grade analog gear in a recording studio, but spending $2.5k on a compressor to run your ITB mixes through… that’s a poor use of one’s money.

If you are a woman you don’t need sex to produce a baby. And as a man if you masturbate as a donor, you can in fact produce a baby by donating your sperm. So yes you can conceive a baby through masturbation.

I use to have this DBX 676 tube channel strip for vocals and guitar. Cost me about $600 used many years ago. They are $1250 new atm. No plugin I’ve ever used can beat that channel strip on vocals, bass or guitars. You don’t need to spend $2.5k on a compressor (although investing in quality gear is very wise) to hear the benefits of analog.

Just 1 piece of quality studio gear can completely transform your mixes. Have you ever ran ITB mixes through analog gear?

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

[sQeetz]

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

thx! Allright, will do!

[_leras]

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Seems you shifted to a slightly different thing now, that of capturing signal in the first place. I agree here that you might get a slightly better signal on the way in.

But even this vocal could be further 'warmed up' by digital plugins if needed.

[sQeetz]

give any of the units you believe are IMPOSSIBLE to emulate digitally to a company like u-he, Kazrog, or the like and I'm positively sure the results are going to be in the ballpark... close enough to be indistinguishable.

[SoftSynthLover99]

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Seems you shifted to a slightly different thing now, that of capturing signal in the first place. I agree here that you might get a slightly better signal on the way in.

But even this vocal could be further 'warmed up' by digital plugins if needed.

Sorry, yeah for me capturing the signal on the way in is very important if you want a warm sound to begin with. I don’t use amp sims (they never sound real) vocals, guitars and bass are all gonna be going through outboard preamps, comps and eqs on the way in. I would never go back to just audio interface pre amps no matter how good the interface. And the signal is not only “slightly better”. The tracks sound radio ready before any plugins are added.

Tone projects, Kazrog and u-he stuff gets really close. UAD as well, but close is not = to the source. If you’re in college and you take a test, do they pass you just because your grade was “close” to passing? Not at all.

And running u-he diva and zebra3 through outboard gear is a euphoric experience I hope everyone gets to have

Worse case scenario, the OP buys some analog gear and doesn’t like it. Guess what? Return it within 30-45 days for a full refund at most music stores. But buy some software u don’t like? You’re stuck with it forever

[vitocorleone123]

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Seems you shifted to a slightly different thing now, that of capturing signal in the first place. I agree here that you might get a slightly better signal on the way in.

But even this vocal could be further 'warmed up' by digital plugins if needed.

Sorry, yeah for me capturing the signal on the way in is very important if you want a warm sound to begin with. I don’t use amp sims (they never sound real) vocals, guitars and bass are all gonna be going through outboard preamps, comps and eqs on the way in. I would never go back to just audio interface pre amps no matter how good the interface. And the signal is not only “slightly better”. The tracks sound radio ready before any plugins are added.

Tone projects, Kazrog and u-he stuff gets really close. UAD as well, but close is not = to the source. If you’re in college and you take a test, do they pass you just because your grade was “close” to passing? Not at all.

And running u-he diva and zebra3 through outboard gear is a euphoric experience I hope everyone gets to have

Worse case scenario, the OP buys some analog gear and doesn’t like it. Guess what? Return it within 30-45 days for a full refund at most music stores. But buy some software u don’t like? You’re stuck with it forever

Some stores won't take hardware back. Many companies allow their software license to be resold.
You should consider not talking in absolutes and not using weak analogies.

[SoftSynthLover99]

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Seems you shifted to a slightly different thing now, that of capturing signal in the first place. I agree here that you might get a slightly better signal on the way in.

But even this vocal could be further 'warmed up' by digital plugins if needed.

Sorry, yeah for me capturing the signal on the way in is very important if you want a warm sound to begin with. I don’t use amp sims (they never sound real) vocals, guitars and bass are all gonna be going through outboard preamps, comps and eqs on the way in. I would never go back to just audio interface pre amps no matter how good the interface. And the signal is not only “slightly better”. The tracks sound radio ready before any plugins are added.

Tone projects, Kazrog and u-he stuff gets really close. UAD as well, but close is not = to the source. If you’re in college and you take a test, do they pass you just because your grade was “close” to passing? Not at all.

And running u-he diva and zebra3 through outboard gear is a euphoric experience I hope everyone gets to have

Worse case scenario, the OP buys some analog gear and doesn’t like it. Guess what? Return it within 30-45 days for a full refund at most music stores. But buy some software u don’t like? You’re stuck with it forever

Some stores won't take hardware back. Many companies allow their software license to be resold.
You should consider not talking in absolutes and not using weak analogies.

You could consider reading what I said. I did say “most music stores”. However, I don’t know of any music stores that don’t allow hardware to be returned. Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, American Musical Supply, Zzounds, Vintage King, Thomann, Gear4Music, Andertons all take returns back within 30 days. Most stores on reverb.com take returns as well usually 14 days.

And reselling a license is not the same as getting a refund. You lose money reselling your licenses unless you got them for free. And the analogies definitely apply. Calling them “weak” means absolutely nothing. Take care!

[vitocorleone123]

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Seems you shifted to a slightly different thing now, that of capturing signal in the first place. I agree here that you might get a slightly better signal on the way in.

But even this vocal could be further 'warmed up' by digital plugins if needed.

Sorry, yeah for me capturing the signal on the way in is very important if you want a warm sound to begin with. I don’t use amp sims (they never sound real) vocals, guitars and bass are all gonna be going through outboard preamps, comps and eqs on the way in. I would never go back to just audio interface pre amps no matter how good the interface. And the signal is not only “slightly better”. The tracks sound radio ready before any plugins are added.

Tone projects, Kazrog and u-he stuff gets really close. UAD as well, but close is not = to the source. If you’re in college and you take a test, do they pass you just because your grade was “close” to passing? Not at all.

And running u-he diva and zebra3 through outboard gear is a euphoric experience I hope everyone gets to have

Worse case scenario, the OP buys some analog gear and doesn’t like it. Guess what? Return it within 30-45 days for a full refund at most music stores. But buy some software u don’t like? You’re stuck with it forever

Some stores won't take hardware back. Many companies allow their software license to be resold.
You should consider not talking in absolutes and not using weak analogies.

You could consider reading what I said. I did say “most music stores”. However, I don’t know of any music stores that don’t allow hardware to be returned. Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, American Musical Supply, Zzounds, Vintage King, Thomann, Gear4Music, Andertons all take returns back within 30 days. Most stores on reverb.com take returns as well usually 14 days.

And reselling a license is not the same as getting a refund. You lose money reselling your licenses unless you got them for free. And the analogies definitely apply. Calling them “weak” means absolutely nothing. Take care!

Some places also provide a full refund for software. But, keep on trying. You'll surely be convincing to someone at some point.

[_sink]

I'm willing to trust people with a lot of gear, and knowhow about the gear they own, that you can't 100% replicate it digitally. but for all intents and purposes 90% is good enough. for most people 50% or even less is good enough. I think art that takes VHS or old film aesthetics in a really surface level or inaccurate way, but is still popular, is testament to the bar being fairly low. that doesn't mean people are stupid or anything either. the mystique of old or niche or famous gear is a big part of the fun of using it or trying to emulate it

[SoftSynthLover99]

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Seems you shifted to a slightly different thing now, that of capturing signal in the first place. I agree here that you might get a slightly better signal on the way in.

But even this vocal could be further 'warmed up' by digital plugins if needed.

Sorry, yeah for me capturing the signal on the way in is very important if you want a warm sound to begin with. I don’t use amp sims (they never sound real) vocals, guitars and bass are all gonna be going through outboard preamps, comps and eqs on the way in. I would never go back to just audio interface pre amps no matter how good the interface. And the signal is not only “slightly better”. The tracks sound radio ready before any plugins are added.

Tone projects, Kazrog and u-he stuff gets really close. UAD as well, but close is not = to the source. If you’re in college and you take a test, do they pass you just because your grade was “close” to passing? Not at all.

And running u-he diva and zebra3 through outboard gear is a euphoric experience I hope everyone gets to have

Worse case scenario, the OP buys some analog gear and doesn’t like it. Guess what? Return it within 30-45 days for a full refund at most music stores. But buy some software u don’t like? You’re stuck with it forever

Some stores won't take hardware back. Many companies allow their software license to be resold.
You should consider not talking in absolutes and not using weak analogies.

You could consider reading what I said. I did say “most music stores”. However, I don’t know of any music stores that don’t allow hardware to be returned. Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, American Musical Supply, Zzounds, Vintage King, Thomann, Gear4Music, Andertons all take returns back within 30 days. Most stores on reverb.com take returns as well usually 14 days.

And reselling a license is not the same as getting a refund. You lose money reselling your licenses unless you got them for free. And the analogies definitely apply. Calling them “weak” means absolutely nothing. Take care!

Some places also provide a full refund for software. But, keep on trying. You'll surely be convincing to someone at some point.

Umm, try what? Lol I’m just sharing my experiences with gear, that’s it. And once you activate and use a software license, 99.9999% of companies won’t give a refund.

Maybe you’re having a bad day or something and looking for an argument, either way I hope you have a great day and by all means do what works for you I’m just sharing what has worked for me in regards to the OPs topic.

[zerocrossing]

It’s kind of like porn, sure you can have an endless amount of beautiful women (or men if that’s your thing) at your fingertips, but it doesn’t come close to the real thing.

Horrible analogy. Sex can produce a baby. Mastrubation can’t. An analog compressor compresses the dynamic range of an audio signal and a digital compressor does the same exact thing.

I have no doubt that you can achieve better results with great pro-grade analog gear in a recording studio, but spending $2.5k on a compressor to run your ITB mixes through… that’s a poor use of one’s money.

If you are a woman you don’t need sex to produce a baby. And as a man if you masturbate as a donor, you can in fact produce a baby by donating your sperm. So yes you can conceive a baby through masturbation.

I use to have this DBX 676 tube channel strip for vocals and guitar. Cost me about $600 used many years ago. They are $1250 new atm. No plugin I’ve ever used can beat that channel strip on vocals, bass or guitars. You don’t need to spend $2.5k on a compressor (although investing in quality gear is very wise) to hear the benefits of analog.

Just 1 piece of quality studio gear can completely transform your mixes. Have you ever ran ITB mixes through analog gear?

I love digital plugins (just look at my name), but I’m not naive to the fact that a 2.5k compressor is definitely worth it’s price for a professional. A hobbyist? Maybe not.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda from “professionals” online. I’ve seen artist like Bruno Mars vocal chain. U47 into a LA2A and Pultec EQ. So yeah who couldn’t mix his vocals completely ITB through that chain

This is obviously just my experience over the decades however, feel free to disagree

Happy mixing either way everyone!

Then I disagree. I get very good results using UAD plugins for my hardware instruments/mics and other native plugins for my software.

[Ploki]

Some great mixers work exclusively ITB as well.
Imo capturing with compressor on the way in is a habit from early days of digital, because you had less headroom and monitoring with an itb compressor was harder + plugins were much worse.

It was simply easier to set a good chain on your way in. A vocal chain at near zero latency would have probably killed the CPU back then.
Because tracking without a compressor is just wierd and can cramp the vocalist.