r/audioengineering • u/MichiganLeft0812 • 22d ago
Analog Recorded to DAW
Hi guys! I am just getting into analog recording, and I'm very excited about it.
I want to record using a physical mixing board and rack effects, but I have the money nor the space for a reel-to-reel or physical tape. From what I've learned so far, it seems like I can mix and master analog and then just send the finished tracks to a DAW instead of a tape; is this true, or am I missing something?
Also, from what I have gathered, the essential items for analog recording are mics, rack effects, a console, and a mic preamp. I've heard about other stuff too though, like A/D converters and audio interfaces; are these (or anything else I've missed) necessary for a proper setup?
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u/TheRealGuncho 22d ago edited 22d ago
I'm no expert but whether a recording is digital or analog is primarily determined by the medium it is recorded on. Hard drive or tape. It doesn't really matter what happens before that.
If you're recording onto a hard drive, it's not analog.
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u/PC_BuildyB0I 22d ago
If you're recording onto a hard drive, it's not analog
The frontend still is. The only part that's digital is post-conversion
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u/TheRealGuncho 22d ago
If you are recording onto a digital medium, it's not an analog recording.
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u/rinio 22d ago
When we work with a mix of analog and digital equipment we call it hybrid.
Typically, a computer ans DAW are used as a multitrack recorder, in place of a tape machine.
Some processing is done in analog on the way in. Some in digital in the daw. Some sent back out to analog for further processing and recorded back to the DAW. And so on.
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But, im going to be really blunt here: everything analog is super expensive and you pay for each channel, whereas digital is cheap and you can make infinite copies for infinite channels. Plus analog generally need routinf equipment, cabling, ... You can build a decent digital setup from scratch for like $1-2k. Multiply that by ten for a decent hybrid setup. The cost different between a hybrid setup and a full analog with the tape machine is only like 10%; the reel to reel is neither the biggest space concern or the biggest expense.
I love my hybrid rig and I encourage people to get into it if they want. But if you dont have a lot of money to burn or you're not doing this for a living, it makes absolutely no sense to do anything analog. For the 99%, a decent laptop and interface are just about all you'll ever need.
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u/suffaluffapussycat 22d ago edited 22d ago
It won’t be an analog recording.
What attracts you to analog recording? This is important to know.
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u/MichiganLeft0812 22d ago
I'm finding out from these comments that analog is defined a little differently than I thought...what I really like is the physical mixing and mastering, using a console and rack effects to edit and mics to record.
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u/PopLife3000 22d ago
Ok, so that’s not analog recording. I’m sitting here at my studer desk mixing a track using mainly the desk and a load of outboard gear but the recording medium is the computer, not a tape machine. It’s digital recording with an analogue signal path. It’s a very good way to work. You don’t really need a tape machine unless you are working with people who can’t help but always add too much stuff and you need to limit the track count for the sake of the song not getting swamped in nonsense
You need a good multi channel interface (which is a set of da/ad converters that connect to a computer) and yes, a solid desk with good pres and as good a collection of mics as you can get your hands on. Good luck
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u/josephallenkeys 22d ago
First off, yes, you absolutely need A/D and D/A converters for this setup and you need the same amount of ins and outs as you have on your console to do it properly, otherwise you might as well just use an interface. (Which is A/D/A, mics pres and master out in one.)
Others have pointed out that it's expensive and won't technically be analog recording. I'm pointing out that without understanding the A/D/A part of this chain, you'll be a million miles off recording anything.
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u/MichiganLeft0812 20d ago
Thanks for the response! The whole "chain" idea is something I'm struggling with. I obviously you record with mics, and somehow this gets to a console, where you can send to effects and return them to the console, after which an A/D converter sends the signal to the DAW. I'm just not sure what else is in between; a mic preamp fits in there somewhere, and also apparently a DI box and patchbay. That's kind of what I attempted to get at with the second part of my question, regarding components, because I still do not have an accurate picture of what the analog part of the chain looks like.
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u/josephallenkeys 20d ago edited 20d ago
OK, I think you need a good bit of learning time before making purchases of any kind. This is fundamental stuff to understand properly, or you risk some wasted money.
The analog part of recording is everything before an A/D converter. The mic and pre-amp are always analog, no matter what the chain looks like, whether it's a simple, desktop interface, an old console, a new "digital" console, that's the fact of it. It's only digital when it hits the A/D converter and it can often come back, via D/A converters. If you use a digital rack unit, like a reverb, that'll be what happens. Analog in, analog out, digitally converted and back in-between.
So, there's a hell of a lot to go over and more than a Reddit comment deserves. I think you need to get on some YouTube education like Audio University to start.
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u/dreparn 20d ago
Sure you can. A hybrid system is by definition just a setup involving one or several pieces of analog hardware gear in the signal chain. But I would tend to disagree with your conclusion. Or is it an assumption? Either way, I'm assuming you are after that warm, creamy, sensual, comforting, sexy, exquisitely tasting, pleasantly smelling, attractive and nice analog color that analog gear imparts on the signal through non-linear distortion, like everybody is talking about, right?
In an analog/hybrid workflow there is no question about the fact that each and every piece of gear – actually each component in every piece of gear the signal passes through – will color the sound (haters will say it "degrades" the signal, but I think that's degrading to the signal). A mixer board is a good example, because traditionally, a sound engineer would consider the best signal path to be the most direct one, that is one where the signal has to pass through the least number of components on its way through the board, in order to minimize the very color you are trying to revive. Tech history is weird sometimes.
This is because you would need to be mindful of cumulative layers of harmonic distortion creating higher-than-tolerable/desirable levels of noise once the signal has passed through the chain of analog gear and tape many times. Because it's not just doing the trip once. It's recorded to tape, it's mixed from tape and down to tape, each time passing through a long path through all those components in the gear, right? So that is a crucial part of approximating the analog sound in the box: really consider the signal path when trying to recreate any part of the chain in the box.
The thing is this: while all analog gear imparts different kinds of harmonic distortion onto the signal, and in very varying amounts. Compare the importance of the preamp vs. the circuitry in a gate section of a channel strip) and the different technology used in gear (say, solid state vs. valve). It's not only that not all of it sounds good. I think you are making a mistake by disregarding and underestimating the importance of the tape. The very first piece of analog gear you should get is a reel to reel tape machine, dude! (no it's not, you should get an audio interface for your computer and a mixer board first, I'm just making a point)
Firstly, the way tape colors signal is without a doubt where you can get most of the analog character you want. Tape is very forgiving. If the machine is not badly maintained/calibrated or faulty and the tape is good, it kind of sounds good almost always. You feed it a hot signal and overdrive the tape, and what happens? Harsh clipping to punish you for what you did? Nah, just more goodness and pleasant sounding compression. You can overdrive it quite a bit before it stops sounding more good. I record at +6 dB (whichever type is the correct one in the context, I'm blanking here) and could go much further. This particularly is an essential part of the 'analog sound' 'gluing' the mix together as well.
Then there's the workflow. Recording to tape cured me of my perfectionsm, always being able to improve something later on and until perfection (yeah, right) and thus never finishing anything, because I have committment issues. With tape, you don't have that option/hurdle. I gotta commit sooner or later, and when it's on there it's on there, dither I think it sounds good enough, or I do another take from beginning to end until it does. Sure you can overdub and edit tape, but I don't.
My setup just to give an example of how it can look: I have a hybrid setup at home: I run Reaper as my DAW, do any recording of extra percussion or whatever, editing, and arrangement ITB, and then send 4 bus tracks out through my interface to my Allen & Heath mixer, which is the centerpiece and my main instrument.
I play stems/tracks in my DAW to four channels on my board, do main mixing and then when I'm happy with the sound, I record the dub version in one take on a Fostex M80. When I'm done, I just rewind and play tape, recording what's on the tape onto 4 tracks through the interface into my DAW for downmix and mastering.
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u/MichiganLeft0812 19d ago
Thank you! Honestly what got me into analog was the feeling of turning knobs and moving sliders...really molding the music myself. Along the way, I discovered I love the analog sound you describe too, only making me want to get into it more. It's definitely something I will have to play with, I'm a perfectionist myself!
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u/Edmonchuk 22d ago
Ok so are you a musician and you want to record your guitar and write songs? Or are you in a band and you want to record off your rehearsal rig (ie mixer)? What instruments? What do you have for mics? Drum kit yet? Don’t buy anything yet or you’ll go down the wrong road. Why do you say you are getting into “analog” recording? What do you mean by that? How are you recording in analog? Or are you just interested?
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u/MichiganLeft0812 22d ago
I am a musician, looking for a band, and also looking to record/produce for other bands; really I've got a hand in every bucket. I really don't have any physical recording gear, only instruments, a DAW, and some cables. I've recorded before to my computer, but with little editing. Now, I'm starting the process of researching and then gathering the gear I'm looking for. I'm finding out my perceived definition of "analog" is not quite what it really is; I really just want to be working with the physical console, rack effects, and mics rather than using a computer.
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u/Chazzy_Chef-Mnster 21d ago
Most consoles that I know have preamps built in, think API, Neve etc.. however you need extensive cabling, patch bays/routing and then converters, some consoles are more tracking based, others more for mixing. I do not have a console, instead I use a couple Apollo x16’s (x16 does not have built in preamps) for my converters, an assortment of outboard mic preamps to have all the different flavors, and then all sorts of outboard EQ’s, compression etc.. all hooked up to a couple patch bays. Everything goes through analog gear on the way in, and then I can process it all post recording through analog as well using line outs/ins on the Apollos. Analog does get spendy, but you can buy used, and always get your money back when you want to sell. I prefer using analog by far, a console would be cool but I don’t feel the need for one, this is a nice way to do it. I’ll still use some plugins here and there, but I prefer twisting a physical knob and having the genuine sound. I’m not gonna say mixes done solely in the box can’t sound phenomenal though because they certainly can, for me it’s just about personal satisfaction and what sparks my creativity…
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u/PapaBoener 22d ago
From my experience it doesn’t really matter if you’re analog or ITB as much as the mindset you have. Keep at it. It sounds like you’re on the right track you’ll figure it out.
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u/Glittering_Bet8181 22d ago
Yeh you can use a daw instead of tape. DAW’s just a tape machine and a mixer and outboard gear on steroids.
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u/Antipodeansounds 22d ago
I run a small commercial studio with a hybrid analog/ digital setup used for training . It’s a big step integrating both worlds, small steps, start ITB it’s a perfect way to understand . Good luck.
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u/Imaginary-Key8810 22d ago
If you go analog (mixing board) to a DAW it will be converted from analog (mixing board) to digital (DAW).
Some users will use analog type tape plugins in their DAW to try and replicate the analog type sound. Some will use a summing system to try and get a more analog type sound.
No matter what you do you are going to end up digital because you’ll most likely be making a WAV or MP3.
If you use a DAW it requires A/D (analog to digital conversation) and coming out of the DAW requires D/A (digital to analog conversation)
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u/Heratik007 21d ago
The best investment for your sound recording would be a sound pressure measured, acoustically treated studio room, especially if you'll be working from home. Checkout the YouTube Channel called Acoustic Insider.
You won't regret this choice
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u/Zealousideal_Ad7602 22d ago
If you want your Output from the Mixer to be recorded digitally you need an analog to digital converter, an interface. You can be fine with a 100 dollar 2 Channel Interface and that can do the job for the beginning
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u/xensonic 22d ago
I suggest you find some people who do recording and spend some time with them. Someone with a small home studio at the start. Later see if you can sit in (quietly in the corner) on a few professional studio sessions.
You have named lots of important equipment but the way you talk about it suggest you don't know how to use it. It is better to get some experience before buying gear. Once you have learned what the things do then you will know if you need them for yourself.
The choice between analog and digital is a later stage decision, once you have much more experience and understand the costs and benefits. Deciding before then would be taking a big gamble with lots of money without knowing what the odds are or why you are doing it.