From: KAMCHAR@ibm.cl.msu.edu
Newsgroups: alt.music.rush
Subject: Re: Digital vs. Analog
Date: 26 Jan 93 03:05:49 GMT
Organization: From Beyond Political Correctness
NNTP-Posting-Host: cc210-3.cl.msu.edu

>In article <1993Jan25.052258.12813@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> Kris Young writes:
>>Here's one for everyone to think about.  When I first listened to the new 
>>digital CD's and such (as opposed to old analog LP's, cassetes), I noticed
>>how nice, clear and noise free it was.  I also noticed that many subtle
>>things in the music are much easier to hear.  However, when I really star-
>>ted to get in to digital, I noticed that something is missing. I saw a news
>>report on eMpTytV that had a lot of artists bantering about on this point.
>>There was the Dave Mustaine side of it "The people who switched from analog
>>to digital and back to analog did it because they suck, and digital brings
>>this out in the open."  Then there's the argument that inflections and
>>reverbs are altered or lost in the sampling process.  I don't know about
>>everyone else, but when I listen to an old album or LP (Moving Pictures,
>>for instance), I seem to notice that it has lots more energy behind it, even
>>though the clarity suffers. 
>>
>>   I was wondering about this, because the world has begun to hit heavily
>>in digital, perhaps not knowing that something is not quite right.  I hear
>>the digitally recorded RUSH stuff and wonder what could be...  What does
>>everyone else think?  Have we lost something?  Are we moving in the wrong
>>direction?  Definitely a point to ponder.
>>
>>Kris

In article <1993Jan25.071247.2458@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> Ken Higginson responds:
>
>Really?  I listen to MP and have to turn it up a lot...
>Isn't it a lot quieter than newer stuff?  I think it is.. 
>And why does Caress Of Steel sound so damn good?  It's amazing!
>I'll take DDD every day...  That stuff on the CD case that says "there is
>no difference" is crap...  Buy a decent stereo and listen to it.  (not
>you, I was talking to the idiots who wrote that stuff on the CD)

And now my $.02 (note:  all comments IMHO):
I've recently gotten into CD's.  Their positive points are:
     Longer playing time than LP's [78 min max for CD vs 50 min max (w/o
fidelity loss) on LP]
     One whole unit of time (vs 2 units for LP and Cassette)
     Clearer sound (and no last-song-on-side denigration I've heard on LP's)
     No loss of fidelity with multiple plays (although I like the cracks and
pops on a well-played (and thusly well-loved) LP B+)

The negative point of CDs are:
     Hearing fatigue!  I remember listening to 12 straight hours of music off
of LP's and I NEVER had ears that hurt after 2 hours off CD's.
     CD-itis:  Listening to a song that should have ended two minutes ago
except that the band forgot about the art of ending a song.  Why, you ask? 
Simple:  they had the need to fill up 65+ minutes on a CD and instead of
putting in another song (AKA filler), they extend the end of a song beyond
anything remotely tolerable.  One of the problems of Presto! is this.
     An empty sound behind the music.  This Rush has begun to handle well with
RTB, and hopefully the next release will be better on this.

And as for the Digital vs Analog debate, I personally think Analog is better
for the following reasons:
1)  With Digital (computer), the sound is either 1 or 0, while in Analog (real
    life), sounds vary "infinitely"
2)  Digital works better with the lower portion of the sound range, while
    Analog works better with the higher end of the sound range.
3)  Digital systems tend to leave the user at the mercy of the system itself.
    Analog systems leave more control to the user itself.
An example of the third point is Drum Machines vs Drummer.  While the Drum
Machine allows for quicker recording of music (just plan out two or three beats
and then go), the Drummer makes for more variety.  The reasons are simple:
boredom makes real people try out newer stuff, and it's easier to experiment
with sticks and pads than with keys and a running drum riff.  Besides, how many
drum machines really know how to swing???
     Final note:  While I believe that Digital may indeed be a mistake, I
expect it to be the wave of the future because of the computerizing of the
world.  Unless a major Luddite movement starts up and is actually successful
(some of us can dream...B+) there will be the rise of a world computer society.
 With such a society, analog has about as much a chance of success as a
snowflake in hell.
later,...

Kamchatka Charlie          KAMCHAR@ibm.cl.msu.edu