Is analog recording really that better than digital?

[wintersun]

:D Attenuaters are basically a unit that sits between your amp & speakers. You plug a lead from the speaker out at the back of your amp into the attenuater. You then plug a lead from the attenuater to your speaker. This enables you to turn up the volume on your amp but the attenuater has a volume control which means you can reduce the volume level into the speaker but your able to open up the amp to full volume. Good ones also have speaker emulated outputs that enable you to plug a lead from the attenuater into a mixing desk for live or recording studio & record the sound of your amp straight onto disc/tape. Thats the best way i can describe them in laymans terms.

 :D  8)

Ahaaaa, I get it! Thanks bud! Gotta get me one of these ahahahaha :) Are they expensive?

[jt]

:D 1st heres the Marshall

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/options.php?id=287

      2nd THD Hot Plate
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/options.php?id=66713

 :D  8)

[Bird]

Weber and Dr. Z also make them

[wintersun]

Thanks! I'll look into it, ahaha

And BTW, I'd really like to know if anyone ever used TC electronic g-force I mentioned earlier... It really got my attention after hearing several clips!

http://www.tcelectronic.com/G-Force

[opprobrium_9]

Though i have heard some good tones for digital high gain stuff, it is achievable, but the majority of it isn't too good.

Those "some good tones" you heard were most likely artificial to a great extent.  It is amazing what you can do with plugins these days...ahhh technology  8)

EDIT:

Thanks! I'll look into it, ahaha

And BTW, I'd really like to know if anyone ever used TC electronic g-force I mentioned earlier... It really got my attention after hearing several clips!

http://www.tcelectronic.com/G-Force

If you want analog, you don't want TC because it is all digital, and there is no true bypass feature, as far as i have researched (someone with more knowledge feel free to smite my ignorance).

[fps_dean]

I have a few points here.

Most the really great recordings -- not just sound quality/tone but overall recordings, counting dynamics, were all recorded on analog, like Van Halen I.

Ironically most digital recordings have a full range of frequencies and great sound, but more often than not they end up being overcompressed, and have inferiour dynamics despite the fact that digital is not prone to a minimum amount of compression like analog devices.

In the defense of digital however, the harsh and overcompressed sounds are mostly fault of idiot producters.

I think both Bozzio Levin Stevens albums are a great example dynamics on a digital recording (I am fairly sure it was recorded digitally).  I personally thing it does a better job of making it sound like you are there in the room when they were playing than the first Van Halen album which was a great recording.

[Johnny Mac]

I use a Koch Loadbox II. It has a direct out via jack plug, or XLR socket with 1x12, 4x12, straight or angled mike Sims' for recording.

As for recording I use an 1820 E-MU sound card and Cu-base. With digital recording the flexibility once you understand the basics is brilliant. You do however have to watch your recording levels. If the go over 0db then it will distort and sound horrible, but if you remember using cassette tapes years back then you could go over a fair bit on the levels without sounding horrible, thus producing a 'Louder' recording. I've found once you have a few tracks going into the master mixer, you have to compress the lot in order to keep it all under 0db.

Here's the back of the attenuator i use.

[wintersun]

Wow thats nice! ^ ^ ^ ^

BTW Is it really that important to do the recordings in studio to get that "clean" tone without all that noise and hiss?

[Prawnik]

I own a PodXT as well and have owned various tube amps and digital simulators.  Don't believe the hype - while digital modelling has come a long way, it has a long long long ways to go to match a good tube amp.  

The Pod's simulations are also limited by its software.  For instance, you don't like the choice of amps Pod simulates or you really wish Line6 would offer a VHT sim?  Too bad.

At the same time, I like my Pod.  Actually, I love the little bugger.  Not only can you record without having to have deaf neighbors, the Pod does a lot of things that no tube amp will do, or at least without a huge budget for hacking up vintage gear.

For example, want to run a 120W Fender Twin amplifier cranked through a 1x10" Gretsch speaker cabinet?  And not blow up a speaker?  No problem!  You will fidn that some of the best Pod tones come from some outlandish combinations of gear.  Then you want to save your amp settings to reproduce your tone later?  Done.

The trick is to see the Pod for what it is and work with that, and not ask it to be what it is not.

[MDV]

Aye, I use a Pod XT, and the sound is amazing. But it will never beat a proper, loud valve amp.

I hate the sound. I hate the dry tone, I hate the low-gain-lots-of-layers sounds. It takes me hours to fight the little git to get something tolerable out of it.

However
Ceramic pig in legra MDV602
->
Comrpessor
->
ISP Decimator
->
Screamer (with EQ20 in effects loop)
-> MD421 and SM57

All times 2, plus the same but with a TSL602 sounds pretty dang good.