Analog Flow

The Unavoidable Humanity of The Analog World

A few guys at a mixing console

If you haven't recorded on tape yet, it's a whole new world.  You are more present, more involved, more on your toes.  It's the difference between sailing and boating, meals from scratch vs heat 'n serve, piloting a Piper Cub instead of a 737.  Okay sure, it's not for everybody.  Some time is spent rewinding and fast forwarding, you can't just loop a phrase and do endless takes. No doubt, some artists just aren't cut out for it.  Except for the superior sound, the differences aren't as stark as you might think.  Some might argue that the tape degraded after the first take, but we'll ignore those cork sniffers for now.  Yes, you can still do lots of takes.  Yes, you can even tune and slice 'n dice it after the fact if you're so inclined (of course that goes against the analog code).  But, once you get those initial takes, you can always wrangle it in the digital domain.  That does take about half the fun out of it however.  Once you've achieved the seat of the pants performance of mixing by hand, often times with several people manning (or womaning) faders at once, you might find it hard to go back to your old digital ways.  Somehow, dragging automation with a mouse or trackpad doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi.  So, embrace the magic, see what happens when humans band together and mix.  Many of those classic records were mixed by hand.  They feel human because they are human.  Don't be afraid, just be human.