Analog against Digital, what to do???

I have the ProTools HD3 System with 2X192 I/O and 4 preamps to complete the 32 input Ch I have In the 192's, I have the Pro control with the edit pack and the ch expansion fader pack. Recently People asking me about analog, how come I don't have 2" multi track audio tape with an analog Mixing consule, Do I realy need it? do I really need analog somewhere in the middle before the mix? Or can I use the protools as it is ?! I understand that if you're recording on an analog tape the wave stays Sinus and when you're recording on a computer you are sampling the wave to a square wave. I don't know what to do.

Hi Moshik, The bottomline is..."if it sounds good it is good". If you are happy and your clients are too, then don't worry What type of music are you making? Cheers, Boogie

Hey Boogie The problem that there are some people that don't want to come because I don't have analog on the mix or analog on the recording, That's the main problem. I'm making lots of music.. From soft ballades to Rack music and Hope to make my first surround Disk. Cheers Man... Good luck of what you're doing and thanks for your responsed. Moshik

There are some that feel analog recording is still the best format out there. There are some that feel digital is the best. I'm in the middle. A great digital system, IMHO, provides you the best of both worlds. Understand that a digital system isn't referring solely to say just ProTools and it's converters. Obviously, the converters need to have enough dynamic range to allow for the most musical of performances to shine through, but the also need to have enough "bandwidth" to sparkle on the high frequency content and let the low-frequency material shine through as accurate as possible. The advantage with digital has always been in clearity and response, but the low-end accuracy has been questionable from system to system. This is all greatly improving with the latest developments in 24-bit converters and 96kHz and up recording. The argument that you can't hear 96kHz is valid... BUT you can hear the results of what higher sample-rates can do throughout the entire frequency spectrum. Great converters are the best place to start, you obviously have those. The next place and really where you bring that analog sound to your digital set is the PREAMPS and front-end. There are many choices here, but some provide that analog sound more than others. I'm a very big Focusrite fan and have used their products for many years, I loooove their ISA stuff. BUT if you want that "tape" sound, then by putting a rack of Universal Audio 2610's or some Avalon VT737's in front of your converters will provide amazng results. With the right gear, you can provide your clients the best of analog warmth and low-end with the clearity and quality of digital.

Thank you all for your answers. Recently I bought the Focusrite ISA430 Producer pack and 4 tube pre amps by DBX, Avalon AD2044 and the 747SP by Avalon and I hope these will be the answers to all... I bought the M150 Modified Omnidirectional Studio Condenser Tube Microphone by Neuman I have the TLM 103, Audio Technics and Rode Classic... I have bought 2 X Voice Master Pro by Focusrite I hope this setup will answer both sides Analog Against Digital !!!

listen to your clients.

how many clients are we talking about? if it's the majority of your clients and they insist on analog and you will be out of business without them then go get a 2" machine and an analog board right now. however you must factor in the maintenance of this gear 9whether you do it yourslef or hire soeone to do it it's costly) so after you crunch the numbers and it's all done and you still need analog to stay in business then do it. however if thats not the case, if its the odd client that needs a 2" machine then go rent one whenever they're around and charge them for it. this is not an ideological argument digital vs analog its an economic one. or is it?

The other problem is of course most (not all) customers who want "that anologue sound" don't know what they're talking about. Its something they've heard/read about and want it because everytone tells them thats what they want. The number of great so called modern "analogue" recordings are often hybrids. Also without the right training, experience and knowledge plus the tools and time to maintain it the most likely scenario is analogue in - dissapointed customer out due to muddy recording..... If you're talking high end customer with experience and knowledge however then they really ought to be used to much higher budgets and outght to be using a studio with many years experience using 2 inch tape. cheers and I hope you get this resolved.