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The Good ‘Ole Days
By admin | November 21, 2007
I have been trapped in the center of an argument that has raged on in guitar-playing environments for quite some time, and now I want to get YOU involved.
The argument, quite simply, is Analog vs Digital.
Given my last post (see “My Edge Tribute”) which discussed some of the latest and best in guitar effects, I thought this would be an appropriate time to start some discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of analog and digital guitar effect systems. Seeing some of the pros and cons right off the bat is relatively simple:
Digital Pros: sound consistency, lightweight, the higher end systems are completely self contained, doesn’t draw an obscene amount of power or create much heat, and is generally pretty reliable. Digital amps with on-board effects are handy…
Digital Cons: TOTAL LACK OF TONE, if one thing goes down the whole system goes down, and they can be incredibly non-user friendly.
Analog Pros: TONE, TONE, AND MORE TONE!!! Individual controls of each effect via individual stompboxes, total flexibility with pre and post gain options, tube amps can provide some great tone across the board and can make a mediocre guitar sound great. Tons of EQ options.
Analog Cons: HEAVY equipment, with all the individual stompboxes comes lots of possibility for bad cables, tube amps run hot and demand a lot of wattage, and there’s always the possibility of a tube going bad.
The amazing thing to me is I can look at the Analog Cons versus the Digital Pros, and the thought never crosses my mind to invest in digital effects. The processing is far from impressive, even with the advancement of the technology in the last 4-5 years. For me, its all about that tone - I cannot stand to play through a rig with that canned, processed, non-organic screeching coming from it. I have to have the tube warmth, the analog overdrive, and the creaminess of some natural tube break-up. The only digital effect that I own and will endorse is my delay: a Boss DD20, the 2-pedal delay setup that they make. Other than that pedal, I run an all analog setup from effects to amp, and don’t think I could ever bring myself to go back.
I did play with a guy in California a couple of years ago who traveled with a Line 6 Vetta set up, and it wasn’t terrible, but I still couldn’t get passed the lack of warmth. I had the Analog versus Digital discussion with him, and he informed me that the only reason he played digital was for the ease of setup, which I can understand.
So lets all give thanks, on this day before Turkey Day, for vacuum tubes and real transistors!
Topics: Uncategorized |
November 21st, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Although analog does rule when it comes to tone, digital has its place in the area of accuracy. You can always depend on a digital effect to be accurate in tempo, consistency, and reliability. If one were to use a tube amp and at the same time use a digital delay, the listener would never know the difference. Now, trying using delay again only replace the digital delay with analog. Lets say with an EchoPlex. First they are VERY expensive, they use tape which won’t last forever, and they also use tubes. The upkeep alone isn’t worth having the thing, not even to mention how delicate those are.
My last example takes us back to the year 1985. Big hair everywhere, lots of make-up-wearing freaks in spandex, and the birth of digital rock. If it weren’t for the digital age we wouldn’t have been able to strap a piano around our necks and rock out right next to the guitar player or the bassist with our Keytars. Granted, it is another year until I’m even born but I’ve watched enough “I love the 80’s” on VH1 to know enough about my birth decade.
Digital effects do have their place in guitardom but it is important to know how to balance between analog and digital.
oh and Ibanez RULES!