Analog vs. Digital: How a Hybrid Setup Enhances Your Mix

Mastering has traditionally been done using analog processors, such as EQs, compressors and saturators because the mix would come directly from a tape machine and would go to a vinyl cutting machine. Nowadays, computers have become powerful enough to process music all digitally. Therefore, we now have the choice to use either, or both at the same time. I personally go for the ‘best of both worlds’ approach.

I will explain my workflow and all the advantages/disadvantages in this blog!

My process

When I start a new project, I load the approved mix into my DAW and start listening. I have my notes open while the track plays so I can immediately write down any ideas that enter my head. This is where the mastering process begins.

One of the main questions I ask myself is whether the mix needs some ‘flavor’ or if I should keep it as clean as possible. Often I run the mix out of my converters, through the mastering desk and enable the optical or vari tube compressor. These units give the most color and can transform the sound without even compressing. The thing to consider here is that, even with high quality equipment, the left and right channels are never exactly the same. I find that this is one of the things that makes analog sound more ‘real’ than digital processing.

Sometimes, however, a song doesn’t need that slight imperfection. A lot of modern club music, I think, sounds better when it is as clean as possible. Where every kick and snare hit just as hard and it has that slight digital distortion. But also, sometimes it needs a little bit of color to sound a fuller but also needs that clean and loud finishing touch. That is the moment when I use both analog and digital processing.

Mastering is the art of making good choices, not how much gear or plugins you can slap on a mix. So it has occurred that a mix just needed to be limited in a certain way, without any other processing that would ruin the vibe. A good mastering engineer will always make the right choice.

Advantages and disadvantages

There are of course advantages and disadvantages to analog and digital. I’ll share a couple of them here.

Advantages of analog:

Can make a flat sounding track more 3-dimensional, increasing the depth and smoothing out any harsh points.
Analog compression and especially saturation can not be perfectly replicated with plugins and can therefore provide a different vibe.
It is more fun to use and often faster to dial in the right settings.

Disadvantages of analog:

It is not perfect and can sometimes remove punch from a tight mix.
You need to make photos of your final settings, because sometimes you need to recall your exact settings for a revision.

Advantages of digital:

You can be way more precise and often change settings with 0.01 dB increments.
You always have the exact same settings when you reload a project for revisions.
It is, in general, a lot cheaper.

Disadvantages of digital:

It can’t add the vibe that only analog can give. Some plugins are getting pretty close, but analog will win in most cases.
It is easy to get consumed by the numbers and how something looks, so you can forget to actually listen.

Final Thoughts: Analog vs. Digital

So yes, this is why I often use a combination of both. Limiting the disadvantages and taking full advantage of all the positives you can get from either analog and digital processing.

I hope you learnt someting by reading this, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

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