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Re: Digital Age Concerns

Subject: Re: Digital Age Concerns
From: "Walter Knapp" waltknapp
Date: Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:42 am ((PDT))
Posted by: "Roger Norwood"

> It is a pity that more recordists do not have analogue mixing desks to wo=
rk with but rely on software to produce changes in audio quality. Anything =
you do not understand is mumbo jumbo.
> Doing it manually and listening to what you are doing in real time puts y=
ou in control.
> Software, however clever, is often left to do its thing from top to tail =
of a programme and you get what it is designed to give. It lacks judgement.=
 The beauty of manual operation is that you can constantly mix and adjust, =
making lighter or heaver touches as required. For example, playing with a f=
ader to 'ride the gain levels' requires skill and practice.
> Relying on compressors and limiters whether analogue or digital plug-ins =
is usually set & forget.
> Not what I want from my hard won recordings.

Where did you get the notion that doing it in a computer prevents
listening in realtime and adjusting as you go? I do that routinely, and
include a real time live sonogram to check as well. At the end of the
filter stack where I can see and hear exactly what each adjustment did.
I also have a whole bunch of other analysis displays I can stick in if
need be, but for me the critical one is the sonogram. Hardware
sonographs are indeed a hassle, but that's where I learned to value
them. Just glad I don't have to go through that anymore.

The future is computer processing, not hardware. You need to get up to
speed on that too. To me it's a pity how many are not that good with
computers and/or also choose their computers and software poorly. It's
also very bad that the pricing of computer software is based on the very
high costs of the old analog hardware. Audio software should be
comparable in price to graphic software and it's not.

> I own a high quality digital camera with full automation and it takes gre=
at snaps. It also has manual aperture, shutter speed, focus and a manual zo=
om. I use a combination of manual focus and zoom to reduce battery drain an=
d constant refocusing. I set aperture priority automation and I take better=
 snaps. I am not a photographer.

I own a quality digital camera in which I can choose if I use the
automation or not. Along with a huge camera case full of lenses, flashes
and so on. (just for macro alone I have 8 lenses and two flash setups)
As a very experienced photographer I usually bypass a great lot of the
automation as it's only doing a preset program that often is not quite
right, I can do better. The quality of my photos is more my fault than
the camera. Not sure what the point is, however, the audio plugs I use
are fully adjustable too.

Walt




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