Thursday, February 28, 2013

Details On How Recording Studios Have Changed With The Advent Of Digital Audio Workstations

By John Phenom


Thinking about how recording studios have changed with the advent of digital audio workstations can mean comparing a world of Digital Audio Workstations to the past use of analog. DAW's have opened up more possibilities for artists to work their magic at home. Additionally, new features and ever-expanding technology make these systems much more intricate than analog ever was back in its day.

Analog was the standard format for those who recorded before the 1980s. Sound was captured on tapes that were edited manually by cutting and splicing together bits that later became the finished project. Other artists performed in one take for one seamless body of work. Today, the most popular DAW systems include Pro Tools, Maschine, Cubase, Logic Pro and Ableton Live for multi-tracking, editing and mixing.

For audio editing, DAW formats can be a lot easier to work in than traditional analog tape formats. In the older world of analog, tracks were recorded individually and combined onto stereo track tape. Once combined, they could not be separated for different editing. In DAW settings, you can keep each track separate for individual editing capability.

In DAW formats, each track stays separate and can be manipulated individually. You can patch in a lot easier than in analog, where actual splicing of a tape needs to occur for insertion of new material without re-recording. Timing can be exact on DAW formatting, where analog had to be physically manipulated on tape or entirely redone.

DAW's can save an artist or producer a lot of money when it comes to booking time in a studio. The speed and ease of use of these newer systems can make the process go much faster than what you might experience working in an analog system. The result is a shorter and more cost-effective period spent in the studio working alongside an engineer.

DAW formats also can last indefinitely in the virtual realm, provided the source file is safe in storage on a computer system. Analog tapes were always at risk of damage since they were vulnerable to physical damage. Air, water or heat could bring problems to the tape itself, and it could degrade over time, taking with it its recorded contents to be lost forever if copies were not made.

Considering how recording studios have changed with the advent of digital audio workstations, producers and engineers can continue to invent new sounds and instrumental beats that can span decades in the growth of gear and quality available. This availability has expanded in the DAW format to reach more artists so that they can take on more challenging projects. The future holds promise that additional updates will bring even more change.




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