Normally, we associate analog to past and digital to present and even future. But how have technologies evolved in recent years in the field of sound? What has been improved? What remains the same?
In digital systems, the changes between analog and digital are very evident by the binary system, composed exclusively of ones and zeros. On the other hand, in analogs the changes are progressive and gradual, maintaining continuity at all times.
Advantages of analog music over digital
In the field of recording and music reproduction, to pass the analogue as vinyl or cassette to digital support, to audio files such as MP3 or FLAC, we need a whole conversion system. The analog signal is sampled and various samples are taken from it that are converted to the binary system in order to create a sequence as similar as possible to the original. The point is that it is impossible to take infinite samples and that is why the changes are more abrupt than when listening to an analog recording.
Disadvantages of analog music
The most obvious weak point is conservation. It is clear that cassette tapes or vinyl are much more fragile than for example a FLAC file that we have uploaded to the Internet cloud where there is not even physical support. Wear due to the use of analog media is also a notable drawback compared to digital systems. However, the most differentiating is the possibility of copying. For example, the copy of a digital file is accurate and two exactly the same files are created as many times as we want. On the other hand, the same does not happen with analogue media. The original is distorted as copies are made. Of course, digitized music is much easier to modify.
Advantages of analog vs. digital music
Extrapolated to the world of recording and playing music, something similar happens. The interpretation of a live song is an analog process, because the human being and its surroundings are. It can be faithfully collected on analog media such as vinyl or cassette tapes.
To transfer it to digital media, such as a CD or audio files such as MP3 or FLAC, a whole conversion system is required. The analog signal is sampled. That is, various samples are taken from it that are converted to the binary system to create a sequence as similar as possible to the original. The problem is that it is not possible to take infinite samples, therefore the changes are more abrupt than when listening to an analog recording.
Disadvantages of analog music
How could it be otherwise, analog support music also has its less good side. The most obvious is conservation: cassette tapes or vinyls are much more fragile than a FLAC file uploaded to the internet cloud, which because it does not have, it has no physical support. Not one that the user has to worry about, at least. Wear due to the use of analog media is also a handicap against digital systems.
However, the most differentiating is the possibility of copying. While the copy of a digital file is accurate and reliable, creating two exactly the same files over and over again, the same does not happen with analog media. If a copy is made of an original cassette tape, and of that copy another copy, and so on, the audio is filled with noise, distorting with respect to the original.
The conflict of opinions in this regard arises with regard to manipulation. Digitized music is much easier to modify – with programs such as Fruity Loops, Reason or Virtual DJ -, sometimes managing to dispense with the analog part – the interpretation of a song to record it – to create digital native music with prerecorded samples. As you can see in unvideo »where the Belgian Stromae explains how he created” in a minute “his musical success Alors on Danse.
On the other hand, there are those who consider that the manipulation of music is an advantage of digitalization and those who consider that, if a track has not been interpreted to be recorded, the music loses its soul. It is a matter of opinions.
