what % of new music do you think is done on tape?

[Harry]

I was talking with someone the other day and they saying analog is dead.

I was saying "I bet most great albums made today are still either tracked to tape or mixed down to tape".

I really have no proof of this it's really just opinion,and what I've read in interviews and such.

This guy is an instructer at a recording school so...I guess he knows what he's talking about. But it made me a little sad to think that "tape" is not even being taught in recording schools anymore.

Am I off base here????

In your opinion what % of great albums are being made using analog tape?
(((should this be a poll???))))

[chris harris]

This guy is an instructer at a recording school so...I guess he knows what he's talking about.

guess again

[marc]

So, I'm assuming digital is what this guy knows, judging from his opinion. And he's a recording instructor, so he probably teaches all digital. And he more than likely gets paid for what he does, and either directly or indirectly benefits by having more people come to his school. And it's in the interest of his school to convince people that the skills they teach are the most pertinent (if not the only, apparently) skills in the field.

..of course he's going to tell you that.[/quote]

[;ivlunsdystf]

Okay, what percent? I'm going to guess that MOST of the good stuff (except the electronica) goes through tape. Good is subjective, but I am saying that stuff like Wilco, Arcade Fire and other "big" but not "huge" bands are going through tape. However, I get the feeling that "huge" cats like Shania Twain, Nelly, 50 Cent, etc. don't even know/care that tape is still feasible.

Just a guess. I can't defend my answer with any citations to specific sources. Just chewing the fat around the water cooler here.

[Red Rockets Glare]

I am saying that stuff like Wilco, Arcade Fire and other "big" but not "huge" bands are going through tape.

You'd be wrong about the Arcade Fire amigo.

But the instructor is dead wrong. Tape is still in wide useage all around the world and if you don't learn how to make it work for you, you are cutting yourself out of a large pool of musicians that can either hear the difference, or at least think they can.

I have a mid-size project studio here in LA and a LOT of the work I get is because folks know I have a dope tape machine and know how to use it, not because I have a shitty Digi002.

[pandatone]

I'm going to guess that MOST of the good stuff (except the electronica) goes through tape.

well, i would first like to point out, that most electronic people i know.. if they can like to run stuff to tape. though normally its just a 2 track.

beyond that, i would say most music is done digitaly. how much of that is "good" is realitve. there is a lot! of crap put to tape too.

and to play a little devil advocate. analog tape did stop getting made there for a bit.
you have a pretty dead format imo, when companies stop manufacturing it.

panda

[Shawn Simmons]

Those who can - do.
Those who can't - teach.

Tape is still used. A lot. I would guess that a big % of rock records that have decent budgets are done to tape. At least the basics. I hear of a lot of records that start on tape and are finished in Protools. That seems like the norm these days.

shawn

[Harry]

Those who can - do.
Those who can't - teach.




I was thinking of this when I was talking to him,but I let it go....

I get a little flustered when I'm in a conversation like this with someone who obviously knows more than I do. Even when I'm pretty sure I'm right I just kind of shut down and nod...huh?really? hmmm....

BTW Shawn....those mics you sold me sound great!
Thanks

[I'm Painting Again]

some PEOPLE that use tape make great records some PEOPLE that use digital or both make good records too..its not about tape vs. not tape its ALL about the PEOPLE involved period..

and sorry to be such a wanker with the capslock..

[Harry]

some PEOPLE that use tape make great records some PEOPLE that use digital or both make good records too..its not about tape vs. not tape its ALL about the PEOPLE involved period..

that is very true...The thing is..this guy is educating people about the recording industry and he's sending people out with a big chunk of their education left out because"it's dead"

The point I was trying to make with him was that when these people go looking for a job somewhere they should have at least a basic idea of what this big machine with the reels does.
Because they will most likely be in most of the studios they apply at.

[dsw]

Tape use has certainly declined drastically in my town (Portland Oregon). Larry C used to buy tape from me here at the small pro audio shop I work at, and since he got Pro-Tools his tape use has declined. In general tape sales for us has gone to a trickle of what it was even three years ago.
Probably LA, Nashville and NYC use more tape than other towns. I still have bands doing projcects on 2 inch once in a blue moon.

[Shawn Simmons]

Harry, sweet. Glad those are working out for you.

[jimbabwe]

14.3% I would guess

[thebookofkevin]

I am saying that stuff like Wilco, Arcade Fire and other "big" but not "huge" bands are going through tape.

You'd be wrong about the Arcade Fire amigo.

this is incorrect. I'm not particularly a large Arcade Fire fan, but I've noticed them on the clients list for Hotel2Tango (an all analog studio), and I remember reading that Funeral is somewhat of a hybrid. It wasn't exclusively digital, or exclusively analog, but they definitely "go through tape" for at least some parts, if not a substantial part of the process.

[;ivlunsdystf]

SNAP

No, just kidding, I was only speculating to begin with, they just seem like the type to use magnetic tape