HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Anbody got / know of any releases on vinyl since digital took over in the 80's which is purely anologue from recording to cutting ? I'm going on an all anologue crusade.

I know Jack White (White stripes) has always tried to do this.

Interview with Neil Young and his philosophical view of analog vs digi.

https://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/top ... vs-digital

Looks like NY still tries to keep things as much as possible in the analogue domain when he is recording and mastering LPs

Anymore for anymore ?

Jack White - Lazaretto

Probably the least surprising entry on this list, Jack White is the absolute champion of all analog. He even got as far as setting up the only studio in the US that does live recording to vinyl. Needless to say, most of his albums were made using without any digital tampering. “Lazaretto”, being one of his most impressive (in the line of solo records) albums, deserves a special mention, since the first single of the same name was recorded and released using the aforementioned straight-to-vinyl technology.

More and more bands nowadays rely on digital recording techniques to make them sound good. That means using drum replacements instead of weak or uneven hits, fixing guitars, pitching vocals to perfections, and other tricks designed to mask imperfections and mistakes. This results in records that, while sounding good, are soulless. Let’s take a look at 8 times bands went old-school and used analog-only equipment to make vibrant and dynamic albums.

Sound City: Real to Reel

Dave Grohl’s ode to Sound City Studios and the famous Neve console is a “who’s who” in rock music from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor to Sir Paul McCartney. True to the name of the soundtrack, the recording was all-analog and mixed through the aforementioned Neve console that Grohl bought from a closing studio. With the assistance of Butch Vig, the result turned out amazing, with a timeless sound only achievable through an analog console

One of my desert island discs, a complete masterpiece imo. Just so happens I have it on vinyl already

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

For their third album, Queens of the Stone Age wanted to have Joe Baressi during recording, but, according to Josh Homme, they had to work with a producer appointed by the label. Eric Valentine, despite being forced upon the band, didn’t interfere with their sound, more so, he helped to record everything just the way Barresi would - all-analog. The recording process was indeed very Homme-driven, with Valentine only doing recording engineering, but the result was better than anyone could’ve hoped for in such a situation. One of the best QotSA albums to this day

One for firebug

Slipknot - Iowa

With a band like Slipknot, you’d think they would just use ProTools like any other band from the early ‘00s and that definitely happened later, but for the first two records, the band was working with Ross Robinson, who is notorious for doing everything analog (among other things). The album was recorded at the legendary Sound City Studio using a Neve console and all-analog pedals and mics. There weren’t any digital retouching on the tracks later on and Joey Jordison played without triggers or drum replacements (which is a rarity for his type drum parts).

Tool - 10,000 Days

It is almost obvious that Tool are insistent on recording through analog equipment, but the only truly analog album they have is “10,000 Days” which was recorded and mixed by “Evil” Joe Barresi who is notorious to use non-digital equipment exclusively. He recorded the band to a tape-machine and did as little tampering with the sound as possible:

“I tried to get by with as little as possible. There was no EQ on guitar. There was really no EQ on the bass either. I EQ’d a little bit on the vocal. But if there was an effect on the vocal, then it would be drastic EQ’ing. I used a slight bit of EQ on drums, but I mainly got the drum sound by changing mics out: Like if I needed a little top end, I’d find a brighter mic. If I needed more bottom, I’d try a bigger diaphragm mic.”

King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity

King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard are just a special kind of musicians. Whether it’s creating an album that can be put on an infinite loop or using microtonal instruments to achieve the ultimate levels of psychedelia, the band has always sounded unlike anything coming from the radio. Part of their charm definitely lies in the absence of any digital post-processing. What you hear on the record is pretty much what you hear when King Gizzard plays live.

Slash - World On Fire

For his third solo record, “World On Fire”, Slash teamed up with the producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette and went into NRG Studios in L.A. to lay down new 17 tracks to two-inch analog tape, no digital enhancements, no trickery. While the album was received a bit worse than its predecessors, it captured both the raw sound and the energy of Slash and the Conspirators that would otherwise be amiss.