Roots Archives Forum

The early drum machines (1984-1988) were analogue,Then came the first digital computer music programs Qbase and others.Then you could get recordable CDs, and CD players that could record analogue signals,fron analogue to digital.From real time into ones 11111 and zeros 0000000 digital.
So by the early 1990`s the first digital computer music got made. Kraftwork was using analogue sound in the late 70`s and a lot of the computers were still analogue.

If i was recording on a digital format and had live singers and musicans, i would keep it as much to real time as i could, unlike a lot of stuff thats broken down by bars and millibars to change something so as (to be perfct, to perfect music as a computer programer).

In the eary 90`s a whole recording system was put out, with a mixer,16 track digital recording, sound cards and sounds to plug into a keyboard, sampling and making a whole record in one box, with the sound quility good enough to release.

I still record on 4 track machines and reel to reels.I find the digital format compresses the sound to much as your layering tracks.
Same as the Jazz Blute Note Label when they have remastered them its not the same as the ones that have not been remastered.

In reggae when they remaster a record, it really shows up when you put iton your turntable with the graphics, it cant pick out nothing.I think its a form of bad recording when the graphics dont work.
For some reason all these USB systems are coming out for turntable and tape recorders/players so they can transfer all their old records and tapes on to the computer and floppys.But still have to do it in real time.

Its like when they reissue a reggae tune from the 70`s. sometimes it is better than the original.

Peace

analog will always be my favorite, roots music has that dirty sound almost saturated, you can achieve that on digital but its got to start out as analog recording.
i am a huge fan of that 70's sound thus the reason i prefer analog.

Analogue for me, even though I own a fair amount of digital stuff too. But my partner, Laura, prefers the more 'urgent' beat of the digital stuff. She digs tracks like Clement Irie, Caress me Down. I like this too, but if I had to choose, I would sell the digital and keep the analogue.

Digital has made it possible for unskilled musicians to get involved with music,the result of this is a lack in quality and a lack of originality.

Anyone else fed up of the 2 bar looped bassline?

@ donstrumental, personally my perspective is that it's not so much the fact that unskilled people can get involved - one of the things I really like about new music technologies is that they allow you to d.i.y from go to whoah (punk rock!) without a whole lot of cash in a way that just wasn't possible in the pre-computer era - and one of the things that's great about roots is the 'non-plasticity' of the sound (having said that, I also like a lot of highly produced 'plastic sounding' music, though not in the genres of reggae or dancehall... this may be an issue about generations too, in that one tends to find new technologies less 'human' whereas it doesn't seem that way to those who grew up with them - think longhand vs. word processors in writing, for example).

Rather, to my mind, the issue is what individuals do with the technologies that they use - there's a lot of great experimental digital music out there made by people whose level of technical skill isn't necessarily very high. It's when the attempt is made to use technology simply to imitate a previous sound that we see a lot of what I'd think of, for want of a better term, as 'soulless music,' which is by no means all popular music (and of course we can also blame commercialism for this - and who's to blame for commercialism but ourselves as a society?)

I can't speak about anyone's taste and what they find interesting in music,but when i go through my collection spanning from 70's to present day dancehall,i find the music i return to on a regular basis is music made by musicians and not programmers,even Jammys digital era wasn't pure digital it was played by musicians and recorded to analogue tape.

Respect

Reggae is a type of music that can bring the best out of most people.

Read my review of an important book that willl dispel some of the preconceptions voiced here and support others..
http://bigmikeydread.wordpress.com/2010 ... -a-review/

I think the worst thing to happen has been the high levels of dynamic compression that has gone with Cds as the prevalent format. I like the warmer sound of vinyl. It is all personal taste in the end.

The book above really is a fabulous read and if you ever needed educating in the ways of sound recording over the years it's great.... and it has a section which is stimulated by the remix work of King Tubby...

digital >>>> greater than analogue. anyone claiming the reverse has yet to prove their point in a double blind listening contest.

the source of many reggae recordings are analogue. you can't possibly out do the source. digital reproductions of original analogue recordings have way too many variables to conclusively determine squat.

except as collectibles, digital is superior in every aspect.

for the record, i have tremendous respect for all the folks preserving mint vinyl. from an audiophile perspective, vinyl is the most lossy medium.