Agreed. 
sorry to say but tape is mostly passe.
it’s expensive and needs a lot of extra work and maintenance.
nice for " breath " and colouring, however for accurate reproduction digital is superior, much cheaper, easier to edit etc etc.
also with the new generation of software plugins, the colouring can be very good( more than reasonable) reproduced.
almost all studio’s i know of use protools.
it also shows that second hand multitrack machines can nowadays be bought for a fraction of the original price…
No, I didn’t agree tape sounded louder, I said to make the comparison fair you would have to apply the equivalent of saturation/compression that the tape naturally achieves into the digtal chain (as a hardware unit, plug-in, whatever). Otherwise you are comparing a flat responding medium (digital) with a colouring/compressing medium (analogue tape). Of course they will sound different. Again, hardly a scientific test you did at the school there.
And I have perceived no fatigue monitoring on my digital system day in day out, so it’s not a case of disagreeing with you, it’s, as you would say, a real thing. Maybe try monitoring at lower levels, I bet you guys crank it up.
You need to show some evidence of the claims you are making about digital music causing “ear fatigue”.
Well all sound or any stimuli causes fatigue to the senses in large amounts. So analog and digital music both cause ear fatigue. Just digital music causes more fatigue, but it’s different with different people. Some (young) people have only heard digital music so the point is moot. It’s not something I can prove, it is one of those subjective things, but among experienced engineers who have used both, it is an observed phenomenon. It’s like trying to prove that a model D sounds better than a DX7, its a subjective thing. But most people have not used analog tape extensively, so it really does not matter, there no point of reference for them.
And if you suggest using a compressor to even out a comparison between two signals, then you acknowledge one sounds louder than the other. That’s what a compressor does, makes a signal sound louder at the same level.
And I agree tape is passe, but almost all large studios have tape machines that they use extensively, even with their expensive Pro Tools systems. What does that tell you. And there is a huge market for tape, and lots of companies are refurbishing machines. And just because its a dying medium doesn’t mean its inferior. Vinyl is a dying medium, overtaken by the MP3, does that mean the MP3 sounds better? And Sunny, while those tape plug ins sound okay, why not use a Moog plug in instead of a real synth?
The fact is that digital is the standard and works very well, even for me with some stuff. But most of us especially on this forum will acknowledge that analog gear has a certain appeal, and analog recorders are part of that, but they are a pain in the ass and functionally obsolete, so most avoid them.
it seems that you suggest things, which i don’t think are facts. hardly any studio i know still has analogue tapemachines, nor does tape sell i large quantities, nor does digital music cause more fatigue , so i think we live in different worlds.
regarding minimoogs: there is a difference between what i expect from a musical instrument and a recording / reproduction machine. if my DAW would colour as much as my minimoog, i’d exchance it for an analog taperecorder.
Look up any big studio, and look at their equipment list. And almost every mastering house has a 1/2" machine, which is a standard mastering format. I am not making these things up. I just googled “nashville music studio” and these were the first three I clicked on:
http://www.oceanwaystudios.com/studio-b
http://www.omnisoundstudios.com/StudioA.html
http://www.darkhorserecording.com/
And Vintage KIng is selling perfectly refurbished machines now:
http://www.vintageking.com/Used-Categories/Multi-Tracks-Used
[/quote]regarding minimoogs: there is a difference between what i expect from a musical instrument and a recording / reproduction machine. if my DAW would colour as much as my minimoog, i’d exchance it for an analog taperecorder.[/quote]
Well I expect to get the best out of each part of my recording chain. If my DAW sounded anywhere near as good as my tape deck, I would not have paid thousands for it, and bear the pains of maintenance/alignment/buying tape. I have heard the tape plugs, and regardless of attracting clients, I have way more interest in my own music, so if they sounded as good as real tape, I would sell my machine, get every tape plug in out there, and still have enough for an Oberheim 2 voice. Regardless of any other consideration, its the sound that matters the most to me, and my machine is just not worth the trouble or money for any other reason.
And to me the DAW does have its own sound, or perhaps just digital in general, I think that is pretty well established. But with a lot of instruments, like bass and the model D the tape machine is way more transparent through my Otari than through DAW/converters. The converters tend to clean up my minimoog, making it sound sterile, like a sample. The machine does almost nothing to the sound, like it is coming out of the model D itself with all the raw analog grittiness.
I think you are taking confirmation bias to new realms.
To Mr Arkadin:
You need to read posts more carefully. Each time unfiltered37 mentionned recording a piano, he said that digital was superior to analog in that particular case…
Misunderstandings often start with poorly read comments…
To EricK:
ear fatigue (or more appropriately named listener’s fatigue) due to digitally recorded music is a real phenomenon. It has been observed many times over the last decades. It does not affect everyone to the same degree, however. But it does exist. There are many factors causing it, and if you read this thread from start up to this point, there are a few that are mentionned.
Yes, unfiltered37 is strongly, very strongly biased towards analog audio tape media recording. To the point of sometimes writting surprising things he considers to be facts.
But when someone believes strongly in something, he’s prepared to do, or write, almost anything to try to convince others that he’s right. And that’s okay with me. He can always try to sell his arguments, but we’re always free not to buy everything he says.
I agree on some points he’s making about analog recording, but strongly disagree on some others he states about digital recording. We all have our personal opinions about something that is very subjective and open to personal taste.
Let’s all agree on one thing though: the music, not the media, is the most important thing in all of this in the end. And that, too, is extremely subjective !
Ear fatigue is also not a clinically recognized phenomena 
.
My problem is not with “ear fatigue” but with your claims as to whether digital or analog affects it more severely and the ambiguous subjectivity and fallacious arguments that you use to support your claims.
Im kindly bowing out of this discussion. 
Where is the confirmation bias? The only thing I put forth that can’t be confirmed is the ear fatigue thing, but it is something that I have experienced and have seen other experience. Yes it is subjective, but I am not making it up. I don’t have any strong beliefs or bias towards anything, especially digital music. As I have said in previous threads, digital has “democratized” music and provided high quality audio to the masses. And I think (subjectively) that digital does a better job on some sources/instruments). MP3’s, as much crap as we give them, have allowed me to hear a massive amount of music that i would not have otherwise heard. I happen to love the sound of analog tape, but again its subjective.
What is going on here is that I am singing the praises of tape, and that has caused people to think I am bashing digital. This is pure forced polarization of arguments, which has been totally made worse by Aradkin putting words in my mouth, and “misreading” the good points I put forth about digital. I study American politics as a hobby, though I do not vote in national politics, out of principle. The reason is because of the same forced polarization that exists in our 2 party system. If I get into a debate with someone about any issue, if that person disagrees with me, they automatically accuse me of supporting the party that they oppose, regardless of the party and opposing the other party. People routinely adopt principles and defend politicians that they don’t agree with just because they are contrary to the party they oppose, or are so strongly opposed or supportive of one single issue, that they will compromise their principles to vote for someone that shouldn’t be in office.
It was getting to 2am when I read that last comment - I think I read it backwards, to mean the opposite. Call it thread fatigue, a recognised phenomenon. Well me and a couple of mates experienced it once so it must be scientific fact.
My main point about unfiltered37’s comments, not disimilar to yours, is that they’re stated as fact, rather than the reality that most things in life are subjective: each individual has their own experiences and no amount of telling me my ears should be fatigued because it’s fact is going to convince me that they are tired. Fact.
Ear fatigue in the sense of spending several minutes being exposed to very loud noises IS clinically recognized.
Listener’s fatigue on the other hand, due to being exposed to digital recorded musical content at normal levels, is NOT. I’ll give you that.
It has been observed, and varies greatly from one individual to another. And is very subjective indeed.
My problem is not with “ear fatigue” but with your claims as to whether digital or analog affects it more severely and the ambiguous subjectivity and fallacious arguments that you use to support your claims.
Im kindly bowing out of this discussion. >
Why bow out now?
Ok, it’s your choice. Have a nice day.
AHA! You do acknowledge that thread fatigue DOES exist !
Then why couldn’t it be the case with Listener’s Fatigue also ?
It doesn’t really matter… 
All I know is that I have experienced Listener’s Fatigue for myself, and know what it means and does to me. 
I have never stated anything as fact, I have just put my opinions out there. Listener fatigue in digital is something I have experienced and have heard several seasoned engineers/teachers relate, that is a fact, but based on subjective experience. So it is subjective, yes, but so is fatigue from listening to noise for hours on end at high gain. Not to say its the same thing as digital music, but listener fatigue does exist. But nevermind the fatigue thing, we disagree, fine.
But can we agree that analog tape is still a thriving format, based on the fact that almost any high end studio has a machine?
I don’t think anyone disagrees that ear fatigue exists - that’s why I don’t monitor at high levels all the time, I vary it throughout the day. Any fatigue is immaterial of whether I’m listening to an instrument directly (you could say analogue) or a recording (in my case digital). Any source listened to at high volume for too long will tire the ear and brain. I’ve been in enough dubbing theatres to know that most sound engineers are deaf - they have to ramp up the volume to hear anything!
That’s why I use Elacin ER-15 ‘musical’ earplugs to gigs, because after 90 minutes of high volume I start to get tired.
And yes, I for one do not want to see the death of analogue tape, just some of the snobbery attached to it. The music is what counts.
I will have to check on the high end studio thing in the UK, as I’m sure the scene is quite different in the US and particularly somewhere like Nashville. Off the top of my head I would guess Abbey Road (well you mentioned them already), Metropolis and that all-retro all-analogue guy that Jack White uses - Toe Rag studios? Time for some Google…
I get listener’s fatigue listening to techno/house music. I also get thread fatigue. I agree with unfiltered37 and Mr Arkadin.
Hilarious that this thread has devolved into an analog vs digital pissing match when the OP was asking about an interface for his MacBook.
You guys are beautiful. Don’t ever change.
So far I am using a 1/4" to 1/8" into my built in Macbook Pro “interface”.
Works like a charm!
:3