Aural Pleasure: Athens sounds off on the audio format fight
A decadent wall of vinyl looms dominantly over opposite rows of CDs at Haffa’s Records on Union Street. For student Sam Oches, drummer of Athens band The Jarts, these albums are of eager interest.
“I lived in Chicago this summer doing an internship, and I came back and [Haffa’s] had basically tripled their vinyl selection. It’s like a winter wonderland in there,” he said. Sam is one of many audiophiles catalyzing vinyl sales during the digital age. 1.88 million vinyl albums were sold last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales in the United States and Canada. This
is double the roughly 990,000 vinyl albums sold in 2007.
The increase is a result of young music lovers uncovering “analog sound,” the atmospheric, emotive tunes that analog recording
and vinyl tape preserve from the original performance. Audiophiles in Athens now enjoy, record and produce music the way it was done
before the digital age. Eddie Ashworth, assistant professor in the School of Media Arts and Studies, remembers the good old days. He is a 20-year veteran record producer who has worked with Sublime, Izzy Stradlin of Guns N’ Roses, Great White and Pennywise to name a few.
In the ’60s, when a new record came out, he’d buy it and listen to it for the first time with his friends “almost like some sort of musical ritual. I think the younger audience wants that,” Ashworth said.
Moving with the industry, Ashworth made the switch to digital in the ’90s, though he still prefers analog’s warmer sound. Unlike
analog, which goes straight from instrument to tape, digital sound results from converting the sound into a series of numbers using
a digital audio workstation.
These workstations comprise a computer, a unit that converts analog audio into digital audio formats and digital audio software, such as Pro Tools or Logic, which records and edits digital audio. However, software can emulate analog audio by way of plug-ins, which are digital effects that can be purchased separately.
Ashworth is among many music connoisseurs able to differentiate between real analog tape and imitations. When his iPod shuffled through songs he had produced over the past 12 years, he was unsettled by the variations in sound quality. “It kind of made me sick to my
stomach to hear how much smaller and harsh sounding my own recent work had become,” he said.
While Ashworth converted from analog to digital with unsatisfying results, a new generation of local producers has embraced old methods.
Josh Antonuccio, who owns and runs 3 Elliott Studios with friend Chris Pyle, has fallen in love with analog recording. It’s 3 Elliott’s
wealth of equipment that makes analog recording a reality in Athens.
Since discovering the power of analog, Josh has pushed each band he has worked with to track to tape even though it is less convenient and more expensive than digital tracking. The difference in quality between the two sounds is most evident when the music is played at full volume. With digital sound comes unintentional distortion. After comparing analog and digital, the bands are sold. Russenorsk, a band composed of students Tim Race, Jack Martin and Zach Inscho, is one of Josh’s converts. Tim said it was Josh’s push to get them to record on analog that contributed to the success of their album. Zach agrees.
“It’s a great sound. I mean, people who try to say they can’t tell a difference [between digital and analog], aren’t listening close enough,” he said.
Local band Southeast Engine has also utilized 3 Elliott’s analog capabilities, recently recording their fourth album From the Forest to the Sea, which will be pressed on both CD and vinyl. The band hopes the new record will help the resurgence of vinyl and be a treat for their fans.
“Southeast Engine has always wanted to press vinyl, however, with the previous albums, it didn’t really make as much sense. The demand for vinyl — even a few years back — was not as substantial as it is these days. Even Best Buy is stocking vinyl, ” drummer Leo DeLuca said.
Despite vinyl’s resurgence, digital recording has not gone the way of the 8-track just yet.
Progressive metal band October Fist plans to finish digitally recording their first record by the end of June. “Today, because of the vast increase in the power of the personal computer digital audio workstations such as Pro Tools are widely available and easy to learn,” guitarist Brian Wenner said. He added that with bedroom producers “the result is greater quality at an affordable price.”
Producer and student Andre Smith, aka Dre Deuce, and other hip-hop artists have also benefited from the ease of digital recording.
“Instead of carrying mad records all you’ve got to do is carry a laptop and your tables,” he said. “They even have a mixer out that you don’t even need the laptop, all you need to do is plug in a USB drive with the music and you’re good money.”
Devin Palmer, a student rapper and producer, acknowledges the benefit of cheap recording techniques, but also recognizes the potential for untalented artists to saturate the hip-hop scene.
“Now, with people being able to have their own million dollar sound on a $400 to $500 equipment budget, you’ve got people sitting at home all day making good and not-so-good music,” he said. “My entire setup is digital, the only hardware being my MacBook Pro, mic and MIDI controller. So that means I’m a walking studio. I could literally do a song on College Green today and have it online for sale on iTunes tonight.”
With these advancements, it may seem like analog production in hip-hop is on its way out. Andre, however, appreciates the vintage style of analog. “There is a certain bliss you get from carrying all your records and just having the feel of the vinyl under your hand,” he said.
Sam finds ritualistic pleasure in vinyl’s resurrection.
“There’s something about just having [a record], pulling it out of the sleeve, blowing it off, putting it on. It’s an event,” he said. “Music is something you need to take time to enjoy and appreciate, and that’s what vinyl makes you do.”
Photograph by Pat McCue
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