The music recording industry has quietly undergone a complete revolution over the last 25 years, from the time when compact discs first starting replacing vinyl albums to the way today’s professional musicians go about practicing their craft. While there are still a few stubborn romantics (or Luddites, whichever they prefer) who cleave to the old days of two-inch reel-to reel-tape, the rest of the world has long since gone digital.
Evolution Takes Leaps and Bounds
It must have seemed this same way when four-tracks and magnetic tape came onto the scene. No longer did original recordings involve a needle scratching the sound into discs made of wax or shellaq (which had a prerequisite recording time of about three minutes). When one ponders the Beatles collection, or Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, one realizes that analog recording had incredible potential on its own… But when lasers and binary code took over, the ceiling was blown off the sound studios themselves.
In Record Time With USB Instruments
Recording has escaped from the coastal regions and gone mainstream. Software like Pro Tools can be used by artists to create their own music. Mac users have their own thing going with Garage Band, but it’s paucity of MIDI interface capability tends to alienate it from the many musicians who rely on the exploding USB-powered line of musical instruments. Drum pads, guitar pods and keyboard controllers are becoming fairly common in music studios. When it comes to USB gear, competition runs hot.
From the time that the legendary Les Paul first experimented with overdubbing, the music industry has thrived on creativity and imaginative expression. Digital recording, as run through a USB port into a computer, has become essential to the process of making the music that is such a huge part of our lives, no matter if we prefer Mozart, Metallica or anything in between.
