Digital mixing and processing in the box, or “ITB” for short, for music production, mastering and online audio mixing can be fantastic in producing clean processed audio tracks and mixes depending on the virtual tools or instruments used. The lack of analogue noise is a blessing, especially if hiss and hum begin to add up over large track counts. Although this is less of a problem in professional studios it still remains a deciding factor in whether to go digital as apposed to analogue.

This cleanliness in sound quality can however come across as sounding sterile and flat, lacking in real depth and character for online audio mixing. But many digital reproductions of vintage analogue gear actually have built into the software the recreation of analogue noise and distortion to get even closer to the true representation of its analogue model. This introduction has had a remarkable impact on the digital world of for recording engineering and online audio mixing, and has brought the worlds of digital and analogue processing closer together.

Analogue processing can introduce more noise into the signal chain in the way of hiss, hum, feedback and distortion. But with this said, the character of sound quality captured through tracking, mastering and online audio mixing is often superior to digital in regards to the analogue signal path adding true warmth, depth, space, separation, clarity, air and punch. All of which when working ITB can struggle at times to keep up with.

When mixing music online and comparing digital to analogue processing on an A/B comparison, analogue has a clear lead over digital in naturally and organically bringing the audio recording forward with audibly recognizable clarity, warmth, depth and all of the characteristics mentioned above. It’s not to say that these characteristics cannot be achieved ITB. Of course they can, but it can take a bit more work to achieve in digital processing what analogue does naturally for online audio mixing and without the artifacts of digital noise and/or distortion, which as we all know are extremely non musical and audibly unappealing in any mix.

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