What is Digital Recording?

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Multitrack Digital Recording & Production

What is Digital Recording?

Digital recording is the conversion of sound waves to a binary signal. All electronic equipment produces digital signals. An analogue input (a constant variable defined with infinite accuracy) is first directed through a filter that cuts out any frequencies higher than half of the sampling rate, due to the fact that the signal cannot be held and reproduced before the following sequence of events. Then the signal is sampled.

An analogue to digital converter then plots the signal into binary code in a parallel data form. This parallel binary code is converted into serial data. This is done to store the serial data onto a storage format such as DAT tape, CD, hard disk, etc. Now that the data has been stored it can be converted from serial to parallel with a digital to analogue converter. The parallel signal comes out through a series of resistors of increasing value, as a voltage. There are now two paths to which this signal can be taken — to become a digital or analogue output. A digital output is the binary signal and can be bussed (routed) to different sound-manipulating software/hardware. An analogue output can be produced if this signal is fed through another filter. The end result is an output via phono’s, XLR’s, etc.

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An analogue recording is recording with a tape and has quite a few differences to digital recording. The analogue signal used is the same for digital and analogue recording. The tape is played over three magnetized heads that all have different specific purposes. The first is the record head —designed to record the incoming signal onto tape. The second is the sync

head — Designed as a lower quality head to receive an incoming signal and to process another (already recorded) signal from the tape. This head is used when overdubs are being laid and when the ...

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