Keith Richards answers a fan question about using new technology in the recording studio. Posted on Keith's website (Ask Keith) around 2004: www.keithrichards.com/ (I do not own any copyrights)
Kieth touches on so many key points of producing quality music and proves why he is a legend. Brilliant mind that stands the test of time. Love the Stones.
Oh my gosh, look at what suggests to be the arthritis in the end of his fingers. I’m surprised he’s not in tremendous pain and I’m surprised he can still play. Those joints look really messed up. I hope it’s not bothering him. He looks pretty happy. The group is great, they are number one in many fans. I however love the Beatles. When I kind of believe the Beatles wouldn’t be the Beatles without the competitive skills of the Rolling Stones and the who and many others.
From an oboist, who started playing analog at 10 years old, and built a Heathkit color television in 1967 with my concert pianist dad ... and now from stereo deck redording, to my Teac A3340S 4-track deck, and now use Cubase Pro... because I’m a guitarist too, I agree with Keef... is digital better? Let’s just say it’s cheaper and easier... to record. So the question remains for everyone who is in the recording industry… Does digital make it sound better?
Well, I think what a lot of people got wrong when assessing the impact technology bring into art is the idea that the new stuff will have to replace the old stuff. I disagree with that mindset. The fact that now we have synths, loopers, sequencers, etc simply means we have a couple more instruments we can have fun with. They're not going to replace the instruments we already had. They don't have to. The guitar, bass, drums, keys, piano, etc aren't going anywhere and not that they should. We should just have fun with all the instruments that are available now instead of arguing the old is better than the new and vice versa or anything like that. Seriously, what you got to worry about? Fender and Gibson are going to go out of business if people aren't taking the guitar as their main instrument anymore? Well, tech has gotten so good now some random factory somewhere in the 3rd world country can make a guitar just as good as any Strat or LP for much cheaper. Eventually, everyone will be able to make their own guitar. One more reason the guitar isn't going anywhere. The tech is on our side. Don't worry about it. Just have fun!
Great thing about being an older guitarist (59) is that I can't hear the 'subtle nuances' between analog and digital, so I judge by weight and price now as the differences are getting to be indistinguishable, to me anyway. Case in point is the Fender Deluxe Reverb. The Tonemaster wins hands down: Half the weight and half the price, all the tone.
yeah we're analog men, hey so is Joe Walsh everything's gonna be alright. "Synth" music, yeah, are we in the hardware dept. or toys? Huh, haha I mean ya know, anything can technically be an instrument, so here came the "electronic age" big time! Electronics have changed the world, communications, computers...etc, and music would not be untouched either, so here comes the synthesizer computer 2018, I don't bother looking at the synthe because I can't afford it straight off, but I bet it's a bit fancier than say the Moog or Roland of the 70's. Now I always liked what Jan Hammer did w the synth and many others ELP, Keith Emerson took music to a different place, I don't know what kind of equipment he used, may have built himself like Tom Scultz built that one music machine. (Oh remember the little music box cylinders) Sorry to tangent off, what I'm saying is the synth can be anything these days, a guitar, a woodwind, brass, a piano, an organ., a voice....etc., it's in the way that you use it for sure. I guess this got my attention because of the Grammy awards, some group won a Grammy called " War on drugs' and the guitar player was from Boardman Ohio, where I'm from, think I seen this kid around town a few times, probably grocery store or something, and they're sound reminded me a bit of 80's , sort of but not the same, like Flock of Seagulls, The Cure, The Call..etc., synth orientated. The singer capos up and mostly plays open folk chords at the 7 fret, no one in this world needs to tell Mr. Keith what that does. Right, it turns the boring C G D F open position chords into something more magical, even acoustically, so then you come and do a synthe treatment, boy you got some spacey backing track to play spacey lines over, I like spacey lines. I mean these guys are alright , good, not exactly my cup of tea, but listenable, at least they're trying to make music and get their own niche and not copping out w gangster nursery rhymes and MIDI sampling. I listen too way too much music and have heard a lot, so to for someone to impress me musically doesn't happen much, because I've already heard some of the best and it won't get any better than that for me. But trying to keep an open mind to as I age, it's hard. Turning into my dad, he was a country fan, mom classical, when the Beatles came along he'd just say what's so special about them, yeah, I'm over the hill, I'm analog to. I'm in a Mandolin Wind mood today, " almost the coldest winter in 14 years, and the mandolin wind.....peace out people
Digital is shit by comparison. Only the ignorant or tone deaf believe otherwise. Digital is convenient. Easy. Analog, however, is the superior sound. He's absolutely right.
Keith is not wrong. He is not won’t to get technical. He knows to stay away from this in interviews I feel. But you can’t argue that he had had the experience and probably knows more than he is saying. There are lots of really great engineers that have felt the same way but have since reversed that decision and like digital just as much. They are each tools. You also have to remember that this was from 2003-2004. They analog vs digital argument is different now. Plenty of changes
I agree. Analog sounds better than digital. Why? Because the universe is analog. Energy transfer of any type is, in nature, analog.The vibration of the strings, resonance of the instrument, harmonics from both, the impedance of the electronics, the speaker that creates the sound that you hear is analog. Digital is just little tiny slices of analog that are clipped at a specific threshold.
I utilize a Fender Stratocaster or a El Maya Les Paul plus a 10 or 20 foot chord and a Fender Super 60 guitar amplifier. Occasionally I add a Cry Baby Wha Wha. Nothing else.
