Analog Gear Is Overrated

Analog gear is expensive and unreliable. Digital sounds just as good. That is measurable.

Blind tests show people cannot reliably tell the difference between hardware and plugins. The warmth of analog is harmonic distortion. Digital can recreate that distortion perfectly.

Analog gear degrades. Capacitors drift. Tubes wear out. Knobs get scratchy. A plugin is perfect every time you load it.

Analog is expensive. One channel strip costs thousands. A plugin that sounds identical costs a hundred dollars. Sometimes free.

The only real advantage of analog is the interface. Physical knobs feel better than a mouse. That is it.

If you have money and space, analog is fun. If you want good mixes, spend your money on room treatment and microphones instead.