what does that mean digital way of recording?

not to analogue tape? like he always used to. Maybe he goes straight to hard disk now.

I thought he started going all-digital with The Gold Experience?

Prince still uses a variety of methods for recording. PP is set up to record fully digital or fully analog. According to a Gold Experience era interview in Guitar Player (paraphrased cause I'm too lazy to dig it out) he'll chooses the recording method based upon the song. Some songs, he feels, need to be recorded digitally, some need to be recorded analog.

His output still seems to be a bit of a mish mash to me.

I think these days he does all the mixing in Protools with the help of that young guy... Lepinski or osmehting or another.....

I'm not sure WHEN he first used digital recording, but, I did attend the 2000 celebration and asked H. M. Buff (Paisley Engineer at the time) what recording process was used (Analog, digital or both). He stated something along the lines that Prince still used analog tape for drums, vox and guitar; keys and other odds and ends to digital tape. I also recall him mentioning that the studio would soon be using ProTools (disk based recording/editing system). The Credits for the Rainbow Children CD mention the use of ProTools for editing.

Actually I think he still might use one of those digital /analog "hybrid" systems that were available in the early 90s at a very high price. I can't really remember at all what they were like, but of course he would be much better off forgetting analog recording medium altogether. There's no other difference than it's just harder to operate. The warmth? It's just a lack of high frequencies, you can recreate that feeling later on in the mix.
[This message was edited Thu May 6 23:43:23 2004 by Novabreaker]

Um, i talked to tom tucker, and he said emancipation was almost all B room. Which is the api dimedio board, and tape machines. I was shocked cause i thoguht it was done digitally.

Digital means, theres a lil chip inside that converts the wave forms going in, to 1's and 0's. After they are converted they are then stored like a file on a hard disk. The conversion is what most people complain about because it can seem to make sounds "cold" or "harsh" (normally cheap digital does this).

cbastriani said:

Yeah, but aren't his tape machines some special type that has some of the benefits of hard disk recording somehow? (don't ask me how exactly) It was some short-lived luxury product they were trying to bring to the market a few years before hard disks become the most sensible format to record to. Digital Open Reel... or something.
[This message was edited Fri May 7 5:32:37 2004 by Novabreaker]

cbastriani said:

IT TRUE!

BUT WHAT DIFFERENCE IF IT END UP ON CD

POOK said:

Well a lot of the warmth of tape transfers to cd, but not all. And the coldness of bad digital also transfers. Also relies on the quality of the playback system.